So I learnt a very valuable lesson the other day about never trying to move a guitar by picking it up by its stand.

Unfortunately my brand new Highway One Strat lurched forward and fell from about 3 feet onto another stand

Yes, Im an idiot.

I was in shock for about 10 minutes then picked it up only to find out that it plays perfectly, and was even in perfect tune( ), after THIS trauma:





two pieces about the size of a thumbnail together chipped off:


The finish is thinner than I was expecting, you can see the wood still attached to parts (sorry, Im a lousy photographer, but I think the thinness is visible).

I also noticed a tiny hairline facture in the top part of the neck pocket (to fine to get capture in a picture), which is almost certainly a result of this crash. But she plays as good as before so I think I got off lucky,hideous gash notwithstanding.

I will admit to transporting guitars in this foolish manner before, but I always got away with it. In fact this is the first time Ive dropped a guitar at all.

anyways, lesson learned and Im amazed at how tough these suckers are. Zero tuning issues after that? Fenders are pretty impressive.

If you have a fracture in the neck pocket you will need to have it checked, a crack will widen and split further, especially since that area is under constant tension.

If you think that is bad, I tripped on my cord ( a long time ago ).
result was a snapped neck on a 59 Les Paul Custom.

_________________
"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Well its broke in now..

_________________
Hey, Boy Blue is back!

If that happened to my guitar I'd probably go jump of a bridge. A high one...

Ouch! at least get some sealer on that bare wood, and then be glad that it happened. Cos it's done now, and you can truly get stuck in and start thrashin that axe around at gigs without worrying now

_________________
My Rig: Guitar into Pedals then into Amps and out into Speakers.

As to the paint chips, a little super glue can retack them into place, since there nice and large, just don't overdue it.

As to the neck pocket, take it to a Luther and have it inspected.

_________________
Marriage is like playing cards...

At first all you want are Hearts and Diamonds.

But in the end, all you really want is a Club and a Spade.

Show a pic of the neck pocket crack you spoke of. It may not be anything to worry about. At least the biggest dents are on the bottom rear side of the instrument. I have a black strat with similar damage on the face of the guitar........ALWAYS latch your cases..... grabbed up the case, the lid flew open and the guitar dived onto the floor. It does make you sick. I think you could glue the chips back in place, fill in the cracks remaining with an automotive body filler or wood filler, lightly sand it down to be flush, and buy some black nitro lacquer from www.stewmac.com and make this damage nearly invisible!

Instant road worn. Guys pay good money for that look.

Seriously, sorry about the ding. As for the crack in the neck pocket, I'd have that looked at. It's probably nothing to worry about and most likely just a crack in the paint but a good luthier (guitar fixer here in Kentucky where I"m from) could most likely glue it to stabalize the crack and it'll most likely out last most of us.

Jeff

Shucks - sorry to hear about the bad luck. Happens to a lot of us at one point or another.

I'd be proud to know that she can take a hit

Yow!! sorry about the new Strat.
53magnatone,that's really bad,and unfortunately when a Les Paul hits the deck the neck or headstock pops off,as you well know....I've always had a fear of that with my LP.

it ain't that bad....lots of worse things can happen....especially if you jump off a high bridge.
a guitar is just a guitar.....

Could of been way worse.Its actually a pretty easy fix if you know what your doin.
Shes broke in now.People actually pay for that ...crazy huh

_________________
1986 Fender Sidekick Reverb 35
1990 Fender Red Knob - "The Twin"
1992 Fender Newporter - Acoustic
2000 Fender American Series Strat - Natural ash
2010 Fender Mustang 1
2011 Fender Blacktop Jazzmaster -Sunburst
2012 Fender Champion

Years ago I took my 1985 MIJ '72 reissue to be set-up. The case was cheap and didn't latch properly. When it came back there was a nice red strap arround the case!

It was only years later that I found out why, a guilty conscience! On taking the neck off that strat, and the pickguard off, I discovered that it had obviously been dropped: the fillet of wood separating the rear of the neck pocket, from the front of the neck PU cavity was completely broken and came away in my hand! Effectively leaving one big cavity extending from the rear of the front PU rout tthrough to the neck pocket!

Your goal now should be to make it look like Rory Gallagher's:

_________________
I traded my car in for a microphone.

Thanks for the words of sympathy and advice everyone. Magnatone, you have suffered real trauma my friend.

I will definitely take it to a Luthier to get looked at, and will report back here. Initially I wasnt going to because the crack on the neck pocket is only about 1/4 of an inch long and very fine, I cant even feel it. I googled neck cracks immediately after I noticed it and found that hard impacts are some of the main causes. I figured this was the case and that since the guitar stayed in tune, it couldnt be that serious.

Is it fine to do nothing to the gash? I know its ugly (well actually its already starting to grow on me ) but that small amount of wood exposed cant cause any issues right?

Tobi