Devastating

[wescattle]

The other day my bike fell on top of the soundboard of my Epiphone Masterbuilt, it is a beautiful guitar and has always sounded amazing, but now there is a big crack that is about 5 inches long going to the end of the soundboard near the strap button. I think the crack is all the way through. The guitar still sounds just as good, but i feel like i needed to get some advice as to what to do with this injury.

Thanks alot!

[pickaguitar]

Take it to a good repair tech/shop/luthier...then can 'cleat' the crack before it expands

[texasdave]

Step one. Loosen the strings. Get the tension off the top. Then take it to the shop...

[guitarpkr67]

Quit playing guitar while you ride your bike, show-off.

[The Pup]

Time to open a rare bottle of cheer...as cracks in your guitar make the tone more dear.

[Cybercat]

+1 what texasdave & pickaguitar said.

It'll probably be an (almost) invisible repair if you're very quick to get it to the luthier. It's important you don't wait, do it now, if you haven't already. Make sure you carefully collect any/all fragments/chips of wood/finish that might have broken off, no matter how small or insignificant they may look to you.
...& whatever else, DON'T TOUCH the crack - my luthier/friend Simon Pinder gets extremely agitated (& ups the price) if he even thinks anyone's been "feeling" the damaged area & getting finger-oil/sweat/dirt/bad karma/whatever in there.

Good luck, hope it turns out well!

[Rob Sharer]

Originally Posted by The Pup

Time to open a rare bottle of cheer...as cracks in your guitar make the tone more dear.

My, but I DO like your turn of phrase!

Rob

[Shiny McShine]

Originally Posted by Rob Sharer

My, but I DO like your turn of phrase!

Rob

Whilst true that his prose has nuance and inflection, it's the message itself that inspires reflection.

[wescattle]

Is it completely necessary to repair this top crack, the guitar sounds just like it used too, and the crack is barely even visible. You can only see it when you get close, but the crack does go all the way through.

[Alter]

i would say yes. if it is not just a finish crack you should repair it, as it could easily get bigger under tension. also you should detune the guitar until you take it to the shop

[texasdave]

I'd like to add one other thought... avoid the temptation to run your finger across the area... oils from your hand can make the repair harder to hide.

[MichaelK]

Originally Posted by eBay

Whilst true that his prose has nuance and inflection, it's the message itself that inspires reflection.

While the message's form was clever and witty, its content was not, and more's the pity.

A crack in the soundboard doesn't make the tone more "dear."

[MichaelK]

Originally Posted by wescattle

Is it completely necessary to repair this top crack, the guitar sounds just like it used too, and the crack is barely even visible. You can only see it when you get close, but the crack does go all the way through.

If it goes all the way through, even though it's barely visible and sounds fine now, it needs to be repaired so it doesn't get worse.

[The Pup]

Originally Posted by MichaelK

While the message's form was clever and witty, its content was not, and more's the pity.

A crack in the soundboard doesn't make the tone more "dear."

Yes...I did not mean to imply that the guitar should not be repaired.

I was only conveying what Andrés Segovia told me (sans prose) at a post-concert dinner in Berkeley, CA in the '70's after I told him I found a crack in my 1A QS Brazilian I just bought.

...it made me feel better at the time.