Hawaiian guitar question....HELP

[dmplayer]

Hello Everyone,

I have a question that I need some help answering. I recently found a vintage hawaiian (weissenborn-bodied) slide acoustic guitar at an antique shop on the web. These guitars go for over 900$ usually, but I was able to secure a price of 200$ (including shipping) on this guitar. However, there are a few flaws with the guitar's exterior, although they are minor. First and most serious is an 8" hairline crack in the guitar's back. This is my main concern as I do not know if it will affect the guitar's sound. I live in another state so I have no means of playing the guitar. Do you think that this would affect the sound? If so, how much would it cost to fix? Also, if I decided to refinish the guitar, how much does that typically cost? I apprecite any help and knowledge that more experienced players may have for me.

Thanks,
Kyle

p.s. I can't figure out how to attach pictures of the guitar. If anyone knows how, please let me know and I'll put them in the post for a visual aid.

[grock]

put the pics up as a link.

th crack will not really affect the sound. BUT it will get worse. so it needs to be repaired.

if you get chummy with the guitar techs at your local store they should be able to help you out. i've never payed much more than half price on stuff they do for me. of course i see them more than i see most of my friends.

i bet it could cost as little as 50 dollars. especially if it is just a hairline crack. and since it is on the back they can probably just reinforce it. this is what they sometimes do to a side crack and the back usually works to push the sound out. like an echo chamber. the top is much more important to the sound than back or sides.

i am hesitant that an acoustic shop is offering this. cuz common sense tells me if it is an individual they may not know how easy it is to repair. but if a company it is probably hard to repair and that's why it hasn't been done. then again they could be as ignorant of the repair as anyone.

you might call them and ask why it hasn't been repaired or if they would repair it or find out some stuff about that crack better.

[dmplayer]

put the pics up as a link.

th crack will not really affect the sound. BUT it will get worse. so it needs to be repaired.

if you get chummy with the guitar techs at your local store they should be able to help you out. i've never payed much more than half price on stuff they do for me. of course i see them more than i see most of my friends.

i bet it could cost as little as 50 dollars. especially if it is just a hairline crack. and since it is on the back they can probably just reinforce it. this is what they sometimes do to a side crack and the back usually works to push the sound out. like an echo chamber. the top is much more important to the sound than back or sides. i am hesitant that an acoustic shop is offering this. cuz common sense tells me if it is an individual they may not know how easy it is to repair. but if a company it is probably hard to repair and that's why it hasn't been done. then again they could be as ignorant of the repair as anyone.

you might call them and ask why it hasn't been repaired or if they would repair it or find out some stuff about that crack better,.

Thanks for the advice, it will come in handy. I think the reason no one has fixed the crack is because it is being sold through an antique shop and not a guitar shop. I won the guitar on EBAY and then found out that it was an antique shop that was based in CA that was selling it. I guess a woman came into the shop and had this old guitar she wanted to put up for consignment. None of the shop workers know how to play guitar or really know anything about the guitar so I don't think they ever even thought about repairing the crack. I'll put a link up to the pictures......I do know some guitar repair guys at a local guitar shop, so maybe I can buddy up with them and they'll fix up the guitar for me.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... egory=2001

[grock]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... egory=2001

you just totally ripped some old woman off. this guitar is probably worth much more. i think i am jealous. keep good care off that thing cuz it truly is an antique.

make sure they pack it in the case too. cuz they said it fits loose. and make sure they pack the tuner key and slide seperately so they don't come out and cause major damage in shippment. look what a capo did to this martin while shipping http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/imag ... Damage.jpg

and don't you dare go replacing those tuning keys. this is a peice of art. oh man. i am jealous...

[bugman96]

Hello Everyone,

First and most serious is an 8" hairline crack in the guitar's back. This is my main concern as I do not know if it will affect the guitar's sound.

This is the guitar Willie Nelson plays. It sounds fine.

[dmplayer]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... egory=2001

you just totally ripped some old woman off. this guitar is probably worth much more. i think i am jealous. keep good care off that thing cuz it truly is an antique.

make sure they pack it in the case too. cuz they said it fits loose. and make sure they pack the tuner key and slide seperately so they don't come out and cause major damage in shippment. look what a capo did to this martin while shipping http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/imag ... Damage.jpg

and don't you dare go replacing those tuning keys. this is a peice of art. oh man. i am jealous...

Yeah, its quite a steal. I got pretty lucky. Thanks for the shipping tips because she's shipping it out to me tomorrow so I need to tell her to make sure she packs the metal slide and tuner seperately. Yeah, when I first saw it I really didn't think I would have a shot at it because its a vintage hawaiian slide guitar, which price around the net at about a grand. But after talking to her and everything, it sounds like the lady just wanted to get rid of it. So, I think I benefited from her lack of knowledge maybe just a teensy weensy. But ya know what, I'll totally use it and play it all of the time so its going to get a good home. <------my sad attempt to rationalize. Well, thanks for the tips man, I really appreciate it.

[DreaminBassMunky]

Hello Everyone,

First and most serious is an 8" hairline crack in the guitar's back. This is my main concern as I do not know if it will affect the guitar's sound.

This is the guitar Willie Nelson plays. It sounds fine.

haha crazy Willie.

[isaac]

that shaving commercial he did was pretty crazy...