NighthawkChris

Whatever it is this is a corporate monster that is still not putting their sights on the ball. They don’t need to do a lawsuit in TX where they can stack the deck, they don’t need to tell me to play authentic and explain counterfeits to me, they need to work on LISTENING TO THEIR BASE who will actually bring them up from the depths. People aren’t happy with the awful video and the way their cards are being laid out. They are screwing up big time as this is not turning the ship around. Going after Armadillo isn’t the answer nor is it the reason they fell in a hole. It’s called bad decisions and they are continuing to make them. Sad to say as a die hard Gibson fan really. Sad to watch... I don’t rant about their QC or the other stupid things, but I quite honestly found it insulting in the video where Mark is going off at the end on players to be original and authentic. F off, it’s my choice to play whatever I want. If I buy a chibson that’s my deal - not that I do but the point is it’s my choice. I chose to play Gibsons and pay what I have for them. And threatening lawsuits that are simply to establish precedent. And the video in public domain where 99% or more viewers are average joe. What’s your message Gibson? Don’t buy a guitar because it looks like a single cut? Don’t play that guitar because we are going to sue them? Work on making better guitars rather than videos because you suck at making videos.

At first I thought nothing about the video that was released, but then watching the events unfold, this was a misstep here on Gibson’s part. They shouldn’t have announced in the disgruntled video they are protecting their stuff, then turn around and get a lawsuit going. They attacked the consumer for not being authentic which is just wrong. There’s a reason why the video isn’t there anymore... To add, people today don’t care what other stuff is out there, they will buy a LP for north of 2 G’s because they like the guitar. But now that you will buy a 10lb hunk of wood that breaks your back every band practice for this kind of money only to promote the avid disrespect for the customer letting you know YOU need to play authentic and we are going to make sure only authentic stuff comes out because we are taking legal action to stomp out the competition this way is just bad. Every dollar you put toward this company promotes this “we are going to sue you because you are our perceived competition” strategy so they think they can get a grip in the market. People just want an “iconic” guitar that plays well and inspires them to continue making music. Shame on Gibson for shaming us for not being “authentic”. Just another greedy company trying to make a power play and look how much backfire has come their way. I post this here on their forum because they are going on the wrong direction and basically blew anything good they had going for them with new leadership because I wanted this company to succeed. And for what... To see this crap happen? Get real Gibson. You’ve done more damage to yourself then help - a lot of damage. People were ready to buy your $2.5k LPs and we were digging them, but now your 10lb hunks of wood will collect dust because you shamed us for not being authentic - which no one really gave a F about in the first place... have fun suing smaller guitar companies and trying to do a power play in the market after a bankruptcy. You’ll sell more guitars next year for more money this way... Sorry but I can’t stand by this company after all the sticking up for you during the tougher recent times. Not going to sell my Gibsons but I’m not going to give my patronage anymore. Don’t care what happens in the lawsuit, the damage is done. Shouldn’t have gone after the consumer in that insulting video you removed. Who flipping does that? I mean wow!

Really after all the other condescending and unhelpful posts I get downvoted... sorry the truth hurts... with the new forum setup, I’m notified about what happens with my content and this example here is why I have stayed away for a while here. Some regulars wouldn’t dare get downvoted or singled out for brutal honesty and I get it nearly every single time I say what has to. Nice forum we got here... just when you think things might go good, never fails to let me down. Have fun with the popularity contest.

Awesome amp. Find the straight cab for full face melting effect. I bought the matching straight cab used at GC a while back. I bought the head and slanted cab brand new back in 1999. Never will part with it as far as I'm concerned. I don't lug it around anywhere because it's a very heavy setup to lug around these days for me - and I'm not in a metal group anymore. Don't mind the effects board at bottom of pic - that thing was a POS I offed a bit ago... Anyhow, congrats on your new amp! Enjoy it as much as I have 😀

them sh1tz be tasty! ...but the more endangered species' remnants on my guitar the better personally. It's what I shop for specifically these days. When I go into GC, the first thing I ask is about the endangerment of the wood used to build a guitar. Hey, it's a big deal to me.... I for one believe that endangered woods also make better fires too. That and toothpicks. Need something to get them eagle gibblets out of yer teeths... I have found that the more threatened the species, the better the job they do at removing the crap.

