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IS this common with 2018 SG specials


wjkingsnorth

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My new SG special arrived yesterday. Let it sit all day in the box while I was at work to acclimate. Took it out of the box and plugged it in and the volume pot for the bridge pickup cuts in and out. I am on a Gibson SG group on facebook and it seems like this is an issue with this model. Of course the pot is wired to a board so I can't repair it myself. (Not that I should have to do that) It also has blemishes in the stain which is visible on the picture that they took of the guitar on the inspectors bench that was included with the guitar. How then did this pass? I called the local authorized repair store and they told me it is probably not covered! It is new! I am very disappointed in Gibson right now. I hope we can get this resolved because the tone and sustain on this guitar is awesome. [thumbup]

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My new SG special arrived yesterday. Let it sit all day in the box while I was at work to acclimate. Took it out of the box and plugged it in and the volume pot for the bridge pickup cuts in and out. I am on a Gibson SG group on facebook and it seems like this is an issue with this model. Of course the pot is wired to a board so I can't repair it myself. (Not that I should have to do that) It also has blemishes in the stain which is visible on the picture that they took of the guitar on the inspectors bench that was included with the guitar. How then did this pass? I called the local authorized repair store and they told me it is probably not covered! It is new! I am very disappointed in Gibson right now. I hope we can get this resolved because the tone and sustain on this guitar is awesome. [thumbup]

 

I would return it

 

 

 

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If you like the tone and sustain on your new guitar,

then I think you should fix it, at your own expense, and

then rock that sucker. Because it's all about the music,

it's not about the flaws. Besides, the luthier might just

squirt some DeOxit into the pot, and then it works like it

should. New guitars sometimes need to work a bit before

they settle down.

 

Gibson is going through agony right now... employees are losing their

jobs, the company declared bankruptcy which means that those they

owe money to have to stand in line to collect a portion of what they

are due. That's why someone who normally would do Gibson warranty

work isn't interested. He is unsure of getting paid.

 

Just take it to the best luthier you can find or afford.

Talk to local pro guitarists, and ask them where they take their guitars.

Get the luthier to replace the whole PCB with a hand wired

old style wiring harness. This will void your warranty of course, but

in these times, maybe the warranty isn't worth much.

 

I'm going back to where you said you liked the tone and sustain of your

new SG. I have an SG special with mini hums, and I'm very fond of mine too.

That's why I say, fix it and move on. Play the music. I believe you'll be

glad you did. I believe your guitar is worth it. You could return it, and then

you'd have to begin all over again.

Edited by Col Mustard
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Sounds like more than a Set up issue..

 

If you don't like it & you just bought it, exchange it for another.. If you don't like the next one exchange it too. Keep doing until you find the one that's perfect for you....

 

Occasionally, I've had to do that with Guitars that aren't regularly found in Stores these days... It might have taken a 2nd, 3rd or even a 4th on one occasion. But, it worked. I want only good Mojo from my Guitars from day one......

 

Good luck,

 

L

Edited by Larsongs
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You know, the pickups just plug into the PCB. I would check to see if it's pushed in all the way. If nothing else plug it on and off once and see if it helps. Or swap the bridge and neck pick ups and see what happens.. At least you'd know if it was a pickup or the switch ;)

 

 

 

[EDIT] And oh... Congrats and HNGD to ya! :)

Edited by arcticsg
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i have a 2014 studio pro that has a scratchy vol pot on the bridge pickup. it's been like that from the beginning. but it doesn't do it every time. it's had lots of contact cleaner sprayed into it, nothing changed. i rarely use the vol on the bridge pickup anyhow. i do on the neck though, but that works fine. i mostly ignored it because i'm lazy. now here i am more than 5 yrs later. i still love that guitar. probably more now, than when i bought it. if that vol pot really bugs you, swapping out the whole board is a piece of cake, and they aren't hard to obtain. otoh, the warranty doesn't mean diddly squat with the electronics anyhow, so tearing it all out and going with actual wires is pretty painless affair too. you can buy the parts you need and do it yourself, and save big. it's not hard, even i managed to do it to a couple other guitars. [flapper]

but if you don;t want to try doing it yourself for whatever reason, you can buy harness kits that simplify it even further. would be a 10 minute job for your local luthier, or anyone who can manage a soldering gun.

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1552873667[/url]' post='1982926']

i have a 2014 studio pro that has a scratchy vol pot on the bridge pickup. it's been like that from the beginning. but it doesn't do it every time. it's had lots of contact cleaner sprayed into it, nothing changed. i rarely use the vol on the bridge pickup anyhow. i do on the neck though, but that works fine. i mostly ignored it because i'm lazy. now here i am more than 5 yrs later. i still love that guitar. probably more now, than when i bought it. if that vol pot really bugs you, swapping out the whole board is a piece of cake, and they aren't hard to obtain. otoh, the warranty doesn't mean diddly squat with the electronics anyhow, so tearing it all out and going with actual wires is pretty painless affair too. you can buy the parts you need and do it yourself, and save big. it's not hard, even i managed to do it to a couple other guitars. [flapper]

but if you don;t want to try doing it yourself for whatever reason, you can buy harness kits that simplify it even further. would be a 10 minute job for your local luthier, or anyone who can manage a soldering gun.

 

Not a bad idea!

 

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Where this is brand new, the buyer should only have to do one thing and only one thing, call whom ever this was purchased from immediately and have them work an RMA and get another one.

 

Don't screw around with it, send it back it's the retailers issue to work out with gibon, not the buyers.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Where this is brand new, the buyer should only have to do one thing and only one thing, call whom ever this was purchased from immediately and have them work an RMA and get another one.

 

Don't screw around with it, send it back it's the retailers issue to work out with gibon, not the buyers.

 

I agree with you except one point. There may not be another one at the dealer to exchange. When they hit the "flush " button on the price cuts SG's went out the door. At that point of not getting another at the assumed close out price it might be worth fixing. If the guy didn't get a deal on it might be a good chance to bail. Rumor has it the early 2019's are on the gotta go list to make room for whatever new management has plans for in the new no year model world. Might be another round of close outs. 2019's were planned and produced under the old management plan. Cash flow and inventory is always a issue on new management and a new plan.

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I got 2 2018 SG's on close out and both seem ok on pots. Which is almost a surprise in that the QC sigh off shows they were both produced in the late summer of 2017 as 2018's. Somehow they both went unsold until the close out run in Feb of 2019. That is a long time for a guitar to sit in a box in a warehouse. Pots probably can get fussy sitting that long. I was really shocked to find they had been dormant waiting to be sold so long. They both also came for different dealers. Maybe Gibson sat on them that long before going to a dealer.

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