a bit disappointing......

[Paul]

i went to my local gibson dealer to have a look around and a bit of a play (i don't own any gibsons but some really nice epi's) i'v been wanting to add some gibsons to my collection and i dropped by to have a play but after playing some les pauls and sg's i was a bit disappointed.

the quality of the guitars wern't all that terrific, for the price i was expecting much more the necks where uncomfortable and wide, and on the sg's the plastic hardware and pickup quality looked horrible.

the scratch plates on the standards where slightly out of shape and shabby. but the pickups where the worst, the coil covers where coming off and not on right and the pickups where all at weird angles.

the neck joint on a sg standard faded wasn't flush and had small chips off it at the joint. and it just didn't feel right when i played them.

the finish on the guitars where flawless especially on the les pauls but again the pickups where off there was just something off about the guitars.

is this just a bad bunch because my regular dealer has the nicest stock and some absolutely beautiful epiphones. and gibsons.

my friends got a gibson les paul standard faded and its as nice as my epi' les paul custom w/bigsby (witch i absolutely love its had its years worth of use and it feels great).

so its kinda put me off getting a wide range of gibsons i still want a few les pauls and sg's in my collection.

[dwagar]

hmm, remind me not to shop where you do.

[J S Moore]

I think it's a bit of a stretch to blame Gibson for the state of a music stores stock. There's a lot of variables there. How long have those guitars been there? How much have they been played? That's kind of like blaming the car manufacturer when your car is dented in a parking lot.

Edit: I just saw you're in Australia. God only knows what those guitars went through on their journey there.

[tarddoggy]

Originally Posted by Paul

i went to my local gibson dealer to have a look around and a bit of a play (i don't own any gibsons but some really nice epi's) i'v been wanting to add some gibsons to my collection and i dropped by to have a play but after playing some les pauls and sg's i was a bit disappointed.

the quality of the guitars wern't all that terrific, for the price i was expecting much more the necks where uncomfortable and wide, and on the sg's the plastic hardware and pickup quality looked horrible.

the scratch plates on the standards where slightly out of shape and shabby. but the pickups where the worst, the coil covers where coming off and not on right and the pickups where all at weird angles.

the neck joint on a sg standard faded wasn't flush and had small chips off it at the joint. and it just didn't feel right when i played them.

the finish on the guitars where flawless especially on the les pauls but again the pickups where off there was just something off about the guitars.

is this just a bad bunch because my regular dealer has the nicest stock and some absolutely beautiful epiphones. and gibsons.

my friends got a gibson les paul standard faded and its as nice as my epi' les paul custom w/bigsby (witch i absolutely love its had its years worth of use and it feels great).

so its kinda put me off getting a wide range of gibsons i still want a few les pauls and sg's in my collection.

sometimes you'll find one or two outta sorts(you will find this with any batch of guitars)...go back to your regular dealer and stay away from that place

[hedzeppelin]

Gibson quality control genarlly sucks. Sorry, but since the 80's, I've played more bad Gibsons than good ones. And, it's not just due to the stock in a single music store, or a specific geographic location, either. I've played Gibsons in several stores in several U.S. locations and I can count on one hand the number of guitars I've liked. I'd say that I've tried at least 100 or so Gibsons, too.

I know how guitars should sound and feel. I've been playing since 1966, and it never used to be that way with Gibson.

[tarddoggy]

Originally Posted by hedzeppelin

Gibson quality control genarlly sucks. Sorry, but since the 80's, I've played more bad Gibsons than good ones. And, it's not just due to the stock in a single music store, or a specific geographic location, either. I've played Gibsons in several stores in several U.S. locations and I can count on one hand the number of guitars I've liked. I'd say that I've tried at least 100 or so Gibsons, too.

I know how guitars should sound and feel. I've been playing since 1966, and it never used to be that way with Gibson.

ya..you got a point there bro,it does seem to be gettin' harder to just shelf grab and go.I find myself going through 7-10 guitars now,when it used to be 3-5 to find one that would talk to me.

