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Gibson Has Serious Quality Control Issues AGAIN !


Bluesy69

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I ordered my new Les Paul and it finally arrived only to find out, after unpacking it that it had a dark spot in the wood the size of a dime on the flame maple top and the body binding had a big curve in it clearly exposing the paint seam, as if someone came along while the person was applying the binding and bumped their arm.

 

I can't believe their doing this again it's the mid to late 90's and early 2000's all over again, even the guy's at the guitar store said " Wow I can't believe this was allowed to leave the factory ", and that's their own suppliers talking, luckily I was able to exchange it for another one from the stores distribution center.

 

Now you might say that I could've got a rare bad egg out of thousands, but this also happened over a month ago when I ordered an ES-335 and it showed up new in box, and it had an indentation in the wood on the neck..

I'm just one person and it happened to me twice in less than two months time.

 

What is going on over there?, I should've wrote down the final inspectors name, taken a picture and emailed it to him and asked how such an aesthetically flawed guitar got past him.

Well I just hope my replacement is a lot better than previous orders....I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

 

Come on Gibson pay attention to those details.....PRS certainly is.

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I'm very sad to report, that My favorite, and long time (30 years +) dealer, has dropped Gibson USA and Custom Shop (and, Epiphone as well),

save the Gibson (Bozeman, Montana) Acoustic line. They carry, and sell, a good amount of Gibson Acoustic guitars.

 

They sited Gibson USA QC problems, Wholesale Price increases, and unrealistic stocking requirements, as the main reason(s)

they dropped the line. Whether this is temporary, or permanent, remains to be seen. My dealer has done this before,

a time or two, in the last 30 years. So...??? While this is a real disappointment, for me...as I've bought ALL my

Gibson's, since I returned to playing 17 years ago, from them...I do understand their position, and reasoning.

And, they're hardly the only "Brick and Mortar"/Family owned dealer, to have made that choice. Sad!! [crying]

 

But, for PRS lovers, they still carry full line of those, premium and SE models. Gretsch, and Fender, as well.

 

 

CB

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There are a lot of very well written books on the instruments the Rolling Stones, Beatles and others used used. One thing that amazes me is the maple caps on LPs. They have flaws. Very few are perfect. Flametops look great in spots and underwhelming in other spots. I don't think the musicians looking for bursts to play cared about flametop evenness. There weren't enough to be had to be picky. There is one LP Mick Taylor and Richards shared that I can spot because of a light area on the cap.

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Guest Farnsbarns

I'd be interested to see pictures of these flaws. Doesn't sound great.

 

There may be a lesson here. Henry J himself says he doesn't think it's wise to buy Gibson remotely and have it delivered because they're hand made, all different and wood is organic and has flaws. They don't reject wood because of a visual flaw, it's down to the buyer to chose. That said, this doesn't address poorly fitting binding.

 

Please post pics. I'd be really interested to see the problems.

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I'd be interested to see pictures of these flaws. Doesn't sound great.

 

There may be a lesson here. Henry J himself says he doesn't think it's wise to buy Gibson remotely and have it delivered because they're hand made, all different and wood is organic and has flaws. They don't reject wood because of a visual flaw, it's down to the buyer to chose. That said, this doesn't address poorly fitting binding.

 

Please post pics. I'd be really interested to see the problems.

 

 

that's such crock. not that he said it, but what he said, about being hand made and the need to choose one in person. they are made with as little handwork as possible, for one, and even those processes are refined down to a routine because after all, a gibson guitar is produced in a factory. they are not made one-at-a-time in a small workshop by some ancient luthier who looks like gepetto. it's a busy production facility that supplies the entire world with gibson guitars. they send hundreds and hundreds of them out the door every single day. that statement is henry using branding techniques in order to deceptively make people think of a gibson guitar as a boutique item that is rare and exclusive. the truth is, most of them are just like the rest. they are as ubiquitous to guitarists as potoato peelers are to a cook. you absolutely can buy them sight unseen and get a good guitar, and there is no valid excuse for not being able to do so. because even if henry had a factory full of santa's elves making the entire guitar by hand, there would still be no excuse for sending bad product out the door. especially when every single new guitar comes with a signed inspection card, and contains QC stampings in the body.

 

this type of branding isn't sustainable with the rest of gibson's marketing. stores are beginning to drop gibson due to the amount of guitars they are forced to carry, and the dealer price increases, as well as other rules for retailers. eventually, ordering them through online retailers will be the only way to get one for alot of people. here in delaware there is nowhere near the selection i am used to seeing in toronto. yet, i did buy mine there (toronto) sight unseen, and got a wonderful instrument.

