thelimey Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Just got a brand new J45 Banner model. Nicest guitar I've ever owned. After a few days of playing, I finally played it in a room lit well enough to notice some finish missing from the heel. Not looking to return it (sounds too good) but looking for piece of mind that this sort of sloppy fit and finish is par for the course when it comes to the Custom Shop. I know the VOS finish is super thin and I shouldn't be comparing to the almost bulletproof thick gloss finishes on my other Gibsons. I have a well-played 25 year-old Martin that's not missing less finish despite seeing the inside of many a dive bar. Sure, wear and tear will happen over time, but if I'd wanted it from the factory I could have spent $1500 more on a Murphy Lab! Speaking of, does anyone know if the VOS finish wears quicker than a gloss finish - helping accelerate the aging process? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 (edited) It does on a Banner. Looks fine to me. Even if you scratch it. It will blend into the theme 😀 to be honest. I tried s couple New Banner J45s. I liked those way better than the SJ200 Gibson VOS. Im pretty sure you will enjoy that J45. congrats Edited February 23 by slimt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 You Gibson fan’s accept sub par QA. It’s not mine so do what you want with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 28 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: You Gibson fan’s accept sub par QA. It’s not mine so do what you want with it. QA out the window as long as the sound good. 😀 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 (edited) 1 hour ago, slimt said: QA out the window as long as the sound good. 😀 Sure. Would you accept a lemon as a car? Nope but guitars, yep. Funny. You paid for it. Well not you thelimey did. Edited February 24 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 5 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Sure. Would you accept a lemon as a car? Nope but guitars, yep. Funny. You paid for it. Well not you thelimey did. New guitars for some time now have been out of the equation. Ill buy a used one before buying new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 5 minutes ago, slimt said: New guitars for some time now have been out of the equation. Ill buy a used one before buying new. Me too, but I got all I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelimey Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 Trust me. Not thrilled with the lack of QA. Though in Gibson’s defense it took me a few days to notice it as assumed a reflection until then. But the hassle of returning to get another one which may have issues of its own and not sound as good - and will inevitably get marked up by me playing the thing. Seems not worth it. Plus it’s on the back. And it’s not structural. Obviously cracked guitars get returned immediately. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars68 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Are you sure its's not just something on top of the finish, like residue from a polishing compound? If it is bare would shining through, personally I would go to a toy store and get a set of kids's color markers (must be water based!), find the appropriate shade of brown and color the area. I guarantee it will not harm anything and make the spots basically invisible. Any color ending up on the existing finish will be easily wiped off and the bare wood area will soak up the water based pigments. Lars 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 Why do you guys defend Gibson’s sub par QA. I just don’t understand. You think that’s the only guitar they’ve ever made that sounds good come on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 33 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Why do you guys defend Gibson’s sub par QA. I just don’t understand. Why do you hang out in a Gibson forum and b!tch about Gibsons every single day of your life. We think that's kinda weird.... 1 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 It's gonna get beat up a helluva lot more than that if you play it for 20 years. That's called "character".... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 14 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: You Gibson fan’s accept sub par QA. It’s not mine so do what you want with it. 20 minutes ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Why do you guys defend Gibson’s sub par QA. I just don’t understand. You think that’s the only guitar they’ve ever made that sounds good come on. Photos magnified 10X to see something not visible to the naked eye ... Issues that may have been caused after the guitar left Bozeman... And - not knowing what we're actually looking at ... Nitro there, but no stain? Is it the stain gone as well as the nitro? Scraped off ? Both never applied seems far-fetched. ? Polishing compound a possibility. Abrasion damage another possibility: where might it have happened? At Bozeman, at the retailers, or even by the new owner, not realizing it? The location is one where that could happen. To assume Gibson is somehow not applying stain and nitro to an edge there, is farfetched. And if they did ...Thousands of new Gibson acoustics being purchased every week. And this forum is where we hear about the 'defects' . Probably one or two a week: "is this normal?" Yes! This particular 'issue' is not sufficient to label Gibson's QA 'sub-par'. