New Gibson - QC issues?

[Rogueaverage616]

The littke chunk taken out of my fretboard ,is a little bigger, i mean you have to look to see it, but its there.The person i bought it from, who hand picks these things, told me that ,Gibson is not going to throw away an entire piece of rosewood just because its got a nick or too.To be honest..i agree,

that guitar in the OP’s post has microscopic blemishes.Dude if everything else that matters is done well...streight neck, good weight...nice fret job....dont do what i used to do...trust me man

 

[niktyler]

I love this forum. If this was asked on a LP Facebook page everybody would be like REEEEEEEE IT'S JUST A SCRATCH PEOPLE PAY MONEY TO HAVE SCRATCHES PUT ON IT SHUT UP AND PLAY IT IDIOT REEEE....

This forum is like..do what you want brah..

I love you guys.

 

[Boris1268]

Well, it's obvious these blemishes dont really matter, though...the seller accepted the return, even tho he didnt have to. He sent it back to repair. "This really differs from the other guitars on the wall" - that's what he said. I checked like 10 other gibsons hanging there and none of them had such issues. So acually this might be considered as an issue.

 

[danzego]

@danzego you had similiar micro dings?

No, not on that guitar. The one I own and had the fretboard scraped just had a rough texture, similar to the pictures posted. One of the two Slash Standards I bought previously went back because that one DID have dings in the fretboard, along with a poorly finished fretboard filled with file marks and a few dips where they dig into the surface. That one had several issues, as well. There was nothing that could have been done about that one and, even if it could have been mitigated or fixed, it was beyond a reasonable limit.

 

[Deadletteroffice]

Gibson just does not make diamond cut, flawless guitars. It's not their thing. Anyone who wants that should buy a Suhr or PRS. The first picture is a common tool mark. The second picture I'm not sure what to look for, but if it's the tiny mark in the inlay I would just say this: If you actually play this guitar every day for a year these tiny imperfections might be the least of the marks on it. I personally try to only buy aged guitars so I don't worry about this kind of stuff from day one.

 

[Rogueaverage616]

Zooming in with a camera makes things appear worse than they really are. I started looking at my recent new guitar under a microscope after reading this thread and was seeing things that I didn't notice a few feet away.

We don't live in a perfect world. Neither humans nor machines are perfect. Setting high expectations will often lead to disappointment.

I enjoy how the guitar plays, sounds, and its overall appearance. Could not be any happier with it.

That is the truth, i own a few microscopes and used one of my digital units to try and make out a scratch on the back of the neck on my historic R9.I was afraid it was a crack because of how fine it looks in person.Under a microscope here it is the lighter pic is how you see it in person the darker pic is zoomed

 

[Peter M]

A Gibson Les Paul is as much a work of art as it is an instrument. Take a few steps back whenever you feel like admiring your LP, as you would with a painting, sculpture, etc. If you stare too closely at the artwork, you will see the artist's tool marks and miss the complete effect of the piece.

Which leads me to this: Your time is better spent scrutinizing your own playing, than tiny imperfections on your guitar.

 

[Rogueaverage616]

A Gibson Les Paul is as much a work of art as it is an instrument. Take a few steps back whenever you feel like admiring your LP, as you would with a painting, sculpture, etc. If you stare too closely at the artwork, you will see the artist's tool marks and miss the complete effect of the piece.

Which leads me to this: Your time is better spent scrutinizing your own playing, than tiny imperfections on your guitar.

Thats the Damn truth

 

[msalama]

REEEEEEEE IT'S JUST

Just an aside, but Faecesbook is just that, i.e. a huge pile of steaming shite. So no wonder their LP group isn't any different, is it?

 

[msalama]

A Gibson Les Paul is as much a work of art as

...a good old Telecaster is. Thank you Sir

 

[LuthierVandross]

Welcome to Gibson.
Enjoy

 

[Bobby Mahogany]

Well...just for psychical comfort

Now we're in the real debate!

To each his own.
You have to enjoy life, you have to enjoy what you spend your money on.
Some "wasted" expenses are easily forgotten but others can haunt us for years.
If you can't discard a little/medium flaw on something, better return it.

What you're experiencing now is "Return remorse"!


Find what satisfies you and forget about what other people think.
We each have our reasons to like, love or hate something.
Look at couples around you.
Some look very mismatched but their happiness will outlast many "perfect couples".
There is no perfect recipe.

 

[Brooklyn Zeke]

That would immediately bug me. It could interfere with bending the strings.

 

[Brooklyn Zeke]

Some responders had mentioned a "scaley" fretboard. I've been playing for 50+ years and I've never heard that term applied to fretboards prior to reading this thread. What is that?

 

[OLD GUITAR PLAYER]

I've been playing guitar since 1965. I've NEVER seen a perfect guitar! So, it all comes down to what you can live with. For me, if it plays great, feels great, and looks great from 2 feet away, I can live with a few imperfections. But, I had to deal with a lot of Strat returns/repairs in the 70's-80's at CBS, so I'm probably conditioned to accept a lot more issues than the average owner.

 

[OLD GUITAR PLAYER]

So, if you buy a Gibson guitar, you know it was at least partially hand-made in the USA. They still do a lot of the finishing work, and final assembly by hand at Gibson. They are still hand spec'd and check'd by a real person on a bench, before they are shipped (hence the cute little picture that ships in your goody bag). Sure, that person may have had a bad day that particular day, but generally they still have a pretty high standard. Many other manufacturers have gone overseas to 3rd party factories using high automation and generic brand name "licensed" parts, which is infinitely cheaper. But in my opinion, USA Gibsons are still "living breathing" instruments, in that there is still a lot of human "one on one" interaction during construction and setup. I don't mind paying for that.

 

[DBDM]

Everyone has their own "issues". That one would not bother me but things that bother me may not bother you. Get one that you LOVE--looks, feel, tone. Thats my advice. If that one were sitting there marked down as a return, I would likely pick it up and if the feel and tone were right, I would take it home. I suspect, though, that if you are taking a magnifying glass to your guitars--you may find something on every one.

 

[ARandall]

Some responders had mentioned a "scaley" fretboard. I've been playing for 50+ years and I've never heard that term applied to fretboards prior to reading this thread. What is that?

Its where the edges of the pores look lifted.
Not common, but has been appearing here and there of late. Fretboard also looks dry on the scaly ones.

 

[OLD GUITAR PLAYER]

Its where the edges of the pores look lifted.
Not common, but has been appearing here and there of late. Fretboard also looks dry on the scaly ones.

Rosewood can have a lot of different looks. My Hummingbird Custom's Rosewood board arrived dry and almost pink in color. My new LP Studio Rosewood board is almost as dark and slick as Ebony. No matter what, properly conditioning your fingerboard is important, as Rosewood can dry out.

 

[flashbak]

Some of these excuses are pretty pathetic excuses for Gibson's poor workmanship and quality! Anyone care to respond as why we see don't see these kinds of flaws on example on PRS guitars?