EJ41

It was an accident that you were quoted, and I think 1 other person. Thats why I removed it. And yeah, I know your feelings on this, you've shared them like 3 times, and if you instead took the time to read what I previously wrote, you'd see that I said (more than once) that the guitar was already returned and that I have no intention of buying another.

At least dude got paint....

Wow, it looks like I got into the wrong business. I should've gotten into guitar manufacturing, where apparently I could make unacceptable crap and the customer will blame the middle man retailer for everything. Genius!

I wish I had taken a pic of the serial number, but I didn't, because I was wondering if maybe this would go back to Nashville and then be fixed and modded up and end up in their mod shop. That's what I'd do with it if I were them, but obviously I do not think like Gibson does.

This was sent to me, not literally picked up in person, as the closest GC is about an hour away. I returned it a week ago, because yes, this should've never been my problem, and now it's their problem. But I don't think there is a black and white position on this, as you are taking. If I find a piece of wood in my candy bar, I'm not going to take it up with the cashier at the local convenience store for selling it to me without inspecting it first. But, your car example is also valid. There is a lot of grey area when dealing with retail middle men. It is especially foggy with guitars. I think Sweetwater probably has it right by inspecting stuff first, and even that has been proven to be far from foolproof.

So Gibson, who made this guitar and let it go through QC and out the door in unacceptable condition, has no responsibility?

Yeah, agreed. What I don't understand is Gibson's customer service. Everyone (including them) knows that sometimes stuff happens. Sometimes terrible guitars like the one I got make it through QC and into a customers hands. In an effort to keep that customer, and not further damage their brand, reputation, and "legacy", why not have an exceptional customer service response to deal with the occasional exceptionally bad guitar? Again, just sayin'.

Thank you for all of the feedback, it's nice to know I wasn't totally over reacting to this guitar. I just wanted to chime in on this to say that as far as I can tell, only 1 or 2 problems out of 10+ could possibly be caused by someone playing it. Maybe the scratches all over the neck pocket and some of the other scuffs and fingerprints. Everything else is clearly a factory / QC issue. Like how do they miss splotches of grey paint all over the neck and tuners? Or that the paint didn't fully cover the body? Not really asking, just saying. This clearly should've never left the factory and ended up as my problem, and I thought it was so bad that it was worthy of sharing.

Thanks for your reply. I'm not writing off Gibson entirely, and if I was it wouldn't be from this one bad experience. It would be from this one bad experience combined with all of the other bad experiences I've heard about and have witnessed. I also have 2 other Gibson's and am not planning on running out to sell them or anything, I just don't intend to buy anymore. I got a Studio from Sweetwater last year and it's great, and I loved that they inspected it first, and they had multiple choices with pictures and weights so I could choose a lighter one (8.4 lbs) with a cool dark streaky fretboard. Unfortunately, this Raven guitar was a GC exclusive, or I would've gotten it elsewhere.

Thanks, but there won't be a new one. After this experience, I'm joining the list of people who are done with Gibson. As you said, it's "unacceptable", and I refuse to accept it.

Yes, it was a GC special run, made for Halloween 2021. I already sent it back- GC received the return last Friday and still haven't started the return inspection / acceptance.

Thank you. If only Gibson or GC had responded with something like this I probably wouldn't be as bothered as I am. I also thought, at first, that GC sent me a used guitar, but it was sent from warehouse and the box was unopened/sealed. There were also no signs of play on it like pick scratches or shiny spots in the satin finish. Then, upon further review, it became obvious that all of the issues originated in the factory and somehow made it through their "QC". Frankly, I am left kind of stunned by the whole experience.

Just picked up a LP Special Tribute Raven after seeing Trogly's review, and wanted to share some pics and info. Guitar was brand new, sealed box. The list of issues was 10+, even the pic that came with it was terrible! The gray paint they used to gray out the fret markers ended up in various other places (back of neck, tuners, headstock), then whoever buffed it took a lot of the gray right off the fretboard, in some spots down to the white fret markers. The black paint on the guitar was so thin you could see bare brown wood underneath in a lot of spots. The frets were very scratched and the fret slots on side of neck were not all filled in. Dots of white paint from the LP logo made it onto the front of headstock. Tuners were a mess (scratched, scuffed, gray paint, and greasy fingerprints). Scratches and scuffs on side of neck and neck pocket. Neck pickup had a chewed up edge and the tape was higher than the top edge of the pickup (also installed as low as it could possibly go). Dirt and dusty fingerprints all over the guitar. Not a biggie, but the "baby pic" was washed out, borders on 2 sides, and a dirty rag prominently featured (what is the point in even including this nonsense?).GC and Gibson "customer service" was non-existent. All I got was a reply on how to authenticate the guitar, then a follow up on how to spend more money to send it to them for a "warranty evaluation". I got the sense they don't want to waste time on their "cheap" (their word, not mine) guitars.