Alright, so last night we had our friends over for dinner, and they have an eight-year-old boy who plays guitar and loves it.
When he first started, I was his teacher and somewhat of a mentor to him, and he and I have a great relationship.

Naturally, he brought one of his guitars and his amp over to our house, and we both went upstairs as soon as they arrived here. I showed him my Brian May Signature Guitar, as he hadn't seen it since I bought it back in September, and he instantly fell in love with the whammy bar, as none of his guitars have a tremolo system.

He was having a ball with it, but I knew he was being a bit rough on it. I thought better of telling him to be a bit more gentle with how he used it, because I thought, "Awh, heck, I'm sure it'll be fine, and he's having a blast, so why ruin it for him?"
Well, it's the day after, and when I went to put in the whammy bar today, it's definitely screwed up.
It only goes in half of the distance it used to, and when I tried to push it down to see if it would go in all the way, it got stuck and I had to forcefully pull it out. (EDIT: The whammy bar for this guitar is just one where you slide the bar in; you don't need to screw it in like a Strat's.)
I used a toothpick to see what was blocking it(you know, just to gently feel around), and I discovered a tiny lip in the hole that's preventing the bar to go into the hole completely.

I believe that this is the cause of the problem, but I can't be 100% sure.

Can anyone please help me out here? I would really hate it if he broke my new guitar....

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"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Don't let anybody mess with your expensive guitars, especially a child.
Sorry but Nuf Sed. Been there. Done that. Never going back. Ever.
Period. End of discussion. No room for argument to the contrary. Case closed. I have no patience at all for that sh!te. My sister's children no longer enter my music room for any reason.

Lesson learned.

Fool me once, if you get my drift.

One thing you can never say, is that you weren't told.

Draw a line in the sand and stick to it.

F%&k 'em if they can't take a joke. (or a hint)

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.

Well, I, myself, am 14, so....

I don't know where that puts me.
I told myself that I wouldn't let anyone touch my guitar because it was that important to me, but I guess I just got caught up in the moment of seeing how happy he was.
But now I'm paying the price....

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"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Can anyone else please be of help to me? Or do you all have the same answer for me; I've learned my lesson....?

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"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

best thing to d would be to take it to a pro and let them sort it out, if its expensive well you know who to blame, but at the end of the day at least they will know what they are doing

Let a tech look at it Khash. It's too nice a guitar to try to mess around with.Hope this works out well as I'm sure it will. Keep us posted......... Mike

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The blues ain't nothin but a good man feelin bad.

Alright, sounds good to me. Thanks, guys; the input is very much appreciated.

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"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

There's a sad lesson to be learned from this for everyone be Very selective and fussy who you let handle your guitars.You wouldn't let a student driver take your new Porsche Carrera for a spin would you?

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Haha, no, I guess not!!
And I will definitely be more cautious next time, and if they do get to play any of my guitars, I'll let them know if I'm comfortable with what they're doing or not. That was my problem this time, being too shy of letting him know that he was being too rough with it.

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"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

I have certain friends that are in their late 30's and early 40's that still aren't allowed to touch certain guitars.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Well, yeah, if it's a $2,000 guitar or it has sentimental value or something like that, I'd completely understand why they aren't allowed to touch them.

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"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury