Pin Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Re my recent "Got it" thread and my new Gibson ES345. It doesn't half pong! It has a sickly sweet sort of smell - not sure what it is. The nitro? The hide glue? I have had a new Gibson before but so long ago (and it was a Les Paul) I can't remember any pong. Is this common for new Gibson AE type guitars? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Hello! It is common with Gibsons that come with hardcases. Vanilla scent, comes from the lining of the case. Cheers... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Some of the odor with a new Gibson, is also from the adhesives used in the manufacture of the case. After it airs out a bit more the adhesive odor diminishes. In a way, it's almost good that a new case emits the odor. It shows that the case has a fairly tight seal, keeping the Axe more protected from outside environmental agents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xkimo Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 I love it,I told the wife to look for some perfume like that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomse Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Yes they smell great .Nothing like the smell of a new Gibson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karloff Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Some of the odor with a new Gibson, is also from the adhesives used in the manufacture of the case. After it airs out a bit more the adhesive odor diminishes. In a way, it's almost good that a new case emits the odor. It shows that the case has a fairly tight seal, keeping the Axe more protected from outside environmental agents. thats what I was gonna say. some pretty strong adhesives used on the cases... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 thats what I was gonna say. some pretty strong adhesives used on the cases... They have to be to strong to hold the insides in place. Now too, they've cut back on the amounts of formaldehyde used in those types of cases. Some wood manufacturers use, or used the chemical as a preservative in particle board and other composite and pressed wood products. So there may be a new wood preservative in the odor of a case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser Bill Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Now that you mention it...my last two Gibson hard shell cases had a distinctive "odor" to them. One of them is 9 years old...and the case still smells bad...and then there is the 2013 Kalamazoo I got in October of last year...that still smells bad. And you say its the glue? Ain't nothin' vanilla 'bout either case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 My Gibson's have that "new" oder to them, still. Part of what that is, is the polish they use at the factory. Along with the other items mentioned. It will fade, eventually. Faster, if you play it, a LOT! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Solid body Axes won't retain the odor for as long as a hollow bodied one will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markini Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 One case had that odor for a couple of years. When you 1st open it , it smells ok, kinda nice, but after awhile to me anyway it has this cloying scent that is a bit too sucrose for me. I took the case outside on a 75 F day, opened it up and let the sun shine on it for about an hour. Seems the ultra violent did the trick, it didn't completely go away, but was greatly reduced. Do not leave a Gibson guitar case open in the sun at high temps and not for too long or the case lining dyes will fade. Not good for the fabric adhesive either. I suggest keeping the duration short from 45 mins to an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Hayden Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 If you don't like the smell leave your case open for a few days, it's not the guitar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 . This topic comes up quite often and the opinions usually divide between the smell coming from [adhesives in] guitar cases or the smell coming from the finish. There was a thread a couple years ago on MLP and someone contacted Gibson Customer Service about it: "Got word back from Gibson. The vanilla-like smell IS from the nitro finish on the guitars, not from glues used in the case or some other source." Of course, even after that revelation, there where those who argued about the smell coming from the case. . B) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drog Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Its the guitar. I do not keep mine in cases, but on my wall. Walking in to my guitar room with a new Gibson in there, you can smell it. i like it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I've worked with nitrocellulose for over 30 years and I can promise you that the odor is not from the nitro varnish. The glue from the case has an odor, and as gsg said, quite often glue formulators formulate glue with starch resin and other resins that put off formaldehyde fumes (I have formulated a few of those, myself). A vanilla mask is put into the cases by the manufacturer to cover odors from volatiles from the glue. This is no mystery and there should be no debate. If the guitar is chambered or has hollow areas, it may be possible that there are odors from the unfinished wood or odors absorbed by the wood. I had a new guitar whose nickel frets oxidized with the exposure to volatiles from the glue. I left the case open and exposed to sunshine for several days, and that solved the problem. It makes sense that the volatiles were formaldehyde since it is somewhat corrosive, and the sunshine not only caused the volatiles to evaporate out, but also encouraged the melamine or urea formaldehyde resin to cross-link with the starch resin. Gibson customer service reps are not coatings or glue formulators, and neither are those who responded