Talk to me about Gibson quality

[steve_k]

I have had more bad luck than good luck with Gibson. It is hit or miss. I wouldn't dare buy a new one unless it was a custom shop and a master made, like by Murphy. But, I wouldn't fork over that kind of coin for one either. Older, used one's from a known forum member would probably be OK. I just got lucky with one from here on a R8.

Someone x-ray'd one a few weeks back, which was funny as shit. I think there is barely enough wood in them anymore to set the neck in. I have a Traditional Pro that I use a a rest for my solder iron. Total crap and all you get is a logo. I have owned many LP's over the years, but Gibson is a company that I am extremely disappointed with.

I am with Dan on Tom Anderson Bulldogs. You would not go wrong. But, my next new Les Paul will be another Nik Huber Orca.

Steve

 

[thiswaythatway]

they're Pleking, and coming out with some stuff that people atleast want and could use.

Like this?

no!


like the new Explorer with a Floyd Rose. i e-mailed them begging for it, and they're finally building them.

Do you really think they're making it because you sent them an email? Sorrry, i had to ask.

 

[steve_k]

they're Pleking, and coming out with some stuff that people atleast want and could use.

Like this?

That has got to be the ugliest guitar to come out of any guitar shop, much less Gibson. WTF were they thinking?

 

[mightywarlock]

a couple weeks ago, I just received my brand new in the box, Gibson Thunderhorse Explorer.

The Low E string buzzes. I tried adjusting it, but I'm going to need to bring it to someone to get fixed, as, not matter what I do, I can't get a clean tone without buzzing from it. I'm not happy.

Gibson Quality is good quality guitars for somethings, bad for setups.

What kills me, is that the warranty checklist card has BUZZING checked off by someone, like they checked for minimal buzzing.
must have been closing time or lunchtime that day in the factory, and they were just rushing out the door.
Also, the pickguard was all scratched up, and not screwed in properly (one screw was screwed in too far and at an angle).
the finish was good.

piss poor quality over some things though, for the price they ask for guitars.

I am not amused.

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

they're Pleking, and coming out with some stuff that people atleast want and could use.

Like this?

no!


like the new Explorer with a Floyd Rose. i e-mailed them begging for it, and they're finally building them.

Do you really think they're making it because you sent them an email? Sorrry, i had to ask.

i'm sure of it!

 

[steve_k]

a couple weeks ago, I just received my brand new in the box, Gibson Thunderhorse Explorer.

The Low E string buzzes. I tried adjusting it, but I'm going to need to bring it to someone to get fixed, as, not matter what I do, I can't get a clean tone without buzzing from it. I'm not happy.

Gibson Quality is good quality guitars for somethings, bad for setups.

What kills me, is that the warranty checklist card has BUZZING checked off by someone, like they checked for minimal buzzing.
must have been closing time or lunchtime that day in the factory, and they were just rushing out the door.
Also, the pickguard was all scratched up, and not screwed in properly (one screw was screwed in too far and at an angle).
the finish was good.

piss poor quality over some things though, for the price they ask for guitars.

I am not amused.

Maybe the BUZZING check guy was confused. Yes, it BUZZED properly.....check

 

[Capulin Overdrive]

a couple weeks ago, I just received my brand new in the box, Gibson Thunderhorse Explorer.

The Low E string buzzes. I tried adjusting it, but I'm going to need to bring it to someone to get fixed, as, not matter what I do, I can't get a clean tone without buzzing from it. I'm not happy.

Gibson Quality is good quality guitars for somethings, bad for setups.

What kills me, is that the warranty checklist card has BUZZING checked off by someone, like they checked for minimal buzzing.
must have been closing time or lunchtime that day in the factory, and they were just rushing out the door.
Also, the pickguard was all scratched up, and not screwed in properly (one screw was screwed in too far and at an angle).
the finish was good.

piss poor quality over some things though, for the price they ask for guitars.

I am not amused.

BUMMER!

