Custom Shop Lifetime Warranty

[Dave F]

39 minutes ago, Murph said:

Plus, I just enjoy an excuse for a day trip to Nashville....

Heck with Nashville! Let’s go to Bozeman. That’s where it came from. 

[Larsongs]

Here is a Link to Gibson’s Warranty.. The Gibson name appears no less than 8 times.. It’s pretty obvious who the Warranty is with.. 

Gibson Warranty

Your new Gibson instrument is warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the original retail purchaser, subject to the limitations contained in this warranty.

If at any time this Gibson instrument malfunctions as a result of faulty materials or workmanship, Gibson will repair the defect(s) or replace the instrument, as it deems appropriate in its sole discretion. Gibson reserves the right to use materials regularly utilized at the time of repair in the event that original materials are no longer available. If replacement of your instrument is deemed appropriate by our staff, Gibson will replace the instrument with one of the same or most similar style of a value not in excess of the original purchase price of your instrument.

This warranty covers the cost of both labor and materials on any repair deemed necessary by our Customer Service Representative for the lifetime of the original purchaser. In the unlikely event that your instrument is destroyed, lost or damaged beyond repair, while in the possession of Gibson for repair,Gibson will replace that instrument with one of the same or most similar style of a value not in excess of the original purchase price of your instrument. Any insurance covering the instrument, including but not limited to collector's value insurance, must be carried by owner at owner's expense.

[RBSinTo]

1 hour ago, Dave F said:

Heck with Nashville! Let’s go to Bozeman. That’s where it came from. 

Dave,

Just take care that what happened to Sheldon when he got there doesn't happen to you too.

RBSinTo

[Dave F]

I’ll be okay. I’ll pickup Murph on the way. As an added measure, we’ll meet Larsongs there. 

[Larsongs]

My Sister & Brother in law are retiring soon.. They bought some property in Montana & are building a Log Home.. We just found out. I’ll be seeing her this week & will find out where, when & what..

I’d dig going to Bozeman, doing the tour & meeting up with a bunch of Gibson Forum members in the near future…. 

Edited April 24, 2023 by Larsongs

[gearbasher]

 In the unlikely event that your instrument is destroyed, lost or damaged beyond repair, while in the possession of Gibson for repair, Gibson will replace that instrument with one of the same or most similar style of a value not in excess of the original purchase price of your instrument.

Gibson, kinda made good on this part of their warranty for me.

I bought a used Les Paul Studio Lite that had a broken Steinburger tremolo. I called Gibson to see if I could get a part from them to repair it. The guy on the phone asked me to send the entire tremolo to them, so they can see the exact part I needed. I sent it in and they lost it. They sent me a new tremolo for free. I though that was pretty cool.

[Dave F]

4 hours ago, Larsongs said:

My Sister & Brother in law are retiring soon.. They bought some property in Montana & are building a Log Home.. We just found out. I’ll be seeing her this week & will find out where, when & what..

I’d dig going to Bozeman, doing the tour & meeting up with a bunch of Gibson Forum members in the near future…. 

The owners of the company I work for have a big spread in Fishtail Montana about 2 hours from Bozeman. They have a guest house that sleeps 16 that employees are allowed to reserve. Someday I will reserve it and make the visit to Bozeman.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Dave F

[rct]

10 hours ago, Larsongs said:

Here is a Link to Gibson’s Warranty.. The Gibson name appears no less than 8 times.. It’s pretty obvious who the Warranty is with.. 

Gibson Warranty

Your new Gibson instrument is warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the original retail purchaser, subject to the limitations contained in this warranty.

If at any time this Gibson instrument malfunctions as a result of faulty materials or workmanship, Gibson will repair the defect(s) or replace the instrument, as it deems appropriate in its sole discretion. Gibson reserves the right to use materials regularly utilized at the time of repair in the event that original materials are no longer available. If replacement of your instrument is deemed appropriate by our staff, Gibson will replace the instrument with one of the same or most similar style of a value not in excess of the original purchase price of your instrument.

