Gibson Limited Edition Western Classic Mystic Acoustic Guitar

[Morkolo]

1938 SJ-200 that was just recently made.

 

Those are nice, hopefully this one works out.

 

I have had one SJ-200 with finish issues, I returned it. I will let you know if the new one has no flaws. It is all up to Gibson's quality control, or lack there of.

 

Have you tried going through a different dealer? I know for myself there's Gibson dealer just 20 minutes away from my door but their stock is rarely C+ in my book. I figured for years it was just awful Gibson quality control, it wasn't uncommon to find a hummingbird with the pickguard falling off or a J45 with weird blemishes in the finish, setups were awful and so on. Then I took a trip to a couple of 5 star dealers and found none of the above. I went from loving the sound but never being happy with the finished product to owning 7 great Gibson guitars. Not that it makes Gibson innocent but some dealers check their merchandise over and others just slap it on the rack.

[OldCowboy]

Your dealer is for sure the first and best line of defense for consumers, or should be. Maybe if dealers were held more responsible for QC issues - and by that I mean if more consumers held dealers accountable - they'd be motivated to pay more attention. I understand that Gibson puts plenty of pressure on dealers to sell in volume and that sales reps tend to pressure dealers to increase volume of sales or risk loss of franchise - an ugly game at best, in my opinion, since it tends to hurt just about everyone involved except - well, you know.... I suppose this is a bad attitude to have and I sure won't blame anyone for disagreeing, but as long as we play along, it won't change.

[Victory Pete]

The more things change.... is right. We regularly have rant threads about Gibson QC. They seem to be adventures in anecdotes.

They're usually based on one member whose purchased his first Gibson Acoustic after being an electric/Martin/Taylor/Epiphone guy - and receives a guitar that passed through a dealer who apparently missed what the Gibson QC people also missed. Sometimes, the purchaser actually had the guitar in his hands at the store and also missed the alleged defects.

I think in half the cases - it's buyer's remorse. Either second thoughts of spending too much $ or not liking the guitar after a week or so. Reminds me of the cliche jokes about the guy who wakes up next to the waitress from the bar and realizes she's missing a couple of teeth.

The other half of the cases very well may be QC issues - but many seem to remember the Five Star Dealer is our actual supplier, not Gibson. They are a key part of the Supply Chain. If you receive a guitar with legitimate defects - it is their 'fault'. They accepted the guitar in their Receiving Department QC area, and preferred it for sale. If I were looking for a 100% cosmetically perfect Gibson (because I wasn't going to ding it EVER) - I would simply tell my 5 Star Dealer to inspect it closely and not send a it unless it was 100%. Problem solved. Then, any issues you have would be easier to deal with - and again it would be the Dealer, not Bozeman who needed to address it.

Sending an email to Bozeman that "I found an orange peel blemish on my new guitar." is unrealistically silly. It would be like writing GM about a wrinkly in your leather seat, instead of taking it to the dealer to be fixed.

Good Luck VP with your Third Attempt at getting a Gibson you are happy with. Based on your comment after you sent back the first one - I assume this is Bozeman's 'one more, last chance'.

 

Actually sending an e-mail to Bozeman has turned out to be a very positive experience. I now have a very good relationship with a very important person there. They sent me some shirts. They genuinely care about my issues and have done what they could to help me, except for sending me some lacquer or even providing specs or a source. What makes you think this is my "Third Attempt"? Some of you people here really are a bit too much in the arrogance department.

[Victory Pete]

Those are nice, hopefully this one works out.

 

 

 

Have you tried going through a different dealer? I know for myself there's Gibson dealer just 20 minutes away from my door but their stock is rarely C+ in my book. I figured for years it was just awful Gibson quality control, it wasn't uncommon to find a hummingbird with the pickguard falling off or a J45 with weird blemishes in the finish, setups were awful and so on. Then I took a trip to a couple of 5 star dealers and found none of the above. I went from loving the sound but never being happy with the finished product to owning 7 great Gibson guitars. Not that it makes Gibson innocent but some dealers check their merchandise over and others just slap it on the rack.

 

There are no dealers nearby that have any of these high end Gibson's for sale. I have been buying online. I realize the dealers should reject any defects that come their way, but ultimately it is Gibson's responsibly for letting them get out the door that way. I was a dealer for a while and always insisted on sending back any defective merchandise, but if it continued I would drop the product.

[olie]

All right. Who pissed off VP this time? On a lighter note; in smaller communities (such as mine)there is very little in the way of alternatives when it comes to music stores so we're kind of hamstrung when searching for a selection of a given model. They have one on the wall-take it or leave it. It's difficult to get them to bring in more than one of a model to compare so generally we're forced to take a day to head to the big smoke (e.g. Toronto) for a large retailer. Another thing in this country is that Yorkville Sound which is the main controller of Long and McQuade is the sole importer of Gibson and Epiphone so you're short on alternatives. The smaller retailers have to order from Yorkville and you don't need to be an actuary to figure out that there's no way they're going to compete against their supplier and still make any money.L&M sure have a good thing going for themselves! Pretty soon everyone in the world is going to be shopping at "Acme" just like Wily Coyote in the Roadrunner cartoon. Right. That's my rant for today.