Is Anybody Else Finding NEW Gibsons HORRIBLY Bad?

[imsilly]

Originally Posted by timmer114

Like Harely, their market is for the guy that has money to burn. Gibson isn't making guitars for the carpenter that jams in his garage with his buddies, them days are long over. That is the Epiphone brand.

This is a gripe I have with the current Gibson Line up. I think that they should make Epiphones that are Epiphones not cheap mass produced Gibson clones. If they want to make cheaper asian guitars that are copies of their american designs they should have kept making Orvilles in Japan like they once did.

I have a Kalamazoo made Epiphone and it is a great guitar. It comes from the same line as SG juniors, but carries the Epiphone name and its own unique styling. It is a great guitar in itself. Now they reissue them either from America where they cost more then the vintage guitars or asia where they are crappy knock offs.

We all know how legendary Epiphones Hollow bodies were at one time, but now they are just seen as cheap variants of Gibson designs. I would love them to bring back some quality Epiphone guitars.

[Humbuster]

Have an 09 ES335 and 09 Historic SG and both are great guitars.

[zombuswoof]

Originally Posted by keithcc

Yeah, I guess if a 11 to 13 pound LP is OK then they are great. Also you have to not mind tone killing polyurethane finish and often crummy hardware.

I worked at the Nashville factory for a while and, at least while I was there, there wasn't poly-anything in their finishes. It was all nitro. Has something changed since the mid-90's?

[david_lewis93]

I had a 68 Paul that weighed as much as I did, brown burst,fretless wonder delux,all that stuff. Glad I sold it. got my dads sonix 180 now ,and my squier Tele waiting for March to get here and happy b day to me a NEW tele standard is all I'm getting for me,now the hard part ,what color.

bend em tight and leter scream.

[romo]

Originally Posted by zombuswoof

I worked at the Nashville factory for a while and, at least while I was there, there wasn't poly-anything in their finishes. It was all nitro. Has something changed since the mid-90's?

No, Gibson still uses nitro finishes.

[romo]

Originally Posted by timmer114

The Harley comparison is a good one. Like Harleys, it's about the brand name. The Shadows, the V-stars, they might be more reliable, or faster, and they are sharp looking, but they aren't a Harley.

On the downside, Harley managed to make their product so exclusive, that they feel justified for getting the insane price. Gibson is doing the same thing, making their product as exclusive as possible. Like Harely, their market is for the guy that has money to burn. Gibson isn't making guitars for the carpenter that jams in his garage with his buddies, them days are long over. That is the Epiphone brand.

If you can find a new Gibson that you can afford, more power to you. They are beautiful guitars with a fine heritage.

I am glad that Fender guitars are priced all over the scale for both us working stiffs, and for those that can afford the fine custom shop instrument tags.

Keep in mind this whole babbling post is my opinion, I got nothing against Gibson. I am just kinda peeved that if I want a new genuine USA made Les Paul someday, I have to use an entire tax return to do it hehe.

I see what you are saying, and I used to think the same thing, but if you compare pricing of Gibsons and Fenders, they aren't as ridiculously priced as you may think. USA made Gibson Les Paul's start at 799 at MF, compared to Fender's USA line (HW 1) at 699. Fender's AV guitars are all priced between $1800-2200. Gibson has their Traditional and Standard Les Paul's that range from $1900-2500. I don't see a huge difference here. Compared to Fender, Gibson prices don't seem as out of sight as you may think. All Gibsons are made in the USA and have a nitro finish. Really I think it makes them seem like a pretty good deal now that Fender is charging close to a grand for a Mexican guitar.

And Gibson IS making cheaper guitars, you said it yourself, they are just called Epiphone. I don't see a big deal with Gibson reserving their brand name and headstock design for their Made in USA guitars.

[bluesmanmartin]

The only thing I have to say is that a friend of mine had a Gibson delership a couple of years ago and had some complaints with quality issues. He would order LP's and get BB King 335's and several send backs for quality issues. The LP Standards were big sellers and I'm guessing everyone loved them. There were a few that hung on the wall for a long period, but his shop was way cooler when it was full of Gibsons.

Martin...

[Nighthawk]

I do not have any issue with my Gibsons, one 335 and one Nighthawk. Very, very nice instruments. Pricey but nice.

[rangercaster]

i think quality control may be lacking, but generally Epi and Gibson make a good product ... the big box and on-line sales model is a huge problem ... i used to frequent a small dealer who checked every new guitar that came in ... if it didn't meet his standard, it went right back to Gibson ... now you get a guitar that is fresh from the factory in a sealed box ... if the QC dept had a bad day, you suffer ...

[fendorst]

Not sure how "new" you mean when you say "new Gibsons," but I bought a TV yellow Melody Maker 2-3 years ago before the Green Day/Billy Joe Armstrong rage started and Gibson began calling them Les Paul Jrs. again and charging $1,400 for them.

It has one P90 pickup, one volume and one tone control, Nashville/Tune-O-Matic bridge and stopbar rather than the wraparound bridge.

Beautifully made, perfectly finished, excellent rosewood neck and fret job, plays beautifully, the P90 does everything from twang to sing to snarl depending on how much volume and tone control you roll on or off. Never actually weighed it, but it weighs less than my Tele.

$349 brand new. Included a fairly nice plush and padded gig bag.

I found my new Gibson to be unbelievably brilliant in every way, both as a guitar to play and as a terrific value.

[prawnik]

Far as I can tell, Gibson QC fit and finish and sound have always gone all over the place, even in Elder Days when Gibson guitars were handcrafted by actual elves.

