Severe Agile PS-970 Amber Problem

[Brewski]

Last night was a very bad night for me.

 

I went to the man-cave to play guitar and pulled my PS-970 Amber off the wall to play. that's when I noticed the neckwas pulling apart at the scarf joint. See pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is the guitar.

 

 

Not sure if you are aware but this is incredibly upsetting for me as this guitar is #3 or #4 of my collection and I cannot do without it!! This is what I always thought where PRS fell short - no Floyd Rose arched top guitar.

 

I don't look at this as a copy - I looked at this as the perfect combination of guitar and of course Kurt doesn't make this model any more either!! DAMMIT!!

 

I chatted with Kurt and there isn't anything that can be done - he doesn't have any lost PS-970's floating around and isn;t sure the Hawker neck would fit as a replacement and since it's 4.5 yrs old its out of warranty.

 

Any ideas? Help?

[tomh777]

I guess the only thing left would be to take it to a luthier. I am a fan of the Agile Guitars myself but I find that a little disheartning that Kurt would say to bad so sad. Even the Epiphones have a limited lifetime warranty.

 

I am sure a competent luthier could fix it. Be careful though try to watch out for the hacks that claim to be a luthier but are nothing more than a glorified pick-up swap artist with some set up skills. Probably should not be too expensive, depending on what the guitar is worth to you.

 

Bummer

 

Good Luck though

[maltomario]

is it actually separating or is it the finish cracking around that area? perhaps the 2 pieces of wood are shrinking at different rates and its only cosmetic?

 

pretty rare for that to happen, scarf joints are usually very strong

 

is that a bolt on neck or set-in?

[vintage clubber]

contact Kyle (guitarzan1143). He is an incredible craftsman from what I have seen of his builds. He is in Stafford VA which isn't terribly far from Southern MD if you come over the Potomac on Rt 301 and then take 17 North.

[soliloquy]

that sucks man!

more reason for me to be scared of scarf joints.

[t1r2u3s4t]

Temperature and humidity are vastly different in the far east (asia) from they are here. Not surprised if wood shrinks or glue dries out more than normal.

[Norcal_GIT_r]

That scarf can be repaired. Just find a good repair man.

In Maryland look up John Ingram.

[pixelchemist]

i'm going to have to agree with what other are saying... as far as neck repairs go that one shouldn't be much of a challenge to any good luthier... that is if it actually is separating and not just finish cracks

[Brewski]

It's a set neck otherwise it was being thrown out immediately and replaced.

 

i's not just cosmetic - the only thing that has kept it from coming apart from what I can see was the fret board and by the looks of the finish on the edges beginning to give.

 

I really want to have someone who is willing to remove the fret board, re-glue and clamp the joint - refinish the the neck.

[jrfan]

 

It's a set neck otherwise it was being thrown out immediately and replaced. i's not just cosmetic - the only thing that has kept it from coming apart from what I can see was the fret board and by the looks of the finish on the edges beginning to give. I really want to have someone who is willing to remove the fret board, re-glue and clamp the joint - refinish the the neck.

 

Paying a good luthier to do that would cost more than a new guitar.

Opening the crack carefully,injecting some glue and clamping it up is really

all that's needed.

I had the std bridge version of that guitar that I could never get to play decent.

I took it to a well respected luthier in my area that confirmed the neck was twisted and I already had the playability as good as it would ever get.

Good Luck which ever route you choose.

[soliloquy]

http://www.agileguitarforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=27781

 

this link may help as some other folks were talking about the same {censored}

[Zappa74]

Any decent woodworker can fix that.

[cratz2]

Yeah, I'd expect a decent true woodworker could fix that to last... pretty much forever, but unless you find someone that takes pitty on you or does you a favor, it's going to cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars to remove the board, fix it, refinish the neck and reattach the fretboard.

 

I know you love your Agiles, but that seems a little over the top.

[guitarboyled]

convert it to a bolt on... that's what I would do

[MoreGuitars]

Out here in CA and the rates a repair guy would charge would far out value the guitar. If you could do it yourself or have someone you know, that would be the best bet.

[_pete_]

I'd bet Meandi could fix that.

[rocknhard]

Makes you wonder if a guitar with a scarf joint should hang from the neck? Also, the repair would be made at the joint, it is glued there to begin with isn't it? Good luck and keep us up to date on the repair.

[ihavenofish]

 

I really want to have someone who is willing to remove the fret board, re-glue and clamp the joint - refinish the the neck.

 

 

you wont get the fretboard off cleanly. whatever glue they use, it likes to stay put.

[harold heckuba]

I had that exact thing happen on an old Gibson Marauder. I took it to a luthier who Gibson recommended, he let me watch the repair. He took water thin superglue and saturated the crack. Superglue is amazing, it wicks through and into the bottom of the crack. He did this in several coats, each time wiping off the excess with a paper towel. The glue dries very fast, and after it is dried you can buff the glue line that is above the surface with 800-1200 grit wet sandpaper. You can color in the crack before you start with a matching sharpie and once glued the repair should be nearly invisible.

[Brewski]

 

I had that exact thing happen on an old Gibson Marauder. I took it to a luthier who Gibson recommended, he let me watch the repair. He took water thin superglue and saturated the crack. Superglue is amazing, it wicks through and into the bottom of the crack. He did this in several coats, each time wiping off the excess with a paper towel. The glue dries very fast, and after it is dried you can buff the glue line that is above the surface with 800-1200 grit wet sandpaper. You can color in the crack before you start with a matching sharpie and once glued the repair should be nearly invisible.

 

 

thanks but the neck is a transparent color - I'm going to have to redo the whole thing

[harold heckuba]

thanks but the neck is a transparent color - I'm going to have to redo the whole thing

When you use a sharpie for coloring it goes on transparent, unless it is black. If you get into refinishing an import poly neck top to bottom, it will cost you much more than the guitar is worth. This is a cheap way to do it, my repair cost $25 a few years ago. Since then I have done the same repair myself on an import Dearmond and a Kaman both with a scarf joint and they turned out perfect.

[enroper]

You're really worried about the cosmetics? It's a $200 guitar. Any cosmetic damage just ads character. Fix the functional defect and save your money.

[Vintage55]

I would do the superglue fix mentioned. Not sure I would saturate the neck, but I would pull the two parts of the neck apart (gently!) and run some down in the gap and hold it tight for 10 mins or so.

 

What can you lose?

[TmPn]

Use wood glue. Sand it down. Spray it clear. Dry. Play.

[harold heckuba]

I would do the superglue fix mentioned. Not sure I would saturate the neck, but I would pull the two parts of the neck apart (gently!) and run some down in the gap and hold it tight for 10 mins or so. What can you lose?

I am not proposing saturating the whole neck, just the joint itself. That is to make sure the glue gets in all areas of the joint. This type repair will work best if the joint is still glued together tightly, but just loosening around the fringe of the joint. If it can be pulled apart, you may want to try another method such as wood glue or epoxy. A lot of people dont like epoxy, but I have used it a lot. It is so strong the guitar would implode before it would ever come loose again.