Should I be concerned about Les Paul quality issues

[Yaff]

Go and play some and make your own mind up.

Never take the word of someone trying to sell you something! And if you want to buy something he can`t sell you, even if its your Dad, walk away and take no notice.

 

[04renostar]

Just a salesman trying to justify why he's not a Gibson Dealer & he'd just like to sell you something he does carry. All guitars have quality issues come up. That's why you play 'em first and choose one that speaks to you. If you carefully inspect a guitar that you're considering you shouldn't end up with something that has problems.
Good luck in your search

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Add my name to this list: play before you pay.

 

[Mule Train]

Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.
Oscar Wilde

 

[River]

GC and MF are fine to buy from, they get the same guitars as anyone else

That's not true. Go look at what Wildwood gets.

But, even if it were true, go look at what Sweetwater, Wildwood, and some Mom & Pop in Boulder, Colorado (can't remember their name) do with the guitars before they ship them or put them on display. They check them, they "detail" them, they fix small problems, and THEN they sell them.

Surely I'm not the only person here who's seen a brand new luxury car as it comes off the delivery truck in a dealer's back lot. One or two people (I used to be one of them) could spend the better part of a day making that car look and drive like what the customer expects. With some cars, add in sixteen hours of journeyman mechanic time.

Gibson cut some of those dealers because they weren't holding up their end of the bargain. From threads started here, they haven't cut quite deeply enough.

 

[allen319]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I thought I should relate what this dealer said about the quality problems with Gibson. He told me that a customer bought a $2500 LP. He brought it back because of some buzzing. Now I'm not sure of the LP construction, but this is what he told me. The guitar had 2 holes drilled to attach the bridge. The 2 holes in the bridge did not line up with the 2 holes in the guitar. So, according to him, they bent the attachment screws to make it fit. He said, another guitar was brought back to him with the same problem. Although, Gibson replaced both guitars, he was disgusted that something like this could have happened. I don't know if his story is true, but I won't let it dissuade me. My daughter gets married in July. After the wedding and expenses....I will be buying a new guitar. Probably the Traditional Pro but I will try a few others. The only local dealer in the south suburbs of Chicago is Guitar Center.

 

[River]

If you can afford a guitar after all that, I just became a more optimistic person!

Congratulations, btw.

Thanks for the details, and they prompt me to ask: if the condition of the guitar is as he says, why didn't HE catch it?

 

[allen319]

Good point.

 

[Backstage]

Many medium-sized shops dropped or have to drop the "Gibson deal" because of Gibson's impertinent (IMHO) terms and conditions.

 

[Tone deaf]

Surely I'm not the only person here who's seen a brand new luxury car as it comes off the delivery truck in a dealer's back lot. One or two people (I used to be one of them) could spend the better part of a day making that car look and drive like what the customer expects. With some cars, add in sixteen hours of journeyman mechanic time.

Years ago, I was at my dealer (car dealer) and one car, from a new shipment, had gotten a few scrapes, in transit. They had a guy in a van (in addition to the in-house detailers), who made the car look like new. I got the guy's card and had him touch up some scrapes on my other car, which was coming off lease (and I didn't want to spend a dime more than necessary getting it back to the company). He even polished the scrapes out of the plastic mudflap (my wife scraped a stonewall, leaving a girlfriend's house), to make it look like new.

Gibson cut some of those dealers because they weren't holding up their end of the bargain. From threads started here, they haven't cut quite deeply enough.

You're right on target. If you aren't GC or Sam Ash, you have to be better than they are. I don't work at a guitar store, although I'd like to (as soon as they start paying enough to cover my nut), but I can get a guitar into prime playing condition, with just a little time, effort and a few tools. If the big box stores had any game (like Manny's and the original Sam Ash in NYC or River's Boulder store), they would have very few returns.

A guitar can leave the manufacturer in perfect playing condition and precisely set up. However, from the plant they go into a truck without climate control. Then, they go to a sorting facility, without climate control. Then they go back into a truck (you know the drill). God forbid they get into the belly of an airplane, at 35,000 feet (-60°F, or so). Then they get delivered into a store at room temperature. Many things can happen along the way. The guitar, even if stored in a perfect climate-controlled setting, may continue to adjust and throw off the relief. The warming and cooling is particularly bad because the different woods, metals and other materials (inlays, binding, etc), all expand and contract at different rates. If the guitar leaves a climate controlled factory at 72°F with 13% humidity and winds up in a store at 72°F with 13% humidity, that doesn't mean it'll be in the same condition. When these components expand and contract, they don't necessarily return to their original shapes and dimensions, when returned to their original environment.

