So here's my sad story.. I just bought a lovely 2019 black SG Standard, awesome tone and playability and the guitar I have been GASing for a long time. Anyway I was playing the guitar for the third time, still breaking it in loving that nitro smell! I took my hands off the guitar to reach for something on top of my amp and inexplicably the strap let go of the rear button and my beautiful new SG Standard dream guitar fell face down on top of my pedal board!!! After my heart restarted, I picked her up and inspected the guitar, headstock - ok, neck joint - ok, body, - a giant dent on the front above the neck pickup - . Of course I was devastated and I still am! I don't even want to look at the guitar yet let alone play it. It's just sitting in it's case and I'm actually playing my home built Flying V for now which is one of my cheapest guitars with it's rattle can paint job. (it does kick ass though!!) Anyway, I hope I can play it again soon and ultimately since it's dinged I will just get out there and play the crap out of it with abandon and not worry about scratches and dings.
Sorry about the damage. As Mom would say "bet you won't do that again". As soon as I get a guitar I put strap locks on. $20 extra bucks but priceless as insurance. The first cut is the deepest... Sorry...
I think we all know that feeling, and it sucks big time. However, it will become invisible to you after some time, so hang in there.
Yeah, it sucks but is inevitable. At least you got the first one out of the way quick, now you can just focus on playing it.
Attaboy. Drive it like you stole it. Seriously tho, here’s my poor mans strap lock. A washer. Plus I never forget to bring a strap to the gig (because it’s permanently attached)
Have you considered putting some moisture and heat to the ding? It might pop up. I have never tried it, but I have heard it is the way that kind of damages can be made less visible.
See the positive in it! If you're a player (which I'm sure you are) rather than a collector, you were going to get a ding on it eventually, this was just the first. It would probably break your heart even more if your guitar popped its ding cherry after you proudly kept it immaculate for months or years. So it's good you've got it out of the way early! I have no Captain Hindsight/should've/retroactive advice to add to that, because that would be completely unhelpful and just rude.
Place a slightly wet towel over the ding, and a medium warm clothes iron to create some steam, and with a little luck the dent will magically disappear.
Sorry to hear about what happened. The great news is that the rest of the guitar is okay, so focus on your luck about that fact. Strap locks are a good idea and to never take your left hand grip off of the neck just in case, even if you have strap locks. And with strap locks, always make sure that the cups are cupped upward because they can sometimes release unexpectedley. The permanent washer on the strap pin as shown above is a good fix if you can make it work in the case that way, but straps can leave marks on your guitar as the strap interacts with the finish over time in left in the case for awhile.
Bummer but don't let that thing sit in the case now . Play it and have fun . My local Luither could fix that where it would not even be noticeable for a small fee as he fixed a couple dents on my used 17 SG HP Special's neck that you can not tell the dents where ever there, there's probably a Luither near you that could do the same
Sorry to hear, that sucks. But the bright side is that it didn't happen on the fretboard, frets, or the back of the neck...it won't affect playability. And the neck didn't break! I had a friend years ago that would intentionally key scratch a brand new car the day he bought it. He claimed that made him not worry about other scratches. I thought he was nuts, but whatever, right?!? The wet towel trick works on some dings, but you've got to be careful. I have done it to nitro finishes with a wet rag and the barrel of my soldering iron...but it's not for the faint of heart!
Brahahaha! Do you yell, “Voila” at the reveal?! This old wive's tale doesn't work on a case bite, let alone what he's describing.
Sorry to hear. It sucks getting that first ding. Last weekend I was playing my 09' PRS and went to get get up from my chair. I had pulled my back earlier in the day and needed to push my self up so I set my guitar down (leaning on my desk) and put the edge right on the corner of my Helix. Yep, first ding on that bad boy and I was so pissed - and that was after 11 years. I can only imagine how you felt being it's brand new. Hang in there!
Here's how I look at it. When a guitar is perfect, it is sterile, has no personality, has no owner. Once it gets some battle scars, it is YOURS. You can't really fully enjoy a guitar if you are too worried about keeping it perfect. My Les Paul has a bunch of chips, and I love it more for it.