Yeah, I agree 100%. Getting a flaw on a guitar that can constitute a price drop is music to my ears. It depends on the flaw of course whether or not I can live with it and all that, but the scratch on the fretboard is nothing to me personally. I have a guitar that has a nice scratch on one of the frets that is FAR worse than what is pictured. I know there are all sorts of walks of like here on planet Earth, so if someone truly is not happy with it, I just say do what makes you happy. Anyhow, good reply to this Michael, this is good advice

If I had it my way on these, I'd have made them with 24 frets. They did the compound radius thing, made the heel contoured back so you could access the higher frets easier, but only 22 frets. I mean, it definitely doesn't make the guitar bad to me, just that they put 24 frets on that hideous Modern Double Cut that you pay Custom Shop prices for. The clear knobs have to go... Why not put the volute either??? These are my complaints about the Modern LP. I guess not so bad since this guitar costs about a grand less than the previous HP LPs give or take a few hundo. Either way, I'm not saving up my pennies and nickels for this guitar. On the side note, if I wanted a shredder like LP - which this Modern LP seems to me like it is targeting this group of guys and gals - I'd go with an ESP Eclipse or maybe even a Jackson like Marty Friedman plays from time to time before I get this Modern LP. That's just me though. What I really like is the 50s goldtop... Now that would be the guitar I'd like to check out. Something about a goldtop Gibson that never ceases to catch a wandering eye.

Hi Mike_L, My thoughts on this is that if that is a scratch, not a huge deal, but if you're buying a new guitar at full price that has an obvious cosmetic issue such as a scratch on the fretboard, I totally understand how this can be a buzz kill. When I bought my 2018 LP Classic goldtop, underneath the pick guard, there was a very noticeable gouge from the nut that holds the pick guard arm bracket. It had other issues like the nut slot on the G string was causing "plinks" when I bent the string - which was again fixed with a slight filing touch to make the groove correct - but this just compounded the fact that this guitar left the factory like this or someone mistreated it... Who knows, NEXT! Took me a couple to get the right guitar... Even then, had some minor issues, but I got a killer deal on it where I paid something to the tune of $1500 brand new for it (Christmas Eve sale and the combination of GC reward points). At the time, these were $2200... Then they bumped the price up to $2300 for some reason... Then they dropped the prices dramatically when they wanted to clear them out apparently. I digress... So my story of my 18 Classic was 2018 - the year of Gibson's bankruptcy - and this is the "new" 2019 Gibson right? Who knows how or when that fretboard scratch got there... Overall, I understand the sentiment that the scratch can cause one to be dissatisfied with their purchase when of course, a LP isn't the cheapest thing to buy guitar-wise, and when you buy a LP, you buy it for the nice finish and accoutrements that come with a Gibson. When you have a "new" guitar that doesn't deliver on that for a couple grand - at least - I wouldn't keep it unless I got a discounted price or a replacement - or money back 100% at the very least. Especially since a fretboard scratch is sort of a minor cosmetic issue that can hopefully be addressed relatively easy if it isn't too deeply grooved in, but this is supposed to be a "new" guitar... I mean, hey, it's bound to happen to ANYTHING new. Not every-single-thing that comes out of ANY company's production facilities are going to be 100% flawless, so hopefully this is not something many Gibson customers experience. Personally, their new stuff looks great. I am not in the market for another guitar as I have more then enough for my lifetime (yeah... I really hope so ) but I am happy to see that Gibson is mounting a potentially successful comeback. BTW, that guitar you picked out is really nice looking. Just hope it sounds and plays as good as it looks, because that would be an outright shame if it didn't.

