Well, at 63 and after making may sacrafices to realise this I finally pulled the trigger on a 59 ES-355 VOS last summer. all seemed fine intill this morning...
Here is a copy of what I just sent to Gibson support:
I purchased this 59 ES335 VOS a few months back from Long&Mcquade in Trois-Rivières Qc. ThIs morning I noticed what looked a dull spot on the neck near the binding. So I figured maybe I dropped something there and it needs cleaning. So I used a soft cloth to try to clean the spot but it was not clearing up. Then I very lightly took my nail to it, thinking maybe something dried up there and I need just to insist a bit. Well the spot stared getting larger as I touched it. I then realised it was the finish coming right off the back of the neck. I showed this to a professional luthier of 40 years experience and he concurred. The finish seems to not be properly sticking to the neck. I did not try the same on other parts of the body but I have to assume the instrument was sprayed in a single session so the issue would be with the entire instrument. The dealer is suggesting having the guitar sent to the Toronto center for repair... I do not agree! This is a custom shop instrument and should be returned to the custom shop. I also feel , at this price point and so early in the life of the instrument, it would not be fair or appropriate that I fond myself without the instrument for a long period. So i reuqest an immediate replacement, nothing else would be satisfactory. I am not rich by any means, this was a late in life acquisition. I accepted to pay the very high price for a Gibson custom instrument. I now hope Gibson Custom will stand behind it's work and resolve this without any delay. I will be posting this to the Gibson Forum and other platform, I will also be posting follow ups to describe how Gibson will handle the situation.
Tank You !
Claude Panneton
