saynottingham Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 So I bought a SG Faded 2016 T from Amazon and it is supposed to be brand new, however there are the following issues: White, cloudy stain between pickups' polepiece slugs The fretboard is not completely flush with the neck from fret 8 down-- a line can be seen and felt. The black tape around the pickup doesn't seem tightly wound, it looks crushed down a little bit. Intonation is slightly off (12th fret harmonic on some strings is higher than fretted 12th) one of the pickup screw heads is slightly striped the nut is white, while the same models at a brick and mortar dealer are yellow Amazon sent a new replacement, apart from the stripped screw on Guitar 1, the new guitar looks worse! I have never owned a Gibson guitar, is this how they normally ship out their guitars? What is the meaning of this stain on the pickups? Please see pictures for details: Guitar 1 http://i.imgur.com/g7zEMWz.jpg http://i.imgur.com/eqU2qQz.jpg Neck http://i.imgur.com/aS5qJMM.jpg Headstock http://i.imgur.com/cFiZFbS.jpg http://i.imgur.com/HxFFlZp.jpg Guitar 2 http://i.imgur.com/Ai4weTw.jpg http://i.imgur.com/cQOfH2H.jpg https://i.imgur.com/wjQ2XN0.jpg https://i.imgur.com/VJ1Z8Ku.jpg Headstock http://i.imgur.com/xZSxmNj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/GrtoRmX.jpg The only reason I am even considering Amazon is because it was much cheaper than local dealer. I want to make sure these are just cosmetic flaws and not something worse. My local dealer says these are B-Stocks and should be sent back. I'm not 100% sure, since it would be better for him if I buy from him. Something about the serial numbers: Guitar 1 has 2 results according to guitardaterproject.org Your guitar was made at the Bozeman Plant, MT, USA on August 24th, 2010 Production Number: 265 or Nashville Plant, TN, USA in 2016 Production Number: 10926 Guitar 2: Nashville Plant, TN, USA in 2016 Production Number: 4988 Thanks for any input and guidance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 Hello and welcome to this nice place in the web. In the following I try to comment the points you mentioned one by one. White, cloudy stain between pickups' polepiece slugs To minimize microphonic ring, most Gibson pickups are wax-potted. For achieving a dampening function for the pole screws some wax must be inside the holes of the bobbins, too. Mounting the screws will force some of it out of the holes, and removing it using solvent would impair the effect by creeping into the holes, so they just wipe it off and leave the traces there. All of my open-coil humbuckers have this wax residues, and the covered ones as far as potted have them, too, albeit obvious only in the tiny gaps between screw heads and metal covers. P.S.: As always, it seems more obvious between the screws than the slugs. The fretboard is not completely flush with the neck from fret 8 down-- a line can be seen and felt. Not easy to judge that from a far, but not uncommon. Most of my Gibsons have touchable and - on glossy ones - even visible grooves along joints, be it woods, wood and binding if applicable, or nut and wood respectively binding if applicable. It's the nature of the beast, meaning nitro finish here. Acrylic or urethane finishes can usually be done without. The black tape around the pickup doesn't seem tightly wound, it looks crushed down a little bit. This is fairly common on pickups of all brands including Gibson, Fender and third-party vendors, in particular on those with wax-potted coils. The wire is very thin, quite sensitive and can easily be destroyed (that's why I prefer covered pickups). Putting the tape on the coils is a pretty delicate task, and it is best to leave it alone. All of mine regardless of brand look a bit untidy, but I beware of doing anything about it. Intonation is slightly off (12th fret harmonic on some strings is higher than fretted 12th) This is subject to adjustment. Setting up a guitar at the factory can always be just a guess. It simply is "too new" to achieve intonations still fine after transportation, climate changes, and initial aging of wood and finish, in particular nitro. Please also note that all the screws likely are subjects to careful retightening within the first months due to finish shrinkage. Leaving that out may cause machine heads, controls and output jacks going loose. Lots of issues about lack of tuning stability are consequences of screws gone loose. Tip: Always tune the string down, then tighten the screws very carefully, then tune up again. If unsure, leave it to a luthier. one of the pickup screw heads is slightly striped Could be some tarnish caused during the plating process. I just don't care about that. the nut is white, while the same models at a brick and mortar dealer are yellow By research I found out that Gibson specifies a TekToid nut, and honestly, I never saw them in person but think they are white like the inconcistent Corian they used earlier. Yellow would say it's unbleached bone I think - there is bleached bone, too, looking white to off-white -, but that would