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My Robot Broke

jmartin

jmartin

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Dec 4, 2007
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If you have followed the other Robot threads you'll see that I've posted that I'm not very happy with this guitar. Well, I decided to take it out of the box and give it another shot. And it Broke!

I haven't even had this thing a week and the Master Contol Knob came right off in my hand. You would think thats no big deal, just put it back on and tighten the set screw. WRONG. There is a ribbon cable attached to the knob and when the knob comes off it breaks the ribbon cable. That pretty much eliminates any type of self repair or local repair, there's no other option, this thing has to go back to Gibson.

This totally sucks. If I was on the fence before, there is no question about it now. Putting additional electronics in a guitar was a bad idea, and in this case, a poorly executed one at that.
 
Cream Fan

Cream Fan

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May 1, 2003
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2,695
The only place ribbon cable belongs is on NON-moving parts inside a computer. Even still, they're garbage.
 
jmartin

jmartin

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Dec 4, 2007
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This is a very poor design. Why would anyone put a ribbon cable in a knob that turns? Even if it hadn't broken it wouldn't last very long. The rotation of the knob is going to wear through the plastic cable in short order.

In case I'm not being clear, it twists the ribbon cable every time you turn the master control knob.
 
Seoighs

Seoighs

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Sep 17, 2006
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WOW...I thought it would be MONTHS before people started hating the robot, not days! :wah
 
C

ckiz

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Jul 27, 2004
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Just this week I was speaking to one of the dealers who sponsors this site and the very first comment I made was:

"What do you do when one of these electrical components break? That's not the kind of thing you can drop off at the neighborhood luthier and come back to pick up in two or three days."
 
jmartin

jmartin

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Simon, I feel your pain. This is going to be a major headache for Gibson if this is any indication of the quality of this instrument.
 
MIKE20

MIKE20

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....Wwwwwaaaarnnnninng, WillllllllllllllllllllRobbbbbiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnssssssssssssooonnn...
 
closet58

closet58

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May 6, 2004
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63
Jmartin, Please post a photo of that broken MCK. I would love to see it! I picked up one of these Robots and although everything worked as touted I didn't notice until I got home that my MCK rotated like a drunk hanging on a lamp post! I first thought that it might be a bent shaft but have never seen that before. Then it occured to me that it was possibly the way it was assembled. How does that ribbon cable end up into the control cavity? Does it run down thru the center of the pot shaft?:2cool
 
BillyBling

BillyBling

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Feb 16, 2003
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4,027
It's those damn Chinese Parts. So far I haven't had any troubles with mine.......thank blingness.
 
Ronman45

Ronman45

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Apr 23, 2006
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I wonder if Gibson will behave like the auto companies and issue a recall, or a service bulletin that if not complied with in a certain amount of time absolves them of the responsibility to make it right. Sounds like it's gonna get interesting..... Thanks for sharing the info. about your Robot.

Good Luck!
 
jmartin

jmartin

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Dec 4, 2007
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closet58 said:
Jmartin, Please post a photo of that broken MCK. I would love to see it! I picked up one of these Robots and although everything worked as touted I didn't notice until I got home that my MCK rotated like a drunk hanging on a lamp post! I first thought that it might be a bent shaft but have never seen that before. Then it occured to me that it was possibly the way it was assembled. How does that ribbon cable end up into the control cavity? Does it run down thru the center of the pot shaft?:2cool
Click to expand...

Yes, the ribbon cable runs down the centr of pot shaft. It's attached in the MCK to a fixed point. When the knob and the shaft turn, the ribbon cable turns with the knob.

I've already boxed the guitar up, but I'll take a picture of it tomorrow when I go back to the dealer that sold me the Robot. I'm giving it to them, since they are an authorized Gibson repair facility they can cover the cost of returning the guitar to Gibson.
 
S

Subtrrn1

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Nov 7, 2007
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Ronman45 said:
I wonder if Gibson will behave like the auto companies and issue a recall, or a service bulletin that if not complied with in a certain amount of time absolves them of the responsibility to make it right. Sounds like it's gonna get interesting..... Thanks for sharing the info. about your Robot.

Good Luck!
Click to expand...

I don't know how interesting it could get with two or three people having problems with their robot. Mine's perfect and sounds great, and is ultra-bad ass. Knock on mahogany wood, and I would guess the vast majority of them are like mine. I think that it's Gibson's responsibility to have the dealer inform us of potential hazards like pulling too hard on the MCK and ripping the ribbon cable. I think it should've been demonstrated on proper usage by the seller. The margin for error or malfunction on these is there. It has robotic and laser technology that is being operated by us musicians. There won't be a recall, because there is nothing wrong with the guitars other than individuals strong arming their axe, or possibly one or two guitars are faulty. Mine kicks butt! And I am a Gibson fan! not only of their vintage relics, but of Gibson. I think they still make the best guitars in the world, and only a Gibson will Do. Not to mention that most of my favorite music is made on Gibsons new and vintage. :jaw :jaw :mslim :mslim
 
MikeSlub

MikeSlub

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Jul 15, 2001
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15,178
I think it was a mistake to make the MCK a push-pull pot. Why didn't they just put a separate tone knob on it? Besides the fact that the pot is more vulnerable to breaking, if you set the MCK on a tuning setting that is a low position for the tone knob, then when you push in you've got to reset the tone knob. Definitely a design mistake in my opinion. :hank
 
jmartin

jmartin

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Dec 4, 2007
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Subtrrn, I didn't pull hard on the MCK. Only hard enough to put it into tuning mode and it came off in my hand. I am very gentle with my guitars, in fact, I baby them. Be advised, there was no warning before the knob came off and the ribbon cable broke. My guitar was working perfectly too. If you have an allen wrench that will fit the set screw on the MCK, I would recommend that you verify that it is secure.

Mine broke in a week. How many in a month? a year?
 
SimonBarSinister

SimonBarSinister

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Aug 24, 2003
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1,874
The dealer I got mine from is now up to 3 out of the 10 not working properly.
 
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