Send me a photo and I can give you an opinion....

Dave

It's unlikely that you'll be able to salvage the top.Especially since you describe it as being "pieces" that need to be glued back on.Small pieces would be especially difficult to restore.Even if you did,the likelihood of it sounding the same is not very good.Sorry to be so negative,but it sounds like you got an honest appraisal of the situation from the luthier you visited.
If the guitar was insured,you should check into filing a claim with the airline and the insurance company.
Good luck...

Peace,
Alan

I feel your pain :-(
UR

Nicolas,
yes, it is hard to really tell without seeing the guitar and the damage. It all really depends on how the pieces are broken, has this damage effected the structural integrity of the instrument (i.e. is any of the bracing damaged), etc..

A couple of points I will make here...first, get a second luthier's opinion on this (and a third and a forth)!!!!!! If your more concerned about sound then asthetics, it may be possible to repair the damage anyways. Most "pro's" are not only looking to repair the damage, but also make the guitar look good too...hence why this person may just want to replace the soundboard. It could be possible to repair the damage and while the instrument would be scar'd for life, at least it would also be playable again. This would most likely involve removing the existing soundboard, sanding the pieces so they all fit, making some kind of jig and glueing it all back together again...not easy to begin with. Not to mention, if you gonna have to pull the soundboard for a repair anyways, its easier to replace it with a new one rather then try and repair a broken one...but you are also correct in that this will definatly change the sound of the instrument as well.

Also remember, not all luthiers are reputable people...without seeing the damage myself, it is possible that this person may just be tryin to get you to fork out some serious cash. Generally, damage to the body or soundboard of an acoustic instrument is usally pretty difficult to repair, but again that really depends on how bad it is....wood is kind of a funny thing that way :-)

Good Luck!
Jim

Hi,

Thanks for your responses guys. I realize it's kinda late top respond, but i did not want to sound ungrateful.

Well, I had to replace the top with canadian pinewood. That means applying new lacquer, so i have given up on the hope of recovering my old guitar; i guess i'll have to look at it as a new guitar, and hopefully, i'll learn to love it as much as i used to love it. That guitar was the one i learned to play with, and it's been around for about three decades. It's hard to let go, isn't it?

Again, thanks for your responses.

Nicolas.

Hi Nicolas,
I'm sorry it didn't work out the way you had hoped. I do more then understand the issue about it being the guitar you learned on...I still have my first as well :-) She's an old Brazillian made 3/4 scale classical and while I don't actually play her all that often (tuning nylon strings drives me bonkers!), I think I would be absolutly devistated if something ever happened to her. On the other hand...I'm pretty much that way with most of my guitars! I think if something seriously bad ever happened to my Strat, Kramer, Seagull, Ovation, etc., I would probably just sit down and cry for at least a week! LOL!!!

Anyways, I hope you do eventually rediscover your love affair with this instrument...or at the very least, develope a new one!

Bright Blessings,
Jim