mean they were already replaced. This is what I had to have done with some of my Corian nuts, and some forumites like our esteemed expert and avowed SG fan charlie brown have Corian nuts replaced with bone as part of the deal. Long story short, I'm quite sure the white nuts are stock while I'm unsure about the yellow ones. Finally the dating attempts for Gibsons from the 2014 model year on. It doesn't work as with 1978 to 1993 and 1995 to 2013 anymore, or more exactly, now it only works for factory site. Hope this may help you in finding a decision. Not an easy task easy along with the thought that the first one possibly could have been the better choice... :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saynottingham Posted December 23, 2016 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 Hi, thanks for your detailed response. I will need to closely test their sounds to come up with a decision. Good thing I still have both. I am also thinking the first one is the lesser of 2 evils. FYI I have added a picture of the neck to the first post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 . I would like to have seen pics of the whole top side of the guitars and the backs of their headstocks showing the serials. Because - Gibson USA (Nashville) hasn't been using the serial format that Gibson Acoustic (Bozeman) is using for years. Baring any mistakes by misreading the serial, if the first SG serial decoded to Bozeman 2010 it's not legit. The second SG serial apparently decodes correctly for Nashville and the serial should begin with the number 16. The condition of the guitars could possibly be due to the seller not inspecting guitars for problems when received from Gibson and returning problems guitars to Gibson. Another possibility is the seller is restocking returned guitars and selling them as new. If you want the price you've got and are not paying shipping on the returns, return the guitars until you get one you like. Other wise, it best to buy in person, and next, from a reputable online dealer that displays pics of the individual guitar for sale - avoid online dealers that use stock advertising pics. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 ... Neck http://i.imgur.com/aS5qJMM.jpg ... Hi, thanks for your detailed response. I will need to closely test their sounds to come up with a decision. Good thing I still have both. I am also thinking the first one is the lesser of 2 evils. FYI I have added a picture of the neck to the first post. This doesn't look OK to me. There has something happened that should have caused rejection by the QC. The person might have been reluctant to have the guitar cut up, but at least they should sell them at a significant discount. <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saynottingham Posted December 23, 2016 Author Share Posted December 23, 2016 . I would like to have seen pics of the whole top side of the guitars and the backs of their headstocks showing the serials. Because - Gibson USA (Nashville) hasn't been using the serial format that Gibson Acoustic (Bozeman) is using for years. Baring any mistakes by misreading the serial, if the first SG serial decoded to Bozeman 2010 it's not legit. The second SG serial apparently decodes correctly for Nashville and the serial should begin with the number 16. The condition of the guitars could possibly be due to the seller not inspecting guitars for problems when received from Gibson and returning problems guitars to Gibson. Another possibility is the seller is restocking returned guitars and selling them as new. If you want the price you've got and are not paying shipping on the returns, return the guitars until you get one you like. Other wise, it best to buy in person, and next, from a reputable online dealer that displays pics of the individual guitar for sale - avoid online dealers that use stock advertising pics. . Thanks for your inputs. added pictures of the headstock Guitar 1 http://i.imgur.com/cFiZFbS.jpg http://i.imgur.com/HxFFlZp.jpg Guitar 2 http://i.imgur.com/xZSxmNj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/GrtoRmX.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revolution Six Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 Beautiful I love SG Faded. Pure Gibson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 . Good headstock pics. Both look genuine and the serials are correct format for 2016. As Cap mentioned, the Guitar Dater is not reliable with newer serial formats. Let us know what you decide to do. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Megafrog Posted December 24, 2016 Share Posted December 24, 2016 I would encourage you to check out the guitar at a Guitar Center. The 2016 model of this is on clearance for less than Amazon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daljitgroup Posted January 5, 2017 Share Posted January 5, 2017 After buying your product i mean guitar from Amazon what would you refer can we buy online product from sites or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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