LarryUK Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 I'm seeing lots of posts online about cracks in nuts etc on Les Paul's. When you see the pics it's always lacquer on the nut. Poor masking and bad finishing. Then there are complaints about binding finishing. When are Gibson going to address these issues? It's clearly a problem that could be sorted. I've watched the factory videos and the people that finish the guitars are clearly not luthiers. They are cheap labour brought in from anywhere. Even the dealers could sort it. I've had one with it. I just edged the nut with a blade and popped the offending bit of lacquer off. I have to say that foreign factories are getting the edge on quality over Gibson, especially Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 They won't. I've played Gibsons for the past ten years because I love the tone, and if they cared about QC, they would have addressed QC issues. They've had all the time in the world. It's simple - cheap labor is cheap, and they try to churn out as much product in as short a time as possible to maximize profits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 (edited) "Mom, I have nut issues." "I know, Timmy. Go talk to your father about it though, okay? I have issues of my own."😑 Edited February 21, 2021 by sparquelito 1 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 There's always lacquer going halfway up the nut on every Gibson I see. They've made 18 quintillion guitars that way. Why stop now? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 How do you tell if someone is a luthier or not from watching a video? Why presume the Japanese guy is a real luthier and the American not? Been a while since I’ve walked into a guitar store but in my experience Asian guitars do not have any edge over American guitars and never have. Disregarding the price that is.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 53 minutes ago, badbluesplayer said: There's always lacquer going halfway up the nut on every Gibson I see. They've made 18 quintillion guitars that way. Why stop now? If it didn't have the lacquer on the nut its an easy way to tell its a Chibson. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Isnt it obvious? Lacquer on the nut improves tone 😄 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 without lacquer on the nut,, then you have a nut with no lacquer, I wont live in a world like that!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 If you look at the "Careers at Gibson" section of the website you'll see that a "Scraper" job at Bozeman pays $19 - $22 per hour. I wouldn't consider that cheap labor. I have 3 Gibson guitars right now and sold three others not too long ago - none of them had any lacquer on the nut, and none of the nuts were cracked. Granted a very small sample, and maybe I've just been lucky but I have never had these problems. On the other hand the nut slots are almost always a little too narrow especially on the G and B strings causing them to bind, but 5 minutes with a file in the right hands solves those problems. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Would you mind sharing the videos that clearly show unskilled non luthier workers at Gibson? You’re wrong about the nut issue but I’m curious about the other parts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 I like my cashews with a little overspray lacquer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 4 hours ago, Rabs said: Isnt it obvious? Lacquer on the nut improves tone 😄 They are way ahead of the rest of the guitar makers on this technology. 😐 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 (edited) I'm reasonably happy with my nuts at the moment as they're working fine..... I've still got a couple of soft pencils - 2B - for graphite. Nut material and its effect on tone comes up in acoustic discussions. Fit must be good and snug. My own feeling is that it's less important on an electric. Brass? I remember. I haven't tried a guitar with the Buzz Feiten or Earvana compensated nut but would like to. Apparently you can't go heavier than 10s on a Fender LSR roller nut...? Edited February 21, 2021 by jdgm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 I have long fancied installing roller nuts and roller bridge pieces on at least one of my guitars, but for some reason I have never pulled the trigger on that project. Seems like it would have to be better for the strings to go across rollers rather than hard edges and stick-worthy bone or plastic. 😬 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 1 hour ago, jdgm said: ...Apparently you can't go heavier than 10s on a Fender LSR roller nut...? Doesn't Jeff Beck use them? He don't use 10s I don't think. At least, he used to like them heavy. rct Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 I like Roller bridges I always use nickel and most of mine and most of mine came from the Phillie guys.. On my slotted break angle controller I just use graphite. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 minute ago, mihcmac said: That is some crazy hardware daddy-o. rct 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mihcmac Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) 27 minutes ago, rct said: That is some crazy hardware daddy-o. rct All non destructive, you can take it off and you'll never know it was there. Thanks to Duesenberg. Oh, my standard setup Mean 90's, nickel roller bridge and Les Trem II. Edited February 22, 2021 by mihcmac 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 2 hours ago, rct said: Doesn't Jeff Beck use them? He don't use 10s I don't think. At least, he used to like them heavy. rct JB has rollers on his sig Strat for the nut and I think uses them. I had one on a Am. Dlx Strat I had. I hated it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 hour ago, mihcmac said: I like Roller bridges I always use nickel and most of mine and most of mine came from the Phillie guys.. On my slotted break angle controller I just use graphite. The Germans can engineer the s-hit out of stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 There's probably 50 guys at Gibson who can explain why the edge of the lacquer is always halfway up the nut. Not me. If they weren't sick of answering stuff, they'd tell you right here. "Boy, that Gibson sure doesn't know how to lacquer the edge of a guitar nut." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) On 2/21/2021 at 10:20 PM, jdgm said: Apparently you can't go heavier than 10s on a Fender LSR roller nut...? I'm certain I read that about the Jeff Beck Strat though don't know where.....but I now found out it's NOT true as the nut slots can be widened and, according to this Warmoth page, can take up from 008 to 024 on the 1st string. Fender only make a right-hand version, so to install on a LH guitar the slots need some attention. https://www.warmoth.com/Fenderreg-LSR-Roller-Nut-1-1116-Wide-Chrome-P305.aspx What I should have written was that a Wllkinson roller nut (used on early JB Strats and many more) can't take heavier than 010s, which is why Fender changed in the 90s.. Edited February 23, 2021 by jdgm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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