Split in a guitar top

[compagnito]

Is insertion of a protective piece of reinforcing wood on the underside the only option?

Not my guitar btw

[jeremy]

This will depend on where the crack is, how big it is, what caused it etc etc. More info is needed from you in order to answer the question properly.
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Honda RC163 (http://www.cyclechaos.com/wiki/Honda_RC163)

[compagnito]

8 inches long, pencil line straight crack in golpe area, lengthwise.

It's not my guitar so can't be any more specific, I wondered if new tops could be fitted, the guitar is a 6000$ famous name brand (not Ramirez).

[Pepe Vergara]

It would be nice to post pictures of it. A well fixed crack becomes one more of the many glue joints a gutiar has. The small wood diamonds to be placed inside is to avoid the crack to continue. It could affect the sound a little or a lot depending on who is keeping track of the sound. That is the true end of flamenco guitars. Golpes. If they are made of thin top, they crack faster and sound good, but if a thicker top is used, then the sound is not as good. Golpes do not need to be GOLPES, but taps.

[compagnito]

Sounds fairly hopeful, the cold weather has contributed to this, and the player is quite enthusistic at GOLPE, is a professional player, I wondered if the top could be replaced, but he said no if it needs that it needs a new guitar.

I think the repair should be ok?

Case against spending so much on a Flamenco guitar.

I tend to tap mine by the way.

[jeremy]

Cracks caused by golpes can be a pain to fix and keep structurally sound after. The small diamond shaped cleats can effect the sound, but it really does depend on where they are placed. If the crack is in the Golpe area, the cleats are probably necessary. They are not always necessary if the crack is just a split along the grain and the wood has not pulled apart.

Replacing the top is an option if the crack gets worse or effects the sound of the instrument. If the appearance bothers you, change the tap plate to a white one, or a piece of wood and the crack will not be visible. Top replacement is expensive, especially if done by the original maker. If done by the local repair guy, the guitar is worthless as an original instrument.

I get the impression you are thinking of buying this guitar, if the owner sells it to gets another, is that the case.
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starcraft II replays (http://screplays.com)

[deAlmeida]

wow you guys are making me nervous to do golpe!

[Jubilee Valence]

Well, Paul--you managed to "pique" my interest...."from the extreme example of the "incorrect" golpe...my '75 Shinano blanca w/paired tap-plates has withstood such severe impacts as to contribute to 3 cracked fan braces & one missing horizontal brace(just below soundhole) but no top damage"...'holes' were from, ahem, "foreign objects"...aaahhh the wonders of ---urethane---....they got cameras over there in loondon,'sweep?-----Jubi...p.s.Pepe!...maybe my thick top- protected so thoroughly by the substantial thickness of "sealcoat"..is like you say,--"the sound is not so good"...the banging so much harder so....uh, nice try, si?

[Pepe Vergara]

If you have doubts on how to do the golpe, please watch TODD's videos and learn how to do it professionally well.

[compagnito]

That's about it, no I'm not thinking of buying the guitar, I was just interested in the advice, it belongs to my teacher, he does golpes all the time, he must play 8 hours a day & every fourth note is probably golpe, and not too gentle, but with the nail, not knuckle.

He is gonna take it to a luthier I think, big repair bill.

[compagnito]

Well, Paul--you managed to "pique" my interest...."from the extreme example of the "incorrect" golpe...my '75 Shinano blanca w/paired tap-plates has withstood such severe impacts as to contribute to 3 cracked fan braces & one missing horizontal brace(just below soundhole) but no top damage"...'holes' were from, ahem, "foreign objects"...aaahhh the wonders of ---urethane---....they got cameras over there in loondon,'sweep?-----Jubi...p.s.Pepe!...maybe my thick top- protected so thoroughly by the substantial thickness of "sealcoat"..is like you say,--"the sound is not so good"...the banging so much harder so....uh, nice try, si?

Er what were the ahem foreign bodies?

btw are you really Dick van Dyke?

[Jubilee Valence]

...bloody well..ok,as I can't recall everything flyin' at me the past 30 yrs,we would need a relatively competant ballistics test...at least we're back on topic...no,this aint the life 'n' death one,jeeezz...and,ER...no!(did you know his brother plays a mean banjo!?)...btw,are you really :P 'ermin's 'ermits? :P ...pip! pip!---I just saw your previous post(that means the one prior;before.. :roll: ),your teacher???...no two ways about it!,I gotta stop driving through the top & blowing out everything inside,& instead focus the blow to the surface region... :idea: do I need to draw a dotted line on the tap-plate :? ...btw-"knuckles(pl.)" :twisted: to the right plate & side of top thumb joint :twisted: to left plate..and of course rapid alternating side of thumb with last joint of M & A together as one unit all over lower bout & flipping over,entire back in staccatto,walking "bongo" fashion,to produce beautiful acsending & decsending pitches in the percussion rudiments & always FORTISSIMO! & PRESSTISIMO! --ULTIMO!...extremo,por seguro....like da' MAN tol' me..RAW & AGGRESSIVE

[compagnito]

If you can sign his brother up, get Jube/Dick on vocals, a coupla flamenco guitars & we got cocknenco a sorta world fusion.

Hope we don't encounter too much hostile fire $%*((())))$"£$"%&&&%

[J]

I did a similar repair on a steelstring that was in much worse condition. The player had actually mad a few holes too!! Had to replace a few pieces of the soundboard. There are ways to do a crack repair that cause less sound issues than the little wood diamonds. Either way any good luthier will be able to repair a small pencil line crack and not kill the original sound. Never any gurantees that it will be the same after any such damage/repair. In the end, if your'e Golpe is causing cracks it's time for a stronger tap plate.