Michal Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 (edited) Hello all, I just bought my first Gibson Les Paul Standard from the Gibson EU Demo Shop - a 2017 Standard T Model. I was pretty excited, the pictures promised a fantastic top. As it arrived, my excitement turned into disappointment, the inlays are are noticeably off-center, they are like 3 mm or 1/8 inch off towards the bass side. It’s clearly visible, the inlays fill up most of the space between the E & A string and very little between the b & e string. Or am I too picky? Is this normal? Thank you and best regards Michal Edited March 23, 2022 by Michal Corrected format Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 (edited) No, you're not being to picky, that is not acceptable. I don't know if it's the pic or not, but some of the nibs on the right side binding are missing. Something odd for sure. Edited March 23, 2022 by Big Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michal Posted March 23, 2022 Author Share Posted March 23, 2022 (edited) Thank you Big Bill! The nibs are all there, it is just bad light in the picture. It confused me because Gibson made a very good job of documenting every tiny scratch in the finish (which is not a big deal for me) but not the off-center inlays - the pictures were shoot under an angle, so it was not really visible. Edited March 23, 2022 by Michal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 (edited) Clearly off-centered. I am looking (at my guitars first-hand) right now at 3 Gibson LPs from the Custom Shop and a 1994 LP Standard (same inlay shapes as yours) and they are all pretty centered. I have to say that it is NOT normal. Edited March 23, 2022 by NighthawkChris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted March 23, 2022 Share Posted March 23, 2022 Something I never thought about or noticed on any of my Gibsons. I went and actually measured the fretboard inlays on my 2017 LP Standard and they are perfectly centered. Since the routes for fretboard inlays would be computer (CNC) controlled it's hard to imagine how this happened. I hate to say this, but we have seen some strange quality issues in the past six months to a year on this forum and as I recall the vast majority (if not all) were guitars purchased in Europe. Could it be that things that might have been labeled as a "second" in the past are now just being sent overseas instead? Don't want to start any conspiracy theories as I must say that every Gibson I have ever bought (new and used) since about 1965 have never had QC issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 Never noticed this before. I had better check my guitars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Bill Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 (edited) 5 hours ago, merciful-evans said: Never noticed this before. I had better check my guitars. Ha!! I did a check on mine as well!! Edited March 24, 2022 by Big Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 (edited) I did the same thing - Firebird VII looks okay but I noticed the strings are a bit off with the way I set the adjustable rollers. I should go work for Gibson as a Kwality Controll Eggspurt. Edited March 24, 2022 by SteveFord Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michal Posted March 24, 2022 Author Share Posted March 24, 2022 Thank you all for your feedback, very appreciated! I think I will send this guitar back, I can't unsee this inlay placement anymore. 22 hours ago, Twang Gang said: I hate to say this, but we have seen some strange quality issues in the past six months to a year on this forum and as I recall the vast majority (if not all) were guitars purchased in Europe. Could it be that things that might have been labeled as a "second" in the past are now just being sent overseas instead? Don't want to start any conspiracy theories as I must say that every Gibson I have ever bought (new and used) since about 1965 have never had QC issues. Who knows... besides the misplaced inlays, the binding and fretboard also seem poorly crafted, there are clearly visible tooling marks. Even my much cheaper Korean made LTD Les Paul copy looks much cleaner and more refined, which is disappointing. I guess there is a reason why this guitar was sold in Gibsons Demo Shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted March 24, 2022 Share Posted March 24, 2022 Wow.. That is really really weird.. I also checked my LPs just now.. All are aligned Phew 😄 Not something I have ever thought of checking.. I wonder if I would have even noticed.... Whats odd about it is I am pretty sure they are done by machine (the inlays) and I also know as I have seen it in videos that they have locator pins on the fretboard and neck so they all go in the same place.. God knows what must have taken place for that to happen?? Weird... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michal Posted March 25, 2022 Author Share Posted March 25, 2022 16 hours ago, Rabs said: Whats odd about it is I am pretty sure they are done by machine (the inlays) and I also know as I have seen it in videos that they have locator pins on the fretboard and neck so they all go in the same place.. God knows what must have taken place for that to happen?? Weird... Good question! Maybe one day this will become valuable, just like minting errors of coins 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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