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Seems to be common

15Window

Member
Joined
May 5, 2020
Messages
58
Does anyone have a remedy (besides playing it off), for what seems to be a common problem of dye bleed onto the binding? Playing and looking at my 2019 60th, the binding from the nut to around the 13-14th fret has the red coloring and then goes back to regular color to the neck.
 

Tim Plains

Active member
Joined
Aug 1, 2013
Messages
795
It's not a problem and many who buy reissues actually like that. It will go away the more you play it.
 

cds1951

Member
Joined
May 16, 2008
Messages
88
That is normal dye bleed. I had a tech roll the binding and scrape the color off. It turned out beautiful to look at. Some say it goes away by playing but that has not been the case for me.
 

EXPLRGAB

Active member
Joined
Jul 4, 2020
Messages
108
My new, in july, 2019 R8 has the bleed. I guess it is common...so i do not have to worry about it. I CAN then concentrate on playability and tone, which for me is how I evaluate guitars. The looks of a guitar are a distant secondary consideration to....does it stay in tune and is it a killer player. if the guitar is pretty.. i guess it is ok.
 

C-4

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 5, 2005
Messages
1,776
I bought a brand new 2019 60th Anny and it has binding bleed all around the body, and partially on the neck.
While this is the first Gibson I ever bought which has this bleeding around the body, I just ignore it as the guitar is really fine.
It has the darker red body sides and back, so I am thinking that maybe this is contributing to the bleeding.
 

thin sissy

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
2,691
My 2007 R8 had this all over the first year I got it. I think it all went away pretty much the year after. Also the back of the body and neck turned light red/brown.

So I don't know if it's possible to fade away the bleeding without fading the red itself. I thought it looked nice though so I didn't care.
 

mdubya

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
1,020
It is part of the historic accuracy, is it not?

If it plays and sounds good, get busy and stop looking at the binding. JMHO.
 

15Window

Member
Joined
May 5, 2020
Messages
58
Thanks for all the info..I also agree that playability is always of primary concern. It’s just one of those things that looks funny, the drastic change around the 15th fret. It was just one of those things that had me curious, it really didn’t start happening until I did play it more often.
 

15Window

Member
Joined
May 5, 2020
Messages
58
Sitting here playing with the guitar, I’m noticing that the binding is cracking from the 14th fret on as well..I have played this guitar quite a bit since I got it a little over a year ago, should I chalk up the cracks as similar to weather checking? Thanks guys!
 

duaneflowers

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
2,522
Don't scrape it!!! Everyone knows tone is in the bleeding... more bleeding = more tone!!! :bike :dude:
 

mdubya

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 31, 2010
Messages
1,020
Sitting here playing with the guitar, I’m noticing that the binding is cracking from the 14th fret on as well..I have played this guitar quite a bit since I got it a little over a year ago, should I chalk up the cracks as similar to weather checking? Thanks guys!


No photos, no guitar. :biggrin:


:photos
 

15Window

Member
Joined
May 5, 2020
Messages
58
Sorry I can’t seem to figure out how to post a bigger picture
 

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P.A.F

Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2016
Messages
78
My true historic had a lot of it and I hated it. I had to fade it during the winter I sometimes put it under sunlight with UV resistant masking tape on the parts I didn't want to fade and it went away quite rapidly
 

RyTunes

New member
Joined
Dec 26, 2020
Messages
5
This issue has driven me (and many others) nuts for a while. I had a 2005 R8 with a ton of bleeding all over the binding. Played it heavily for 15 years and it didnt get better at all. Im not sure how u could play it away...the dye is under the lacquer so unless you play all the way through the lacquer I dont see how you could play it away...
My 2020 R9 has almost no bleed luckily
 

J T

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 20, 2005
Messages
10,501
It's on my 2004 never went away. Um, so what?

I think it looks cool.
 

Guitardon

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 3, 2002
Messages
2,134
My 2017 R9 has no bleed whatsoever but almost every historic I owned had the bleed issue.
 
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