Gibson quality control

[Cliff Gress]

Well my ex-Audi was more than five G and it had flaws. People are still in the equation when it comes to making guitars and cars. Plus it's fun to set-up your own guitars.

 

[BurstFan]

Well my ex-Audi was more than five G and it had flaws. People are still in the equation when it comes to making guitars and cars. Plus it's fun to set-up your own guitars.

If you would have asked a german before buying a german car he could have told you!

BTW Audi is also no Rolls Royce! But you are right all these comparisons between different products lead to nothing. A 5000 dollar guitar is what it is: a 5000 dollar guitar! And it should be perfect (as your Audi should have been)!

 

[iknowpeanuts]

I think people are forgetting that the motto is “only a gibson is ‘good enough’” and not “only a gibson is perfect” :hee

 

[BurstFan]

I think people are forgetting that the motto is “only a gibson is ‘good enough’” and not “only a gibson is perfect” :hee

:laugh2: Great new interpretation of "Only a Gibson is good enough"!

 

[deytookerjaabs]

I'm surprised some people have had zero issues en masse.


When I bought my '16 Firebird brand new in house from CME I took it back about two hours later. I went to adjust the truss rod there was NO NUT!!!! Think about that for a second, the levels of QC it has to go through unseen at that stage...it should be nearly impossible for that to happen. The best part was in the cavity it was finished over the exposed threads so the fella who put a new nut on at CME had a real hard time with it...lol. I still loved the guitar and kept it for a few years, it was a bad boy and the fix was no big deal plus I got it brand new at clearance price. Sill tho..****ing crazy mess up.


My '17 'bird I has buffing/sanding burn through on the finish, a little spot of exposed mahogany on the horn. Not terribly big and I really genuinely don't give a damn about it either but your average picky 2019 e-buyer sure would.

At the stores, sadly, for the longest time they never adjusted new necks after a period of time. There's plenty of times I've picked up Gibson and Martin guitars in the shops that had uber high action.

I must have bad luck with this stuff. Hell, I had a baja Tele I returned because the poly started lifting off the fretboard the very evening of the day I bought it, bubblezzzzzz!!! You know what Sam Ash did with that guitar? They super glued the flaking parts of the finish back down, touched up the parts where it peeled off and put it back on the wall AS NEW.

 

[stephenswayne73]

I have purchased a handful of Gibson Custom Shop R8 and R9s this past year and have been blown away at quality and historic accuracy. Haven't felt like quality was there since the mid-90's, but certainly not vintage accuracy. And btw, it just baffles me why it has taken Gibson SO LONG to figure out correct measurements, aniline dyes, plastics, etc!!!

However, I do see now and then some guitars out of production that I would be pissed to receive if I was dealer getting one of these blindly sent to me. Here is a great example of a 60th R9 sitting in Gibson's inventory now that has a top not worthy of the $6,500 price point, and MORE importantly, the employee that did this sunburst should be fired.

Overall, I give Gibson a big thumb's up these days!

 

[Big Al]

I see nothing wrong or low quality about that maple top. Nice curly figure covering the entire face with no obvious mineral streaks or flaws. Maybe some have a preference for other types, or think they are only buying a maple top, but to claim this as an example of a substandard top, or somehow unworthy of a reissue just boggles my mind. I can see enough to know that top will have some serious flash and roll and appears as good or better than many 50's Bursts.

That burst is a joke, imo. I don't care for any of these lame, overexaggerated "Faded Bursts", and can only wince and turn away, thankful that it is only an ugly ass designer option for trendoids and proper burst are still the norm. :##:##:##

 

[GotTheSilver]

What the hell?!?! Did the red spray gun run empty half way through the spraying? :bigal

I have purchased a handful of Gibson Custom Shop R8 and R9s this past year and have been blown away at quality and historic accuracy. Haven't felt like quality was there since the mid-90's, but certainly not vintage accuracy. And btw, it just baffles me why it has taken Gibson SO LONG to figure out correct measurements, aniline dyes, plastics, etc!!!

However, I do see now and then some guitars out of production that I would be pissed to receive if I was dealer getting one of these blindly sent to me. Here is a great example of a 60th R9 sitting in Gibson's inventory now that has a top not worthy of the $6,500 price point, and MORE importantly, the employee that did this sunburst should be fired.

Overall, I give Gibson a big thumb's up these days!

 

[J T]

Yes the burst sprayer must have sneezed when they got to that point.

:wah

 

[jamespage1956lp]

Hi,

I experienced it with a 2019 Les Paul Standard that I had a makeover done to. It showed up with a popped neck joint Here's the really scary thing, there was little to no glue on the tenon or in the pocket. There was no breakage of wood which tells me there wasn't enough glue to actually bond the two pieces of wood together. I will NOT buy and normal production Gibson guitars from this point forward. There are plenty of older decent quality Les Paul's out there for me to take a chance on any oy the 2018, 2019 and beyond.

Build Authentic Gibson!!!

