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New 2018 J45 issues


Jungel

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Hi Guys,

This is a great forum and I’d like your advice. I bought a brand new J45 Standard this week but have noticed more and more marks etc over the last few days. I would expect a £2000 acoustic guitar to have an awesome finish but this guitar is left behind by my 20 year old Yamaha F310 which I’ve taken without a case to festivals and camping over the years. It cost under £100. No joke. I’ve added a couple of pics to the folder for comparison. The line that runs diagonally from the saddle to the back of the guitar concerns me and the cosmetic things are simply disappointing. The Gibson mother of pearl logo is dark and dull over the Gib, the son is bright and colourful. There are marks in the top, the join in the centre actually has a 4/5mm thick line from the soundhole to the back end, the headstock has an edge where the varnish looks like it’s been scraped off, the finish just under the nut is pretty bad and that area has light scratches from left to right across the truss rod cover and the paint. There’s glue all around the sctratch plate and neck joint and the end of the fingerboard at the sound hole is unfinished and gluey. Something else Yamaha finishes on a £100 guitar. One of these things may be okay but together and with the unplayable high action it’s adding up to me being a bit annoyed. Okay rant over, can you guys let me know what you think please? Am I over reacting or should I expect better? It’s my first Gibson and I’ve wanted one for 30 years. All comments and opinions are welcome. Give it to me straight.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/164629457@N06/with/42142351232/

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Hi Guys,

This is a great forum and I’d like your advice. I bought a brand new J45 Standard this week but have noticed more and more marks etc over the last few days. I would expect a £2000 acoustic guitar to have an awesome finish but this guitar is left behind by my 20 year old Yamaha F310 which I’ve taken without a case to festivals and camping over the years. It cost under £100. No joke. I’ve added a couple of pics to the folder for comparison. The line that runs diagonally from the saddle to the back of the guitar concerns me and the cosmetic things are simply disappointing. The Gibson mother of pearl logo is dark and dull over the Gib, the son is bright and colourful. There are marks in the top, the join in the centre actually has a 4/5mm thick line from the soundhole to the back end, the headstock has an edge where the varnish looks like it’s been scraped off, the finish just under the nut is pretty bad and that area has light scratches from left to right across the truss rod cover and the paint. There’s glue all around the sctratch plate and neck joint and the end of the fingerboard at the sound hole is unfinished and gluey. Something else Yamaha finishes on a £100 guitar. One of these things may be okay but together and with the unplayable high action it’s adding up to me being a bit annoyed. Okay rant over, can you guys let me know what you think please? Am I over reacting or should I expect better? It’s my first Gibson and I’ve wanted one for 30 years. All comments and opinions are welcome. Give it to me straight.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/164629457@N06/with/42142351232/

 

I would take it back and ask for a replacement or refund. Nothing new should have that many flaws.

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Did you buy this guitar online or at a dealer?

 

 

If you purchased it in person ...Did you look it over at the shop or until you got it home ?

 

If you purchased it online ... the shop/person who sold it to you should be able to recognize the fact that that guitar is in poor shape and needs to be exchanged/ replaced

 

I'm left handed and own many gibson acoustics ... never once have I seen one in this condition!

 

 

JC

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Did you buy this guitar online or at a dealer?

 

 

If you purchased it in person ...Did you look it over at the shop or until you got it home ?

 

If you purchased it online ... the shop/person who sold it to you should be able to recognize the fact that that guitar is in poor shape and needs to be exchanged/ replaced

 

I'm left handed and own many gibson acoustics ... never once have I seen one in this condition!

 

I bought it from an Authorized dealer online. My local music store had no stock and didn’t do the store credit offer anyway. (I don’t have 2grand in cash for a guitar) I thought I may be taking a chance of something slipping past inspection but I recieved it still with the Gibson seals on the box. The dealer never took it out

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I will politely disagree...

 

This stuff doesn't bother me if the guitar sounds great. But I might be in the minority. The guitars are hand-made, mostly for the better, but occasionally without the perfect finishes that come from a machine-made guitar using poly. The glue or polishing compound near joints can be helped with naptha I think?

 

If you bring it back, I hope you get one you will love. J45's have their own awesome sound.

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If you are unhappy with it and can return it, do it. Keeping it would drive you nuts. Craziest to me is the MOP inlay being so different in the two halves of the logo - someone was in betwixt batches ??? They are not all like that I assure you.

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Cosmetic-wise I see nothing that would make me reject it. It’s going to look worse than that after I’ve had it for a couple months. Personally I like some irregularities in the wood grain pattern. Makes it more unique.

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I will politely disagree... This stuff doesn't bother me if the guitar sounds great.

 

Amen. While we all perceive such things differently, to my thinking a guitar is a tool for making music......the music produced being the point of owning the tool. They are not, generally speaking, meant to be admired and coddled as works of art, though I do understand that many see them this way. Gibson puts a lot of hand work in acoustic guitar construction, each one being a bit different from the previous and the next one off the line.......some, of course, a better finished product than others precisely because of the hand work involved in production. Cosmetics? Meh. What do cosmetics have to do with producing music?. Does the guitar play as it should and have a tone/sound that pleases the ear? Good enough for me.........let's rock!