This warranty covers the cost of both labor and materials on any repair deemed necessary by our Customer Service Representative for the lifetime of the original purchaser. In the unlikely event that your instrument is destroyed, lost or damaged beyond repair, while in the possession of Gibson for repair,Gibson will replace that instrument with one of the same or most similar style of a value not in excess of the original purchase price of your instrument. Any insurance covering the instrument, including but not limited to collector's value insurance, must be carried by owner at owner's expense.

Indeed.  And a line or two further they clearly state how you are to invoke the warranty.  Through an Authorized Dealer.

So if you want them to honor the warranty, shouldn't you?

rct

[Murph]

18 hours ago, Dave F said:

I’ll be okay. I’ll pickup Murph on the way. As an added measure, we’ll meet Larsongs there. 

I'll buy at every Bob Evans restaurant we pass.

I was a friend of Bob's son (Bobby) in Rio Grande, Ohio for about a year. When I'd spend the night, we would walk over to the little restaurant in the morning and eat for free.

[Larsongs]

10 hours ago, rct said:

Indeed.  And a line or two further they clearly state how you are to invoke the warranty.  Through an Authorized Dealer.

So if you want them to honor the warranty, shouldn't you?

rct

Indeed they have Authorized Dealer Repair Centers.. You do have a choice.

I had my vintage 1959 Gibson ES-345 almost completely ruined by one in San Diego..

Recently, I took a brand new 3 day old Fender Jazzmaster, that came with a twisted neck,  to Guitar Center their Authorized Repair Center & was refused Warranty Repair... in both cases they were hacks. I returned the Guitar, got my money back & bought another from Sweetwater.. Which was perfect..

I’ve had 3 other Guitars repaired at Gibson factory under Warranty.. They came back better than new.. Gibson has their own Customer Service Representatives & Warranty Repair facility..

I also had my 45 year old Martin D-35 repaired under Warranty at the Martin factory.. Again, excellent work by master craftsmen… 

Look, if you want your Guitars worked on by amateurs at Guitar Center.. Knock yourself out.. I’ll stick with the Factories for Repair.. Warranty & otherwise.. 

[Larsongs]

2 hours ago, Murph said:

I'll buy at every Bob Evans restaurant we pass.

I was a friend of Bob's son (Bobby) in Rio Grande, Ohio for about a year. When I'd spend the night, we would walk over to the little restaurant in the morning and eat for free.

Campfire jam sessions on Montana nights! Sound good to me! As long as they’re not in winter! 

[rct]

2 hours ago, Larsongs said:

Indeed they have Authorized Dealer Repair Centers.. You do have a choice.

I had my vintage 1959 Gibson ES-345 almost completely ruined by one in San Diego..

Recently, I took a brand new 3 day old Fender Jazzmaster, that came with a twisted neck,  to Guitar Center their Authorized Repair Center & was refused Warranty Repair... in both cases they were hacks. I returned the Guitar, got my money back & bought another from Sweetwater.. Which was perfect..

I’ve had 3 other Guitars repaired at Gibson factory under Warranty.. They came back better than new.. Gibson has their own Customer Service Representatives & Warranty Repair facility..

I also had my 45 year old Martin D-35 repaired under Warranty at the Martin factory.. Again, excellent work by master craftsmen… 

Look, if you want your Guitars worked on by amateurs at Guitar Center.. Knock yourself out.. I’ll stick with the Factories for Repair.. Warranty & otherwise.. 

This was about a customer attempting to make a 7.5 year old claim on the Gibson Lifetime Warranty, not about the fitness of any repair shop anywhere.

If you buy a guitar and you don't like it within the 30 or 45 day return time, do you ship it back to Gibson and hope they give you your money or return it to the place you actually bought it, the dealer?  It's pretty simple, Lars, but you are Mr. Bojanglein it all over the place to avoid it.  There is a lifetime warranty, and if you take it to an authorized dealer you can start that process.  Telling people to go straight to Gibson is bad for everybody, which you don't seem to be able to grasp.

rct

[rct]

lolz

[Larsongs]

21 hours ago, rct said:

This was about a customer attempting to make a 7.5 year old claim on the Gibson Lifetime Warranty, not about the fitness of any repair shop anywhere.

