Gibson Quality????

  • Thread starter Thread starter Lambo
  • Start date Start date
Nice post Scott.

Regarding Gibsons, I have a LP Studio that I picked up 6 months ago. I ordered it through a local shop. Thus, I couldn't play it until it arrived. It played fine when it arrived so I bought it. I also had the tech at the shop set it up.

Be that as it may, I recently personally performed additional set up including action and truss rod adjustment. It now plays much better.

Point being? I don't know if all Gibsons are good or bad. I do know mine is fine. I also think some of the supposedly bad Gibsons may just require some set up to fix the problems.
 
as far as the gibson/epiphone debate is concerned.... i'll always get the high-end epi (and maybe replace the pickups) before i get a low end gibson.... if money's tight, do what ya gotta do.
 
Well folks, I'm pleased to say I'm the proud owner of an Epiphone 1961 SG Elite. This guitar is the real deal...great tone and playability not to mention a nice finish. And, it came with a case. :) :) :)
 
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz........

Carvin.

i'm tellin' you.......

Carvin.


You will be amazed, at how high the quality is, in direct comparison against any of the high end Gibsons.

and epiphone, forget it.
 
Don't worry......Carvin is the next guitar I am getting..................whenever that is..........
 
Lopp said:
Point being? I don't know if all Gibsons are good or bad. I do know mine is fine. I also think some of the supposedly bad Gibsons may just require some set up to fix the problems.
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A lot of the problems can't be fixed by setup.

I just received a new SG "Classic" today. In many respects, it's simply a POS. The finish is poor, with not only the open grain apparent but also the residual shaping and sanding scratches, the nut work is the worst I've seen in forty-plus years of playing and selling guitars, the fingerboard "binding" nothing more than a scandalous shortcut to avoid finishing fret ends and I'm convinced that a good deal of the hardware is import/Epiphone. The neck is very big and somewhat crooked in relation to the bridge.

I was also as filthy as if it had been sitting in a room with people sanding drywall.

Zero quality control and setup.

None of these problems are covered by warranty.

On the other hand it plays and sounds great, within the limitations of the fat neck.

What can you say?
 
hixmix said:
Are you sending it back?
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That's a good question. Other people who have bought these have had far worse problems, such as dead pickups and bridges that won't intonate because they're put in the wrong spot on the body [!].

Correcting a sloppy polish-out and bad nut work are therefore relatively trivial by comparison. I think my decision will be based on inspection of some more Gibsons in the next weeks or two. If some of these practices such as the bogus neck-binding method are the same at any price point (which I think they may indeed be), I may just hang onto it, as the price was right and there is little hope of getting a better replacement. At least this one plays and sounds great. Who knows what I'd get next time?

But yeah, as I've been saying for decades, Gibson really does turn out the crap. Sometimes the guitar is a good player in spite of it, but it's just startling to see how carelessly these expensive guitars are made.
 
bongolation said:
A lot of the problems can't be fixed by setup.

I just received a new SG "Classic" today. In many respects, it's simply a POS. The finish is poor, with not only the open grain apparent but also the residual shaping and sanding scratches, the nut work is the worst I've seen in forty-plus years of playing and selling guitars, the fingerboard "binding" nothing more than a scandalous shortcut to avoid finishing fret ends and I'm convinced that a good deal of the hardware is import/Epiphone. The neck is very big and somewhat crooked in relation to the bridge.

I was also as filthy as if it had been sitting in a room with people sanding drywall.

Zero quality control and setup.

None of these problems are covered by warranty.

On the other hand it plays and sounds great, within the limitations of the fat neck.

What can you say?
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Did it come out of Memphis? Just curious.
 
Hmmm, the ES 135 I got last summer was out of Memphis. The body and electrics were nice but the neck was simply unacceptable.
 
OK here's a story I heard yesterday from a guy who used to work at Mars - they took the truss rod cover off of a brand new Les Paul, (he said it was $2500, I don't know the model) to adjust the neck a little. Apparently the truss rod slot was a little off, so hex head of the rod stuck out too far and the cover couldn't be mounted, so some numbskull at Gibson took it to a grinder and ground off the metal so the cover could be mounted. The problem is that there was so much metal removed that the truss rod wrench wouldn't turn the thing! New Gibson feature (pat. pending) "Maintenance Free Truss Rod"
 
philboyd studge said:
Hmmm, the ES 135 I got last summer was out of Memphis.
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I dunno, I suppose their FAQ page serial number link might be outdated, but it looks like it says everything's either made in Bozeman (acoustics) or Nashville.