 

Don't let the small stuff steer you away from what may be cosmetically imperfect but otherwise a perfect music making machine. But, as I said, little things like these are important to some and everyone must remain true to their own standards, whatever those standards may be applied to for evaluation. If you're not happy with it by all means return it and hold hope that the next one will be up to snuff.

 

Peace. B)

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I agree with George. Welcome to the forum I hope you take your shoes off kick back and enjoy your stay..Seriously this is a great forum with phenomenal people.

Thanks for that lovely welcome Kelly.

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Cosmetic-wise I see nothing that would make me reject it. It’s going to look worse than that after I’ve had it for a couple months. Personally I like some irregularities in the wood grain pattern. Makes it more unique.

I can live with cosmetic irregularity in the wood grain. I’m not sure that’s what this straight line is though. It doesn’t run with the grain?

 

7DC6B5C6-434F-48F5-B610-2336D8ACC0DB

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I’d return it. You’ll never be happy if it’s bothering you so much in the honeymoon phase. To be honest, the neck looks a little underset to me, I wouldn’t want to see such a short saddle and poor break angle on a new guitar. Best of luck in your endeavours!

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I might send that one back myself ......... especially if it was rubbing me as wrong as that one is doing to you. UNLESS! It played and sounded like a dream come true.

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I’d return it. You’ll never be happy if it’s bothering you so much in the honeymoon phase. To be honest, the neck looks a little underset to me, I wouldn’t want to see such a short saddle and poor break angle on a new guitar. Best of luck in your endeavours!

Hi, can you explain what you mean by underset and poor break angle please?

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Those dents are a poorly stamped "Made in USA"

 

Looks like all the stamping was done prior to finishing, then a large amount of finish shot over it. I've seen some where the serial number itself is barely readable.

 

The issues I see here are disappointing, but not necessarily disqualifying.

 

I checked both of my Bozeman Gibsons, and neither has issues of this type. Both are special runs, however, and may have received more attention than a standard, as harsh as that sounds.

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Welcome to the forum. As Gearbasher said, those “dents” are where the guitar is stamped Made in the USA. Even though the grain shows varying thicknesses of growth rings from differing climactic conditions over the years, the guitar shows very nice silking in that Sitka top. As Sal said, it’s very tough to polish the lacquer where the fretboard extends over the top by the soundhole (yes, they would have taken care of that at Martin or Collings.

 

Although Jinder suggested taking it back if you were already concerned about it during the honeymoon phase, could it be more a case of buyer remorse, or just a case of not being familiar with Gibson’s fairly low prioritization of cosmetic perfection.

 

Which ever way you go, good luck with it- hopefully the sound coming out of it will win you over.

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Welcome to the forum. As Gearbasher said, those “dents” are where the guitar is stamped Made in the USA. Even though the grain shows varying thicknesses of growth rings from differing climactic conditions over the years, the guitar shows very nice silking in that Sitka top. As Sal said, it’s very tough to polish the lacquer where the fretboard extends over the top by the soundhole (yes, they would have taken care of that at Martin or Collings.

 

Although Jinder suggested taking it back if you were already concerned about it during the honeymoon phase, could it be more a case of buyer remorse, or just a case of not being familiar with Gibson’s fairly low prioritization of cosmetic perfection.

 

Which ever way you go, good luck with it- hopefully the sound coming out of it will win you over.

 

I hear what you’re saying but it’s not buyer remorse. I want to love it. Its not one to be traded in later, it’s a forever guitar to be kept and played then passed down to my son and grandson........ I love the look and feel but each time I see it in different light I notice something else. I want to love it and if it was a couple of cosmetic marks I honestly wouldn’t care. There’s also a buzz coming from the saddle that is another story. I’ve changed strings and the saddle and it’s still there. I’ve contacted the retailer and will wait and see what they say. Haven’t lowered it yet. I thought I’d get a pro set up done at a Gibson service centre even though I’ve done it myself on all of my other (cheap) guitars but want to settle the issues in my mind before I spend any money or make alterations that might affect the warranty.

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J,

 

I knew you probably got it online ...

 

I can live with a few quirks here and there ... but this J 45 is flatout abused and beat up... perhaps it was in an adverse environment .

 

 

I hope you return it and get something that pleases you.

 

 

This is not the norm at Gibson

 

 

 

JC

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There’s also a buzz coming from the saddle that is another story. I’ve changed strings and the saddle and it’s still there. I’ve contacted the retailer and will wait and see what they say. Haven’t lowered it yet. I thought I’d get a pro set up done at a Gibson service centre even though I’ve done it myself on all of my other (cheap) guitars but want to settle the issues in my mind before I spend any money or make alterations that might affect the warranty.

 

 

Do not mess with it yourself, or you may void your warranty. Do not let anyone other than a Gibson authorized tech touch it until you decide whether to keep it or return it.

 

If the cosmetic issues bother you as much as they seem to, I would take it back, and ask for a replacement.

 

If you get a replacement, open it and inspect it at the store before taking delivery.

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I have never owned a new Gibson, or in fact a new anything, so do not have a clue how I would react. In a perfect world, we would all be well-heeled enough to go someplace where you could try anything out you wanted or at least worked for somebody who sent you to some place where that would be possible.

 

My take is I agree with others that with this particular guitar, the well has been poisoned. As such, the OP may never be able to make peace with it no matter what it sounds or feels like. Lawdy, I feel like the voice of doom & gloom.

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