 

[Jerome Allen]

As others have said, the quality is hit or miss with Gibsons today. But, DO NOT confuse a poor set-up for poor quality. I have tweaked the set-up of every guitar I've ever owned...and that's a lot of guitars (100+). In fact, I usually leave the truss rod covers off of my guitars so i can tweak neck relief here and there.

I wish i could say simply trying out a guitar is enough to know if it's any good....but it's not. it's always a good idea to take a look and jam on a guitar before buying. You should check for obvious problems such as uneven fretword, bad nut, ect. But only time tell if it really is a good guitar. Of course, don't depair if you get a guitar that needs a little work. For example, I picked up a newish, but used, ES-335 2 years ago for $1700. The fretwork was ok, the binding was a little butchered by the factory, and the nut was gouged when the factory was grinding down the binding. I spent $200 for new frets and a compound radius on the fretborad, put in a bone nut for 10s, and had the binding patched a bit. Sure, i should have never had to do this to an expensive ES-335. But now that the work is done, it is an absolutely killer guitar.

I also have a couple of '61 reissue SGs. They, as well as an SG Classic, are my main guitars. I was fotunate to have gotten a few good ones. The only thing I bitch about every so often is having to adjust the neck relief slightly, this way or that. But then, I'm a very picky player when it comes to action. I've actually found that these SGs of mine prefer thicker strings. The neck seems less prone to up or down-bowing (changes in climate, ect) when they're strung with 11s or 12s.

I'm not sure if helps...but I think it usually takes a year or 2 with a guitar to really know if it's truely a good guitar.

 

[Ventura]

As for the tuning?? The nut needed to be opened up a bit - filed in a tad. That was it. My guy said "it happens all the time, older Lesters were used to 9s, some 10s, they never had a consistent cut at the nut". Sure as shit, this particular one holds tune for a good couple hours of shitkicking before I need to tweak it again - and that's only from string fatigue generally, not the guitar's fault.

Just saying.
Mo

a couple hours you say? i can go 6 months without changing strings or tuning my charvel and play the living shit out of it

Not one of my guitars typically stays true to, say, a 440 tuning after a full 2 hours of playing (3 hour jam, gig, what have you). My big benders (G, B, E) always go a wee bit flat, but that's just the strings and fatigue. I change my strings a lot, I like the sparkle a fresh pack gives. I have had guitars with the same strings on 'em for months, and after about the 3rd month, they rarely go outta tune - even with a heavy sesh - but they just lack the lustre I'm used to. To each their own.

But ya, seriously, with a fresh set on an axe, tuned a couple days in advance and re-tuned, I think 2 hours of solid playing is pretty ace in my personal opinion. I can't say I've ever been to a concert whether big band or small where the guitarists don't need to do a little tweak on their laces to get them back to square

Mo

 

[spirit7]

Definitely hit or miss. I played a '74 Custom at a gig a while back, and it played incredibly. Went off to purchase one, and all 7 I played sounded like shite. I then played another '74, but they wanted £5k for it. I ended up with another PRS; infinitely superior QC. I have never played a bad PRS.

-C

 

[kasperjensen]

They are seriously good sounding guitars. The image they project is also good, if you are into that at all.

Quality? Dunno... The headstocks will snap off if you tune the guitar too eagerly.

But the battery in a Ferrari also goes flat after 5 minutes in the garage...

 

[Neeklaus]

played a lot of Gibsons recently....all from the 2000s era and I have yet to see bad QC issues with playability/etc
fit/finish yeah I've seen some bungles that should have been caught.

just my .02

 

[bigdaddyd]

I love my 4 Gibsons as much as any other guitar that I have played. Gibson hate is a joke. All manufacturers have problems, except that Gibson is huge and is capable of pumping out way more product than a small guy like Anderson so you will find more issues to complain about. They also have a lifetime guarantee and will take care of it. Most of the problems you hear are from people bitching about some poorly setup guitar at some shitty store like GC. That's not to say that they don't have their issues, but like I said...they all do.

 

[Tone Zone]

"Gibson Quality?" That's actually an oxymoron.

 

[RockStarNick]

But, DO NOT confuse a poor set-up for poor quality.

