Gibson Les Paul Custom rant

[Jakem]

So,

I've been trying to find a nice LP Custom for myself for over 2 years. LP Customs cost quite a lot in Finland so it's quite hard to come by those at shops and according to the couple of ones I've found it's of no use to order one blind.

Anyways, I got a call from Finland's biggest Gibson retailer last week's wednesday that they've received one LPC with chrome hardware. I told them that I'd drive 200 miles on friday to test the guitar and they promised to keep it on hold for me. So I went there and the woods on that one sounded great. I paid for it and went to see the tech doing a setup for me... I asked him to remove the pickguard since I have no use for it and then the hell broke loose; Gibson had screwed the pickguard so tight that the sawdust, which had come up from the screwhole, had caused very deep holes to the lacquer of the guitar. Two of those had gone completely through the lacquer and you can imagine how bad that looks on a black guitar, especially when it costs almost 3000€.

I had to leave the guitar there so that they could ask Gibson what they say about it. Gibson said that the lacquer damages, that were on an area of about 2 inches diameter circle, weren't a manufacturing errors since those couldn't be seen when the pickguard is on. The shop which I bought it from has been insanely good and they said that they'll order me a new one. The chrome hardware ones had been sold out from the distributor so now I have to wait for a gold hardware one. Hopefully the woods sound great on that one...

IMO, these kind of faults shouldn't be found on guitars that cost almost 3000€. I have to repeat that the shop I bought the guitar from and the distributor have been insanely nice and co-operative on this thing. Hopefully I'll find a good one from the next batch. [rant off]

 

[chumbucket]

Par for the course for Gibson. They try and pass off a lot of shoddy workmanship.

 

[garbagetruckdriver]

Thanks for posting that. I have been looking at some Standards this past two weeks and never would never have thought to check under the pickguard... Finding a good one is a lengthy process but will be worth it in the end.

 

[yngzaklynch]

Hang in there bro. I know Gibsons quality has been questionable over the years but a good Les Paul is a great guitar!!

 

[steve_k]

Great post about Gibson's lack of quality control and commercial choices these days - the ultimate let down in guitars. That, the excessive and undisclosed chambering of the bodies and tuning problems have totally turned me off from buying anything from them. Now, they are hiding defects under the pick guard. Sorry to hear about your troubles bro, especially being that costly and having to wait. For that sort of money, I am finding handmade luthier guitars to far outshine Gibson in every way. My LP type guitars are now spec'd and built by David McNaught or Nik Huber - either being a far better sounding, better feel, better looking and better playing guitar than anything Gibson delivers these days. The last LP I bought is now used as a test bed for pick ups and a soldering board.

Steve

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

Wait... so you are saying you found a Gibson guitar with a finish flaw?!? Now that's a first.

 

[snakeman1986]

Wait... so you are saying you found a Gibson guitar with a finish flaw?!? Now that's a first.

 

[Shark Diver]

It's the fact that they ignore it more than it happened. BS

I'm just waiting for Steve to move on so I can get a DTM on the cheap.

 

[Ventura]

It's not cool. Sorry to read about this. I'm a lucky guy, I've got several LPs and LPCs and they're all outstanding guitars. If the LPC route's not giving you what you want, maybe check out their straight up reissues like a '59 or even (one of my personal faves) a '57 GoldTop.

Just sayin',
Mo

 

[Jakem]

Yeh, I've always known about Gibson's QC issues and therefore I haven't been willing to buy/order one blind. It's just a fucking shame that guitars in that price range have that kind of defects. Those should be flawless for that coin amount.

 

[King Loudness]

It's definitely an annoying thing for sure. When I was jonesin' for my first LP last spring, I must've tried 30 or 40 different guitars. Most of them were new off the rack Standards or Traditionals, but I did try out a few Customs, Studios and yes, even Epiphones too. The fact is, 90% of the guitars were awful regardless of price. I wouldn't have dropped dime one on any of these guitars. They had finish flaws, cheap looking fretboards, bad fret ends, dead tonality, tuning issues, etc. I was prepared to keep my EBMM JP6 that I was playing at the time and then the sales rep offered to order me a Traditional Plus in whichever colour I wanted. I opted for Honey Burst, crossed my fingers and waited.

When the guitar arrived, I pulled it out of the box and opened the Gibson case... there it was. Proof that Gibson COULD make the perfect LP every now and then. The dark rosewood fretboard was uniform and free of streaks, the top was subtle yet demanding depending on the angle from which you viewed it, and the weight was very reasonable. I played it unplugged and that classic resonance was there in spades. Needless to say after I plugged it in and tested it, I knew I'd found a winner and bought it on the spot.

