[CustomerService]

Attention Ultra-III and Ultra-339 Owners!

It has come to our attention that a small percentage of “Les Paul Ultra-III” and “Ultra-339” guitars have entered the market equipped with pickups that were incorrectly produced causing them to be “out of phase.” This issue is observable with the toggle switch in the middle position. With both pickups selected (middle toggle position) the output will be weak with a mid range emphasis. In the other toggle positions the output will be normal. Additionally, sometimes other related symptoms can occur as well that resemble improper electronic grounding.

Great measures were taken to ensure guitars equipped with these pickups did not enter the market place. Unfortunately, our efforts were not entirely successful. However, we do believe that the numbers are very limited with the majority of them being Ultra-339’s.

As always, we stand behind our products 100% with our Limited Lifetime Warranty and will repair or replace any guitars found to have this issue. We work tirelessly to provide you with the highest quality guitars available and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you believe your “Les Paul Ultra-III” or “Ultra-339” has this problem do not attempt to repair it yourself. Please contact the authorized Epiphone retailer where you purchased the guitar and arrange for a repair/replacement immediately.

If you have any questions or concerns or need further assistance, please feel free to contact our Customer Service department.

GIBSON CUSTOMER SERVICE

EMAIL: http://www2.gibson.c.../Talk-2-Us.aspx

PHONE:

In the USA: 1-800-4GIBSON (1-800-444-2766)

In Europe: 00+8004GIBSON1 (00+800-444-2766-1)

Thank you for your continued support.
Epiphone

[brianh]

OK, I called Musician's Fiend today to see about getting the hum in my Pelham Blue Ultra 339 repaired and they said that they don't repair anything, that I would have to work with Gibson about it.

I also asked if I could return it and they said no, that Gibson had not informed them of any special return option for the Ultras. They said my options were to take it to a local authorized repair station or talk to Gibson directly about a replacement.
The rep I talked to said there wasn't anyone higher up I could talk to about the issue so I got his manager "Sterling" on the phone. He said that because it was beyond the exchange period, it was a Gibson warranty issue and there was nothing he could do.

Now what?

[DADDEO]

That sucks brian. Typical big dealer stuffing the little guy. There should be a recall to fix this problem if you want it done but that would be too expensive for Gibson/Epiphone I suppose.

[upsidedown club]

call gibson support number listed in the thread ?

[brianh]

upsidedown club, on 27 February 2012 - 05:09 AM, said:

call gibson support number listed in the thread ?

Hard to do on a Sunday. I sent them an e-mail hopefully they'll respond..


I'd actually rather keep the guit and fix it myself, but they specifically said not to.

[upsidedown club]

good luck on that, I think you could console yourself by playing that beauitiful gift guitar in the meantime

[CustomerService]

brianh, on 27 February 2012 - 08:45 AM, said:

Hard to do on a Sunday. I sent them an e-mail hopefully they'll respond..


I'd actually rather keep the guit and fix it myself, but they specifically said not to.

PM sent. Also, feel free to call on Sundays, we're here!

[brianh]

CustomerService, on 27 February 2012 - 11:36 AM, said:

PM sent. Also, feel free to call on Sundays, we're here!

Did not know that, good deal.

EDIT: Gibson CS called with an RMA, and the guitar is now packed up and ready for a trip to Nashville to get the pickup hum sorted.

Tough to let her go, but I'd rather see her handled by Gibson than a local shop who may or may not know what to do.

[fretter]

CustomerService, on 24 February 2012 - 04:48 PM, said:

Attention Ultra-III and Ultra-339 Owners!

It has come to our attention that a small percentage of “Les Paul Ultra-III” and “Ultra-339” guitars have entered the market equipped with pickups that were incorrectly produced causing them to be “out of phase.” This issue is observable with the toggle switch in the middle position. With both pickups selected (middle toggle position) the output will be weak with a mid range emphasis. In the other toggle positions the output will be normal. Additionally, sometimes other related symptoms can occur as well that resemble improper electronic grounding.

Great measures were taken to ensure guitars equipped with these pickups did not enter the market place. Unfortunately, our efforts were not entirely successful. However, we do believe that the numbers are very limited with the majority of them being Ultra-339’s.

As always, we stand behind our products 100% with our Limited Lifetime Warranty and will repair or replace any guitars found to have this issue. We work tirelessly to provide you with the highest quality guitars available and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you believe your “Les Paul Ultra-III” or “Ultra-339” has this problem do not attempt to repair it yourself. Please contact the authorized Epiphone retailer where you purchased the guitar and arrange for a repair/replacement immediately.

If you have any questions or concerns or need further assistance, please feel free to contact our Customer Service department.

GIBSON CUSTOMER SERVICE

EMAIL: http://www2.gibson.c.../Talk-2-Us.aspx

PHONE:

In the USA: 1-800-4GIBSON (1-800-444-2766)

In Europe: 00+8004GIBSON1 (00+800-444-2766-1)

Thank you for your continued support.
Epiphone

I just wanted say thanks to Gibson/Epiphone Customer Service for addressing this forum and offering solutions. While I have no major problems with my LP Ultra, I'm very impressed that you took the time read and respond to problems that have been discussed here. Many other companies that offer forums don't pay any attention let alone respond. I guess this is why my "next guitar" seems to always be an Epiphone and will eventually be another Gibson. I have bought 6 Epiphones and 1 Gibson in the last 6 months and because of the way you do listen to the customer, I'm going to buy more.

[brianh]

I'm happy to report that my Ultra 399 came back today, only 9 days after I sent it out. Arrived in perfect condition, very professionally packaged too.