If you buy a guitar and you don't like it within the 30 or 45 day return time, do you ship it back to Gibson and hope they give you your money or return it to the place you actually bought it, the dealer?  It's pretty simple, Lars, but you are Mr. Bojanglein it all over the place to avoid it.  There is a lifetime warranty, and if you take it to an authorized dealer you can start that process.  Telling people to go straight to Gibson is bad for everybody, which you don't seem to be able to grasp.

rct

Gibson invites people to have their Guitars worked on by their Repair facility.. If I’m not mistaken also will do restorations.. They build Guitars.. That’s their business..

Like I mentioned I sent my 1975 Martin D-35 to Martin a bout 7 years ago for Repair work that I paid for. While it was there they called me & asked if I’d like them to do some Warranty Repairs they felt it needed.. Of course I said, yes.. That’s what a good Company does for their Customers..

Gibson has also done the same for me on 2 Guitars in Nashville & one Guitar in Bozeman.. I spend a lot of money with Gibson.. I expect their Customer Service to exceed my expectations. That’s part of what I’m paying for..

If you don’t that’s fine with me… 

[fortyearspickn]

1 hour ago, Larsongs said:

I expect their Customer Service to exceed my expectations.

At the risk of being labelled a 'Grammar Nazi',   I couldn't resist pointing out the circularity of this statement.  

  Other than that, I think we should stick a fork in this thread.   There are two camps of thought:  keep being a major pain in the axe calling Gibson, or drop it off at Guitar Center.   Either might work, since the crack is probably not covered, based on the exclusions clearly stated in the copy RCT posted a week or so ago.   And, quite frankly ...

[rct]

1 hour ago, Larsongs said:

Gibson invites people to have their Guitars worked on by their Repair facility.. If I’m not mistaken also will do restorations.. They build Guitars.. That’s their business..

Like I mentioned I sent my 1975 Martin D-35 to Martin a bout 7 years ago for Repair work that I paid for. While it was there they called me & asked if I’d like them to do some Warranty Repairs they felt it needed.. Of course I said, yes.. That’s what a good Company does for their Customers..

Gibson has also done the same for me on 2 Guitars in Nashville & one Guitar in Bozeman.. I spend a lot of money with Gibson.. I expect their Customer Service to exceed my expectations. That’s part of what I’m paying for..

If you don’t that’s fine with me… 

Did you just box it up and ship it with a note that said FIX THIS, LOVE LARS or did you go through a dealer or what?  How did you go about this stuff that you are espousing only half of.

Great, I'm glad you did that, I am glad it worked out for you.  How did you go about it?

rct

[Larsongs]

51 minutes ago, fortyearspickn said:

At the risk of being labelled a 'Grammar Nazi',   I couldn't resist pointing out the circularity of this statement.  

  Other than that, I think we should stick a fork in this thread.   There are two camps of thought:  keep being a major pain in the axe calling Gibson, or drop it off at Guitar Center.   Either might work, since the crack is probably not covered, based on the exclusions clearly stated in the copy RCT posted a week or so ago.   And, quite frankly ...

I’ve spent many Thousands of Dollars with Gibson on many Guitars.. One of the reasons is the Lifetime Warranty they offered me as a Consumer.. I didn’t force them to offer it.. But, partly because of it, we entered into a Business transaction.. I lived up to my end by paying for their Product. I expect them to live up to their Offer of Lifetime Warranty to me.. It’s business.. So far they have been excellent to me..

I call Gibson on the phone & ask to speak to a Customer Service representative.. I tell them the situation with the Guitar & that I only want it worked on at the factory level. I find emails are a waste of time. I found GC a waste of time & 3rd party Authorized Repair Centers worse…

I did go thru Sweetwater for one Warranty issue.. They sent it to Gibson & it was repaired under Warranty.. But, I could’ve done it myself & saved a lot of time…

If I’m an inconvenience to a Company & they don’t want to live up to their promise to me I will cease to spend my Money with them..

