Wmachine

A 2020 made in Nashville ES model will come with a COA only if it is a Custom Shop model. If it is a Gibson USA model, it will not come with a COA, just like all other Gibson USA models.

All Memphis ES guitars should have come with COAs. Thus the OP question of what they are doing now that they are made in Nashville. The answer from Gibson, though not as complete as it could be, pretty much confirms what I said in my last post. The Gibson USA ES models will not have them. No regular Gibson USA model come with them. Presume Gibson Custom Shop models will continue to have them same as before.

If you insist, as is your right for it to be flawless, then by all means send it back. Done, end of story. But It look like you're will to consider options. I would think this should be about what you end up with, not what you start with. Once again, the knee-jerk chest beating "I'm offended, send it back!" reaction may not be the best in the long run. ALWAYS, the first thing I would do is determine whether it is a "good one" or not. Play it, and objectively evaluate it. What I would do would totally depend on this. It may actually be a great one, but so far it appears you're not past the obvious flaws. If it is a good one and the fretboard would clean up and you could live with the dings for the right price, then start to think of what deal would be acceptable to you. If it is not a good one, great! You have perfect reasons to send it back. That case design should never had made it to production. Another "What were they thinking moment". As much as I really like to have original cases, I would get another case for it regardless. So depending on what your feelings are on the case, negotiate accordingly. I doubt they would give you another case in any kind of a deal, so that may not be an option. The typical forum responses reveal that getting a cosmetically perfect guitar is far more important than getting a "good one". But that's not me. And to anyone who doesn't know what a "good one" is or means, I respectfully suggest they find out before they go guitar shopping. Unless they are buying it just to look at it..

Good question. More like for what models will they issue COAs. Unless they change something, it would be the same as before in Nashville: Yes, Custom Shop, no for USA. And that would of course mean that now only some of the ES models will come with them, and those would be the Custom Shop models. I would expect this, but anything is possible.

Call or write Gibson. They will be able to help with this.

Could be. Maybe they'll just send it to you in pieces parts, and let you assemble it.

Not all. Should be pretty simple: Call or write Gibson with s/n. They can tell you exactly what it is.

Probably? Like you know that??? Sounds like a reckless statement. OP, there is one possibly huge advantage to buying from Best Buy. Find out if you can "return to store" if there is an issue. If you can, that advantage should be obvious now.

The pad may have reacted with the nitro. A much closer look at it would be needed to tell anything more.

Correct. But sometimes they do state a specific number made (or to be made) but they are not numbered. And then there are also the hide and seek numbers that are out there. When there are some special runs, there is the "press" sent to dealers, which the dealers simply repeat on their webpage. Sometimes say, for example, "only 60 made for worldwide distribution". That come to the dealers directly from Gibson. But now if you contact Gibson about those same numbers, Gibson says they don't have any numbers.

Do you mean you don't know the serial number, or it didn't have one?

There is pretty much no year that is a bad year for a Gibson ES-175s from everything I've read. I don't believe they "suffered" any in the Norlin era. The usual "find a good one" applies, as it does to any model of any year. Look nice! But that from afar with no scrutiny.

Some ES-335 can be found right here on the Gibson site going back to 2015. Not all inclusive, however. http://legacy.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Gibson-Memphis.aspx The newer the model, the less forthcoming Gibson has been with in depth specs on their models. You can also use the Waybackmachine to dig further back in specs on the Gibson site. It has always said to try as many in person as possible. This has never been more true than with necks on ES-335s. They are known to vary considerably even within the same model. So this needs to be understood when getting feedback from owners.

Just an observation. I'm wondering if what you have is an indication of the overall quality suffering from the move from Memphis to Nashville. I have a 2016 Studio and the quality is excellent. The lesser cost is not due to any shortcuts in quality and construction. In fact, it is probably a bigger bang for the buck that the more expensive models.

Once again, this illustrates (pardon the pun) 1. Why initial claims (especially of oddities) should be taken with a grain of salt. 2. Why pics are so important.

They have made many slightly different versions over the years since it first came out.

I can agree with all of that. Thanks to the hysteria over the 2015s, I got a steal of a deal on one. Top shelf quality. It is absolutely great all the way around. You have to be able to play a big neck. though. It is probably one of the the most massive necks ever put on a LP. But that just adds to mass of the non-weight relieved body giving it deep long resonance. Add the '59s pups and you get LP heaven. Worth another look:

Yes, indeed. Thanks for catching that. My eyes were shifted over a digit! And that said, it could also be a "2007 model" based on that.

It does not have a Custom Shop s/n. What all does the orange tag inside say? Pic would be best. S/n does say it was made in 2004, I believe. Regardless, call or write to Gibson, they will tell you exactly what you have.

Absolutely a matter of degree. Those are trees we are talking about. More like snow flakes in that none are exactly the same. Thankfully! How boring otherwise. "Flame" is just a more slang term for figuring in the wood. But definitely different than wood grain. Personally, I think flames are a bit over-hyped. I think some of the wood grain in plain tops look better than most flames. But that's all subjective. Gibson, of course, has a dog in that race because they charge a lot more for flames. Talking about subtle flames, my Lucille is red. The finish is what I'd call "mostly transparent" and shows through some very subtle figuring. The effect is absolutely beautiful. Reminds me of glowing embers. Subtle enough it looks "plain" red at a glance and is hard to get good pics of it. But holding it, it just radiates like a jewel. This studio shot give some indication of it. But you really have to see it in person to get the full effect. Just trying to say that the figuring doe not need to be the-in-your-face type.

As you're looking at the pic, the clearly visible horizontal "lines" are the flame. Though more on the subtle side, it is clearly visible. I'm guessing you're looking on a cell phone at a tiny pic.

There are 2 types of flaws for cases, just like there are for guitars. Cosmetic and functional. And as with both, I don't have much concern with former but 100% concern about the latter. Even more for a case, though. So a tear is almost inconsequential to me, but latch fit is critical. Now what I have noticed is poor fits of the guitars to the cases, and I'm talking about OEM cases of various makes made for specific guitars, not even multiple use cases. I don't understand why anyone looks at, and evaluates a case based on cosmetics without even checking the fit. Same guys do the same things with guitars, nit pick them for cosmetics and decide to keep or return without even playing them. To me, that's insane. Anyway, by proper fit, the guitar should be properly supported and held immobile so it cannot move at all in *any* direction. This evaluation cannot be done simply by looking at the guitar in the case. I have found too many cases that don't have a proper fit. That's what I think is of concern.

Seems there has always been consistently inconsistencies the necks, let alone differences in ones interpretations of the necks. What that mean is you need to get one in your hands. That is the only way you are going to know for sure. Play before you pay. Which is a good idea anyway. Or be able to return if you can't play ahead.

The reason is that the only Gibsons shown on the website is that all they show there is the regular Gibson line. Any models made for Japanese (and other markets), and dealer orders (like Sweetwater and GC/MF "exciusives") are not shown on the Gibson site. Always been that way.

Personally, I think you would be remiss not to consider an ES that was not a true Custom Shop. With LPs, it is different. There is an appreciable difference from US to Custom Shop. Not so much with ES models. From what I've seen, you won't find many true Custom Shop ESs. And I'm sure the reason is there is not really that much difference. Note that even the high end ES models were made entirely in Memphis. Also note going forward that with the Memphis shop closed, the ES production in Nashville was slated to be split up. The higher end ES models *will* be made in the Custom Shop, and the lower end models will be made in Gibson US side. So I'm certain the ES and Custom Shop confusion will just get worse.