[ReverendJWblues]

Hell guys it is what it is. Its a mass production game anymore, its not a craft like it used to be. You get what you get, sorry u can whine all you want, but you are talkng the mass produced cheap Gibsons, against a epiphone basically the same guitar. No guitar is absolutley perfect, no guitar feels or sounds the same from person to person, its all a taste. Its your own quest to find your GRAIL. As for price its up to you to make your own deal.

[tarddoggy]

Originally Posted by ReverendJWblues

Hell guys it is what it is. Its a mass production game anymore, its not a craft like it used to be. You get what you get, sorry u can whine all you want, but you are talkng the mass produced cheap Gibsons, against a epiphone basically the same guitar. No guitar is absolutley perfect, no guitar feels or sounds the same from person to person, its all a taste. Its your own quest to find your GRAIL. As for price its up to you to make your own deal.

ya know somethin' Rev,I noticed alot of the younger guys at the Guitar shops expect the new Gibsons to feel like their cousins,bother,what have you and I always remind'em that those guitars started out "NEW AND STIFF".They got played and broke in,thats why they feel different.

[TattooedCarrot]

Originally Posted by Paul

the necks where uncomfortable and wide

What does this have to do with quality?

[ReverendJWblues]

Originally Posted by TattooedCarrot

What does this have to do with quality?

Exactly.........................AMEN brother

[lp59aholicDon]

Originally Posted by tarddoggy

ya..you got a point there bro,it does seem to be gettin' harder to just shelf grab and go.I find myself going through 7-10 guitars now,when it used to be 3-5 to find one that would talk to me.

I find this also with Fender and some other makers, I think I found one acceptable Am Std Strat that was post NM , I have found l like the 99 and befores for alot of reasons
I think the Big Two, are going somewhat backwards again for their base model guitars, Mass Production, in the late 80s Gibson and Fender were both trying to re coup loss's and interest in their product and concentrated on making better guitars, now they seem to be resting on their laurels or arses and expecting if you want the far better quality, to go for the Custom Shop and Historic models

[Paul]

Originally Posted by ReverendJWblues

Hell guys it is what it is. Its a mass production game anymore, its not a craft like it used to be. You get what you get, sorry u can whine all you want, but you are talkng the mass produced cheap Gibsons, against a epiphone basically the same guitar. No guitar is absolutley perfect, no guitar feels or sounds the same from person to person, its all a taste. Its your own quest to find your GRAIL. As for price its up to you to make your own deal.

for the price i expect a bit more i only paid $1,200 for my epi' casino elite and it's flawless.


i know its not what it used to be but when theres chipping in the neck joint it gets to the point when its a bit suss.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by TattooedCarrot

What does this have to do with quality?

why scrutinize my comments it was just an observation.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by dwagar

hmm, remind me not to shop where you do.

lol they aren't my usual supplier the people i deal with hand pick the guitars that come into their shop i think theses guys just let anything come in.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by lp59aholicDon

I find this also with Fender and some other makers, I think I found one acceptable Am Std Strat that was post NM , I have found l like the 99 and befores for alot of reasons
I think the Big Two, are going somewhat backwards again for their base model guitars, Mass Production, in the late 80s Gibson and Fender were both trying to re coup loss's and interest in their product and concentrated on making better guitars, now they seem to be resting on their laurels or arses and expecting if you want the far better quality, to go for the Custom Shop and Historic models

everything is getting more and more mass produced and while the number of guitars produced goes up the quality goes down.

but If you shop around you can pick a gem.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by J S Moore

I think it's a bit of a stretch to blame Gibson for the state of a music stores stock. There's a lot of variables there. How long have those guitars been there? How much have they been played? That's kind of like blaming the car manufacturer when your car is dented in a parking lot.