I do like Gibson Guitars & as long as they live up to their word if I should have a problem, I’ll continue to play their Guitars, support & buy from them..

There are many fine Guitar Manufactures.. I’m very happy with my Fenders, Rickenbackers, Gretsch & other equal quality Guitars…

The OP stated he would pay for the repair if it wasn’t a Warranty repair.. What’s the big deal? Why wouldn’t Gibson want the business & to support their Customer? And get a devoted Customer for life! It’s good business!

[Larsongs]

7 hours ago, Little Feat said:

I think you should help a fellow guitarist out, and call Gibson for the OP, and explain the situation. It seems like they only pickup the phone when you call for warranty work.

Also stress the fact that this is a Lifetime Warranty, not a 7and a half year one. And they need to at least sniff the cork.

7  1/2 years = lifetime.. New Math? Or someone’s cockeyed interpretation? You be the judge..

Sometimes you got to learn how to do things for yourself.. 

 

[QuestionMark]

When I went directly to an authorized Gibson Repairperson, he looked my guitar over, asked me a number of questions about my care of the instrument, and then drew his conclusion that my guitar’s repair should be covered under Gibson’s Lifetime Warranty.  The guitar was about 12 years old and the bridge lifted.  He told me he concluded that Gibson did not put an adequate amount of glue under the bridge at the factory to satisfactorily hold it.  He inspected if the wood was dried out from lack of humidity  over the years, etc. and determined it was well taken care of as a guitar and from a humidity perspective.  He then, while I was there, called Gibson and told them his finding and told them it needs to be covered under their warrantee.  Gibson, approved his recommendation on the phone and gave him an approval number so he could bill them for the repair of my guitar.    He also told me I’d be responsible for any charges for a set up that he does whereas Gibson would only be responsible for his resetting and regluing the bridge.  He said it would again be continued to covered under Gibson’s lifetime warranty because of his authorized warranty work. He fixed it himself without sending it to Gibson and Gibson paid him for his work under my guitar’s warranty.   I was quite pleased with his work, his inspection, and his advocacy and integrity with Gibson on my behalf.  And, with Gibson!

In my case an authorized Gibson actually inspected the guitar and then, based on his integrity and inspection, obtained approval from Gibson.   He told me he does warranty work for Gibson through Guitar Center, also.  Each week he picks up guitars from Guitar Center that people bring in for warranty work.  He mentioned, Guitar Center techs only do things like set ups or string changes, otherwise he does the warranty work or harder work if not covered under warranty.  I don’t know if it works this way at all of them, but that’s how he works with Guitar Centers.  That was about 4 years ago.

Just my experience.

 

QM aka “Jazzman” Jeff

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by QuestionMark

[Larsongs]

That’s great you were able to resolve your Warranty issues thru a Gibson Authorized Repair Service..

Unfortunately my experience trying that method was extremely negative & my Guitar wasn’t repaired.. It was also damaged while in their keep….

A second brand new Guitar, which was 3 days old when it was delivered to me, came with a twist in the neck.. Guitar Center refused to fix it under Warranty.. I really liked the Guitars finish & sound of the Pups in that Guitar but I returned it. Got my money back & bought another Guitar from Sweetwater..

However my experience having Gibson & other Manufacturers Guitars repaired at their respective Factories  has been excellent..

Either way, the important thing is getting the Warranty work done successfully… 

Edited April 28, 2023 by Larsongs

[Gibson29]

And also, Guitar Center had me followed home and killed my cat.

[MjrPaynendaz]

Gibsons response, finally. I get a new set of strings, “of my choice” for $900.00.

Seems like a criminal enterprise at this point. See below. I’ve purchased my last NEW Gibson Custom Shop, period. Everyone, beware of their BS “LIFETIME WARRANTY”.  They’ll snake their way out of poor materials and design anyway they can.
 

Hello,

We have evaluated your guitar and we see no evidence that this is a manufacturing defect and will not be covering this under warranty. In general side cracks of this kind to not just appear, especially given that the guitar is well humidified. Usually we see these cracks as a result of an impact. While there are no signs of impact on the guitar itself other than the crack, it is not uncommon for these cracks to appear after the case was dropped or impacted.

