Gibson in stores

gibs

gibs

New member
Ok. so I read on one of the other bbs's that Gibson has lowered its prices...great news, right?.....I thinks to meself, I'll drive 75 miles to the nearest town that has a fairly large store......

They had one RI goldtop ('59, I think) LP, and one Studio LP......NO SG's......No semi-hollows....they did have three acoustics....

I asked the guy who was on duty when they might get some SG's or Standard LP's in, and ya know what he said?....

"Well, we wouldn't even deal with Gibson if they didn't have Epiphone.......that's all that sells." (and sure 'nuff, there were tons of Epi Sgs and LPs)

So I sez "Yeah, they're kinda pricey, but I heard they've lowered some."

And he sez "Haven't heard anything about that. We can't move 'em. They sit as inventory for too long."

Now, granted, this was no huge huge store like GC or something, this is Northeast Texas, and the store I went to was in Tyler, and they have another store in Longview....not exactly a mom and pop operation, but no big corporation thingy, either.

My purpose was to compare weights of an LP Standard and an SG Standard, against my what my Fender guitars weigh...I've got a Gibson itch again, and the internet hasn't helped it one bit........especially since I found a reputable site that sells LP Standards for $1370.........

So what I'm asking, is:

Do only really huge stores have a decent selection of electric Gibsons?...and is Gibson making most of its money off the Epihone line, which has contributed to the often discussed lack of quality control for the regular Gibsons?.....

I messed with the goldtop LP, and it was a dream, I might add....and despite the disapproval of certain LP snobs here, I messed with the Studio too, and I liked it almost as much....both had LP mojo.....the Studio had the same pups as a Standard, and the sound was there.....

But no other LP's and no SG's at all........so I picks up an Epi SG Special.....did nothing for me...

Picked up Epi LP Flametop whole shabang "custom".....nothing.....

So, those of you that don't live in huge towns with very large stores, do you actually get to see or play any Gibbys or is your local full of Epi's????????????

Sorry to be long winded, but ya know, this store had a pretty good selection of MIA Strats and Teles, even though there were also lots of MIMs and Squiers...and it pissed me off that they had only TWO electric Gibsons...............gibs
 
Hey gibs,

It might be worth it for you to spend a few hours and drive down to Houston. Check out the House of Guitars (2 locations, Highway 6 and Louetta), or Fullers, or Rockin Robin.

They all have Gibsons, both new and used.
 
I don't know. They can't move them at my local Guitar Center either. They have dozens and they just sit there. Everything else just flies out the door.

Gibson's are just obscenely overpriced, badly-made guitars.

You just can't help but ask how come this $3000 Les Paul has sloppier purfling than a $200 import on the next rack. I mean, it's right there in your face.
 
I have three moderate sized guitar shops in my area. They have a very small stock of Gibsons that have remained virtually unchanged in the last few years. I get pretty much the same feedback from the guys who work there. I also wanted to check out some 'real' SG's, only to be told that you'll have to order one in (ie. buy it). Epi's are all over the walls though and change regularaly.

I have to confess that I own a epi les paul as I can't bring my self to part with the exra money at this point. I changed everything that is cheap on the guitar (pick-ups, knobs, switches, machine heads etc) and quite honestly there is very little in it.

Prices down; I thought they had gone up. No let me correct myself; they have gone up. Note that I live in the UK but I was told that the American prices went up also. They sure sell expensive wood.

600 posts up.
 
I love the sound of Gibsons. But, I won't spend $1500.00 for a flame top LP. Insted, I bought the LP Jr Special with P-100 PUs.

I sat down at Mars and tried out the X-pensive LP's and the one I bought. The only differance I could find was the finish and the Jr. doesn't have the arch top. My LP Jr sustains as well as the LP's I tried and it has that LP growl that I love so much.

Why pay $1000.00 for a finish?
 
> Why pay $1000.00 for a finish?

Why pay at least that for a _bad_ finish?

I mean _every_ Gibson I've seen lately has ill-finished binding (purfling, in proper terminology) that you can snag a fingernail on. It's just ridiculous, though as far as I know, Gibson has _never_ done clean binding work. I have Gibsons up to seventy years old and none of them have this work done cleanly.

Why can't Gibson do this right? Every two-bit import's binding is _perfect_.
 
Gibsons have been a joke for years IMO. Their quality has done nothing but drop, and their prices have done nothing but go up. That's why no one can move them. People will buy expensive guitars when the instruments justify the cost. Look at Taylor, PRS, Grosh, or many other high-enders.

People are getting wise to Gibson.

Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
bought my sg standard last year for just under a grand. i love it and its built remarkably well. god knows ill cherish this guitar till i die.
 
Scriabin said:
bought my sg standard last year for just under a grand. i love it and its built remarkably well. god knows ill cherish this guitar till i die.
Click to expand...
Note that it doesn't have a bound body, either!:D

I love my '63 Thunderbird II bass, too, but it's not something I'd pay $2000 for now, for sure.
 
bongolation said:
Note that it doesn't have a bound body, either!:D

Click to expand...
i dont care if the body is bound or not, if it plays well, sounds well and i didnt have to sell plasma, im happy.
 
I dunno about the prices, either. Living in Cincinnati, I had several big stores that always had Gibsons (Yes, the same ones every time). I agree that they aren't all that. It's just that they make THE Les Paul, and they like to hold on to that when selling their product. I really wish Gretch or someone had made the original Paul, now I wonder what the world would be like then.....


H2H
 
heey gibs, stay awway from thee "epi sg''s--not the same...findd one offf the block--even if it's re-constructed thru some luthier, it'll be better that off the shelf.....never mind the extra vowels here--it only parkinsons and "not" dementia....
 
Your're right H2H, THE Les Paul is really the only thing keeping Gibson alive at all. They have that tie to a classic guitar, and the name recognition.
I really think anyone seriously considering buying a new Les Paul right now would be crazy not to buy a PRS single cut instead.
Aaron
http://www.aaroncheney.com
 
I bought an Epi Les Paul Custom a few weeks ago.I had only seen standards before and the wood and hardware on the custom are very nice.In fact,the cosmetics were so pristine (finish,binding etc) I was kinda startled.I'm an ex guitar QC guy for Charvel-Jackson and this particular axe I found used in a local music store bowled me over.
Of course,it would be nice to have the bucks for the Gibson.But considering the market right now Epiphone is putting out a pretty good product.My little brother bought one of the Joe Pass jazz boxes last year and it is also very well made.
Tom
 
Wasn't my intent to put down the Epi's........at all.......but that's an apples and oranges thing.....I wanna Gibson that will make me as happy as the SG I sold for almost nothing back in the mid '70's...

I wanted to mess with more than the two Gibsons that were available......

As bongolation knows, no binding (purfling) probs on the Studio...has none.........and it sounded and played ever so nice.....but I know that the differences between it, and the RI were there, even if only in a predominately cosmetic way....and I wanted to chunk on a Standard!!!!!!.....but no cigar..........

Sonic Misfit, I have to be in Dallas next week anyway, so I'm gonna find a Standard there to handle, hopefully.....Houston wayyyyyyyyyyyy too far to drive from here, but thanks for the store info, I've got relatives in H that I might visit next year.......gibs
 
I really, really like the look of the new(er) Studio plus in Desert Burst. Thats a very good looking LesPaul. May even be my next electric.....whenever that comes.

H2H
 
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