Some eras were more inconsistent than others, but Gibsons have always been inconsistent. Whether this is because of the manufacturing process or the woods Gibson buyes or uses or the nature of the designs, I do not know, but about any Asian guitar maker produces a more consistent product.

The good Gibsons can sound amazing.

Therefore, buy cheap or try before you buy.

[octatonic]

Originally Posted by prawnik

even in Elder Days when Gibson guitars were handcrafted by actual elves. .

Ha... coffee spit!

:-)

[stevedenver]

Originally Posted by prawnik

Far as I can tell, Gibson QC fit and finish and sound have always gone all over the place, even in Elder Days when Gibson guitars were handcrafted by actual elves.

Some eras were more inconsistent than others, but Gibsons have always been inconsistent. Whether this is because of the manufacturing process or the woods Gibson buyes or uses or the nature of the designs, I do not know, but about any Asian guitar maker produces a more consistent product.

The good Gibsons can sound amazing.

Therefore, buy cheap or try before you buy.

this is the essence of Gibson-they are still built by hand in large part-
Gibsons have only had nitro-always-without exception

i have about a dozen-from all eras but the 50's

they vary -but i have found great instruments in every era

and i think, apart from wood issues-the guitars especially since 2000 are the best QC the company has ever had-not only the electrics but the accoustics are fantastic too

yes frets and nuts and other hand items do vary-and some wood isnt happy being a guitar-ie seasoned and stability issues

you do things on this scale-buy lumber on this scale-season lumber-train employees, ship, etc
the percentages are going to include some problems as well as prodigies

you try producing bound set necks in this volume -i think gibson does a fine job-you know if you want a cookie cutter, perfect guitar, without the slight variations and flaws which make each unique, there are other makers

i am a lover of MArtins-they have thier share of issues past and present too-its the nature of guitar construction

folks forget that most gibson's designs were created pre CNC -with entire processes that were/are labor intensive-they way they fill pores, spray, scrape binding, glue binding, set necks and other factors really make it inappropriate to compare to most other mass guitar builders-Gibson is using designs that were created long ago and have been modified to changing labor and production efficiencies -some detrimental, others beneficial-i understood this better after touring the factories and seeing how its done-there is a human factor indeed-right down to buffing , cutting nuts, and filing frets, and until recently, soldering pots and pups

the guitars ive played in the past few years have been great-and not just custom shop-some of the production guitars have great work as well as set ups right from the factory and finishes as well

[Dan R]

Well, I can't speak all that much about current electric Gibbys, but I have a recent Hummingbird that is awesome. I had a '83 that was stolen. Due to good insurance, I got a new one. It is far and away better than the old one. I have a cheapie LP Melody Maker that is fine. I play it quite often. I'd love to own a fancy Les Paul though. Maybe some day.

Dan R

[redstringuitar]

Originally Posted by studio1087

I found this post to be 7.2x more Troll-ish than the average TDPRI post.

Yep. 7.2x exactly.



Happy Monday!

John

Top put-down (and well deserved)!!



A mate of mine owned a guitar shop and had a dealership with Vintage guitars...they were coming in with misaligned bridges, pickup cavities and even broken necks, dodgy wiring and innumerable cosmetic/finish flaws...the intact ones were alright for the money, in an "easy cook" kinda way, my particular favourite was a black Tele, fat back neck and great tone, one of the SGs was ok too, but the Les Pauls were dipped in plastic cheapness personified, my Epi '56GT smoked all of 'em...and my 2004 LP Standard smokes my Epi hands down, no contest.

[wolfman63]

In my lifetime I've had guitars of all makes. I've had good and bad Gibsons, as well as
Fenders. (and others) Some were real stinkers. All the manufacturers screw up from time to time. Usually as a direct result of a CEO or Board of Directors calling for cost cuts and more profits. I see quite a few folks complaining about Gibson (this is a Fender Forum) Maybe a word or two should be placed in one of the GIBSON forums. It might do more towards fixing future problems.

" I'm just sayin'.................."

[prawnik]

Originally Posted by stevedenver

this is the essence of Gibson-they are still built by hand in large part-

I thought that was mostly Gibson marketing, but I may be wrong. Other high end manufacturers (PRS comes to mind, although I do not care for their guitars at all - YMMV) do seem to be more consistent than Gibson.

Why that is, I do not know. Maybe it is the nature of Gibson designs or wood, but various Asian copiers seem to be able to produce a pretty consistent product.

[castpolymer]

I will once again extend my offer to all unhappy Gibson owners on TDPRI. Send me the Gibsons that have QC issues. I will exhaustively examine your Gibson down to the minutist detail. The more Gibsons sent to me, the larger the batch I can use for this study. I will also likely need a control group of Gretsch and Fender ( so send me these also ). This may take months ( or even years ), but I guarantee I will get to the bottom of this issue!

[sneakyjapan]

sorry...I like mine.

[Buckley]

I was always under the impression that Vintage were the sub-'Epiphone' brand of Trevor Wilkinson's empire and that his Fret-King line were the 'Gibson'.

From what I've seen of Vintage in the flesh, despite the guitar mag's positive reviews, they seem to suffer from a lack of build quality.

[eggman]

Howdy,

I've got a '95 Gibson LP Special that is great: fretwork, nut, everything. I'll admit that the stock P-100s were nothing to write home about, so I replaced them and the stock plastic tuners.
I've got no problem with Gibson's quality. Now as for the way they treat thier dealers..

Eggman

PS She sports the traditional Nitro-cellulose lacquer finish as well. Bevelled on back like a Strat. This guitar through my Carmen Ghia is more fun than having Rosario Dawson sitting in my lap! Well...almost. ;)