THANK YOU!!!!! Someone said it.

 

[Schaf]

I love my 4 Gibsons as much as any other guitar that I have played. Gibson hate is a joke. All manufacturers have problems, except that Gibson is huge and is capable of pumping out way more product than a small guy like Anderson so you will find more issues to complain about. They also have a lifetime guarantee and will take care of it. Most of the problems you hear are from people bitching about some poorly setup guitar at some shitty store like GC. That's not to say that they don't have their issues, but like I said...they all do.

I agree. Most of the complaints are about setup. I've yet to buy a guitar that I haven't changed the setup on once I got it. It's a personal preference. It was interesting that someone posted a thread on TGP asking for people to post pictures of quality issues with their gibsons. There were like 2 pictures and 95 pages of bitching. I mean all these ouragious claims, but nobody took any pictures to document it? I say there are some issues but most of it is internet lore.

Some things people call flaws are an attempt to make them historically correct. People want to complain that the necks break too easily but when they came up with a design to correct that people threw a fit. So they go back to the old way. I've played quite a few and not seen near the amount of issues as what some people claim. Almost every issue is a setup issue. However, I have yet to play a guitar off the shelf that was set up perfectly for me.

As far as the guy with the buzzing issue, it's probably a slight neck adjustment. If not then it more than likely the nut. They do have problems with that. Kind of baffling to me that they haven't come up with a viable solution for that, since it's beenan issue for a long time.

Schaf

 

[Elethan]

I own a 2006 Goldtop 57' Reissue and it's the best god damned guitar I ever put my hands on (but in the end it's a matter of taste). Subjectively speaking, I really like the sound - LPs in general sound like something else. Some of my friends who played it think it's terrible - the neck resembles a baseball bat and it's back-breakingly heavy as well.

Regarding build quality, I can't really say anything bad about it. I did some minor (100% reversible) mods to it like replacing the bridge (ABR-1 is crap, but it's vintage specs...) as well as replacing the tuners with Gotoh locking tuners - but you probably don't need that unless you go crazy with bends like I do

Also own an SG standard and I love that guitar as well.

 

[gibson5413]

I like Gibson. Was a Les Paul player from my first guitar in 1984 to 2001. Gibson (for the most part) mass produces guitars (excluding their Custom Shop). You are bound to have good ones and bad ones. My main issue isn't so much the quality but the price point coupled with the quality. I like Gibson but think they are way overpriced for what you get (including the Custom Shop pieces). Just my opinion, right or wrong.

My suggestion is play before you buy if at all possible. Some online retailers (like MF) might have a clunker in stock that may have changed hands several times. I know firsthand a couple of times where a bad piece was sent back after first inspection and was resold. This came directly from a friend at the online retailer. This is more an issue with the retailer than Gibson. Unfortunately this hits Gibson indirectly.

Either way, I would buy a custom Anderson Bulldog any day of the week over a Gibson. Nothing against Gibson. For a little less money than most Custom Shop Les Pauls I would say my money is better spent that way. My confidence in a builder like Tom is that high. The signature/VOS Custom Shop Les Pauls are so expensive. I would rather custom spec my own signature "Les Paul" from Tom Anderson.

 

[Jakem]

Try before you buy! I've been searching for a LP for almost three years now. You cannot find that many LPs from Finnish shops so that makes the search a lot more difficult. I'll do another 400+ miles roundtrip to Finland's biggest Gibson retailer, in the near future, to see if they have the perfect LP Custom/R8/VOS'57/Traditional for me. On the other hand it might be so that small market areas, like Finland, get the shitty ones from Gibson?!?!

 

[mdc1mdc11]

Anyone have experience with quality comparison with the Gibson and the WCR L series, loaded with WCR pickups. I am also looking to add another Les Paul type, but quite honestly I don't have the time to sort through their design quality issues at GC and other places. How are the ORCA, Armstrong Bulldog, WCR L for getting the tonal range of the Les Paul?

Gibson probably needs a Six Sigma expert to straighten their issues, shame the stuff they push out.