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Done with Gibson


newfiesig

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Guys, I appreciate everyone trying to help with the unrelenting static in my Les Paul. Unfortunately, even the three techs I brought it to didn't know how to fix it (and I'm not willing to pay hundreds of dollars chasing ghosts).

 

So this is why I am done with Gibson. The name once was synonymous with perfection; they wouldn't let one go out the door with a flaw. Now I find myself talking to the Gibson customer service guy telling me to rub dryer sheets over my 2300 dollar instrument in order to make it playable. Besides being ridiculous beyond imagine, he (well they, I called back and talked to several people) simply repeated the same thing after I told him IT DIDN'T WORK. It's one thing to have horrible QC, it's another to offer a ridiculous solution, it's yet another to not even acknowledge that the solution doesn't work.

 

I was told that I needed to increase the humidity (apparently 45% isn't high enough...) and when I questioned this to say that my Epiphones cost a fifth of the price and didn't have the issue I was told the same thing: raise humidity and use dryer sheets.

 

Not acceptable.

 

To that end, I will stop complaining about things I cannot change (and even if I could, I would still not be able to bond with an instrument that left the shop unfinished). My solution is simple, I am done with Gibson. I will be moving to another brand and will not be purchasing anything Gibson moving forward.

 

Again, I thank you for your help and wish you all the best.

 

Cheers.

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You have a thread already started where a dozen people gave you some suggestions that didn’t involve dryer sheets. Hopefully you get your static issue fixed. If not, then good luck with whatever guitar you end up with. Really sucks to spend all that money and not be happy.

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Nobody is perfect. And Gibson never was either.

Do what you want.

 

Selling a multi-thousand dollar instrument that is not playable is more than a littke short from perfect. They use to be a great brand, and i wish they still were.

 

Unfortunately they are not and brand loyalty extends as far as the company is willing to go for their customers.

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You have a thread already started where a dozen people gave you some suggestions that didn’t involve dryer sheets. Hopefully you get your static issue fixed. If not, then good luck with whatever guitar you end up with. Really sucks to spend all that money and not be happy.

 

Yes, I referenced that post in this thread. Point is, people have suggestions, but not solutions (as they were differenct, and none resolved my issue).

 

Even if one of the suggestions DID work, it would just go to demonstrate how Gibson are now selling flawed and/or unfinished guitars.

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Sounds to me you didn't give a lot of those suggestions a try.One being patient and letting that nitro to cure a bit. I'm willing to bet as the weather is changing, you may see a difference. It seems you're a bit to angry and have made up your mind. I'm sure you will have no problems selling that Les Paul

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Yes, I referenced that post in this thread. Point is, people have suggestions, but not solutions (as they were differenct, and none resolved my issue).

 

Even if one of the suggestions DID work, it would just go to demonstrate how Gibson are now selling flawed and/or unfinished guitars.

 

 

Perhaps flawed to you, a reality of living with a nitro finished guitar for most of us. Good luck in where ever the road takes you.

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Perhaps flawed to you, a reality of living with a nitro finished guitar for most of us. Good luck in where ever the road takes you.

 

Fair enough, I just feel that if you need to “finish” an instrument after purchasing it (extra grounding, shielding, etc), then the process in my opinion is flawed.

 

Gibson recognizes this by having “dryer sheet” as a predetermined response for their CS department.

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Yea, here I think we can all agree that it certainly would not add much to time and cost to try and improve the static, if it can be done with better care taken in shielding the cavities.

like adding a strap button on a J200.... they just don't do it... so you buy a $4,300 guitar, and to use it standing, you have to A: put the strap up the headstock which I hate, or B: need to drill into it and install a stoopid strap button. I hear it's a "tradition" thing, I don't get it...

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Well its a shame its come to that.

 

Big Bills comment echoes pretty much exactly my thoughts. I think you got excellent advice here, but its your guitar and your decisions (to try or not to) that count.

 

I hope you find a guitar that satisfies you. Good luck.

