“Currently playable tuned to D w/ Silk & Steel strings, but has some issues the buyer might want to address. Probably an easy fix ...”
In all seriousness, can someone explain to me why it needs a whole new top, rather than to keep what’s original intact and patch it up? Is it an issue of too integrity, or just too challenging/difficult to do right?
It will probably be better overall than doing a proper repair. There are a lot of integrity issues on the guitar, as pointed out by others. There is also the open question as to whether or not repairs with the amount of gluing (across the top, and cutting across much of the top) will have a effect on the sound. Gluing up cracks doesn't, nor do cleats, but replacing this amount of guitar top surface, with the rather large amount of glue involved is an open question. Then there is the difficulty of doing a good bridge plate repair (this is one of the repairs that should always be undertaken with a LOT of caution). No matter what, this type of repair will always be visible. You can look at some of my previous posts regarding how that goes.
This all leaves the background consideration of cost out of the equation. Truth is, it will most likely cost a lot more to do the patch repair than to replace the top, over and above the potential integrity issues with the bridge plate replacement (torn up wood fibres on the underside of the soundboard to start with). Do not underestimate the amount of time that it will take to repair the braces, either, nor the amount of time that it will take to refinish the repaired area.
Sometimes you just have to just do what is best from an integrity point of view, instead of a collectibility point of view.
Also, did anybody notice in the end block picture, that there seems to have been a repair made there already? there is a small wood strip beside the tailblock itself, which I don't think was put there by the factory.
![[J.K.]](/ltg/data/avatars/m/33/33267.jpg?1584938329){kind=avatar}
