whats up w/ gibson's qc/ set up's

dave.....

New member
i played a bunch of gibson's this am at gc ..... all of there set up's suck ..... action way too high ... intonation off .... curved necks .......sharp frets..... they all played like crap ..... are they not set up at the factory ?? does no one inspect them ???? and the guys at gc say they are supposed to be like that ........... bull
 
The ones I've played have been set up nicely, with slightly high action but good intonation and neck relief.

The frets they are using on the Classic Antiques, at least, are squarish "medium" frets rather than the low, wide jumbos, and the fretboard binding dressing at the fret ends has a definite relief. You get used to using less pressure on the fingerboard.
 
GC is the worst place possible to buy a guitar.

If you let a new Ferrari sit out in the rain, during a hurricane, and then during a snowstorm, and then let any jerk who'se passing by take it for a test drive; you can't blame Ferrari for the car having dents, rust, and rotting tires. Every high end Ferrari, Porsche, etc dealer Ive been to has an indoor climate controlled showroom with guys wiping off the fingerprints all the time.

You think the Gibsons at a GC are bad? Then you should look at the Taylors there. Both instances are definately NOT examples of the respective companies efforts.
 
right on about not buying a guitar from GC.

Think about it...... do you think gibson is going to throw a guitar away because it had a defect or any non noticable issues.
No they are going to to get a dozon together and sell them through GC. The walmart guitar store. Do you think they are going to shave any price of the guitar...... definately not.

Do I think GC is total crap. No....... I can test drive effects and buy them maybe.

Go to a mom and pops guitar store to get a guitar. There going to setup the guitar like it should be. Plus you won't be giving your money to some big ceo that probably couldn't play guitar from the golf lessons where he spends his time.
 
i played a bunch of gibson's this am at gc ..... all of there set up's suck ..... action way too high ... intonation off .... curved necks .......sharp frets..... they all played like crap ..... are they not set up at the factory ?? does no one inspect them ???? and the guys at gc say they are supposed to be like that ........... bull

Mixed bag here.

For one, 90% of the GC's I've been to suck. Basic things like guitars being in tune, with reasonable action (within the limits of personal taste - not fretting out, not a half inch off the board), and to a certain extent being relatively well intonated... These are all things that should be happening, if not to every guitar, then at LEAST to every $2k guitar that hits the showroom at a guitar store, and often times GC is not.

However, things like high frets, neck bow, poor fret dressing, and again to a certain extent bad intonation from the factory... Let's just say Gibson's quality control leaves a lot to be desired these days.
 
Go to a mom and pops guitar store to get a guitar. There going to setup the guitar like it should be. Plus you won't be giving your money to some big ceo that probably couldn't play guitar from the golf lessons where he spends his time.

:agreed: I'll definitely spend a few more bucks to support a small local business.

It's even worse than you make it sound these days, though. I forgot which firm, exactly, but Guitar Center was just bought out by a large private equity company this past year. :rolleyes:
 
i played a bunch of gibson's this am at gc ..... all of there set up's suck ..... action way too high ... intonation off .... curved necks .......sharp frets..... they all played like crap ..... are they not set up at the factory ?? does no one inspect them ???? and the guys at gc say they are supposed to be like that ........... bull

Gibsons like Fender have the name on the stock and that is it. They pretty much all suck from almost all aspects. I played most of the whole Gibson line recently and was horrified at how shitty their guitars were. A real shame. They might as well be made in China or Korea.
 
Gibsons like Fender have the name on the stock and that is it. They pretty much all suck from almost all aspects. I played most of the whole Gibson line recently and was horrified at how shitty their guitars were. A real shame. They might as well be made in China or Korea.

Eh, I've played some I've really liked - my roommate's got a great LP Studio that I dig the sound of and always enjoy playing. ditto with Fender, I've got a '97 USA Strat that a buddy of mine's been trying to get me to sell him for years because it kicks so much ass.

But, I've also played my fair share of crap with both names on the headstock. They're capable of making a great guitar, which almost makes their bad ones seem that much worse.
 
I was a Gibson dealer up until about a year and a half ago. Most of the guitars were decent when I got them in. Of course, they got better with price. Every Historic VOS guitar I ever got was ready to go out of the box. The SG Specials, not so much. But most of what you feel in a guitar on the wall is up to the dealer. Any dealer worth their salt is going to maintain their inventory and either send back or repair defective stock.
 
Hmm... where to go with this.....

Well for one,...I work for GC, and while I can't speak for any other store,..ours takes very good care of all of our inventory (Cleaned and tuned on a daily basis) ... now of course you get quite a lot of customers coming through everyday playing everything under the sun there...but that's the nature of the beast I guess.. ...my take on it is this: Once I find something I like on the floor, I special order a new one in from the factory ...end of problem there.

