[ritchie69]

i've seen many guitars with a not properly fitted neck angle, and i've been away from them...but it happened to me to notice some issue when was too late to ask to seller to replace the guitar...I'm sure that gibson will solve the problem.

[Mr Clean]

Thanks for that guys, much appreciated. I'd never noticed that before!

My SJ200 has the 4 ribbon bridge.

[zombywoof]

I may be way off base but could it be a saddle issue? Gibson bridges are relatively flat while the fingerboards are radiused. You might check to see if the saddle has the same radius as the board.

[jdd707]

It looks like you have done a good job of documenting your problem. I believe that you can expect a good resolution of this issue from Gibson. The dealer may be a problem but not Gibson. The dealer doesn't know what the factory will or will not do. That's one reason to buy a new Gibson, the guarantee. They will honor it! Good luck, Mr. Clean and don't let this experience sour you on Gibsons.

[fortyearspickn]

Mr.C - I'm curious... Who was the dealer? Gibson makes an effort to ensure their dealers know what they are doing. They don't let any old Mom & Pop sell their guitars. It sounds like this dealer isn't a 5 Star for sure. I really can't imagine a scenario in which Gibson will not make you whole. G'luck!

[JuanCarlosVejar]

fortyearspickn, on 10 April 2012 - 09:37 AM, said:

Mr.C - I'm curious... Who was the dealer? Gibson makes an effort to ensure their dealers know what they are doing. They don't let any old Mom & Pop sell their guitars. It sounds like this dealer isn't a 5 Star for sure. I really can't imagine a scenario in which Gibson will not make you whole. G'luck!

probably a GC



JC

[pfox14]

I would crap a brick & die if that was the case with a brand new J-200 I bought. Any chance of bringing back to the store where you git it to see if it would be covered by the warranty? I would be outraged

[drathbun]

It shouldn't matter if you took it to a tech for a setup, if all he did was adjust the action. That would be like voiding your car warranty because you changed the oil.

If the neck set was poor on a new guitar, then it is a quality control issue with Gibson IMO. You can check the neck set by sliding a straight edge (on edge) down the center of the fingerboard and seeing where it meets up with the bridge. If the straight edge does not skim across the top of the bridge (like in the photo of my SWD below) but runs into the face of the bridge, then the neck is under-set. They have jigs to check this at the factory and should be part of the quality control checks of any new guitar. Regardless of whether you've adjusted the saddle, truss rod and/or nut, I would speak to customer service at Gibson about it.

An under-set neck on a new guitar is just wrong. It means the guitar will have a very short life-span before having to be reset. And a reset is an expensive and invasive procedure. You should expect to have 10 - 20 years in your guitar before a neck reset is needed, not a month and a half.

[drathbun]

Just a follow-up here regarding warranty. The Gibson Warranty on acoustic instruments is as follows:

Your new Gibson instrument is warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the original retail purchaser, subject to the limitations contained in this warranty.

THIS WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER:

1. Any instrument that has been altered or modified in any way or upon which the serial number has been tampered with or altered.
2. Any instrument whose warranty card has been altered or upon which false information has been given.
3. Any instrument that has been damaged due to misuse, negligence, accident, or improper operation.
4. The subjective issue of tonal characteristics.
5. Shipping damages of any kind.
6. Any instrument that has been subjected to extremes of humidity or temperature
7. Normal wear and tear (i.e., worn frets, worn machine heads, worn plating, string replacement, scratched pickguards, or damages to or discoloration of the instrument finish for any reason).
8. Any instrument that has been purchased from an unauthorized dealer, or upon which unauthorized repair or service has been performed.
9. Any factory installed electronics after a period of one (I) year following the original date of purchase.
10. Cracking, discoloration or damage of any sort to the finish or plating for any reason.
11. Gibson does not warranty the playability of a instrument whose "action" is lower than the standard "action" as defined in the owners manual.

It doesn't seem to me that you have violated any of these terms. Number 11 is about playability below standard action and it seems to me you're looking for standard playability. I think you have an argument here.

[BigKahune]

.
Some members might recall this issue with J200s has been discussed here at least a couple of times since I joined. J200s should be looked over carefully for this issue before purchase, especially those with four ribbon bridges. In the past I recall someone commenting that Gibson should be setting the 4 ribbon J200s' neck with more back angle than they do to allow for a higher saddle and sharper break angle.