The repair tag says:

- p/u's are out of phase
- neck pickup incorrectly polarized
- straighten neck
- reassemble/restring and adjust
- replace p/u's

Elsewhere on the tag it says they just replaced the neck pickup, I assume because you can't actually change the polarity of one pickup in an out-of-phase pair of humbuckers.

In any case, all's well that ends well, glad to have her back and ready for action. Thanks Gibson for making this a fast and relatively painless warranty repair.

PS, I just plugged her in and she's dead quiet, no hum, and no drop in output in the middle switch position. Maybe it's just the new strings they put on, but I'd swear it's also louder and more articulate as well. Probably just my imagination.

[fretter]

brianh, on 07 March 2012 - 01:46 PM, said:

I'm happy to report that my Ultra 399 came back today, only 9 days after I sent it out. Arrived in perfect condition, very professionally packaged too.

The repair tag says:

- p/u's are out of phase
- neck pickup incorrectly polarized
- straighten neck
- reassemble/restring and adjust
- replace p/u's

Elsewhere on the tag it says they just replaced the neck pickup, I assume because you can't actually change the polarity of one pickup in an out-of-phase pair of humbuckers.

In any case, all's well that ends well, glad to have her back and ready for action. Thanks Gibson for making this a fast and relatively painless warranty repair.

PS, I just plugged her in and she's dead quiet, no hum, and no drop in output in the middle switch position. Maybe it's just the new strings they put on, but I'd swear it's also louder and more articulate as well. Probably just my imagination.

Great that you got such good service in relatively short time too! Dang, now you got me thinking I need to make something up about my guitar and get the treatment you got.

[AlanH]

10:00 on this clip explains it all perfectly....






"........if I could just reverse the polarity"


They obviously have a super energy reverse polarizer in Nashville too!

[ashbrookemusic]

I have my ultra 3 into the warranty shop just for this reason.. I can take a wire and touch the pickup cover to the bridge and it kills the pickup like a kill switch... An alot of buzzing when you touch the pickup by its self... Hope to have Epiphone provide great warranty service for this bad pickup problem..
Thanks guys.

[ashbrookemusic]

Just heard that the replacement pick up is on back order till next month ... Really? I have to wait that long?

[1998StandardSG]

AlanH, on 18 April 2012 - 05:28 PM, said:

10:00 on this clip explains it all perfectly....






"........if I could just reverse the polarity"


They obviously have a super energy reverse polarizer in Nashville too!

GET UP ROCK!!! CAUSE MICKY LOVES YA!!! haha I didn't know that Burgess Merideth was the Penguin. But now that I really see he last name spelled out, I am going to have to photoshop something so that his name resembles Megadeth hahahaha

[PatriotsBiker]

Could this have an affect on the USB functionality as well? I get inconsistent, intermittent variable rates of static or distortion through the USB/Guitar Rig functionality. It sounds like some sort of interference. It does have a pattern like quaity at times. Here are the basic bits of information.

• Two computers - same issue
  
• Both computers Win-7 64-bit
  
• Both using ASIO4ALL as instructed. One is using a more recent driver.
  
• different USB cables
  
• different speakers and headphones.
  
• variable positions including pickup selector and the push button switch
  
• different houses (not same electrical "units", in other words)
  
• different Guitar Rig patches, amps, etc.
  
• same issue present with amplitude.
  
• Different batteries.

As you can see, I've tried quite a few things and am at a total loss. I called the support line and they told me to call some dude in South Carolina and then bring it into the guitar store across the street from where I bought it for service.

[ashbrookemusic]

CustomerService, on 24 February 2012 - 04:48 PM, said:

Attention Ultra-III and Ultra-339 Owners!

It has come to our attention that a small percentage of “Les Paul Ultra-III” and “Ultra-339” guitars have entered the market equipped with pickups that were incorrectly produced causing them to be “out of phase.” This issue is observable with the toggle switch in the middle position. With both pickups selected (middle toggle position) the output will be weak with a mid range emphasis. In the other toggle positions the output will be normal. Additionally, sometimes other related symptoms can occur as well that resemble improper electronic grounding.

Great measures were taken to ensure guitars equipped with these pickups did not enter the market place. Unfortunately, our efforts were not entirely successful. However, we do believe that the numbers are very limited with the majority of them being Ultra-339’s.

As always, we stand behind our products 100% with our Limited Lifetime Warranty and will repair or replace any guitars found to have this issue. We work tirelessly to provide you with the highest quality guitars available and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

If you believe your “Les Paul Ultra-III” or “Ultra-339” has this problem do not attempt to repair it yourself. Please contact the authorized Epiphone retailer where you purchased the guitar and arrange for a repair/replacement immediately.

If you have any questions or concerns or need further assistance, please feel free to contact our Customer Service department.

GIBSON CUSTOMER SERVICE

EMAIL: http://www2.gibson.c.../Talk-2-Us.aspx

PHONE:

In the USA: 1-800-4GIBSON (1-800-444-2766)

In Europe: 00+8004GIBSON1 (00+800-444-2766-1)

Thank you for your continued support.
Epiphone

Ok ... Sent my ultra 3 to you guys... Do your magic :-)
One thing to add ... Man I miss it ..

[Memphis Soul]

Was there a list of serial numbers associated with these issues?

[LarryLarry]

The bad news is my original post seems to be gone! (can someone tell me why?)

The good news is that I'm told I'll be getting a replacement pickup in the mail! Cool!

[LarryLarry]

Can one of you that owns an Ultra 339 or Les Paul Ultra III measure the DC resistance of the NanoMag for us? Just pull the cavity cover, unplug the 1/8" mini-jack and measure it directly to get the true resistance of just the NanoMag.

Mine is not working and I'm 99% sure I damaged the NanoMag and not the electronics.

THANKS IN ADAVANCE!