Members NeverTheMachine Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 Pictures attached. It is a D-15 from 2001. I want to know how much I would expect to pay to get this fixed professionally. I'll take any other suggestions, or thoughts. I wanted to take some pictures and share my dismay over this clumsy incident. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FretFiend. Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 OUCH! All is not lost though. Probably a good idea to take the tension off the strings. If there are loose splinters, carefully gather all of them up and put them in a plastic bag. Take them with you to a good qualified luthier type. I can't say what it might cost, but I have two thoughts; It can be fixed where it will be solid and long lasting, but it will probably be impossible to fix it where it doesn't show some. It won't be as expensive as you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 That is not that unusual a crack and not terribly difficult to repair. Can't tell you what it will cost - I'm going to guess 2-300 with the refine which will be easier because your D-15 is satin. Here is one article where Frank Ford does a similar repair. http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Guitar/Structural/Cracks/Taylor355Cracks/355cracks.html btw - an old forumite who has gone missing, a guy named Gitnoob, did a similar repair on an old Martin. I didn't agree with a few of the things he did (wicking CA in instead of using hot hide on a vintage guitar) but it came ou pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 All is not lost...and my learned peeps have explained, it is DEFINITELY fixable, although probably not invisibly. Call it a little mojo, and, if you've inclined, it is something you can easily fix yourself...when I do something like this on a mahogany guitar w/ a satin finish, I charge $150. These videos may be of interest: [video=youtube;RcAPZ3oxi3Q] [video=youtube;0gjhTYHRtMg] [video=youtube;sKwmq9gq8cc] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NeverTheMachine Posted July 2, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 Thanks for your replies. Makes me feel a little better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 Well, I agree, that IS painful to look at. But, don't throw in the towel yet. Friend of mine had a very similar problem repaired about a year ago. I introduced him to an old man I know who builds guitars and mandolins who also does repairs. He got it fixed for $130. You can still see that it was cracked and repaired, but just barely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 recordingtrack1 had a similar repair done a while back on a Taylor. Turned out very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jimmy Chaos Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 Didn't the same thing happen to Whalebot's Martin? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted July 2, 2012 Members Share Posted July 2, 2012 Leo Kottke kicked the side of one of his Frankenstein 12 strings in, repaired it with duct tape, then sent it to The Place Where Bad Guitars go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 Important question: Are you the original owner of the guitar? Did you buy it new from an authorized Martin dealer? If so it's likely covered under the warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pitar Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 Didn't the same thing happen to Whalebot's Martin? Yep. El Kabonged it pretty good, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NeverTheMachine Posted July 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 Important question:Are you the original owner of the guitar? Did you buy it new from an authorized Martin dealer?If so it's likely covered under the warranty. I am the original owner, but it is accidental damage so I don't know if it would be covered. I'm trying a few more repairers in the area (nyc and long island), but a lot of them are swamped for the summer. I have a reference at Martin, and they would probably do the best job, but would likely be over $300 to fix. If it was any other guitar I'd attempt to fix it on my own, but the wood is rather thin and the crack is delicate. This guitar also has a lot of sentimental value to me, so I want to give it a good chance at being fixed up nice. It's a home, songwriting guitar; I'd never sell it. The fix doesn't have to be unnoticable. I just need it to play and be safe to play again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frankthomson Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 do we want to know how it happened? anyhoo, i seriously doubt martin will cover that damage for free. they ARE great about their warranty having replaced my d15 2x, but that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 I am the original owner, but it is accidental damage so I don't know if it would be covered. I'm trying a few more repairers in the area (nyc and long island), but a lot of them are swamped for the summer. I have a reference at Martin, and they would probably do the best job, but would likely be over $300 to fix. If it was any other guitar I'd attempt to fix it on my own, but the wood is rather thin and the crack is delicate. This guitar also has a lot of sentimental value to me, so I want to give it a good chance at being fixed up nice. It's a home, songwriting guitar; I'd never sell it. The fix doesn't have to be unnoticable. I just need it to play and be safe to play again. If you are the original owner, and you live in the NYC area, I would suggest that you give Martin a call. I had a cracked HD-35 which I had repaired at the factory, which is a lovely 90 minute drive from midtown Manhattan. Mine was not warranty work, and they may direct you to an authorized repair shop, but it's worth giving them a call. They are really great people down there, they stand by their warranty, even on accidental damage like this, and you may be very pleasantly surprised. Don't spend any money on that repair until you've spoken to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NeverTheMachine Posted July 3, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 If you are the original owner, and you live in the NYC area, I would suggest that you give Martin a call. I had a cracked HD-35 which I had repaired at the factory, which is a lovely 90 minute drive from midtown Manhattan. Mine was not warranty work, and they may direct you to an authorized repair shop, but it's worth giving them a call. They are really great people down there, they stand by their warranty, even on accidental damage like this, and you may be very pleasantly surprised. Don't spend any money on that repair until you've spoken to them. Thanks for the advice. Would I have to dig up the original receipt? It has been quite some time. Edit: nm, Obviously I need the O.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FretFiend. Posted July 3, 2012 Members Share Posted July 3, 2012 If you registered the guitar with CFM when you bought it, Martin has that information in their files. No receipt would be needed. I doubt that they will fix that under warranty tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NeverTheMachine Posted July 4, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 4, 2012 I found the receipt. Been contacting a lot of independent repairers in the area and they're all busy for the summer. I was in Guitar Center Carle Place and they said they can fix it for a reasonable price. Who woulda thunk it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pitar Posted July 4, 2012 Members Share Posted July 4, 2012 If you registered the guitar with CFM when you bought it, Martin has that information in their files. No receipt would be needed.I doubt that they will fix that under warranty tho. Agreed. This does not constitute normal play. However, you might convince them your guitar was built with EIR (Exploding Indian Rosewood) that self destructs at the grain boundaries after the passage of a certain period of time. It's a species they could have gotten mixed in with their normal shipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members headfilter Posted July 5, 2012 Members Share Posted July 5, 2012 I dropped an iron on my archtop Silvertone and did the same thing. The guitar isn't worth 20 bucks, but it does look cool and I hate that I did that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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