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Gibson ES175 - quality control


JazzMeister

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Hey all-

 

I have had this guitar for years, and I don't play it simply because I don't feel like this guitar is "right." Bought it new three years ago (?) and for a brand new Gibson Custom piece, I feel like the quality is terrible.

 

Why have I taken this long to say something? My frustration has caused me to set the guitar aside for a long time.

 

My reason for posting this: Is this me being overly picky, or is this quality bs for the caliber of guitar I have purchased? Has anyone else experience similar issues?

 

 

Background: my guitars all stay in a climate controlled room, and this guitar in particular has never been gigged, and has only been played a handful of times. I've had my luthier set it up twice.

 

The guitar looks fantastic from 5ft away, but getting a closer look, the quality control for the entirety of the build just seems laughably poor.

 

Some pictures of what I am speaking of. Is this normal?

 

Unfinished finish, and unfinished edges inside the fholes:

 

29971354531_b127c004cb_b.jpg

29971344561_2158c94dfb_b.jpg

 

Finish separation between neck and body:

 

29427135494_827d029aec_b.jpg

29427131884_533d0bd1e6_b.jpg

 

 

Rough, unsanded, over-sprayed finish under neck pocket:

 

29971325811_0ba6665d25_b.jpg

 

Hard to tell from picture, but there are cracks in the binding next to each fret:

 

 

29971319981_d411b7fa69_b.jpg

 

Sloppy, rough to the touch and eyes emblems:

 

 

30020690206_de9154a471_b.jpg

 

And the ever chipping serial number:

 

 

30020683606_6676620d8d_b.jpg

 

 

Convince me gentlemen: am I crazy for expecting higher quality than this, or is this how all of your guitars look? The (p)leather on the case has since bubbled, too. I am all ears to genuine feedback.

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Umm.. to be honest.. I would of gone over the details prior to buying.. and not because it looked nice.. Gibson pumps these guitars out fast.. there are flaws on all of what they build.. as for the over spray under the board .. the big polishing wheel does what it can.. but getting a fine detail done.. would put it in another dollar catagory..( its a production guitar.) .

 

seperation, any type of color other than a dark stain will show things you dont want to see.. most of these are dark at the heal.. and top.. so you dont see as much..

 

 

 

 

every guitar has a flaw.. even those nasty swirl polishing marks..

 

My biggest beef is a two piece back that does not line up with the center of the heal.. or a truss rod cover that is drilled of centre..

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On archtops, to my knowledge, Gibson never finish under the 'neck pocket' as you call it - the section underneath the end of the fretboard.

 

I do feel you are being overly picky, however, the unfinished sections around the f-holes does seem bad as I've never seen that before with the lacquer missing...also the cracking on the binding seems unusual too.

 

The other things you mention usually happen over time anyway, so I wouldn't worry. So long as it sounds great and feels great don't stress about it. It's still a beautiful guitar.

 

Remember, nitro finishes do have a tendency to split/ crack over time (as seen in your picture of the headstock logo/ thistle and also the neck/ body join).

 

Check out some pictures of old Gibson archtops from the 60's or before and you will see nitro cracking all over the place and other signs of wear. It's gonna happen to most guitars one day, so embrace it. I myself bought an L5CES last year and was horrified to see some finish cracking appear down the back of the neck within the first 6 months. Now I realise, it's just one of those things that can sometimes happen. The guitar is still a fantastic instrument, it's just the bummer of a nitro finish! Some people love it, though I would rather the instrument remains flawless personally. What can you do? I have an Epiphone Broadway which is not finished with nitro and it is perfect in terms of no signs of age/ cracking...but the tone is only probably 3/10th's as good as the L5. The Epi is still a good guitar though, despite the difference in tone.

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First the samllest problem, easiest to avoid at the factory and I think to overcome as well: The bright spots I see on the top and at the serial number are polish I think. I had them somewhere on most of my brand-new Gibsons and removed them by and by. I think that removing the machine heads would reveal some more pink spots...

 

I don't have any finish cracks on my Gibsons made 2011 or later, but the two of my 1970's Gibsons show them here and there. I think that the cracks close to the fret ends likely are limited to the finish and the binding itself is not affected. The crack around the thistle on the headstock is not uncommon, even during the younger years of a guitar. Changes in wood and finish densities are not precisely predictable at the factory. Forum member Pippy has two Les Paul guitars of about 15 years of age. One of them looks like new, the other developed finish checking very early.