So first mistake is buying a guitar assuming you know what it sounds and plays like. It happens, don't make this mistake again if you don't have any sort of return/trial window to take advantage of when dealing with an unknown guitar. And don't assume in the future. You are determined to make this guitar sound like something it isn't this all sounds like. And you mention that you like it a lot... What is it about it you like a lot that has you hell-bent on ripping it up at any expense to make it sound like a 1996 LP Standard? Why not buy another LP from that era? I'm sure you can sell your 2018 LP for at least the cost of a 1990s LP Standard... I bought my 1994 LP Standard in excellent for less than $2k. I know you could sell a 2018 LP Standard for at or near this price. Perhaps even a trade might work... Overall, there is more to a guitar's sound than the electronics and such. A lot of it has to do with the way it is constructed, woods used, etc. This is why you play before you pay - or as I said, have a window to return if it doesn't fit the bill. If you are planning on keeping this 2018 LP Standard, then good luck trying to make it sound like something different than what it is. You are just going to have to compensate with tone on your guitar and/or amp until you have the tone you find that is acceptable. And just to clear something up, I have a LP Custom that has the 498T/490R set and my 90s LP Standard that has the same set. Both sound different to some extent because they are different guitars. All guitars are somewhat unique and there are things about each of them that you just cannot make it do like another. May not always be the case, but I typically trial a guitar, and if I like it, I take it. I don't mess around with changing it all up because the effort isn't worth the time and money most of the time. Nothing better than getting a guitar that you have to do jack squat to it to play it and be happy with it. I wish you best of luck and hope that you start to like your LP for what it is. I'm sure it doesn't sound like crap, but I can buy it that it sounds a bit different than your guitar that was constructed decades before your 2018 LP.

https://www.gibson.com/ Here's a countdown clock that should help those out that are waiting for the new 2019's to come out. Let's just wait and see what happens next I suppose...

Very beautiful Nighthawk! Take care of her and she’ll do you a lot of good 😁

I want to say that I have no ill will against anyone that participated in this thread. I gave my opinion on something based on what I saw on the interwebs and I think it is great that someone - i.e. the OP - decided to provide some information on these wacky tuners contrary to the video. I really don't care what anyone does with their guitar. It was getting boring around here, so I decided to stir up the place a bit, haha! No, I honestly I am indifferent what anyone does or has going on with their stuff and I don't come here to flame anyone. Basically, if I had said something that was false, then so be it... I'm not here to try to deny the objectionable. And that scary Bono picture struck the sense into me - been haunting my dreams of that guy singing endless Bloody Sunday with the guitar FZ Fan gave a link to... Whatever with this, so here's my thing... If you want these tuners on your guitar and they last for a long time, I can only hope that someone enjoys this thing and gets their worth out of them. Most likely designed a bit better than what I was previously thinking, so I'll stop there on commenting about things I don't know for sure. I have claimed that people shouldn't start putting up crap here and should try to contribute positively, so I should eat my own words and just say thanks for posting info on this. No argument here from the peanut gallery. Best regards!

Just get the damn Bono pic up! This topic has taken a turn for the worse.

I partook in the topic just fine to start and even offered a video on how to replace them with standard tuners. You called me out for spreading negative bias, and I've had the video I watched called out as not factual - when in fact I physically saw the internals of the tuner in the video clearly and saw that gear's teeth littered throughout the housing of the tuning machine. I never claimed that the video was 100% engineer approved, but it isn't "rubbish". If someone is going to call me out on some crap and act like they are some intellectual elitist or have more moral fiber, they can GTFOH with that crap - I am not going to take anyone's s###. How's that for some witty response? Enjoy your tuners pal.

Yeah OP nothing personal here. Just because I think those tuners are POS and you can’t change my mind doesn’t mean I disrespect you personally or need to have my intelligence insulted. I don’t care if you like them or not really so thanks for the post those that find it useful will thank you and those that already made up their mind about them are free to say what they want about some stupid tuners Gibson decided to put on their guitars. I’ve gotten earfuls about things I posted too and I’m still here. We are all different and entitled to make our opinions on the facts be it what they may. All I can say to this is you won’t catch any one of my guitars with the robo-tuner crap that’s out there currently. Not a thoughtful essay on it will change my mind and when I give my opinion on it as I have, I don’t need an essay in return about it why I am some sort of a$$ because that’s what it seemed like being that this is one of your first things you contribute to this forum. You went in in the deep end right away with this topic...

Haha, careful what you say, you might get an essay coming back addressed to your discontent with the robo-tuners and to be convinced that they are quality pieces of equipment... And don't use the phrase "ticking time bomb" whatever you do because this has been clearly explained to me why this is not applicable To believe anything other than these are quality pieces of equipment and it's perfectly fine to not get mad when something that costs over $100 fails outright on you - when in reality, only ONE tuner has to fail for the thing to go into the heap, because the whole thing is useless if you can't tune ALL the strings - is just lunacy! I'll just blow another hundred bucks or whatever it costs to get another robo-tuner set. Always going to be able to get the same electronic module later in life for my fine Gibson guitar... No worries! That's why I don't buy cars anymore too BTW. Ticking time bombs man... I must be some sort of Luddite because I can't accept this innovation.