in that thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 and the sunshine not only caused the volatiles to evaporate out, but also encouraged the melamine or urea formaldehyde resin to cross-link with the starch resin. Does urea formaldehyde indicate that someone...................? Never mind. Had no idea there was any urea involved Gives new meaning to where the sun don't shine. (intentional inappropriate conjugation of to do) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Does urea formaldehyde indicate that someone...................? LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 ... I can promise you that the odor is not from the nitro varnish. ... Actually, Gibson uses nitrocellulose lacquer, not varnish. Lacquer is different from varnish because it never chemically changes to a solid and can be re-dissolved by a solvent like lacquer thinner. This is why it's fairly easy to repair dings in nitro/lacquer finishes. OTOH, nitro/lacquer remains reactive so you have to be careful of what comes in contact with it - certain, plastics, rubber, foams, solvents, and cleaners can cause damage to the finish. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Actually, Gibson uses nitrocellulose lacquer, not varnish. Lacquer is different from varnish because it never chemically changes to a solid and can be re-dissolved by a solvent like lacquer thinner. This is why it's fairly easy to repair dings in nitro/lacquer finishes. OTOH, nitro/lacquer remains reactive so you have to be careful of what comes in contact with it - certain, plastics, rubber, foams, solvents, and cleaners can cause damage to the finish. . About nitrocellulose Sorry, but with all due respect, you have no clue what you are talking about. Nitrocellulose redissolves when exposed to plasticizer in rubber; has nothing to do with whether or not it is dry. Please let this debate die. Perhaps it would be best to contact the maker of cases for Gibson and have them confirm that they are masking odor from their cases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrNylon Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I've worked with nitrocellulose for over 30 years and I can promise you that the odor is not from the nitro varnish. The glue from the case has an odor, and as gsg said, quite often glue formulators formulate glue with starch resin and other resins that put off formaldehyde fumes (I have formulated a few of those, myself). A vanilla mask is put into the cases by the manufacturer to cover odors from volatiles from the glue. This is no mystery and there should be no debate. If the guitar is chambered or has hollow areas, it may be possible that there are odors from the unfinished wood or odors absorbed by the wood. I had a new guitar whose nickel frets oxidized with the exposure to volatiles from the glue. I left the case open and exposed to sunshine for several days, and that solved the problem. It makes sense that the volatiles were formaldehyde since it is somewhat corrosive, and the sunshine not only caused the volatiles to evaporate out, but also encouraged the melamine or urea formaldehyde resin to cross-link with the starch resin. Gibson customer service reps are not coatings or glue formulators, and neither are those who responded in that thread. That was very well stated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 OP, solution? Two words.Tic Tac. Put a dozen or so in your sound hole overnight.That won't do anything, but spending 2 hours shaking them out the next morning will air out your guitar so well, even your dog will be pleased. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 ^^^^^^^ That's some funny stuff right there ^^^^^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pin Posted June 27, 2014 Author Share Posted June 27, 2014 Just to come back on the thread now some time has passed... The smell is absolutely NOT the guitar case. The guitar has been out of the case since I got it several weeks ago and the case now has a mere faint residue smell. The guitar, however, still stinks to high heaven! For what it is worth - and despite what people say above - the smell seems to me to be coming from the nitro-cellulose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Just to come back on the thread now some time has passed... The smell is absolutely NOT the guitar case. The guitar has been out of the case since I got it several weeks ago and the case now has a mere faint residue smell. The guitar, however, still stinks to high heaven! For what it is worth - and despite what people say above - the smell seems to me to be coming from the nitro-cellulose. Interesting. And thank you for taking the time to do this simple experiment. I did ask customer service this question 7 days ago but figured the response would simply be debunked by the "experts". I would say your simple experiment answered the question definitively. All that's left is to simply not believe you. For what it's worth,, this is the response I got back from customer service 7 days ago. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Customer Service <Customer.Relations@gibson.com> Jun 20 to me Hi Kevin, Thanks for writing! That’s the nitrocellulose lacquer. Because the guitar is in the case for a while prior to being opened by you or the dealership, the case takes on the nitro scent as well. Thanks, and I hope this helps! Best regards, Benton Cummings Gibson Customer Service 1-800-4GIBSON www.gibson.com The Gibson Forums are provided for Gibson Fans to share opinions and information about all of the brands in the Gibson family. Become a Gibson Forums member today, visit http://forums.gibson.com/ Sign up now to receive the latest news from Gibson http://www.gibson.com/emailsignup.aspx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EastEnder Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Deleted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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