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I'm a little upset - am I being OCD/Crazy..?


Jamie X

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Hi! I just got my dream VOS Les Paul '57 Black Beauty from the my local dealer after ordering it and having it on hold while I saved up a good chunk of the $9K it cost so I could put the rest on financing with them and bring my baby home.. But now I noticed the Truss Rod cap is not centered! 😲.. I mean for $9K I expect perfection or at least a nicely centered truss rod. I didn't notice it at the store when I came in to do an inspection but now I can't stop looking at it.. It's all I notice.. 😔 Everything else is amazing (besides the layer of goop they now leave on the VOS guitars apparently)

What do you all think? Am I being unreasonable? What would you do?

J
 

GibsonBB-TrussrodCover.jpg

Edited by Jamie X
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2 hours ago, Dub-T-123 said:

You could loosen the screws and adjust the TRC a bit better and tighten them back down

There's no wiggle room unfortunately. I could drill a new hole  but the adjustment is so small that the screw wouldn't thread properly ..

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1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

That wonky TRC will make the tone go off in all sorts of unwanted directions.

So you're saying .. Yes, I am being silly?

It's hard for me to be objective about it.. I mean most people probably wouldn't notice right? but for me that mis-alignment just gets bigger and bigger and bigger .. 

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36 minutes ago, Jamie X said:

So you're saying .. Yes, I am being silly?

It's hard for me to be objective about it.. I mean most people probably wouldn't notice right? but for me that mis-alignment just gets bigger and bigger and bigger .. 

Send it back and demand a straight one.

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That’s a bummer that it can’t be adjusted easily. It’s purely an aesthetic problem but it would bother me on a guitar this price. 
 

My opinion is that guitars vary a lot and sometimes you pick one up and you can tell it’s just right for you. If you feel like this guitar is otherwise perfect then I wouldn’t send it back because of the crooked TRC. However I don’t blame you for being bothered by it. If the guitar isn’t that special to you then I’d return it and carefully inspect the replacement. 
 

if you aren’t afraid you could plug the top hole with a toothpick and some wood glue, then drill a new hole more centered with the split diamond inlay. Or have a decent luthier do it for you

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@Jamie X return that guitar because for that much money this shouldn’t bother you right off the bat. Sorry for this, but this stuff happens occasionally when we buy guitars. Either way, you need to do what you need to to make yourself comfortable with this purchase or try again. Like Steve said, not the only one that was made…

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Great feedback everyone! 

.. aesthetics are a big part of the price tag and what I feel I'm really paying for (along with craftmanship and permium matriels of course 😄 )

I'll talk to my dealer about it. I also like the idea of getting someone specialized to do a little fix.  Doing a simple exchange is not that easy.. they only make so many of these a year type thing.. 

Quote

If you feel like this guitar is otherwise perfect then I wouldn’t send it back because of the crooked TRC. 

I have the same thought.. I know from experience.. I could get something back with a perfectly placed TRC and then find out 6 months later that the neck is wonky or the feel is not the same.. I need to really play it more this weekend but from what I can tell everything else is great.. Neck is straight as can be, binding ..perfect etc.  

I've deliberately not done anything more than setting up the string action to give the guitar time to "settle in" but it plays great even without adjusting the straight neck.. The TRC is the only thing from keeping it a perfect work of art.. 

The last thing I did was book a free appointment with Gibson's team of guitar guru's on zoom which is a recent thing I guess..? I'm interested to hear wht they say.. 

I'll keep you posted..

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16 hours ago, Jamie X said:

Great feedback everyone! 

.. aesthetics are a big part of the price tag and what I feel I'm really paying for (along with craftmanship and permium matriels of course 😄 )

I'll talk to my dealer about it. I also like the idea of getting someone specialized to do a little fix.  Doing a simple exchange is not that easy.. they only make so many of these a year type thing.. 

I have the same thought.. I know from experience.. I could get something back with a perfectly placed TRC and then find out 6 months later that the neck is wonky or the feel is not the same.. I need to really play it more this weekend but from what I can tell everything else is great.. Neck is straight as can be, binding ..perfect etc.  

I've deliberately not done anything more than setting up the string action to give the guitar time to "settle in" but it plays great even without adjusting the straight neck.. The TRC is the only thing from keeping it a perfect work of art.. 

The last thing I did was book a free appointment with Gibson's team of guitar guru's on zoom which is a recent thing I guess..? I'm interested to hear wht they say.. 

I'll keep you posted..

Wow.. that is just silly.  Why someone didn't take an extra 20 seconds to line that up right is just kind of puzzling.  Sorry this happened, and I get it,, once you know it's there, it will take you a long time to let it go.  you'll never unsee it tho.  I am not sure if I would do an exchange however.  Things are so crazy with the supply chain, who knows what kind of shenanigans will happen in the exchange.. 

Looking forward to your zoom call with Gibson.  They've got some 'splainin to do..   

 

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3 hours ago, kidblast said:

Wow.. that is just silly.  Why someone didn't take an extra 20 seconds to line that up right is just kind of puzzling.  Sorry this happened, and I get it,, once you know it's there, it will take you a long time to let it go.  you'll never unsee it tho.  I am not sure if I would do an exchange however.  Things are so crazy with the supply chain, who knows what kind of shenanigans will happen in the exchange.. 

Looking forward to your zoom call with Gibson.  They've got some 'splainin to do..   