Therefore, if you are a guitar dealer (especially a new guitar dealer, because old (but not antique) guitars tend to be more stable), you can either: 1) embrace the real world and have at least one pro on hand who can whip these guitars into shape, or 2) process a lot of returns.

If most guitars where delivered to the customer, properly tweaked and set up, there would be a lot fewer returns, industry wide, IMO.

 

[Wade]

I wouldn't be. Buy from a reputable dealer who will honor a sensible return policy and/or check the guitar out for yourself first.

Former Gibson dealers are justified in being ticked off and relating stories like that, which are true to some degree, but also are only part of a larger story involving increased wholesale purchase requirements. Take them with a grain of salt.

I've developed a friendship with the employees and owner of the local music store that I frequent. They deal very nice stuff. Tom Anderson, John Suhr, Marshall, Orange, Mesa Boogie, Martin, Taylor, PRS etc..... Anyway, they're a small store, and they used to carry quite a few Gibsons. They dropped Gibson because the Gibson rep came in and told them that 80% of their hooks had to be Gibson or Epiphone. They refused. Bummer.

 

[cck801]

Old/new, Gibson/Fender, Chevy/Volkswagen, QC is always going to be a factor to be considered. Nobody pumps out 100% perfect product. While some, more so than others, approach perfect, the real question is how the company responds if a flaw or issue is discovered. In that regard, I think many on here would agree that Gibson is up there with the best.

 

[MeKevin]

Old/new, Gibson/Fender, Chevy/Volkswagen, QC is always going to be a factor to be considered. Nobody pumps out 100% perfect product. While some, more so than others, approach perfect, the real question is how the company responds if a flaw or issue is discovered. In that regard, I think many on here would agree that Gibson is up there with the best.

I have had no problem with 5 Gibson LPs, one 335, 2 acoustics and a boat load of sonexs. Volkswagen does pretty good to, just got this thing 2 days ago.

 

[MeKevin]

And also, I've talked to a few guitar salesmen who thought they could say anything and get away with it.

 

[copperheadroad]

Want to guess which guitar has the best fretwork ?
My epl plus top or my Gibson 60's tribute ?

 

[thedonal]

I've developed a friendship with the employees and owner of the local music store that I frequent. They deal very nice stuff. Tom Anderson, John Suhr, Marshall, Orange, Mesa Boogie, Martin, Taylor, PRS etc..... Anyway, they're a small store, and they used to carry quite a few Gibsons. They dropped Gibson because the Gibson rep came in and told them that 80% of their hooks had to be Gibson or Epiphone. They refused. Bummer.

I do wonder how much of that is straight Gibson policy and how much is a rep busting for a large commission (for the minimum work possible).

A single, reasonably sized guitar shop with 80% Gibson on display is going to be way less effort to support than several shops with a handful of standards and studios.

 

[Electroman67]

I do wonder how much of that is straight Gibson policy and how much is a rep busting for a large commission (for the minimum work possible).

A single, reasonably sized guitar shop with 80% Gibson on display is going to be way less effort to support than several shops with a handful of standards and studios.

My local and ONLY music store within 50 miles,does'nt sell Gibson/Epi either,had some type of blowup,kinda sucks but just means a trip to richmond.

 

[floatch]

...The only local dealer in the south suburbs of Chicago is Guitar Center.

Lucky for you, there are several excellent guitar shops in and around the city that will be pleased to sell you a traditional. Seems to me that anybody ready to drop $2,000 might be ready to drive into the city.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

I wanna see pics of these bent bridge posts. I can see problems like finish irregularities getting past QC. I can see fret-sprout happening, depending on how long the guitar's ridden a hook, and under what conditions. Poorly-cut nuts seem to be an issue.

But bridge posts bent, from the factory? Nah. You mean to tell me that the guy runs out of TonePros bridges in the middle of his shift and doesn't just swivel around on his stool, open a parts-bin, and grab another one?

That don't smell right. I'm thinking that those bridges were damaged, or my leg is being pulled.

 

[Grey]

I'm not sure what else people expect from a company run by a businessman who can't play guitar and by his own admission dislikes most of the Gibson fanbase. Poor management, poor product.

Gibson guitars sell on branding built out of a history that they no longer care about. If they had to trade on the simple quality of their product alone, I don't think they would have the same air of prestige as they do now.