 

When about neck joints, none of my Gibsons, neither Custom nor USA models, are perfect. Nitro doesn't allow for that I think. Tiny remains of dried glue at the interior angles will affect the wettability. The joint edges on my Gibson guitars look much like on your ES-175. There also are rippled areas along the fretboard edges where they meet the top, on my single-cut and double-cut guitars as well. Finally, I never saw an aesthetically perfect finish below the fretboard overhang of a Gibson archtop. I think this simply isnt't possible.

 

To my knowledge, observances and research unfinished F-holes are normal. On some top models they are bound.

 

Finally, nitro finishes have their intricacies, but there's also an advantage over all the others: They allow for uncompromised touch-up repairs. Every other sort of finish must be stripped off completely - no touch-up will ever bond with the rest.

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As far as the cracking in the binding at the frets, that's called fret sprout. It happens because the fretboard has dried out and shrunk across the grain. You can oil the fretboard and that might help to stop the cracking so it doesn't get worse. The other stuff doesn't look too awfully bad to me.

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-The unfinished F-holes are normal. Many Gibson models get the black treatment on the edge of the F-holes, others are left natural, and some are bound.

 

-The unfinished area of the body under the fingerboard is normal.

 

-The finish cracks at the fret ends are unfortunate, but appear often.

 

-The finish issues around the heel & headstock crown are very common.

 

-The serial number? Who cares!

 

All your concerns appear to be very minor issues, and most are common to Gibson's nitro finishes. Unfortunately, some batches of nitro can be less stable than others, so issues similar to yours are seen frequently, and generally, a dark bodied instrument will more readily show finish cracks.

 

Conversely and most importantly, none of the issues you site are related to structural stability, tone, or playability.

 

Imho, you most likely have a great guitar sitting there, waiting to be played, while you critically focus on non-essential items. If you can't get past that point, it would be best to sell it, as someone else will probably fall head over heels in love with that instrument.

 

Just answering as honestly as possible - since you asked!

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[thumbup] All normal. My L4CES is similar, everything but the finish checking around the heal (would like to see a shot around other side inside cutout). No flaking around numbers either, may be polish as stated. Mine is a Custom Shop. Enjoy her!

 

 

red_zpsf405f263.jpg

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Ha! I didn't realise he meant no binding on the f-holes. On my laptop it looked like there was lacquer missing near the edges of one of them...think it must be the photo/ angle I was looking at.

 

Anyway ES 175's never have bound f-holes, therefore, definitely not an issue. My 175 looks just the same too.

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Gentlemen, I genuinely appreciate each of your responses.

 

That is exactly what I wanted to know- that this is somewhat normal for this type of production guitar.

 

My feelings towards this guitar are funny/ironic, too, as the rest of my axes are player grade vintage stuff. My '64 Guild, '68 330, '71 335, and '71 SG have all had modifications and are all dinged, cracked, smashed, dented, etc, but play and sound like a dream so I've played them religiously without batting an eye.

 

With this being the only electric I've ever purchased new, I guess I went into it with wanting a 'perfect' guitar rather than subtle flaws (that I now know are normal).

 

In regards to selling, I would sell it, as the guitar doesn't really have a place in my heart compared to the rest of my crew (yet), but I don't feel that I could get what it'd be worth for me to sell it ($2800 or so), so I'll probably just keep it and try to think of it in a new light.

 

Thanks again for the responses. I'm going to polish the frets, oil the fretboard, set it up, and see where that gets me.

 

B)

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Thanks again for the responses. I'm going to polish the frets, oil the fretboard, set it up, and see where that gets me.

 

B)

 

Then you must work with it. And turn it up too!

 

Give it a chance - perhaps even a little more (for awhile) than your others.

 

The ES175 is a wonderful design...it's friendly!

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Hello.

 

The chipping around the serial number is an issue. The edge of the F-hole shouldn't be finished.

 

The rest of the problems are coming from the nature of the nitro-cellulose lacquer.

 

But I understand You, I have OCD for my instruments too.

 

Bence.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Yours looks great...the little blemishes give it character. I purchased a new one 4 or 5 months ago and it is a beauty! I didn't notice any of the "Human flaws" until I sat in the living room with the sunlight shining in on it and began to notice the oversights...ah well...nothing is truly perfect and the guitar sounds and plays like a dream...I suppose I could always send it to a service center but for what? to sand it all down and refinish out the perceived flaws...nah...it says much about Gibson these days and fact that this is a custom shop guitar but all in all...I'll play 'er 2DDA3AF4-95D2-4E05-AA61-9221922558D1_zps2y0xnqpz.jpg DA12DDF0-79E2-4CF1-B51B-28A139D2C905_zpsipareaj7.jpg EF5485E3-9DD6-4224-B313-F4CA61E6228C_zpsuejhycx1.jpg CF47009E-B7AB-442C-A817-5A00266D6B6F_zpsoogqmto3.jpg As you can see...most of this stuff is very minor although the laquer dripping on the headstock is disappointing...Truth be told, this is a 5K custom guitar and where is this considered acceptable?...I feel your pain

