Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

Gibson workmanship


bignos

Recommended Posts

Hello folks,

I did what many have done before me and bought a LP Custom off that famous auction site, you know bay sumfink. Anyways never had a Gibson before with the truss rod cover out of line, see my pic at photo bucket I'll paste the link. I'm worried I may have a dodgy geetar.

Have any of you folks seen bad workmanship like this on Gibsons before ?

check my pic.

 

http://s361.photobucket.com/user/mr_blueguitar/media/headstock.jpg.html

 

thanks all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello folks,

I did what many have done before me and bought a LP Custom off that famous auction site, you know bay sumfink. Anyways never had a Gibson before with the truss rod cover out of line, see my pic at photo bucket I'll paste the link. I'm worried I may have a dodgy geetar.

Have any of you folks seen bad workmanship like this on Gibsons before ?

check my pic.

 

http://s361.photobucket.com/user/mr_blueguitar/media/headstock.jpg.html

 

thanks all.

 

The truss rod cover is the same way on my SG, and to be honest I think it'd be a little unrealistic to expect it to line up perfectly. Seems to me you don't have much to worry about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello folks,

I did what many have done before me and bought a LP Custom off that famous auction site, you know bay sumfink. Anyways never had a Gibson before with the truss rod cover out of line, see my pic at photo bucket I'll paste the link. I'm worried I may have a dodgy geetar.

Have any of you folks seen bad workmanship like this on Gibsons before ?

check my pic.

 

http://s361.photobuc...dstock.jpg.html

 

thanks all.

 

Are you gonna play it, or stare at the head :-)

 

I've had much worse. My CS ES-330 was so poorly setup nobody could play it, or fix it. The action was like a warped neck 60's Kay guitar, all because some engineering dumbo decided to put spacer rings under the pups. No rings, good action GREAT deal on a guitar nobody wanted.

 

I'd bet that 9,999 out of 10,000 (the one being you) would never notice that minor flaw on the TRC. IMO, don't go looking for reasons to not like the guitar play it let that decide your satisfaction? If you want reasons to hate it, take off the pups and back covers, then get a sedative!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You must remember, those guitars, to a large extent are hand made, if you involve human's there will be differences. What's the rest of the guitar like, how does it play and sound?

I have two cars, one a BMW the other a Morgan, which is hand built. The BMW is robotic precision, the Morgan is full of surprises, and if you compare it with another one, same model, same age, you'll find that no two are the same. Maybe that's why I like them. It would be nice to see pictures of the rest of the guitar.

 

Ian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're very lucky if that is the worst flaw you can find.

 

A couple of days ago, I went to pick up my 335 from a luthier who has fixing a buzzing of the third string on the first fret. The groove in the nut was cut too deeply on that string, and the solution was to cut the other grooves to the same depth and put a shim under the nut. When I got the guitar back, I noticed the nitro finish on the headstock was raised and uneven right where it joined at the nut, plus there were some grooves in the binding and the end of the binding was raised slightly right there at the nut. Plus, the nut ends were not flush with the binding. I bought that guitar new around 2005 and had never noticed those flaws before. I called the luthier and complained that he had done a sloppy job and I wanted those problems fixed. When I took the guitar back, he convinced me that those problems existed before he got the guitar and that that was the condition of the guitar coming out of the factory. After our discussion, I have come to believe he is right. Anyway, because he is a good guy, a very good luthier, and runs a solid business, he has told me he will install a bone nut, smooth out the NC finish, fix some of the other cosmetic issues around the nut, lower the action slightly, and only charge me for the nut and its installation. Can't argue with that.

 

There are some other neck and neck binding flaws that I didn't notice until after the return policy had expired, but since I'd already rejected the first two 335s I'd tested, these flaws I considered minor and I could live with. Many of the processes in making Gibsons involve some amount of craftsmanship and there are going to be flaws; just depends on what you are willing to live with. My 335 is the most expensive guitar I own, and only my $600 Ibanez AFJ91 has more flaws. All of my other guitars are perfect, including a Studio LP and an Epi Dot (though it did require some fretwork).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Are you gonna play it, or stare at the head :-)

 

I've had much worse. My CS ES-330 was so poorly setup nobody could play it, or fix it. The action was like a warped neck 60's Kay guitar, all because some engineering dumbo decided to put spacer rings under the pups. No rings, good action GREAT deal on a guitar nobody wanted.

 

I'd bet that 9,999 out of 10,000 (the one being you) would never notice that minor flaw on the TRC. IMO, don't go looking for reasons to not like the guitar play it let that decide your satisfaction? If you want reasons to hate it, take off the pups and back covers, then get a sedative!

 

Thanks to all for the reply, Thats just one of my issues, I have set up many guitars, with this one I have spent hours and still get buzzing on frets. I was suspicious of the guitar.

I will attach some pics for your experienced eyes and let you comment if it looks genuine enough.

 

http://i361.photobucket.com/albums/oo54/mr_blueguitar/cav2.jpg

 

ps, ignore the fender

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're very lucky if that is the worst flaw you can find.

 

A couple of days ago, I went to pick up my 335 from a luthier who has fixing a buzzing of the third string on the first fret. The groove in the nut was cut too deeply on that string, and the solution was to cut the other grooves to the same depth and put a shim under the nut. When I got the guitar back, I noticed the nitro finish on the headstock was raised and uneven right where it joined at the nut, plus there were some grooves in the binding and the end of the binding was raised slightly right there at the nut. Plus, the nut ends were not flush with the binding. I bought that guitar new around 2005 and had never noticed those flaws before. I called the luthier and complained that he had done a sloppy job and I wanted those problems fixed. When I took the guitar back, he convinced me that those problems existed before he got the guitar and that that was the condition of the guitar coming out of the factory. After our discussion, I have come to believe he is right. Anyway, because he is a good guy, a very good luthier, and runs a solid business, he has told me he will install a bone nut, smooth out the NC finish, fix some of the other cosmetic issues around the nut, lower the action slightly, and only charge me for the nut and its installation. Can't argue with that.

 

There are some other neck and neck binding flaws that I didn't notice until after the return policy had expired, but since I'd already rejected the first two 335s I'd tested, these flaws I considered minor and I could live with. Many of the processes in making Gibsons involve some amount of craftsmanship and there are going to be flaws; just depends on what you are willing to live with. My 335 is the most expensive guitar I own, and only my $600 Ibanez AFJ91 has more flaws. All of my other guitars are perfect, including a Studio LP and an Epi Dot (though it did require some fretwork).

 

Sorry to hear of your problems, flaws I can live with playability, well that's something else. My LP standard played flawlesly, guess I got caught naively thinking the Custom would play 'even better'

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.

I don't see anything in the pics pointing at trouble or bad workmanship.

 

Setup is another story. Was this guitar purchased new or used?

 

Regarding the buzz: Are the neck slots too deep? . Is there a fretboard 'hump' in the neck joint area? . Have you checked the fret level?

 

If you're not getting the buzz cleaned up, I recommend you have it evaluated by a luthier/shop you trust.

 

 

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From viewing pics everything looks fine to me. Long tenon, nice glue overspill - yes, I love that all of mine have the latter. Better than a gap between the parts glued together in my opinion.

 

 

thanks for your time giving it the once over, I'm happier now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...