Edit: I just saw you're in Australia. God only knows what those guitars went through on their journey there.

this is why I'm going over to America next year to pick up some fenders i cant get anything decent over here for a reasonable price.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by tarddoggy

ya know somethin' Rev,I noticed alot of the younger guys at the Guitar shops expect the new Gibsons to feel like their cousins,bother,what have you and I always remind'em that those guitars started out "NEW AND STIFF".They got played and broke in,thats why they feel different.

Im gonna try and stay away from the newer guitars out there I'm lucky to have a place like "jackson's rare guitars" here they trade in old guitars especially in fender and gibson.

i had a 1969 fender strat in fiesta red was so good....had to sell it.

[lp59aholicDon]

Originally Posted by Paul

Im gonna try and stay away from the newer guitars out there I'm lucky to have a place like "jackson's rare guitars" here they trade in old guitars especially in fender and gibson.

i had a 1969 fender strat in fiesta red was so good....had to sell it.

Man , It really chaff's my hide when I get in a spot like that too, Had a killer 69/70 ES 345 that was the tone king I had to sell too, it was also Red

[Paul]

Originally Posted by lp59aholicDon

Man , It really chaff's my hide when I get in a spot like that too, Had a killer 69/70 ES 345 that was the tone king I had to sell too, it was also Red

i was lucky that fender got me out of a tight situation but now iv only got a 12 string strat in my collection still fantastic but my old strat was better. and now that my thinline got nicked all i got is a mim telecaster which is still great.


i have to wait another to get a strat i won't settle for the new stuff i like the 50s style.

that must have been a nice guitar what was the varatone like?

[lp59aholicDon]

some folks dont like the Varitone, the only downside of the guitar which has a few remedies is the stereo output jack, The Veritone truly takes you from Tele sound on one extreme to full fledge Gibson Humbucking tones Setting number four was a very funky sorta outta phase sound . If I could take only one guitar on stage/ tour, It'd be a ES 345

[Paul]

Originally Posted by lp59aholicDon

some folks dont like the Varitone, the only downside of the guitar which has a few remedies is the stereo output jack, The Veritone truly takes you from Tele sound on one extreme to full fledge Gibson Humbucking tones Setting number four was a very funky sorta outta phase sound . If I could take only one guitar on stage/ tour, It'd be a ES 345

I'm a fender man at heart.

[lp59aholicDon]

Originally Posted by Paul

I'm a fender man at heart.

I am a die hard Gibson man at heart myself but I do own one very nice Strat, its a 62 type re issue sound, tone, resonance just scream tone and mojo, outstanding sustain too fora Strat I have owned several American Std's and I had a 75 Hardtail Strat I bought as my third Electric, I like Tele's too sometimes though I have never had a working one

[Paul]

Originally Posted by lp59aholicDon

I am a die hard Gibson man at heart myself but I do own one very nice Strat, its a 62 type re issue sound, tone, resonance just scream tone and mojo, outstanding sustain too fora Strat I have owned several American Std's and I had a 75 Hardtail Strat I bought as my third Electric, I like Tele's too sometimes though I have never had a working one

my dream guitar is a 1957 or anything 1950's fender stratocaster in fiesta red w/maple fretboard.

I'm a fender freak, love everything about em.

[ReverendJWblues]

Hell guys most of my guitars have chips, nicks, dings, the occasional gouge but I call em love dings (I love to play em) Now mind u dont intentionaly beat them to death its just a playing hazard. None of that changes the tone, Like you said yorself, you are the one looking for a guitar maybe you want it flawless, I just want a sound a tone. Paint flaws or minor issues dont bother me. But if it sounds like shit I dont care what it is I aint buyin it, I dont care if it is a real 59 burst or whatever. The one thing I'll never do is just look at one. Of course I have a few that I dont even look at much less play. Most I inherited from people that bought em then gave up on learning to play.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by ReverendJWblues