.

[MissouriPicker]

I hope you get this resolved in your favor. I do believe you should have involved Gibson immediately. Your dealer, whoever it is, sounds a bit shady. My experiences with GC is that they will advise you to not use a tech/repairman who is not authorized by the company who made the guitar. Your dealer, whoever it is, should have told you the same, or at least have issued some paperwork explaining it. Our GC here tells you upon purchase that you have 45 days to return the guitar, and if it's a Gibson, Martin, or Taylor that you need to have repairs done through the builder and with their authorized techs. GC, here, has two techs, but they will not work on Gibsons, Martins, Taylors for anything much more than a setup and string changes if the guitar is under warranty. Fortunately, it appears that no work was done on the guitar by these other techs. From what's been written, it doesn't sound as if the dealer is on your side. I hope you do tell us who it is. Ordering a high-dollar instrument over the net is risky. We've all come to trust certain dealers. Hopefully, that trust remains...Good luck.

[Eyecon]

If the dealer is GC and within 30 days. Return it.

[Mr Clean]

Thanks for all your words of support and help.

[zombywoof]

fortyearspickn, on 10 April 2012 - 09:37 AM, said:

Mr.C - I'm curious... Who was the dealer? Gibson makes an effort to ensure their dealers know what they are doing. They don't let any old Mom & Pop sell their guitars. It sounds like this dealer isn't a 5 Star for sure. I really can't imagine a scenario in which Gibson will not make you whole. G'luck!

It got nothing to do with knowing what they are doing. The average Mom & Pop store can't afford to be an authorized Gibson dealer as it could never sell the number of guitars Gibson requires.

But I would trust my local little indie stores over the meglomart guitar stores any day of the week. Perhaps if there was a place for them with Gibson we would be seeing alot less complaints about new instruments.

[fortyearspickn]

zombywoof, on 10 April 2012 - 12:24 PM, said:

It got nothing to do with knowing what they are doing. The average Mom & Pop store can't afford to be an authorized Gibson dealer as it could never sell the number of guitars Gibson requires.

But I would trust my local little indie stores over the meglomart guitar stores any day of the week. Perhaps if there was a place for them with Gibson we would be seeing alot less complaints about new instruments.

I partially agree and partially, respectfully disagree. Yes, volume is king in any business and Gibson would prefer to deal with 100 retailers selling 10 times as many units each than deal with and risk their rep dealing with 2,000 retailers who might move a handful a year and present more than a handful of problems. Some of the smaller ones certainly offer better service and/or prices than a GC, but based on the law of averages more than half probably do not. So - would you rather wholesale to 100 retailers who on average were 'better' than 1000 others?

[ParlourMan]

I'd say it's as simple as sales Vs costs. Logistically it's easier to deal with fewer 'big boy' retailers from a CRM and distribution perspective. Market forces, margins and consumer price tolerance are king!

[Mr Clean]

I would really appreciate if someone could give me some info on a neck reset. How long would this process normally take and will the guitar require a re spray afterwards?

[drathbun]

Mr Clean, on 13 April 2012 - 02:42 PM, said:

I would really appreciate if someone could give me some info on a neck reset. How long would this process normally take and will the guitar require a re spray afterwards?

A reset on a J200 would not require a respray if done correctly. The nitro lacquer finish would be "broken" with a razor or exacto at the seams of the heel and then when refitted, new nitro brushed into the seam and then buffed. You shouldn't notice the neck was ever off the guitar. They would remove an inlays above the 12th fret as well as the 14 fret itself to drill an access hole for the insertion of steam. Once the neck is off and reset, the fret and inlays re-installed, you will not see any evidence that anything has happened to the guitar at all.

I would guess that a professional neck reset would cost $250 - $300.

[Mr Clean]

[Mr Clean]

Just an update on this.
The dealer is being very difficult so I'm having to take further action.
I can't say any more at this stage, but I will post the whole story once it reaches a conclusion.

Just to say that a representative from Gibson themselves contacted me after reading my posts and was super helpful.

Thanks for all your help and support.