I too am horrified of the quality (Or lack there of) of the guitars coming out from all of the big name builders ......they simple are inferior products right out of the box... A guy shouldn't have to pay over a thousand dollars just to have something that plays good out of the box ....and even then most of the time they don't. :(

I also run a Guitar and Amp repair bussiness on the side, and in my Professional opinion, the factorys are not doing a good enough job in setting the guitars up before they leave...period...From what I see, the necks are not adjusted correctly (This can change with the weather and shipping,..so I'll give them that one...) the nuts are typically cut too high, the action is too high for most players taste, the intonation is off way too much ...especially on any floyd equiped guitars, the electronics/wiring are sub par for the most part, and the assembly process leaves a lot to be desired as well.(Loose output jacks, pots, and switches....) ...

One good thing I've noticed is that most of the finishes have been pretty good....as well as most of the fret work (Barring the fret ends at times..)

I guess the best thing about all of this is that I can capitolize on on all of these poorly set up guitars and make some cash doing what should have all ready been done ;)

Rick
 
Good luck finding a mom and pop local Gibson dealer!

Yup, Fender and Taylor too, they demand such high inventory
I don't usually jump on the bashwagon but the GC in Milwaukee has a bunch of high priced Martins and Taylors and Gibsons in their "acoustic room" and they are all set up horribly. @- 4 grand a piece and the Takamine off the wall sounds better. Darn shame!
 
Gibsons like Fender have the name on the stock and that is it. They pretty much all suck from almost all aspects. I played most of the whole Gibson line recently and was horrified at how shitty their guitars were. A real shame. They might as well be made in China or Korea.

...actually, I have 3 Samick/Korean made LP style guitars that have beautifully finished fretting, straight necks and obviously excellent QC (setup out of the box was near perfect)...and the total price of all 3 wouldn't cover the cost of an entry-priced Gibby...so much for "Made in the USA"...:confused:
 
I've done my fair share of GC bashing, but when it comes to the stock instruments, I usually expect them not to play very well. Even if they are tuned every day and were set up to begin with, most people view them as tester guitars, and don't treat them very well.

I was a bit surprised to find that all the Gibson and Taylor acoustics in the "select" room within the acoustic room played like shit, but then again, I don't expect GC employees to know how to do anything related to music, let alone have the knowledge (and the time) to set them all up on a regular basis, and make sure they are in tune every morning. There just doesn't seem to be the time when the employees most likely come in, start a shift, and have to go start pushing product.
 
You are correct about the time issue....but another aspect of this is that we are not allowed to set up the guitars (At our store anyway - I've heard of others GC's having a tech there...)

I work in ProAudio, but know 1000's of times more about the Guitars and amps than the Guitar Sales guys do...they're always coming back and having me go up and "Adjust" a guitar for a customer who has purchased a guitar from them but is now having some issues with it. ;)

I used to hear a lot of GC bashing,....and actually did a bunch of it myself over the years,...but I have to admit that the majority of the empoyee's that work at our store (Fairview Heights IL ) are very knowledgeble in each of their departments .... it's just good to know that our store is really a top notch music store with Excellent personel as well as good prices :)

Rick
 
I used to hear a lot of GC bashing,....and actually did a bunch of it myself over the years,...but I have to admit that the majority of the empoyee's that work at our store (Fairview Heights IL ) are very knowledgeble in each of their departments .... it's just good to know that our store is really a top notch music store with Excellent personel as well as good prices :)
The Fort Worth store is very good also. Almost all the salesmen in the guitar area are players, they're familiar with the stock, and if you seem to know what you're doing they will spend as much time with you as you desire. They're always willing to work deals.

In the other department the expertise varies, but as I've said before, I always try to educate myself on product before I go into the store.

I do think it would be great if GC would hold training sessions for their sales staff so they could actually help educate their clientele. Probably won't happen, though.
 
You are correct about the time issue....but another aspect of this is that we are not allowed to set up the guitars (At our store anyway - I've heard of others GC's having a tech there...)

I work in ProAudio, but know 1000's of times more about the Guitars and amps than the Guitar Sales guys do...they're always coming back and having me go up and "Adjust" a guitar for a customer who has purchased a guitar from them but is now having some issues with it. ;)

I used to hear a lot of GC bashing,....and actually did a bunch of it myself over the years,...but I have to admit that the majority of the empoyee's that work at our store (Fairview Heights IL ) are very knowledgeble in each of their departments .... it's just good to know that our store is really a top notch music store with Excellent personel as well as good prices :)

Rick

Good to hear GCs somewhere have halfway decent sales staff. And I'm sure that's true in plenty of branches, and that it also changes over time, as employees come and go... the place in Syracuse, NY has been pretty consistent in their incompetence, but I have tried to shop there as little as possible anyway, so it doesn't really bother me all that much anymore :p
 
I got a Gibson J-45R a few years ago from GC and I'm quite happy with it. It was a 'hey, you gotta come out here and play this' call from the San Bernardino store. and sure enough, it was nice out of the box but 5 years old in new condition with a new warranty....don't know where it's been. Anyway, setup was ok for a Gibson and I've made a few changes and now it's settled in and ready for a pro to go through it. I'm not sure which way to go; Jim Foote from Music Works (my usual guitar guy) or Rod Millar's FretTek computerized machine...I'm leaning towards Rodney.

Through the luck of the draw you may find a guitar that is set up well for itself but it's a rare experience to find something perfect for your style of play.
 
Back
Top