 

[Boosttt]

The last time I bought a new Gibson Les Paul was 2008 and I special ordered a Zakk Wylde Custom Bullseye. I had it shipped to my local Guitar Center. All the employees were standing around to check it out and when I took it out of the box, the entire fret board was wavy from top to bottom. I nearly cried. We all gasped together and I personally called Gibson and so did the store manager to both complain and confirm it was a piece of crap. I talked to the rep and he said he was personally walking out on the production floor to hand pick a replacement. I got a replacement and....no bull....the fret board had waves at the top AGAIN!!!! Sent it back and never bought one without seeing it again and never will. True story 100%. They have no quality control these days. That is not a cheap guitar! Just made like a cheap guitar.

On another note. I used to own 6 PRS guitars. The expensive types. I met Mr. Paul Reed Smith and, I'll be nice and just say I did not like him. I sold all 6 PRS guitars in a week on Ebay. Could not stand to see his name on my guitar. I'd still rather play the worst Gibson over ANY PRS any day. If you are unfortunate enough to meet him, you would easily see what type of guy he is and possibly understand where I'm coming from. Plus. I like ebony fret boards, especially if they are not wavy. hahaha

 

[Big Al]

I gotsa say I've never seen a wavy ebony board on any guitar, or Gibson. Not to mention two!!!!! Did you take photo's? Was the binding wavy too? Were the waves parallel to the frets? Was the pearl block inlay wavy too?, or did the waves surround them?

Knowing how the boards are profiled, inlayed, fretted and bound before installed on the neck, I find this awful hard to believe. But hey, that's just me. I mean I've met Paul too, and he was great, passionate, knowledgeable and driven to excell. Pleasent, friendly guy. Not wavy. I call shenanighans !!:bigal:ha:hmm

 

[Boosttt]

I gotsa say I've never seen a wavy ebony board on any guitar, or Gibson. Not to mention two!!!!! Did you take photo's? Was the binding wavy too? Were the waves parallel to the frets? Was the pearl block inlay wavy too?, or did the waves surround them?

Knowing how the boards are profiled, inlayed, fretted and bound before installed on the neck, I find this awful hard to believe. But hey, that's just me. I mean I've met Paul too, and he was great, passionate, knowledgeable and driven to excell. Pleasent, friendly guy. Not wavy. I call shenanighans !!:bigal:ha:hmm

The store manager said it looked like the plaining machine was jittery, so the lines were parallel to the fret wires. It was VERY noticeable on the first and on the second you could see them still, but not as noticeable to the touch. I bet they had a few in a row because my first was shipped just 3 days b4 the second and they may have both been getting bound in the plainer b4 someone stopped it. The store manager told the rep that the first guitar should have been sawn in half and trashed, so it was pretty bad. Hard to believe they shipped it like that. The inlay was not wavy, just the fret board.

PRS is a D***! Biggest of them all. haha Also saw him with a guy in an inappropriate way. Yuck!

 

[Big Al]

So your problem is some perceived homophobic reaction to an interaction you saw that offended your delicate sensibilities? What a fragile flower, haha! Kinda reactionary, it must have been traumatic to induce a dramatic instrument dump! Yuck!!


Seriously though, I can only say that my personal interactions with Mr Smith were great.

 

[Boosttt]

So your problem is some perceived homophobic reaction to an interaction you saw that offended your delicate sensibilities? What a fragile flower, haha! Kinda reactionary, it must have been traumatic to induce a dramatic instrument dump! Yuck!!


Seriously though, I can only say that my personal interactions with Mr Smith were great.

Hahaha. No. I was at the Dallas Guitar Festival and was at a booth next to him where they sold PRS guitars and others. I was buying a 6K guitar. One of a kind from Papblo Santana and Mike Learn. Pablo Santana Concept No.5. Anyway, Mr. PRS was the only guy out of many thousands who had his amp way too loud while he was just sitting at his booth. The salesman and myself asked him very politely to please turn down his amp, for a little while at least, so I could hear the guitar I was about to purchase. PRS saw that the guitar was not his, and he TURNED HIS AMP UP MORE!!! The salesman again asked to comply, but he got flipped off by PRS. I got the owner over and asked what can I do to hear the guitar I was gonna buy without having an all out dueling guitars in a center with several thousands of people. He said PRS was a D*** and he was not going to sell his guitars anymore. Again the owner asked and PRS ignored him. I never got to really hear the guitar I still bought tho. Later that day PRS was talking trash about some guy I don't know with his singer in PRS' wannabe band. Thousands of people standing around, so i thought it was inconsiderate and unprofessional. Then I saw him in a more secluded area looking homo. PRS was literally the ONLY person in at a giant guitar festival who was rudely blaring his amp and he didn't care what anyone else said. Funny how you came up with such a perception about my first comment. No wonder you guys must get along fabulously. hahahahha

 

[iknowpeanuts]

