Declining Quality - Gibson Guitars

Mark Skid

Mark Skid

Well-known member
Gibson has a history of being hit-n-miss when it comes to QC issues... but, the latest models are the worst I've seen. The quality of the rosewood is quite bad. Same goes with the ebony... Blotched and grainy. The frets are too small, and the quality of the flamed maple tops has declined as well. I was once told that a lack of depth indicates a thin veneer top. Not sure?

The 2021 '57 CS gold top that I played had yellowed inlays, same as what we saw with the early 90's Classic models. For my style of play, the reduction is fret size renders Gibson guitars unplayable. My 2018 R7 was fitted with these smaller frets, which is why I sold it. I suppose I should have just had it re-fretted. This finish and construction was great, much better than what I'm seeing on 2020+ models. Out of the two dozen Historic models on display, I could not find a single Gibson that would want to own. I didn't get to play any of the PRS models. Gibson, Gretsch, Fender, D'Angelico, Dean, BC Rich and Kramer only. The best playing guitar was a $899.00 D'Algelico (Indonesia made) semi-hollow body model.

Here are a few pics of a new Gibson Flying V w/mirror pickguard. Check the binding job... These salesman said; "This is one of our best new arrivals from Gibson." :oops:

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Gibson's never gonna change. They are in a situation financially that they're forces to sell shitty guitars with a hefty price tag.
 
japetus said:
The only thing I can chalk it up to is either blind brand loyalty or consumer ignorance. There are just so many options now, so many high quality options.
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Exactly, they want the “Gibson” on the headstock. I can understand buying a used one if it’s a killer, but new, there’s so many better options.
 
I bought a 2017 Les Paul Traditional new a few years back because I wanted a Les Paul without paying the regular exorbitant prices. I looked over the internet and tried to find one that actually had a top that looked like it wasn't carved out of a random piece of river driftwood and after looking over about two dozen of them, I finally found one that looked nice and when it finally got to my place it looked great... until you checked closely. Turns out Gibson didn't just cut cost by removing all the nice-to-haves like body binding and pearl inlays, but in quite a few other places that really matter, too.

I've seen more polished looking log cabin furniture than the fretboard on this thing. Obvious tool marks, uneven surfaces, the works. I haven't seen quality that bad from any other major manufacturer. It was kind of unbelievable, even having heard all the stories.
 
Yes and someone is getting paid to unbox this guitar and put on display that has zero business doing so. GC isnt really any good measure of any build. They dont really care at GC. Perhaps people cant fix shit until they know about it. Things happen, stuff gets missed and things break. How it gets corrected makes a big difference. How it passed inspection at gibson seems odd and maybe they have regressed instead of moving forward with QC. I just got a 2021 LP classic, plays like a dream , not crazy about the caps and wiring but solid build and plays great. It's a production guitar so it's up to par. No flames its solid color. I guess that binding dude got paid the day before my guitar got to his bench so he partied all night and called off sick. Lucky
 
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This is very disappointing to see. I've been playing nothing but amazing quality LP's the past 2 years, so much so I've been on the hunt for a '54 custom. I thought they finally cleaned up their QC act since Curleigh took over. Guess not?
 
I got lucky with my SG Standard, it's pretty flawless, and the nut was even cut well. But, I wouldn't buy another new one with the shit like this I've been seeing. Problem is, production came to a halt, then when it ramped back up, they had to crank out some orders. With that, you get shitty QC, or none at all. And it's not just Gibson. I've seen some horrid guitars from a lot of companies - foreign and domestic.

I'm wanting another LP, but I think I'm going with an Edwards LPC.
 
COVID related? My 2017 and 2018 R7's were fabulous. The 2017 was a M2M. Whoever ordered it had jumbo frets installed. At some point someone did a DIY fret leveling, which pretty much ruined the frets. I ended-up selling both guitar via CL. btw... I've been having much better luck on CL as of late.
 
napalmdeath said:
I got lucky with my SG Standard, it's pretty flawless, and the nut was even cut well. But, I wouldn't buy another new one with the shit like this I've been seeing. Problem is, production came to a halt, then when it ramped back up, they had to crank out some orders. With that, you get shitty QC, or none at all. And it's not just Gibson. I've seen some horrid guitars from a lot of companies - foreign and domestic.

I'm wanting another LP, but I think I'm going with an Edwards LPC.
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You're absolutely right. Most everything I played was less (quality wise) than what I'd expect from Jackson, Charvel, Dean and Fender. I just wanted a guitar to play until my 2014 '59 Flying V arrives... I couldn't find a single guitar that I'd want to own. As I said above, the best guitar was a D'Angelico. The Dean I played had a great neck, but there was no way to zero the strings to the frets. Charvel (Mexico) makes some great playing/sounding guitars. This particular GC didn't have anything good in-stock. No USA made Dean or Charvel in-stock.
 
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I bought a les paul studio dark and the fret job and binding looked exactly what you posted. Horrible craftsmanship and quality.
 
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