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Yours looks great...the little blemishes give it character. I purchased a new one 4 or 5 months ago and it is a beauty! I didn't notice any of the "Human flaws" until I sat in the living room with the sunlight shining in on it and began to notice the oversights...ah well...nothing is truly perfect and the guitar sounds and plays like a dream...I suppose I could always send it to a service center but for what? to sand it all down and refinish out the perceived flaws...nah...it says much about Gibson these days and fact that this is a custom shop guitar but all in all...I'll play 'er 2DDA3AF4-95D2-4E05-AA61-9221922558D1_zps2y0xnqpz.jpg DA12DDF0-79E2-4CF1-B51B-28A139D2C905_zpsipareaj7.jpg EF5485E3-9DD6-4224-B313-F4CA61E6228C_zpsuejhycx1.jpg CF47009E-B7AB-442C-A817-5A00266D6B6F_zpsoogqmto3.jpg As you can see...most of this stuff is very minor although the laquer dripping on the headstock is disappointing...Truth be told, this is a 5K custom guitar and where is this considered acceptable?...I feel your pain

 

[crying] Oh my...

 

I think I would have done a finish repair at the headstock. Shouldn't cost that much and is no problem for a skilled luthier who will choose a touch-up approach. However, you will have to do circa three weeks withour her.

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  • 7 months later...

I think the true test is what it feels like to play and how it sounds. I have a standard 1978 ES-175D and its been fantastic.

 

I guess we all buy our guitars for different reasons, how they look, how they play, how they sound etc.... if its not satisfying the reason you bought it, then it's OK to be disappointed.

 

All the best with your Guitar.

 

 

 

Hey all-

 

I have had this guitar for years, and I don't play it simply because I don't feel like this guitar is "right." Bought it new three years ago (?) and for a brand new Gibson Custom piece, I feel like the quality is terrible.

 

Why have I taken this long to say something? My frustration has caused me to set the guitar aside for a long time.

 

My reason for posting this: Is this me being overly picky, or is this quality bs for the caliber of guitar I have purchased? Has anyone else experience similar issues?

 

 

Background: my guitars all stay in a climate controlled room, and this guitar in particular has never been gigged, and has only been played a handful of times. I've had my luthier set it up twice.

 

The guitar looks fantastic from 5ft away, but getting a closer look, the quality control for the entirety of the build just seems laughably poor.

 

Some pictures of what I am speaking of. Is this normal?

 

Unfinished finish, and unfinished edges inside the fholes:

 

29971354531_b127c004cb_b.jpg

29971344561_2158c94dfb_b.jpg

 

Finish separation between neck and body:

 

29427135494_827d029aec_b.jpg

29427131884_533d0bd1e6_b.jpg

 

 

Rough, unsanded, over-sprayed finish under neck pocket:

 

29971325811_0ba6665d25_b.jpg

 

Hard to tell from picture, but there are cracks in the binding next to each fret:

 

 

29971319981_d411b7fa69_b.jpg

 

Sloppy, rough to the touch and eyes emblems:

 

 

30020690206_de9154a471_b.jpg

 

And the ever chipping serial number:

 

 

30020683606_6676620d8d_b.jpg

 

 

Convince me gentlemen: am I crazy for expecting higher quality than this, or is this how all of your guitars look? The (p)leather on the case has since bubbled, too. I am all ears to genuine feedback.

 

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

Resurrected this 2016 post to confirm that, despite new management at Gibson, absolutely nothing has changed with respect to QC in 2019. I looked through 7 or 8 of the new ES-235's before I found one that was acceptable to me (and I'm not really THAT picky!). Of all the sloppy work that comes out of Gibson, I have to say that I just can't believe they still have problems with the headstock inlays. It's just such an obvious visual representation of your product, and the OP's pictured in this thread plus several I have gone through in the shops look like the inlay was done with a pocket knife on someones front porch.

 

Notwithstanding the above, I eventually found an ES-235 that played beautifully and sounded amazing, and they have a silk screen on the headstock so no inlay hacking job to worry about! But -they don't make a hard shell case for it (comes with a gig bag). [confused]

 

Hope Gibson is around in 2020................ (not holding my breath though).

Edited by bobalu
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