 

edit: here is an article that sort of underscores my point about branding. the economics aside, what they have to say about gibson's branding is accurate:

https://reverb.com/news/guitaronomics-have-guitars-become-more-expensive-over-time?

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Guest Farnsbarns

Thanks for the lesson in branding. I didn't know anything about branding, brand management or marketing before. Now I feel educated. Thank you.

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Bluesy that binding issue you stated as wavey, was that in the cutaway area?

 

And um yes wood does have imperfections.

You might not get that with a Chinese guitar as I would suspect they use a "photo flame" top, thus looks perfect.

 

I have been in the Memphis plant and yes a lot is done by hand

 

I truly question what some consider bad qcc imperfections,

Yes wiggly pots, etc I can see as issues,

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I have to say IMHO those coming out of Memphis with the es line have been impressive. As to the Nashville production in comparison to the two I'm more impressed with Memphis. But that said I'm playing by large a Nashville production LP.

 

All that said I agree with Henry about in person selection as they all differ slightly no matter of QC in my opinion. And maybe greatly also as its very possible a QC Issue may exist. But tops matched two piece just vary and either plain or flamed. That's a good reason to select in person. As you see here you can find them very impressively figured and matched then on the other hand one that may be not as much to your taste and play better?

 

The poker chip. That's another interesting point I think maybe its a quality control issue. I know because I bought a late 16 LP plain top traditional that I was blown away by playing in person. The chip was on but the switch was jumping out of the rhythm up position due to the way the switch is set in the body, maybe a thinner chip or adjustment on switch that doesn't exit. Soo in short I caught all this buying the lp. But the price was adjusted also and the guitar plays just incredible feels incredible and sounds great. So to me there was a trade off. In which case Henry's point is in fact true.

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I guess a QC gig will invariably turn routine, hence mistakes are made... That's not to downplay your experiences in the least. They should hire more people to work QC. A Gibson should be flawless.

 

The problem is, I think, that they don't have to, since people buy Gibsons anyway.

 

Imagine the QC they could have hired had they thought through 2015 a little better.

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Same here.

 

If nothing else so I could judge them against my 2017 V OCD (output jack + "crooked" strap button): a) by far and away less ridiculous and actually warranted (the smart money's on this one), B) same, c) call the nice men in the white coats.

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I could definitely understand the frustration. I know when I was shopping for my 2017 Standard, I looked at a few both online and at a couple of stores. The one I ultimately chose was because in my eyes it was beautiful, had high quality constructions and no issues. After playing it and finding the issue with the PCB, I got the part replaced. Another Bourbon Burst came into the same store and it's a totally different (and unique) top from what mine was. In my opinion, when I pay that much money for a high quality guitar, I expect it to be near perfect for a brand new guitar. After all, they've only been making Les Pauls for 65 years. The different tops give them different characteristics but I would hope for everything else to be functioning and put together well. People aren't perfect and everyone makes mistakes but you'd think QC would catch major things before they go out the door. If not, why are we expected to pay a premium price? It seems like the complaints are fairly low but we sure seem to hear about the ones that aren't perfect more than the ones that are near perfect.

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Sorry to hear of your bad luck with two recent purchases. It is certainly frustrating when you spend high dollars and don't get what you expect.

 

Personally though I have to say that in the past 3 years I've bought 3 Gibsons (2 online) and they have all been perfect. No finish flaws or chips or bad binding. All three 100% top of the line.

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You only have to look at the factory tours on YouTube. Gibson staff look lethargic and full of "we're American, which makes us the best" attitude. Then look at the factory tours for ESP or Chapman guitars. Most are the same factory, but there is so much pride. Then there is the corporate greed. More and more profit for less product.

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You only have to look at the factory tours on YouTube. Gibson staff look lethargic and full of "we're American, which makes us the best" attitude. Then look at the factory tours for ESP or Chapman guitars. Most are the same factory, but there is so much pride. Then there is the corporate greed. More and more profit for less product.

 

are you always this bigoted or do you just save it for this forum?

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if it's true (not saying it is or isn't) it's not bigotry to point out something factual

 

not the first time he's taken shots at America/Americans, and clearly, as stated, this one mans opinion. he has no idea on how they approach their work.

 

but nice trolling Cheese.

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