 

I agree, even though the TRC is only slightly off it's noticable to me now andlike kidblast said .. it takes time to "Let it go" Also - Just as big a deal is the fact that it's kind of embarrassing that I have what I consider the best brands of guitar in the world and naturally want to show it off .. and have to hope that a basic thing like that is not noticed.. 

Update: 

Spoke to Jeff from the Gibson Virtual Repair and Restoration online service via Zoom.. Great guy, good service.. (we had time to talk on the subject of nitrocellulose)  ulitimately he recommended I get in touch with Gibson and look at possibly having their guys fix it. I'm a bit squeamish however about sending that guitar through the delivery service, especially through customs etc. as I'm in Canada.. He did let me know as an alternative since my local distributor is a licensed warrany provider, I could get the work done here! So less travel etc.. 

I already spoke with my local sales rep and will be  bringing the guitar in to see his repair guy next week. This has to be one of the more basic types of work as far as things go so I'm hoping they can fix it up nice with a quick turn around time. 

I hope to have an updated photo to share in a few weeks! Thx  - I'm glad I reached out.. 

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On 5/20/2021 at 12:23 AM, Jamie X said:

Hi! I just got my dream VOS Les Paul '57 Black Beauty from the my local dealer after ordering it and having it on hold while I saved up a good chunk of the $9K it cost so I could put the rest on financing with them and bring my baby home.. But now I noticed the Truss Rod cap is not centered! 😲.. I mean for $9K I expect perfection or at least a nicely centered truss rod. I didn't notice it at the store when I came in to do an inspection but now I can't stop looking at it.. It's all I notice.. 😔 Everything else is amazing (besides the layer of goop they now leave on the VOS guitars apparently)

What do you all think? Am I being unreasonable? What would you do?

J
 

GibsonBB-TrussrodCover.jpg

You could slot the bottom hole of the trc and maybe get a little better. Otherwise you paid a lot of coin for a guitar that looks like I worked on it.

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I'm sure it will be put right ok Jamie. I do understand how you feel even though I've not experienced it.

I wouldn't buy a guitar I was afraid to gig, or any car I felt nervous driving on the open road. That grounds me into spending far less than I otherwise might. 

BTW lets have a full picture as well next time yes?

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3 hours ago, merciful-evans said:

I'm sure it will be put right ok Jamie. I do understand how you feel even though I've not experienced it.

I wouldn't buy a guitar I was afraid to gig, or any car I felt nervous driving on the open road. That grounds me into spending far less than I otherwise might. 

BTW lets have a full picture as well next time yes?

 

The model can be found here https://www.gibson.com/Guitar/CUSGJ5555/1957-Les-Paul-Custom-Reissue/Ebony-2-Pickup (3 Pickup Option)

It comes out to over $8G's Canadian.. I should come work in the States for a while just so I can buy a guitar.. Too expensive up here! hehe 

I should have included a full pic.. They seem to limit the total amount of KB you can post in one thread.. This is a pic I took at the dealer's after it arrived 🙂

 

57 BB VOS Dec2020 2 Sm.jpg

Edited by Jamie X
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31 minutes ago, Fish Crumpet said:

I'm with the "send it back" crowd. For that much money — hard-earned, no doubt — I'd want perfection. That's embarrassing.

Makes me wonder what else is wonky under the hood.

I can't send it back at this point apparently becasue it's been sold to me by the dealer but I can get work done on it under warranty.. Thankfully it's more of a cosmetic issue that's easily fixed from what I understand.. 

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yes "custom" orders are harder to return.

if it came from L&M they're pretty good at helping out make things right from what I've found...

use a fine eye to look for anything to have them "make it right" for you

I know for the price you're a bit miffed (as some others) but if "us" guitar folk used as close an eye on the cars we buy for well over $20k (most cases 40k++) we'd never get a new car.

If all that's wrong is the TRC.. enjoy the guitar and put some belt buckle rashes into it.. show it that it's loved.

 

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Any luthier can fix it pretty easily.  A little wood glue and a toothpick will plug the old hole.  It looks like the TRC will still cover the hole when it gets repositioned, so you should be fine.  That would bug the heck out of me.  I'd return the thing in as heartbeat if it wasn't a simple fix.  It looks horrible.

Messing up something that bad so late in the building process is a sign of some kind of serious disfunction in the manufacturing process.  Where the finisher doesn't respect the thousands of dollars of work that's already been done and just treats the product like his dog chained out in the yard.  And nobody else cares.  It's like making a Chevy and then banging the name tags on there with a hammer and denting the finish and walking away and getting away with it.  You don't put your worst workers at the end of the finishing process.  

 

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On 5/23/2021 at 8:32 AM, badbluesplayer said:

... Messing up something that bad so late in the building process is a sign of some kind of serious disfunction in the manufacturing process.  Where the finisher doesn't respect the thousands of dollars of work that's already been done and just treats the product like his dog chained out in the yard.  And nobody else cares.  It's like making a Chevy and then banging the name tags on there with a hammer and denting the finish and walking away and getting away with it.  You don't put your worst workers at the end of the finishing process.  

Love the analogy!

Included with the guitar was a certificate  with the guitar from Gibson in a nice little faux leather booklet..

Check it out.. It basically says "Pinnacle of Craftsmanship"

Picture of Certificate

😲


 

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