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Guys, I appreciate everyone trying to help with the unrelenting static in my Les Paul. Unfortunately, even the three techs I brought it to didn't know how to fix it (and I'm not willing to pay hundreds of dollars chasing ghosts).

 

So this is why I am done with Gibson. The name once was synonymous with perfection; they wouldn't let one go out the door with a flaw. Now I find myself talking to the Gibson customer service guy telling me to rub dryer sheets over my 2300 dollar instrument in order to make it playable. Besides being ridiculous beyond imagine, he (well they, I called back and talked to several people) simply repeated the same thing after I told him IT DIDN'T WORK. It's one thing to have horrible QC, it's another to offer a ridiculous solution, it's yet another to not even acknowledge that the solution doesn't work.

 

I was told that I needed to increase the humidity (apparently 45% isn't high enough...) and when I questioned this to say that my Epiphones cost a fifth of the price and didn't have the issue I was told the same thing: raise humidity and use dryer sheets.

 

Not acceptable.

 

To that end, I will stop complaining about things I cannot change (and even if I could, I would still not be able to bond with an instrument that left the shop unfinished). My solution is simple, I am done with Gibson. I will be moving to another brand and will not be purchasing anything Gibson moving forward.

 

Again, I thank you for your help and wish you all the best.

 

Cheers.

 

I read the other thread and understand your disappointment with the guitar; however, I think you are being unfair to Gibson. In the first post of the other thread, you say you bought the guitar used, which voids the warranty and means that you accepted the risk of manufacturer defects. IMHO, the fact that Gibson is taking your calls and offering solutions on a guitar that is not under warranty is admirable.

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I read the other thread and understand your disappointment with the guitar; however, I think you are being unfair to Gibson. In the first post of the other thread, you say you bought the guitar used, which voids the warranty and means that you accepted the risk of manufacturer defects. IMHO, the fact that Gibson is taking your calls and offering solutions on a guitar that is not under warranty is admirable.

 

I was thinking the same thing, but decided not to mention it. Because the guitar is second hand, I do not think they could offer much more than was given on the other thread.

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I wouldn't expect Gibson to provide anything other than advice as I am the second owner.

 

That said, I feel they should stand behind their (unmodified) products to offer said advice. They arguably did so, but their advice was to run dryer sheets over my 2500 guitar.. a solution that didn't even solve the problem (and advice that they restated after I told them it didn't work).

 

I have tried everything suggested besides

1. Waiting longer for the nitro to cure (it's a 2017, I've played 2018s with much less static)

2. Pulling the electronics and shielding the cavities.

 

I did not do the second because Gibson said it wouldn't help (not that their advice means much to me at this point) and I didn't want to have to finish the build of a 2500 dollar instrument. I may still do so in order to sell it, but I will be moving to a brand that finished their guitars before shamelessly asking multiple thousands for them.

 

Trust me, there's nothing I wanted more than to play a Gibson through a Marshall. The crush I had on Gibson is now gone and I no longer see them as an elite brand to aspire to own.

 

I understand fully that it is based on experience and that others will own Gibsons for years with zero issues. Unfortunately I'm in the camp that sees Gibson as a flawed brand that's no longer desirable, despite the fact that their guitars smell like marshmallows.

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in another post, he mentions having 2 gibsons, the newest one is 8 years old... Once the nitro (Finally) cures, the static issues either completely go away, or not nearly as much of a nuisance. I had one that had it bad, but there was something else going on there I suspect. I regrounded everything properly and it finally went away.

 

it CAN be a serious "Buzz kill"... esp. if you're trying to record.