Hell guys most of my guitars have chips, nicks, dings, the occasional gouge but I call em love dings (I love to play em) Now mind u dont intentionaly beat them to death its just a playing hazard. None of that changes the tone, Like you said yorself, you are the one looking for a guitar maybe you want it flawless, I just want a sound a tone. Paint flaws or minor issues dont bother me. But if it sounds like shit I dont care what it is I aint buyin it, I dont care if it is a real 59 burst or whatever. The one thing I'll never do is just look at one. Of course I have a few that I dont even look at much less play. Most I inherited from people that bought em then gave up on learning to play.

i was talking about the brand new guitars.

i agree with you, if your going to play guitar might as well have fun and your guitar reflects yourself over years of playing all the nicks and scratches the paint peeling off and the rust on the parts makes your guitar your's.

[ReverendJWblues]

Originally Posted by Paul

i was talking about the brand new guitars.

i agree with you, if your going to play guitar might as well have fun and your guitar reflects yourself over years of playing all the nicks and scratches the paint peeling off and the rust on the parts makes your guitar your's.

Well what I'm saying is I have made some sweet sweet deals on scratch and dent axes granted alot of peeps wont buy them Iv'e bought a bunch for less than cost they would rather dump em than pay tax and other things, cause like I said Im gonna scratch em anyways. Maybe you might give that view a try cause no matter what yu buy if its new, its not worth what you paid for it 30 mins after u take it home, unless u get a 30 day trial. Just my opinion not tring to start an argument.

[axxeone]

I was in the music retail bizz for 15 years.
the one thying I did notice is the quality in gibsons had suffered a bit
but only their standard models...they still are bad ass geetars but i could notice the difference in quality of finger boards ect.
not a big difference..but you could see if you look.....
I have also seen shit come out off the custom shop lately as well...Finishes..
butg when you get to the historics all i have seen is FUCKIN AWSOME...sorry
for that I get excited..
but I guess that is the case with EVERY guitar maker!

[ReverendJWblues]

Originally Posted by axxeone

I was in the music retail bizz for 15 years.
the one thying I did notice is the quality in gibsons had suffered a bit
but only their standard models...they still are bad ass geetars but i could notice the difference in quality of finger boards ect.
not a big difference..but you could see if you look.....
I have also seen shit come out off the custom shop lately as well...Finishes..
butg when you get to the historics all i have seen is FUCKIN AWSOME...sorry
for that I get excited..
but I guess that is the case with EVERY guitar maker!

Yeah brother I'm sure there is more pride in the custom shop historics personally I cant understand why people buy shit guitars and wanna bitch about them athough even the historics are even over priced, mostly you get what u pay for. I personally dont get caught up in the cosmetics of a guitar so to speak like alot of people do. Its just gotta have MOJO for me.

[axxeone]

Originally Posted by ReverendJWblues

Yeah brother I'm sure there is more pride in the custom shop historics personally I cant understand why people buy shit guitars and wanna bitch about them athough even the historics are even over priced, mostly you get what u pay for. I personally dont get caught up in the cosmetics of a guitar so to speak like alot of people do. Its just gotta have MOJO for me.

Thats the bottom line brother!
does it rock or not rock!

peace

[Paul]

Originally Posted by ReverendJWblues

Well what I'm saying is I have made some sweet sweet deals on scratch and dent axes granted alot of peeps wont buy them Iv'e bought a bunch for less than cost they would rather dump em than pay tax and other things, cause like I said Im gonna scratch em anyways. Maybe you might give that view a try cause no matter what yu buy if its new, its not worth what you paid for it 30 mins after u take it home, unless u get a 30 day trial. Just my opinion not tring to start an argument.

i know what you mean i buy most of my guitars second hand if i can find them the guitars i buy new are the ones i cant find in the trading posts.

my favorite guitar is a second hand 1999 les paul custom i added a bigsby and plugged the holes myself which turned out pretty decent the final layer of lacquer went on today (im only painting and finishing the plugs i want to keep the original finish) and when its all back together it'll still be my favorite, not because its the best looking its far from it covered in scratches and dints but the quality and workmanship is perfect.