In the video I shared, if you look through Nelson's channel you can find a video where he replaces these robo-tuner Gibsons with Grovers. I have learned quite a bit watching this fella do some of the things he has to various guitars. I'd trust him with my guitar(s), so take that FWIW... But to cut to the chase here if you don't want to go this route, I believe Grovers MIGHT be a direct replacement. Probably have to pilot some holes in the headstock for the screws, but it would be worth the trouble to get rid of that wicked contraption. I think the difficulty of this lies in making sure you don't askew the tuners. But if one is careful, probably can do a magnificent job. EDIT: Here is the video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3LUzKIoMx0

I saw a video of of a fine guy who goes by the name of Nelson that took one of these things apart and I did not like what I saw in that video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IYgQ1Lo8GA plastic gears and the sort... Those things won't last forever no matter what someone claims that "mine's had no problems, had mine for years..." Only a matter of time... like a time bomb. They are garbage IMO. What about charging the thing... What happens when the battery dies on it - have to replace it somehow. Hope it's easy... And just watching someone press the buttons to take a damn string off is just painful. I'd prefer locking tuners - best thing since sliced bread if you ask me. So that's my take on these things. Slap some Grovers in them there holes and twist away like we all love and know. But hey, not my money. If someone loves these things, have at it - you know what you're getting here. Something like this would drive me nuts and annoy the piss out of me once it starts to take a crap on me. Never had good 'ol tuning machines that haven't been abused take a crap on me in 25 years of playing. I'd hate to be at a practice - or a show - and these things start to do stupid things to me. I mean, just buy another guitar for an alternate tuning if that's the big sell here. How many tunings does someone have to go through in a set? Geez 'O Peets!

There's no bad blood here. I respect what others choose to do with their own possessions - and what others' opinions are on the subject. I am relating this conversation to what I would be comfortable doing to an expensive guitar of mine, and I tried to give the best advice I could based on how I would feel if that guitar in question was mine. I expected that there would be differing opinions here as there is no real right or wrong answer here what to do. Really the only trade-off I see with modding a Gibson Historic guitar is if the guitar was to be sold at some later date and it is some collector piece. But again, not my money, not my stuff. I will sleep fine tonight Best regards!

LMAO! Yeah, I want to buy myself a law degree there too - and don't forget to drink your electrolytes!

I agree man, why spend thousands of dollars to degrade its value immediately to make it a guitar you like... Why did you buy the guitar in the first place if you don't like the way it sounded? To me, I just cannot accept any argument why to modify a guitar that costs several thousands of dollars that will devalue it somewhat significantly when you start to undo the factory workmanship. I know you can go back and put the old pickups back in, but just why? Buy another guitar that comes with the stuff you like or as you suggested, buy a lower base model and mod it up. I suppose if you're filthy rich and want to start hacking stuff up because you just want to, sort of ridiculous still, go for it - not my money. But inevitably for me, a sad story to hear. Unless someone bought a modded Historic at a discount where some other goof messed with it, then maybe... Like I said, I think that it is ridiculous to go this route. I'd just find another guitar that I actually liked the sound and not guess what it "can" sound like based on some mysterious intuition... Not many people decide to do this stuff to their Gibson Historic LP... I have to think that there's a reason for this.

1994 Les Paul Standard in Heritage Cherry Sunburst:

You may not be good at taking pictures, but that beautiful guitar said “I got your back!” Just kidding man, you did a fine job taking pictures... and picking up that wonderful guitar of yours. Congratulations and many years of enjoyment! Just to set the record straight, I like your NGD the best. Just love that finish in the Wes Custom 😁

I like your ideas man! Can't wait to check out your metal Studio... Pics please And regarding not being in the market for another LP for a while... Well, I've heard that and said that to myself before. GAS is a diesase that can only be treated with more GAS, haha! Just messing around BTW, like your new guitars a lot. Congratulations and many years of enjoyment!