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@ Newfiesig, Bro, your Guitar needs to be shielded and/or GROUNDED (some people call it some kind of 'BOX', 'FARADAY's BOX' if memory serves me today). IDK for sure BUT IMO it is due to the PC boards GIBSON is putting in their guitars now. Before GIBSON came up with PLUG 'N' PLAY electronics and GIBSON USA was soldering the electronic connections, this was NEVER a problem. I just sold a 1979 Gibson 'SG' Standard that was SILENT ! I still have a 1994 GIBSON 'NIGHTHAWK' and inside the control pocket I can see the paint that GIBSON used to shield the Guitar (IT IS SILENT as well, just like my '79 SG), GIBSON no longer does that because I think that MAYBE GIBSON thinks there is no need due to the afore-mentioned PLUG 'N' PLAY electronics. I have purchased 4 GIBSON USA guitars in the last 2 years and all 4 of them do what you are talking about. Shielding the Guitar is what cured the problem on my 2017 Les Paul STANDARD. I have not done it to any of the others, 2 of them I sold (I wish I had kept the 2016 'SG' Special, it had 'IT') and I still have the 2017 'SG' STANDARD and have no plans to get rid of it. I may get around to shielding it at some point and I could do it myself but I am not sure about whether the actual ground wire is soldered and if so where/what it is soldered to or its a PLUG 'N' PLAY ground.

 

I am absolutely CERTAIN that the problem you have described is due to the Guitar not being properly shielded and or grounded. People in the comments section, that is no longer visible, were HOWLING about this problem in the 2016 SG STANDARD comments section. Apparently it is happening quite a few of GIBSON USA's guitars. That said, I just bought a GIBSON 'MEMPHIS' ES-335 and the Guitar is SILENT and has no shielding or grounding issue's. BUT, the guitar also doesn't have a PC Board in it either. I am not an electronics technician nor am I an Electrician BUT I AM CERTAIN that the problem you are upset with is a grounding/shielding issue.

 

The ANTI-STATIC sheets (OMG, THEY AREN'T KIDDING WITH THAT ONE ?) is the same BS advice I got about an AMP I needed to have a TUBE changed in (WHAT THE FORK ?) and that was coming from one of MARSHALL's retailer's.....Seems like the ANTI-STATIC SHEETS line is a 'GO-TO' response for more than one Manufacturer.

 

I will go out on a limb here and say that if you take that Guitar somewhere and have it properly SHIELDED/GROUNDED the problem will disappear! I'd am willing to say, having had the same problem, its pretty much a certainty. The Nitrocellulose Curing over time fix? OMG, I'm not touching that one, LOL !!!

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@ Newfiesig, Bro, your Guitar needs to be shielded and/or GROUNDED (some people call it some kind of 'BOX', 'FARADAY's BOX' if memory serves me today). IDK for sure BUT IMO it is due to the PC boards GIBSON is putting in their guitars now. Before GIBSON came up with PLUG 'N' PLAY electronics and GIBSON USA was soldering the electronic connections, this was NEVER a problem. I just sold a 1979 Gibson 'SG' Standard that was SILENT ! I still have a 1994 GIBSON 'NIGHTHAWK' and inside the control pocket I can see the paint that GIBSON used to shield the Guitar (IT IS SILENT as well, just like my '79 SG), GIBSON no longer does that because I think that MAYBE GIBSON thinks there is no need due to the afore-mentioned PLUG 'N' PLAY electronics. I have purchased 4 GIBSON USA guitars in the last 2 years and all 4 of them do what you are talking about. Shielding the Guitar is what cured the problem on my 2017 Les Paul STANDARD. I have not done it to any of the others, 2 of them I sold (I wish I had kept the 2016 'SG' Special, it had 'IT') and I still have the 2017 'SG' STANDARD and have no plans to get rid of it. I may get around to shielding it at some point and I could do it myself but I am not sure about whether the actual ground wire is soldered and if so where/what it is soldered to or its a PLUG 'N' PLAY ground.

 

I am absolutely CERTAIN that the problem you have described is due to the Guitar not being properly shielded and or grounded. People in the comments section, that is no longer visible, were HOWLING about this problem in the 2016 SG STANDARD comments section. Apparently it is happening quite a few of GIBSON USA's guitars. That said, I just bought a GIBSON 'MEMPHIS' ES-335 and the Guitar is SILENT and has no shielding or grounding issue's. BUT, the guitar also doesn't have a PC Board in it either. I am not an electronics technician nor am I an Electrician BUT I AM CERTAIN that the problem you are upset with is a grounding/shielding issue.

