Not a hater, here, I love my Gibson ES-335 Memphis Reissue, and I've had numerous LPs and an SG in the past, all good guitars. I'm a Heritage fan now, and, of course, they have the same problem, if you want to call it that; it's an issue of not much wood at that critical spot, meaning that you just need to be more careful than with a Fender.
I've never had a headstock break on me, but I have been the benefactor of buying guitars with repaired headstocks; if done correctly, they are an excellent value! Not a hater, here, I love my Gibson ES-335 Memphis Reissue, and I've had numerous LPs and an SG in the past, all good guitars. I'm a Heritage fan now, and, of course, they have the same problem, if you want to call it that; it's an issue of not much wood at that critical spot, meaning that you just need to be more careful than with a Fender. I've never had a headstock break on me, but I have been the benefactor of buying guitars with repaired headstocks; if done correctly, they are an excellent value! 'Despite common belief, a simple timber joint can offer a lot more strength.
The answer is in the grain. Timber holds its strength along the grain, the larger part of the neck uses the grain to it's advantage, However, if the angled back headstock is carved from the same piece of timber as the neck the string tension now passes through the grain instead of with the grain, making it prone to breaking. The scarf joint takes advantage of the grain's strength in both directions and as a result is lots stronger.
My 8 year old Les Paul on the other hand has been put through hell. Guitars that have had a crack line around the neck joint for 40 years,. Oct 14, 2015 - Hi, I have a chance to grab a '94 Gibson Les Paul Studio, but the finish is cracked where neck meets body: [IMG] Is it something I should even.
Not only that, it uses less timber as you don't have to carve the entire neck from one piece of timber.'