Gibson specs in finish

[AndersonsGuitar]

Ok so I’ve bought a Gibson les Paul standard a few weeks ago brand new - and out of the box is a bit meh, the fretboard needed some serious cleaning and oiling - but the finish has developed these really weird white spots that won’t even polish out. Any info would be really helpful - it’s been kept in it’s case the whole time, (which funnily enough is made in china, so it’s basically an Epiphone case with a different sticker then... still a good case but a bit cheeky I thought)

I’ve included a few other finish flaws too that just slightly annoy me for paying over £2k on a guitar - mostly I’m just curious about what the white spots are:

Edited May 1, 2021 by AndersonsGuitar

[vinnier6]

I would send that back based on the neck binding alone...not sure about the specks in the finish, but that’s not good either....I just sent back a slash for similar issues

[AndersonsGuitar]

Yeah it’s disappointing they let that leave the factory - having said that it’s still a pretty guitar, I’ve set it up real nice and I do like it despite it being a bit of an ugly duckling... It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t so expensive for so many finishing flaws

 I’ve had it for a few weeks now but I’ve contacted GAK and I’ll see what they say, there seems to be a big shortage on these in the UK

[merciful-evans]

I am surprised at those flaws. 

Usually I'm the one that's unconcerned about aesthetics, but the neck binding separation would spell 'no deal' to me. The speckles suggest dust (paint booth extraction failure?).

What I don't get is, how come the fretboard was so dirty on a brand new guitar? And what's going on with the replacement case?

[AndersonsGuitar]

Well the binding looks more like « spray marks » as in there are dimples at the top you can see and feel (a little).

This is my first Gibson and I’ve wanted a les Paul for a long long time so I genuinely wasn’t sure if this was just normal from Gibson - just a shame I got the dud! it came in a sealed box and all, but yeah the fretboard was sooooo dry it was borderline unplayable!

As far the case goes it isn’t a replacement case, I had a look and they seem to be shipping them with Chinese cases these days (looks like someone went bust eh)

[merciful-evans]

5 hours ago, AndersonsGuitar said:

Well the binding looks more like « spray marks » as in there are dimples at the top you can see and feel (a little).

This is my first Gibson and I’ve wanted a les Paul for a long long time so I genuinely wasn’t sure if this was just normal from Gibson - just a shame I got the dud! it came in a sealed box and all, but yeah the fretboard was sooooo dry it was borderline unplayable!

As far the case goes it isn’t a replacement case, I had a look and they seem to be shipping them with Chinese cases these days (looks like someone went bust eh)

That makes this a difficult decision then. If it plays nicely you are weighing that against the cosmetic flaws. I normally ignore that sort of thing. But many people here have returned guitars for little things I cant even make out in their photos. 

Lets us know what GAK comes back with. 

[Eracer_Team]

Binding is over spray with a looks of what's called orange peel.

It will wear off playing 

But the specks on body.

Not sure, 

Possibly air got into paint stream

Will have to send it back if you can't live with it

[Pinch]

42 minutes ago, merciful-evans said:

But many people here have returned guitars for little things I cant even make out in their photos.

I've crossed over to the other side... As long as the neck is still on, I call it mint or road worn... 

[Twang Gang]

Return it.  In addition to the specs that won't buff out (unacceptable) in your second photo it looks like a gap between the binding and the body.  In your fourth photo the pickup almost looks corroded (maybe it's just dust) but why so dirty on a new guitar.  Then the neck binding is a mess.  All those little things add up to a reject for me.  I bought a new one sight unseen in 2017 and it was perfect out of the box.  No need for you to settle for this quality after paying full price.

[AndersonsGuitar]

On 5/3/2021 at 12:47 AM, Twang Gang said:

Return it.  In addition to the specs that won't buff out (unacceptable) in your second photo it looks like a gap between the binding and the body.  In your fourth photo the pickup almost looks corroded (maybe it's just dust) but why so dirty on a new guitar.  Then the neck binding is a mess.  All those little things add up to a reject for me.  I bought a new one sight unseen in 2017 and it was perfect out of the box.  No need for you to settle for this quality after paying full price.

Yeah I see what you mean - double checked, it was just a light trick and the pickup was dusty from playing

Edited May 5, 2021 by AndersonsGuitar

[rct]

So when I first looked at this thread I saw a guitar that needed dusting and said well no maybe not, I just don't see it right or something, and I'd sound like a dummy if I said yeah hey any guitar polish will do.

But it was a guitar that needed dusting?

Jesus. H. Christ.

rct

[Pinch]

4 hours ago, AndersonsGuitar said:

Well I’ve had a rethink - a guitar is never going to be dust free (especially a nitrocellulose finish, damn I had no idea how much dust clings to them!) and I bought it with every intention of playing it which means it’ll hopefully see endless amounts of blood sweat and beer in it’s time... at which point the spots won’t be noticeable anyway!

 It feels fantastic and for the first time in a long while I actually can’t put it down. It is lighter than my baja telecaster - though I’m fairly sure that weighs somewhere near a metric ton - and it is still a beautiful guitar, so I don’t think it’s worth the hassle of sending it back. Also gak offered a 7% refund, which isn’t huge but eh 🤷‍♂️

I think you made the right choice. There's no guarantee the replacement guitar would sound as good. 