 

The ANTI-STATIC sheets (OMG, THEY AREN'T KIDDING WITH THAT ONE ?) is the same BS advice I got about an AMP I needed to have a TUBE changed in (WHAT THE FORK ?) and that was coming from one of MARSHALL's retailer's.....Seems like the ANTI-STATIC SHEETS line is a 'GO-TO' response for more than one Manufacturer.

 

I will go out on a limb here and say that if you take that Guitar somewhere and have it properly SHIELDED/GROUNDED the problem will disappear! I'd am willing to say, having had the same problem, its pretty much a certainty. The Nitrocellulose Curing over time fix? OMG, I'm not touching that one, LOL !!!

 

Hi Bill,

 

The guitar in question is a 2017 Classic. It doesn't have the PCB that you are referring to, it's hand wired with orange drop capacitors.

 

I brought this to a couple of techs to look at. They said they would "try things", but could not guarantee a result. I refuse to throw money at ghosts (it would be different if they said what it was and how they could fix it). One tech had never heard of it, and proceeded to pull three other Gibsons off the wall (including an Explorer and SG). They ALL had the same problem, just not nearly as bad as mine. Most I have heard with static are annoying, but mind is beyond playable. You cannot touch or move your hand on the neck without the loud crackle over the speakers.

 

Assuming that ripping out all the electronics and adding shielding tape or paint is the solution, it still doesn't change the fact that Gibson is selling unfinished guitars for thousands of dollars.

 

I'm sure I will fix it, and then move on to purchase guitars from a company that still cares about their customers. As I have stated before, I wanted this guitar to work. However when the company tells you to "use dryer sheets" as a solution AFTER you tell them that dryer sheets only fixes the problem for a couple of minutes, it's clear that they don't care.

 

Maybe once their bankruptcy sorts itself out and they fall under different leadership things will change. I have a 2011 Les Paul Jr that I love and would never sell. I hope they recover, but at this point I cannot in good conscious give them more of my money with so many other hard working companies out there who deserve it more.

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Hi Bill,

 

The guitar in question is a 2017 Classic. It doesn't have the PCB that you are referring to, it's hand wired with orange drop capacitors.

 

I brought this to a couple of techs to look at. They said they would "try things", but could not guarantee a result. I refuse to throw money at ghosts (it would be different if they said what it was and how they could fix it). One tech had never heard of it, and proceeded to pull three other Gibsons off the wall (including an Explorer and SG). They ALL had the same problem, just not nearly as bad as mine. Most I have heard with static are annoying, but mind is beyond playable. You cannot touch or move your hand on the neck without the loud crackle over the speakers.

 

Assuming that ripping out all the electronics and adding shielding tape or paint is the solution, it still doesn't change the fact that Gibson is selling unfinished guitars for thousands of dollars.

 

I'm sure I will fix it, and then move on to purchase guitars from a company that still cares about their customers. As I have stated before, I wanted this guitar to work. However when the company tells you to "use dryer sheets" as a solution AFTER you tell them that dryer sheets only fixes the problem for a couple of minutes, it's clear that they don't care.

 

Maybe once their bankruptcy sorts itself out and they fall under different leadership things will change. I have a 2011 Les Paul Jr that I love and would never sell. I hope they recover, but at this point I cannot in good conscious give them more of my money with so many other hard working companies out there who deserve it more.

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Hi Bill,

 

The guitar in question is a 2017 Classic. It doesn't have the PCB that you are referring to, it's hand wired with orange drop capacitors.

 

I brought this to a couple of techs to look at. They said they would "try things", but could not guarantee a result. I refuse to throw money at ghosts (it would be different if they said what it was and how they could fix it). One tech had never heard of it, and proceeded to pull three other Gibsons off the wall (including an Explorer and SG). They ALL had the same problem, just not nearly as bad as mine. Most I have heard with static are annoying, but mind is beyond playable. You cannot touch or move your hand on the neck without the loud crackle over the speakers.

