Cougar Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 I'm just saying, be careful when you buy online, as you might not get exactly what it says on the tin. Good advice. Still, most of my guitars were bought used online. Of course, I'm talking $200-700 Epiphones, so there's not quite as much at stake. I've found guitar folk selling guitars are typically quite honest when they say a guitar is in excellent condition. The ones I've bought turn out to be just that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btoth76 Posted December 31, 2015 Share Posted December 31, 2015 Hello! I bought two guitars unseen, so far. The L6S and the Strat Am Special. Both were/are excellent instruments. I am very pleased with them. However, both were offered at reduced price as left on stock items. Opportunities that were hard to let go. Still, it's a gamble. Some of us have no other choice, as the local supply is limited. If You buy that way, look for a reliable source. Best wishes... Bence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvcrap2000 Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 I had same issue, Some companies send ya what they got, others represent the pictures wrong(tweaked for effect) and also sometimes the glare of the lights when they take a picture of it will make the guitar appear different than what it appears when you get it. So It takes me Months to hunt down a guitar with the right top/grain/flame/finish that I want, unless you go down to the store every week and see what's in stock. and Also the Way Gibsons painters are some are retarded few others are geniuses. Seems like before you paint the final outline you'd grade the guitars tops to see how it looks, the majority I see are horrible. a Desert burst gets a black outline soo deep that it covers the flaming is a waste. and some Transparent Ambers are either a lemonade or a urine color? some people there colorblind? Who grade the colors? Sometimes a light burst is so red that it's suppose to be a heritage cherry and a heritage cherry one that is so light that's in the wrong category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 ... Also the Way Gibsons painters are some are retarded few others are geniuses. Seems like before you paint the final outline you'd grade the guitars tops to see how it looks, the majority I see are horrible. a Desert burst gets a black outline soo deep that it covers the flaming is a waste. and some Transparent Ambers are either a lemonade or a urine color? some people there colorblind? Who grade the colors? Sometimes a light burst is so red that it's suppose to be a heritage cherry and a heritage cherry one that is so light that's in the wrong category. The problem is grading them before carving and finishing. Carving will affect the figuring's appearance for better or worse, and also may bring out resin or mineral streaks. The chatoyance created by the finish may enhance or diminish the three-dimensional effect. The final result is rather unpredictable for a given piece of timber. Look at veneered tops - lots of them virtually seem "too pretty" since you actually see areas bookmatched as purely as possible with next to no offcut. Solid, carved tops can keep up by accident only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 The problem is grading them before carving and finishing. Carving will affect the figuring's appearance for better or worse, and also may bring out resin or mineral streaks. The chatoyance created by the finish may enhance or diminish the three-dimensional effect. The final result is rather unpredictable for a given piece of timber. Look at veneered tops - lots of them virtually seem "too pretty" since you actually see areas bookmatched as purely as possible with next to no offcut. Solid, carved tops can keep up by accident only. Well as far as I know you can actually get an idea how deep the flame goes by looking at the side of the wood.... So there are ways of telling how deep the falmy grain is, but yes, its still a bit of a crap shoot... but I guess someone who does it for a living will be good at guessing which tops will look best after the carving. I think this is where wood selection comes in to play for Customs and the higher grade tops used on Standards and the like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted January 1, 2016 Share Posted January 1, 2016 Well as far as I know you can actually get an idea how deep the flame goes by looking at the side of the wood.... So there are ways of telling how deep the falmy grain is, but yes, its still a bit of a crap shoot... but I guess someone who does it for a living will be good at guessing which tops will look best after the carving. I think this is where wood selection comes in to play for Customs and the higher grade tops used on Standards and the like. ... They failed at the Gibson Custom Alex Lifeson Les Paul Axcess top of mine. It's rather BB than AA. Furthermore, the fretboard is laminated. What a coincidence. However, she's a nice player, very versatile, sounds fantastic, and sold for a decent price then. By the way, I bought her in person. A brand-new one, with a solid fretboard, of course, is 50% more at the moment. I think this will finally kill the sales of this model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omni43 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 That is quite a difference from the picture. Although not the only factor, the color is important to me. I would send it back. I've seen one of those in Guitar Center and it looked like the first picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaygl Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 That's a beautiful flame top and the color is very cool....almost olive green....I'd keep that one!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monabri Posted January 16, 2016 Share Posted January 16, 2016 The colour wouldn't put me off too much - just watch out for any cracking. I had a 2015 LP Deluxe in Pelham Blue and I treated it real well and it did this http://imgur.com/a/0RlP4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvcrap2000 Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 Well I just bought another Lp Standard and Going to return it. The colors are all wrong! The picture on the website retailer is totally the wrong shade compared to what I got. Very pissed. Same guitar, numbers match, same top but the pictures have been manipulated to look darker than what I received. I don't know whats wrong with them that they cannot color correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted January 17, 2016 Share Posted January 17, 2016 ... but the pictures have been manipulated to look darker than what I received. I don't know whats wrong with them that they cannot color correct. My guess is they used a polarising filter to suppress reflections. It will make colours look darker and deeper, too. Sorry for your bad luck, mate. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmokeyGhost Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 It's a pity people are annoyed at not receiving what they expected to get. I've no problem with purchasing guitars online. Of the number I own, five of them (two Epiphones, a PRS SE, Fender and a Godin) were purchased from suppliers in America - admittedly when the $AU v $US was in my favour as opposed to buying locally. Each was exactly as described, as was the case when I bought online from local suppliers. Maybe just pure luck comes into play. As an aside, I'm not going to buy any more guitars. I've too many probably and space is becoming a premium (two people and Gibson LP Studio Pro in the one bed gets a tad crowded.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 The colour wouldn't put me off too much - just watch out for any cracking. I had a 2015 LP Deluxe in Pelham Blue and I treated it real well and it did this http://imgur.com/a/0RlP4 Didn't you leave it hanging on the wall when it was new? Next time don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Well I just bought another Lp Standard and Going to return it. The colors are all wrong! The picture on the website retailer is totally the wrong shade compared to what I got. Very pissed. Same guitar, numbers match, same top but the pictures have been manipulated to look darker than what I received. I don't know whats wrong with them that they cannot color correct. Yeah - Did you buy it from the same place that had the bad pix last time? Some Amazon place? There must be some decent dealers over there with better pix. I bought a few guitars from Sweetwater in the US and their pix are pretty darn good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denis-brazil Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 dont get me wrong mate, but to buy a guitar without spend at least 2 hours trying it is the same that get marry with a girl that you never touched.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 None of my guitars, NONE, always have the wood grain look the same under different light and different angles. So if I was to take a picture, which one would you want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. C.O. Jones Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 If I had bought the 14 Trad they had here at my Gibson dealer I had payed 600€ (around 650$) more than what I payed ordering it from a dealership in San Sebastian. And if it would have been a brick, I had a few other options to exchange it for, some LP Signatures,Classic's for even less money, and a Slash Vermillion for not much more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 None of my guitars, NONE, always have the wood grain look the same under different light and different angles. So if I was to take a picture, which one would you want? +++1 If I had bought the 14 Trad they had here at my Gibson dealer I had payed 600€ (around 650$) more than what I payed ordering it from a dealership in San Sebastian. And if it had been a brick, I had a few other options to exchange it for, some LP Signatures,Classic's for even less money, and a Slash Vermillion for not much more. I can confirm that. This is why I'm so sad Thomann is no longer a dealer of the Gibson Family of Brands. There has always been an alternative. Most guitars I bought in person, and when about Les Paul guitars, I always decided to go with one featuring a one-piece back. There have been lots of two-piece back LPs keeping up but never one beating it. Sometimes I changed to a different finish because of tone or playability. For instance, otherwise my Honeyburst LP Standard would have a Transparent Amber finish. DISCLAIMER: I'm not a fan of Slash aka Saul Hudson, and I don't have Appetite For Destruction or original LPs copied from the LP copy bearing this name first. When about slash, I prefer simply / ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvcrap2000 Posted January 19, 2016 Share Posted January 19, 2016 Yeah - Did you buy it from the same place that had the bad pix last time? Some Amazon place? There must be some decent dealers over there with better pix. I bought a few guitars from Sweetwater in the US and their pix are pretty darn good. No Different Company. Next time I'm asking for the Birth photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darling67 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Don't buy musical instruments from amazon. If you're going to buy online, buy from Musician's Friend or Guitar Center. I see Guitar Center's price is lower than amazon's, as well. But aside from that, a finish like the one you posted has got to be seen in-person. Too many subtleties and nuances that a camera can't quite capture. Unless the photo dept. color corrects before posting online, you'll get fooled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvcrap2000 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I usually go for zzounds, AMS or sweetwater as they don't charge tax. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 ...The colors are all wrong! The picture on the website retailer is totally the wrong shade compared to what I got....the pictures have been manipulated to look darker than what I received. I don't know whats wrong with them that they cannot color correct. I'm not saying the pictures wouldn't have been tweaked and I'm not wanting to start a bunfight but there are a couple of issues to bear in mind. Firstly; as stein says above, the same guitar will look very different under different lighting situations. The dyes used by Gibson in the finish react to different wavelengths of light in different ways. Colour-correction isn't always possible with assured accuracy; it depends on the quality of the original image as shot by the photographer and, directly, how the photographer chose to light the subject. Even under what you might think will be similar lighting conditions things will change enormously. Secondly; is your computer's screen calibrated for 100% accuracy in terms of colour and contrast? Computer screens - especially the newer ones - are almost always poorly adjusted for judging either of these values. Even Macs, which are essentially designed with the art & media set in mind, are usually far enough out to make a noticeable difference when compared with 'real life'. Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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