If you would like a repair quote for us to repair this instrument outside of warranty, please contact Gibson Repair and Restoration at repair.request@gibson.com or 615-674-3911

[rct]

Glad I was sitting down for that.

rct

[fortyearspickn]

I thought the warranty stated ''Materials and Workmanship" !?  But their letter says 'not a manufacturing defect'.   That's like the deflection you'd expect in a political debate.  The claim is based on a materials defect !!     I misunderstood the crack to be in the face and not on the side.  Upper bout?  When I drop mine - it's usually the lower bout that takes the punishment.   If there's no damage from it having been dropped - I don't see how Gibson can state it was:   "In general, side crack do not just appear...if well humidified."   And then there's   "It is not uncommon ... if the case is dropped."    Gold Star - for a double negative deflection.     

Gibson should not tout a 'Lifetime (original purchaser) warranty on materials and workmanship - if they are going to exclude wood, which is 95% of what the guitar is made of.  Gibson should get their lawyers to change the warranty to  Exclude "natural defects in wood, affects of weather,  improper handling,  assumed, not proven,  and other vagaries too voluminous to list like the glue drying out".   If the Truss Rod Cover cracks -  "Not a manufacturing defect - you didn't humidify properly and/or  dropped it."   

The Bridge Plate photo Dave F  included above says it all.   How in the name of all that is good and holy can an acoustic pass inspection at Bozeman with the pin holes missing by inches?  And, more to the point - what caused the defect?  Braces off center?  Bridge plate cut wrong, or not glued in straight?  All of the above?  And CME swearing by it !!!     Hard to have faith in anything anymore.  If Bozeman can ship something like that -  I am 100% certain they can build and ship a guitar like the OP has - that had a weakness/flaw in the wood.   "It'll hold together for at least 7 years.  We don't need to worry about 'Lifetime'. OP will probably sell it before then."  

[PrairieDog]

Sorry it’s not the answer you wanted.  I don’t know, it kinda makes sense to me.  

What are you thinking the manufacturing defect is?  The crack wasn’t there when it left the factory, right?  If it was, you would have just returned it.  Unless you proved the cracked piece was out of spec, overly thin and therefore fragile, or you can point to the knot in the grain that caused failure spot, the piece left the factory with as much tensile strength as every other one they made. 

If you saw my thread about the horror show at a GC center where I counted dozens of cracked new and used  high-end guitars because they were not humidifying the room in the dead of winter during heating season, with every one being sold at full price, you’d realize why Gibson has to have this policy.  

Cut-corner retailers will just put ‘em in a humidifier booth to close the crack back up, or come summer, cracks will swell up closed again on their own, and they will sell it as new/perfect without blinking an eye.  When the crack appears again when it dries out a bit, it’s on the buyer for “not taking good enough care.”  

Stable, intact wood does not just spontaneously fracture.  Physics requires something had to cause the crack.  And the only option is the wood was moved/stressed in some way that exceeded its ability to withstand the pressure.  That is not a “workmanship or material defect.”  Mis-drilled holes, loose bridges, stuck tuners, marred finishes, mis-wired pick-ups, those are all things human hands were responsible for, and would be defects and workmanship issues.  A random piece of wood, subjected to pressure beyond what it could stand, is not.  

How could Gibson warranty against every jar, bump, storage, or handling condition? They make it clear they can’t in their warranty page: It was working fine when it left our hands.

Something happened that the guitar could not absorb and it cracked.  This was either rapid fluctuations in humidity, swelling and contracting the wood, or it being kept in extremely dry conditions, even over a few days, or being dropped or hit.  A hard enough drop in the case could shock a piece into cracking, without marring the finish.  (Look at the guy posting here who kept cracking off his headstocks moving them in cases, and invented some gizmo to prevent that.) 

Gibson simply cannot allow for every situation and condition a guitar will encounter.  They have no idea or control over what has happened to the piece after it left the factory.