Hey it's Mat from Gibson Product Development - AMA

[El Gringo]

As mentioned earlier, it is often difficult for me to coordinate with Customer Service to resolve things like this...I rely on them to do this just as they rely on me to introduce new products. But I am curious...what was their response? Warranty doesn't mention knobs but perhaps they qualify this as normal wear and tear? If you bought it new from an authorized dealer, my personal viewpoint is that they should be able to replace them via the warranty. Worst case scenario, these knobs are available to purchase on the website for $20. -Mat

Greetings Matt, Brand new purchase from Dave's Guitars on 7/9/14 .Beautiful Les Paul with a killer tone and killer neck as it fits me so perfectly . First time contact online thru Gibson website and no response . Second time about 2 months ago I called on the phone and spoke with a nice gentleman who took the information down and no contact . The knobs that are available on the website are they same color as they look different to me ? Thank You Matt .

 

[El Gringo]

Matt , I am curious about the pickguards . I want to know why pickguards aren't left in the case and left up to the owners discretion/choice if they want to install or not ? As I prefer the look of the vibrant and beautiful figure of the figured maple top sans the pickguard , as why would you want to hide that beautiful figure ? I understand some folks prefer the pickguards , but once it's drilled for there is no removal of the hole on the top and side . All 8 of my Gibson Custom Les Paul's have not been drilled and that's the way I love them . If it was up to me I would leave the guards in the case and leave the choice to the owners of the new Les Paul's

 

[Wizard1183]

Matt , I am curious about the pickguards . I want to know why pickguards aren't left in the case and left up to the owners discretion/choice if they want to install or not ? As I prefer the look of the vibrant and beautiful figure of the figured maple top sans the pickguard , as why would you want to hide that beautiful figure ? I understand some folks prefer the pickguards , but once it's drilled for there is no removal of the hole on the top and side . All 8 of my Gibson Custom Les Paul's have not been drilled and that's the way I love them . If it was up to me I would leave the guards in the case and leave the choice to the owners of the new Les Paul's

You ordered them that way right? Because every store bought Les paul I’ve ever seen was drilled and pick guard installed

 

[matkoehler]

Hi Mat, another question. Will will the news release and production of Kirk Hammet guitars be coming out?

The first info will come through our dealers in Summer. But this is a long term project...might be my favorite artist collection so far...lots of cool stuff to come at every price point.

 

[El Gringo]

You ordered them that way right? Because every store bought Les paul I’ve ever seen was drilled and pick guard installed

3 of them ordered that way and the others purchased because They came without being drilled for .

 

[matkoehler]

Matt , I am curious about the pickguards . I want to know why pickguards aren't left in the case and left up to the owners discretion/choice if they want to install or not ? As I prefer the look of the vibrant and beautiful figure of the figured maple top sans the pickguard , as why would you want to hide that beautiful figure ? I understand some folks prefer the pickguards , but once it's drilled for there is no removal of the hole on the top and side . All 8 of my Gibson Custom Les Paul's have not been drilled and that's the way I love them . If it was up to me I would leave the guards in the case and leave the choice to the owners of the new Les Paul's

All Custom Shop guitars today come pre-drilled for pickguards unless a dealer or customer specifies otherwise. So ask your dealer when you order and CS will make it so! In rare cases, sometimes a figured top on a M2M LP Custom is so nice that we choose not to install the pickguard at the factory and we inform the dealer of our decision. Hope that helps. Best, Mat

 

[El Gringo]

All Custom Shop guitars today come pre-drilled for pickguards unless a dealer or customer specifies otherwise. So ask your dealer when you order and CS will make it so! In rare cases, sometimes a figured top on a M2M LP Custom is so nice that we choose not to install the pickguard at the factory and we inform the dealer of our decision. Hope that helps. Best, Mat

This is very helpful and I will most certainly do this . The Music Zoo and Tommy Colletti have been most helpful as that is who I went thru to get my 3 M2M beauty's of Les Paul's . Thank You for your kind Help and have a great day !

 

[Pat Boyack]

If I may, I fell in love with those white 83 Flying Vs and Explorers that came out in 2019. Mat, are there plans to produce more of these?

 

[matkoehler]

Sorry Pat missed this one. I’m not quite sure what you mean…we are still producing the 1970s Flying V and Explorer in white, which debuted in 2019. The next logical step would be an 80s set but no word on when that might become a possibility. Hope that helps.

 

[Myles_076]

Hi all. Charlie and I thought it might be fun for me to address Gibson (or Epiphone) questions in this thread...whether about current products or mysteries from Gibson's history. I think it's important to hear it straight from the horse's mouth...don't seem to have much luck getting accurately paraphrased or quoted in magazine articles.

Do you know anything about who were inspectors at the Gibson Historic Art Custom Shop around 1997?

 

[jdm66]

Matt, I was wondering if you could kindly help me out with a gold tone knob for my 2014 R9 which is cracked on the bridge pickup tone control and it looks like it is ready to fall off . I have tried calling once on the Phone and also sent an E-Mail to know avail . Please help . View attachment 16623 View attachment 16624

El Gringo, check these out, they are much better than what Gibson is selling. https://www.philadelphialuthiertool...knobs-with-embossed-numbers-us-set-of-4-gold/ These have embossed numbers, where the Gibson's do not. Much cheaper too.

 

[Pat Boyack]

Sorry Pat missed this one. I’m not quite sure what you mean…we are still producing the 1970s Flying V and Explorer in white, which debuted in 2019. The next logical step would be an 80s set but no word on when that might become a possibility. Hope that helps.

No worries, Mat. I'm sorry, I meant the 70s from 2019.