We all go a bit crazy when we buy a new guitar. It wears off. (Eventually.) 

[AndersonsGuitar]

4 hours ago, rct said:

So when I first looked at this thread I saw a guitar that needed dusting and said well no maybe not, I just don't see it right or something, and I'd sound like a dummy if I said yeah hey any guitar polish will do.

But it was a guitar that needed dusting?

Jesus. H. Christ.

rct

Haha no mate, there’s dust under the top coat alright

I was actually just curious to see what people’s thoughts were and if it was kind of a normality from Gibson

Edited May 5, 2021 by AndersonsGuitar

[rct]

So, if that dust is under the top coat, sealed in with the paint, and it is as all over that guitar as it appears to be then yes, I would send it back.  They'll never know they did that and tried to sell it if you don't.  And people will just continue getting used to an ever lower bar for their couple thousand dollars worth of guitar.  As far as sound goes well, if you can't make any couple grand Les Paul sound just like any other couple grand Les Paul you are definitely doing it wrong.

rct

[AndersonsGuitar]

Its both a shame and ridiculous really - just because Gibson have “The Les Paul” and people like myself are suckers for an LP with a nitro finish...

I actually ended up retuning the original LP and ordering another one. Great guitar, plays and sounds fantastic, though again I always do a full setup on any new guitar. But it too has dust in the finish ! - albeit not on the same scale as the previous one - but still... I’ve built guitar bodies, I am an amateur and my guitars didn’t leave an old barn with dust in the finish 🤦‍♂️
interestingly, the case the second one came in is a Canadian made case and it’s quality is nowhere near that of the Chinese case the previous one came in! Between wonky screws, wonky fastenings, glue marks on the interior and places where the lining hasn’t bonded to the case... the made in China case was perfect in every single way whereas this one really isn’t ! I live in the UK and I will always recommend Hiscox cases - made to last, made to withstand luggage handlers and made in the UK. They are both flawless and a good £60 or so cheaper than Gibson cases new

I don’t normally care about this sort of thing and I usually buy guitars second hand, but when buying a guitar that costs as much an LP standard does...

Edited May 13, 2021 by AndersonsGuitar

[AndersonsGuitar]

On 5/5/2021 at 4:08 PM, rct said:

So, if that dust is under the top coat, sealed in with the paint, and it is as all over that guitar as it appears to be then yes, I would send it back.  They'll never know they did that and tried to sell it if you don't.  And people will just continue getting used to an ever lower bar for their couple thousand dollars worth of guitar.  As far as sound goes well, if you can't make any couple grand Les Paul sound just like any other couple grand Les Paul you are definitely doing it wrong.

rct

I think this is a very fair point. If we all accept to pay £2k for a shoddy finish then a shoddy finish is what they’ll roll out - so much for “we sweat the details” right !

[Dub-T-123]

I’m taking this post with a huge grain of salt. The guy has lightning strike twice with an incredibly unusual problem or he’s just confused. We can see that he’s confused about dust on the pickup cover of all things so I’m disinclined to believe the other claims

[AndersonsGuitar]

For the record: both guitars have had white spots in the finish around the edge that cannot be wiped or even polished off - there were never any pickup issues

[Dub-T-123]

What are you wiping the guitar with? 

[merciful-evans]

On 5/14/2021 at 12:19 AM, AndersonsGuitar said:

 

I actually ended up retuning the original LP and ordering another one. Great guitar, plays and sounds fantastic, though again I always do a full setup on any new guitar. But it too has dust in the finish ! - albeit not on the same scale as the previous one -

 that is bizarre. I've never seen this once in 51 years of playing. You got 2 in a row?

[Timo]

I have a 50’s reissue lg2 natural finish with those white specs underneath the nitro in an area on the back and side .it’s more visible in sunlight and probably noticeable more with the dark mahogany behind the white specs. I am a bit disappointed cause I love this guitar so much,but I guess nothing is perfect and perfection is a strange target. 

[codename]

I've never had the opportunity to see a 1959 Les Paul to know if there were any imperfections but would guess that there would be as my fathers 51 ES300 has some. If there are I doubt that anyone would care. But today there are cheap guitars that don't have any noticable flaws so some people bash Gibson because they still do. There were no cheapo guitars that had better QC back then to compare to a Gibson so nobody cared about minor flaws . They wanted a Gibson so they bought one flaws and all. You just have to decide if it really matters or not. But bear in mind if you return it the next one may be no better or even worse.

[Sgt. Pepper]

21 hours ago, codename said:

I've never had the opportunity to see a 1959 Les Paul to know if there were any imperfections but would guess that there would be as my fathers 51 ES300 has some

I saw one at Gruhn's . It was a 3 pup Black Beauty. It was in a glass case and a bit beat up. It was 60k. The next day I went to Carter's Vintage. They had a '60 LP in a Burst behind glass, behind a counter. It was in great shape and it was only 100k. That's as close as I ever got to the sought after Holy Grails. I saw the movie a bunch of times.