 

[Jakem]

It's definitely an annoying thing for sure. When I was jonesin' for my first LP last spring, I must've tried 30 or 40 different guitars. Most of them were new off the rack Standards or Traditionals, but I did try out a few Customs, Studios and yes, even Epiphones too. The fact is, 90% of the guitars were awful regardless of price. I wouldn't have dropped dime one on any of these guitars. They had finish flaws, cheap looking fretboards, bad fret ends, dead tonality, tuning issues, etc. I was prepared to keep my EBMM JP6 that I was playing at the time and then the sales rep offered to order me a Traditional Plus in whichever colour I wanted. I opted for Honey Burst, crossed my fingers and waited.

When the guitar arrived, I pulled it out of the box and opened the Gibson case... there it was. Proof that Gibson COULD make the perfect LP every now and then. The dark rosewood fretboard was uniform and free of streaks, the top was subtle yet demanding depending on the angle from which you viewed it, and the weight was very reasonable. I played it unplugged and that classic resonance was there in spades. Needless to say after I plugged it in and tested it, I knew I'd found a winner and bought it on the spot.

Nice!

The thing is that during these 2+ years I've also tested 30-40 Gibsons, including R7s, R8s, Traditionals, Standards, Classic Customs etc. I think there have been about 4-5 flawlessly finished ones but those weren't good soundwise.

 

[Superunknown]

Very sorry to hear about this and I hope everything works out for you. I currently own a few Les Paul's and would not trade them for anything. I do always have to take the extra step of having Joe Glaser plek and set up my LP's....which makes all the difference in the world in terms of tuning stability, etc. For me, nothing sounds like a good LP IMHO. Best of luck bro!

 

[kiff]

any chance you could get a discount or partial refund on gibson's tab? then just have local guy touch it up? personally I've never really minded a couple of small flaws as long as the guitar feels and sounds great, but I've never paid that much money on one either.

 

[Jakem]

Very sorry to hear about this and I hope everything works out for you. I currently own a few Les Paul's and would not trade them for anything. I do always have to take the extra step of having Joe Glaser plek and set up my LP's....which makes all the difference in the world in terms of tuning stability, etc. For me, nothing sounds like a good LP IMHO. Best of luck bro!

Thanks, man! Hopefully they'll find a nice one for me.

 

[Jakem]

any chance you could get a discount or partial refund on gibson's tab? then just have local guy touch it up? personally I've never really minded a couple of small flaws as long as the guitar feels and sounds great, but I've never paid that much money on one either.

Gibson weren't willing to pay for the repair since the damaged area can't be seen when the pickguard is attached. Some of those dents had gone thru the lacquer so the re-lacquering would be quite a big process... The area which had dents looked like if someone had hammered the guitar with a screwdriver and that doesn't look good on a black guitar.

 

[The Hoff]

any chance you could get a discount or partial refund on gibson's tab? then just have local guy touch it up? personally I've never really minded a couple of small flaws as long as the guitar feels and sounds great, but I've never paid that much money on one either.

Gibson weren't willing to pay for the repair since the damaged area can't be seen when the pickguard is attached. Some of those dents had gone thru the lacquer so the re-lacquering would be quite a big process... The area which had dents looked like if someone had hammered the guitar with a screwdriver and that doesn't look good on a black guitar.

Simply, wow

 

[verderacer]

I love my LP's but they are all 80's and earlier. I dont know how to feel about Gibson. I think they are getting screwed by the Govt. and are a good example of an American company, but their treatment of customers and shoddy workmanship on their guitars over the last 2 decades is just unbelievable. I would not spend the money for a new LP and would either buy a copy or used one since I can get so much more for my money.

Gibson has another issue. China mfg's is shipping copy's that are better than their US made counterparts. Played one I saw in a pawn shop a month ago and it was as nice as my gold top.

 

[duodecim]

Most of the guitars I've played here in Finland have been trash. Maybe the few decent shops just don't get enough guitars to be selective, or manufacturers send all their rejects over here... either way, the situation is pretty grim.

On the other hand, there are a lot of great builders to be found, such as Amfisound, Ruokangas, Lottonen etc. Maybe you should give them a chance – considering the amount of money you're willing to part with...

 

[Greazygeo]

any chance you could get a discount or partial refund on gibson's tab? then just have local guy touch it up? personally I've never really minded a couple of small flaws as long as the guitar feels and sounds great, but I've never paid that much money on one either.

Gibson weren't willing to pay for the repair since the damaged area can't be seen when the pickguard is attached. Some of those dents had gone thru the lacquer so the re-lacquering would be quite a big process... The area which had dents looked like if someone had hammered the guitar with a screwdriver and that doesn't look good on a black guitar.

Finish touch ups on Gibson finishes are pretty easy. If the guitar has a great tone unplugged, I can deal with a flaw or two. Others may have more of an issue with it.