Hahaha. No. I was at the Dallas Guitar Festival and was at a booth next to him where they sold PRS guitars and others. I was buying a 6K guitar. One of a kind from Papblo Santana and Mike Learn. Pablo Santana Concept No.5. Anyway, Mr. PRS was the only guy out of many thousands who had his amp way too loud while he was just sitting at his booth. The salesman and myself asked him very politely to please turn down his amp, for a little while at least, so I could hear the guitar I was about to purchase. PRS saw that the guitar was not his, and he TURNED HIS AMP UP MORE!!! The salesman again asked to comply, but he got flipped off by PRS. I got the owner over and asked what can I do to hear the guitar I was gonna buy without having an all out dueling guitars in a center with several thousands of people. He said PRS was a D*** and he was not going to sell his guitars anymore. Again the owner asked and PRS ignored him. I never got to really hear the guitar I still bought tho. Later that day PRS was talking trash about some guy I don't know with his singer in PRS' wannabe band. Thousands of people standing around, so i thought it was inconsiderate and unprofessional. Then I saw him in a more secluded area looking homo. PRS was literally the ONLY person in at a giant guitar festival who was rudely blaring his amp and he didn't care what anyone else said. Funny how you came up with such a perception about my first comment. No wonder you guys must get along fabulously. hahahahha

I think it cos u brought up the homo bit, which is kind of irrelevant to your beef with him, unless it partly was.

 

[GotTheSilver]

View attachment 9903
View attachment 9904
Hi,

I experienced it with a 2019 Les Paul Standard that I had a makeover done to. It showed up with a popped neck joint Here's the really scary thing, there was little to no glue on the tenon or in the pocket. There was no breakage of wood which tells me there wasn't enough glue to actually bond the two pieces of wood together. I will NOT buy and normal production Gibson guitars from this point forward. There are plenty of older decent quality Les Paul's out there for me to take a chance on any oy the 2018, 2019 and beyond.

Build Authentic Gibson!!!

In fairness, you stated in another thread that you purchased a "body and neck" from stratosphereparts.com. Stratosphere is not an authorized Gibson dealer and specializes in selling guitar parts, not entire guitars. God only knows where they get these parts from or what they do to them before they sell them to you. Also, you did not have the "body and neck" shipped directly to you, but to a third party, and who knows that they did. Gibson rightfully refused to help you out with this because you did not buy from an authorized dealer (Gibson does not sell "bodies and necks", but full guitars!) and you did not have a warranty. You tried to get a Les Paul cheap, and it backfired on you. I have NEVER, EVER, EVER heard of such a thing happening with a Gibson guitar bought from an authorized Gibson dealer, so I think to say that this issue is due to poor quality control on Gibson's part is just plain wrong and unfair to Gibson.

 

[Elliot Easton]

I've owned both Customshop and USA production Gibsons (a Customshop Les Paul Junior, a USA Les Paul Classic – both gone now – and currently a Trini Lopez which says Customshop on the headstock but I don't think it's the same Customshop as the Customshop Les Pauls are built in). All of them have been 'perfect', as in they've played perfectly from the box. None of them has any orange peel, all of them has had file marks on the fretboard and/or binding. The Les Pauls' backs have never been mirror flat.

I've played a few PRS's and they had no imperfections, the fretboards were always extremely well sanded, no filemarks anywhere, the bodies were as identical in finish quality like they were cast in wood. They didn't inspire me at all and the perfection was a huge factor in why. Those tiny imperfections of the Gibsons I've owned show that a human hand was involved in the build, to me that's not flaws, more like personality. Then again, I wouldn't accept 'personality' that affected playability.

+1000. I embrace guitars for their idiosyncrasies. That's how the guitar tells you how it wants to be played. Guitars that are "perfect", whatever that means (i.e. Steinberger, etc.), feel sterile, more like a surgical tool.

 

[GotTheSilver]

+1000. I embrace guitars for their idiosyncrasies. That's how the guitar tells you how it wants to be played. Guitars that are "perfect", whatever that means (i.e. Steinberger, etc.), feel sterile, more like a surgical tool.

This is not a knock on Elliot's or anyone else's views on Gibson's imperfections. I think these views are completely valid and I tend to agree (to a certain extent) that idiosyncrasies make the guitar more lovable.

But it occurs to me as I read these threads, that it is funny what humans are willing to accept imperfections in and what they are not. Guitars with some minor variations from one to the next are seen (by some people) as evidence of the human element of building and make the guitar more endearing. I had a friend who had a huge wooden dining room table that was hand carved in India. You could see the variation in the workmanship, and he loved it! Yet, if we saw that same kind of variation in something like a car, (e.g., ripples in the upholstery) we would probably just call it a flaw and say it was unacceptable. Maybe it has to do with the materials - wood is generally seen as "warmer", for lack of a better word, than steel and upholstery. Maybe it has to do more with the amount of hand work vs. robots we expect so see in a product. If someone bought a custom, hand built motorcycle and saw imperfections in the shape of the metal pieces, would they hate that or find it endearing? Maybe it has more to do with how we use the item. If it used it as a means of personal expression (such as a musical instrument), maybe we tend to like the variations more. I don't know. I know I am just going on about something philosophical, but posts like this make me think of this.

 

[J T]

Gibson aged guitars go for more than a polished guitar. So what exactly is perfection? QA level seems to depend of the product. But doesn't Gibson have a guarantee to the original owner of that guitar?