 

[El Gringo]

El Gringo, check these out, they are much better than what Gibson is selling. https://www.philadelphialuthiertool...knobs-with-embossed-numbers-us-set-of-4-gold/ These have embossed numbers, where the Gibson's do not. Much cheaper too.

Thank You as I would have jumped on these already as they are out of stock , A familiar refrain these days . Thank You kindly !

 

[ChuckNOS]

Welcome! Thanks for the note and congrats on your beauties. None of our bursts fade anywhere like the originals, which turned to lemon within a sunny day in a window. Obviously for what we do and the range of different bursts that we offer, we need to ensure consistency as much as possible. But anyway Factory Burst is not a different formulation BUT it is different from the other 60th Anniversary colors in that it uses the Tom Murphy process. I won't go into specifics but it has to do with how the burst is painted, and it results in more contrast and hints of black towards the edges -- the same kind of thin dark halo you see on a pristine factory cherry sunburst finish in the 50s, which is why we named this "Factory Burst." Hope that helps!

Thanks again!

Mat,

Thank you for the reply to my queries.

Very interesting information.

Stay warm! Cheers.

Chuck

 

[Davidos]

Not to jump on the Customer Service aspect but I'm having the same no luck... Spoke to Bob 2.5 months ago about help with a historic ABR that had bent adjustment screws (new guitar). Followed up 3 times over the months and spoke to Vince who said he would get back to me but never did. There is definitely a severe disconnect between the Customer Service reps and whoever fulfills the request at the Custom Shop. Shouldn't be like that for the prices charged...

 

[pentatonicwanker]

Thanks for taking our questions, Mat. I have a couple for you:

Any plans on selling the new Alnico Firebird pickups individually? I have a 2019 Firebird (the last year of the older ceramic pickups if I'm not mistaken) that I love but I'm curious if I'd like the new pickups better. I have a love-hate thing with the stock pickups.

Any plans for more solid color options on Les Pauls? I know people love flame tops and stuff, but I'd love a little more diversity on non Custom models. I've been in the market for a Les Paul for awhile but none of the traditional bursts do it for me (that said, I've missed out on a few mod shop and demo shop models that seem to have fit the bill)

And lastly, any updates on the Kramer line? Anything new coming out this year? How far out are the US models? I've got a MusicYo-era 1984 Custom that I bought new back in 05/06 that I absolutely adore and would love to bring another new USA-made Kramer home.

 

[LeonC]

Howdy Matkoehler - Can you shed any insights on how the exposed wood that you find on some extreme relics (e.g., some of the Collector's Choice guitars) is treated? Is there any treatment on that exposed wood (e.g., an oil of some sort) or is it just exposed wood? I have a couple of CC guitars and love the feel of the exposed wood on the neck.

 

[IDLP]

Deleted. Sorry.

 

[Myles_076]

I guess you wouldn't know about who were inspectors at the Custom Shop in the 1990s, which I asked about earlier. You would need access to long term Gibson employee records, which I guess not many people have. The reason I asked was I thought a certain pre-pack checklist sheet might have been faked.

Anyway, while I'm talking to you, on another subject, since you're in product development, do you think it might be a good idea to inlay guitar necks with a material called ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene? It's properties seem well suited for it, due to high abrasion resistance and low friction, which would make it good for string bending with least effort. If Gibson were the first guitar company to do that, they would have a jump on the competition, which would have to imitate. Regular wood or mother of pearl would be vastly inferior in comparison. This material actually feels slick to human skin even though it's dry. Read the properties for yourself, this is from Wikipedia, it says "fiber surface" but you can also get it as solid sheets just like normal polyethylene.

The simple structure of the molecule also gives rise to surface and chemical properties that are rare in high-performance polymers. For example, the polargroups in most polymers easily bond to water. Because olefins have no such groups, UHMWPE does not absorb water readily, nor wet easily, which makes bonding it to other polymers difficult. For the same reasons, skin does not interact with it strongly, making the UHMWPE fiber surface feel slippery. In a similar manner, aromatic polymers are often susceptible to aromatic solvents due to, aromatic stacking interactions, an effect aliphatic polymers like UHMWPE are immune to. Since UHMWPE does not contain chemical groups (such as esters, amides and hydroxylic groups) that are susceptible to attack from aggressive agents, it is very resistant to water, moisture, most chemicals, UV radiation, and micro-organisms.

 

[Der_Kaiser]

Hi Mat.

First of all possibly the greatest thread of all time, on any forum. Thank you so much for scratching my obsessive compulsive itch I can’t get enough!

I am the ultimate forum lurker but you have managed to draw me out of the shadows, a dubious honour but an honour nonetheless.

Anyway I would like to ask you 2 questions if I may.
The first is do you have any idea when we might see the epiphone Adam Jones Les Paul, can you give us any kind of info on it? That would be much appreciated.

Secondly I am just a little curious about the process and the pricing of a custom guitar. I own a 2018 LP custom in alpine white it’s a great guitar and I can feel there is a definite difference in the feel of it compared to my 2013 traditional, although that is still an excellent Les Paul. Now I have just ordered a 60th anniversary 1960 V1 LP, I’m obviously like a child at Christmas waiting for it to arrive but that’s par for the course. To get to the point I’m wondering what makes up the price difference between custom shop models. Is it just a question of finishing, man hours, wood selection and appointments? Is there such a thing as a lesser custom model? You have already said white is the hardest colour to finish a guitar with so why are they customs a fair chunk less than the reissues?

I’ve just always wondered if all custom shop guitars are born equal.

Thanks for reading and keep up the good work.