 

Assuming that ripping out all the electronics and adding shielding tape or paint is the solution, it still doesn't change the fact that Gibson is selling unfinished guitars for thousands of dollars.

 

I'm sure I will fix it, and then move on to purchase guitars from a company that still cares about their customers. As I have stated before, I wanted this guitar to work. However when the company tells you to "use dryer sheets" as a solution AFTER you tell them that dryer sheets only fixes the problem for a couple of minutes, it's clear that they don't care.

 

Maybe once their bankruptcy sorts itself out and they fall under different leadership things will change. I have a 2011 Les Paul Jr that I love and would never sell. I hope they recover, but at this point I cannot in good conscious give them more of my money with so many other hard working companies out there who deserve it more.

 

WOW, no PC Board? I am shocked. Its no surprise to me that the guys took all of the GIBSON's off the wall and they all did it. The reason I said it is the board is because every GIBSON I have ever had that did not have a PC Board in it, is SILENT !!

 

I AM SOOO SORRY THAT YOU HAVE THIS PROBLEM, it beyond SUCKS !!!Question: Did the techs say they think it is a GROUNd/SHIELDing issue, as that was, and maybe still is, my bet !!

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Hi Bill,

 

The guitar in question is a 2017 Classic. It doesn't have the PCB that you are referring to, it's hand wired with orange drop capacitors.

 

I brought this to a couple of techs to look at. They said they would "try things", but could not guarantee a result. I refuse to throw money at ghosts (it would be different if they said what it was and how they could fix it). One tech had never heard of it, and proceeded to pull three other Gibsons off the wall (including an Explorer and SG). They ALL had the same problem, just not nearly as bad as mine. Most I have heard with static are annoying, but mind is beyond playable. You cannot touch or move your hand on the neck without the loud crackle over the speakers.

 

Assuming that ripping out all the electronics and adding shielding tape or paint is the solution, it still doesn't change the fact that Gibson is selling unfinished guitars for thousands of dollars.

 

I'm sure I will fix it, and then move on to purchase guitars from a company that still cares about their customers. As I have stated before, I wanted this guitar to work. However when the company tells you to "use dryer sheets" as a solution AFTER you tell them that dryer sheets only fixes the problem for a couple of minutes, it's clear that they don't care.

 

Maybe once their bankruptcy sorts itself out and they fall under different leadership things will change. I have a 2011 Les Paul Jr that I love and would never sell. I hope they recover, but at this point I cannot in good conscious give them more of my money with so many other hard working companies out there who deserve it more.

 

Maybe I missed it before when I first read the OP, but seeing your reply and how BAD the problem is and that the Guitar is unplayable, WOW, I can see how you would feel that way. Spend YOUR Hard-Earned $$$ and get a Guitar you cant play, WTF !!! Like in the old days before the LEMON LAWS with cars, buy a used one and get home, the engie blows, and tough $#!T !!!

 

I really hope that you get it fixed. IDK when GIBSON started with these PC Boards but a few guys I know that buy Guitars like I buy strings, the 1ST thing they do with any GIBSON USA Guitar that has a PC Board in it is they have the PC Board taken out and then have the circuitry SOLDERED, like the old days. I suck at SOLDERING and its the only reason I do not do it myself...and the money it would cost !

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WOW, no PC Board? I am shocked. Its no surprise to me that the guys took all of the GIBSON's off the wall and they all did it. The reason I said it is the board is because every GIBSON I have ever had that did not have a PC Board in it, is SILENT !!

 

I AM SOOO SORRY THAT YOU HAVE THIS PROBLEM, it beyond SUCKS !!!Question: Did the techs say they think it is a GROUNd/SHIELDing issue, as that was, and maybe still is, my bet !!

 

The techs didn't know what it was. They said they could try to fix the problem, but with no guarantees. I could spend money on hours of labour with no results. Or if I did see results, they could be expensive to come by.

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