Am I behind the curve here, or is their link?
 
Major Tom said:
OK here's a story I heard yesterday from a guy who used to work at Mars - they took the truss rod cover off of a brand new Les Paul, (he said it was $2500, I don't know the model) to adjust the neck a little. Apparently the truss rod slot was a little off, so hex head of the rod stuck out too far and the cover couldn't be mounted, so some numbskull at Gibson took it to a grinder and ground off the metal so the cover could be mounted. The problem is that there was so much metal removed that the truss rod wrench wouldn't turn the thing! New Gibson feature (pat. pending) "Maintenance Free Truss Rod"
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B.S.

All you guys gotta lay off Gibson a bit.
....either that or start a thread of how much no guitar could be good enough for some of you.......
 
If Gibson is "too" expensive, then stay out of the Gibson section at you shop. If the "quality" doesn't match the price or your style, then don't play one.

Even further, some people seem to have purchased Gibsons only to be unhappy.........WHY did you buy it then?!?!?!?!?!???!?!?!?!!?
 
LocusLarsen said:
If Gibson is "too" expensive, then stay out of the Gibson section at you shop. If the "quality" doesn't match the price or your style, then don't play one.

Even further, some people seem to have purchased Gibsons only to be unhappy.........WHY did you buy it then?!?!?!?!?!???!?!?!?!!?
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Oh wait.....let me answer that.......

Maybe it is the "hate what you don't/can't have" arquement.
Maybe some of you don't acually own one and are jellous of those that do.........?.........so you try to make people think they are bad..........

I don't know.........

But it pisses me off to hear people go on and on and on about how much Gibson sucks. And the same for "new" Fenders......like they are completely inferior to the "originals" in the 50's and early 60's. Well maybe those sucked too.....maybe the only "real" strat or tele is the first few made by Leo Fender's own hands. Now there is quality control.
 
LocusLarsen, I hear ya !........

By the way, this is not the first time bongolation has gone out of his way to turn folks on to great prices on guitars and say that we're fools for turning down such deals only to rag his own purchases later........he did the same during the deArmond guitar blow outs quite a while back....keep in mind that NOTHING satisfies him....

Some of us bought some deArmonds (basses and gits) and were happy....I think the only exception was Slackmaster2k who got a bum bass.........my bass and gits were just fine........

bongo, however evidently got only crap.....same for any Gibson he has ever bought within the past 5 years....and Fender......maybe he'll haphazardly buy a Martin or Taylor next and tell us that it's crap, who knows........

I am so sick of urban legends about Gibsons.......


The fact is, Gibson quality control is no different from any other medium to high dollar product...... the company certainly doesn't want to shoot itself in the foot by supposedly putting out poor merchandise on a regular basis.......not to say, of course, one might get a lemon.....might get one from any other manufacturer though, too.....

If people don't feel they can afford a Gibson, fine....not everybody has the bucks......I understand that.......no problem....

My mistake is that I actually played and felt and touched some Gibsons.....and didn't believe what I read on bbs's.........

And ya know what?....Gibsons fucking RULE..............

So do my Fenders.......

And my Martin.......(soon to be plural)

AND my el cheapo deArmonds......

Every guitar I've bought within the past 10 years has done exactly what I want it to do.....play.......

And that comes with doing a little research and actually finding a way to touch one before you order online.....that simple.....and if I ever get a lemon, rest assured it will be returned, because I only deal with a few online sites that sell gits, and they have excellent return policies....gibs
 
Hey, LL chill out, this is the "Gibson Quality Sucks or at Best is Inconsistent" thread, after all. Everyone has the right to bitch, even if it isn't always grounded in reality or statistical analysis. As far as my anecdote - it was a story told to me just yesterday, I can't vouch for its authenticity. I have owned 2 Gibsons over the years, an early 60's Melody Maker which I traded with $60 or so for a '64 strat back around 1972, when neither had any vintage value. The MM was a kewl little guitar, wish I would have kept it. The other was an early 70's SG Standard with a Bigsby-like vibrato ( detuning and string changing prevention device) that I sold 20 years ago to an insistent kid across the street with an Angus Young fetish. It was a well made guitar, played like buttah, and sounded great, but I got tired of tuning it and playing it out of tune ( I had the arm off and the spring out of the vibrato it only acted like a stop tailpiece). Wish I still had that one too, I'm sure I could find a way to keep it in tune now.
 
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