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J185cat Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 2 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Why do you guys defend Gibson’s sub par QA. I just don’t understand. You think that’s the only guitar they’ve ever made that sounds good come on. Sarg you may remember a few years back my posting about buying a custom shop D28 with Audi top and braces from Wildwood. That guitar had a weird issue at the beginning where you could move the guitar back and forth and hear this strange clinking sound like a piece of metal loose inside the truss rod cavity. Took it to a very well know and trusted Martin FA repairman, he heard and said it might be a piece of glue or something. Said he didn’t think Martin would replace it. I kept the guitar because it sounded so good. Fortunately after some time the noise went away and now I’m glad I didn’t try to send it back. So, the myth that all Martins are constructed on Mount Olympus by the hands of the Gods and are therefore perfect is just that, a myth. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 And the binding falls off of them, too...... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eracer_Team Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 The real question is: does it feel smooth or notched out like a chip smooth means just glitch in finishing notched means it got banged somewhere that heal also might take a lot of rubbing every time it’s in n out of a case Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpicker Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 I’d do the magic marker thing and forget about it. Call it character. Like Murph said, at least the binding is not falling off. roger 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-minor7 Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 If it's a new guitar straight from the production line, it shouldn't look like that, full stop. Hard to understand why Gibson let issues like this cast a shadow over the brand. Don't they know people talk. That means the world. My brand new over 3 kilo ES-335 had bindings fitting so bad they must have been fabricated by an imbecile on the plant - employed there as some kind of social experiment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 (edited) 8 hours ago, Murph said: And the binding falls off of them, too...... Mind if I vent, Murph? I prefer vintage acoustics, but around the time I gave up smoking I broke ALL my own rules and bought NEW guitars with the saving. My guitars are looked after like pet dogs and the other brands I bought look great still..... But I bought a Martin D18E in 2014 approx, a Martin CEO7around 2015/6? And a Martin 000-17 Black Smoke around 2017. Last year, opened the case of the CEO7 and after playing it noticed, yep, the binding at the waist is starting to come off. WHAA, WHAA, Aaaaaaaaaaaah. Love my CEO7, off to the luthier, boom, fixed, very common problem I am told. He fixes it properly including a slight finish touch up, fairly invisible. Later, I was taking my D18E and 000-17 BS to a shop to sell consign and...oh oh..binding is coming off all waists. Pfff. Not covered by Warranty outside the US . Pfffffftttt!! So this time I ran screaming and hollering to my luthier.....who is now busting at the seams with work.....last August! Got them back Friday........cost a bomb because the 000-17 Black Smoke cheapie had weird matt finish he couldn’t match, so refinished the whole TOP, Back and Sides.....Aye Yae Aye Aye Yae! And now I have to notify a potential buyer that the binding and finish has been repaired.....doubt we will get our good price! 😘 BluesKing777. Edited February 25 by BluesKing777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 21 hours ago, J185cat said: So, the myth that all Martins are constructed on Mount Olympus by the hands of the Gods and are therefore perfect is just that, a myth. I know they were built in the holy land of Nazareth - PA that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted February 25 Share Posted February 25 (edited) Now let me vent. I’ve owned at least 15 Martin’s from the years 2013 to around 2022. From D-15’s to a D-41. Never need one neck reset (yet), and not one piece of binding has ever come loose (yet). And those years that I have owned some of them, those are the binding issue years. Edited February 25 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 Remind us how many Gibson acoustics you have? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cayine Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 On 2/24/2024 at 3:46 AM, thelimey said: Just got a brand new J45 Banner model. Nicest guitar I've ever owned. After a few days of playing, I finally played it in a room lit well enough to notice some finish missing from the heel. Not looking to return it (sounds too good) but looking for piece of mind that this sort of sloppy fit and finish is par for the course when it comes to the Custom Shop. I know the VOS finish is super thin and I shouldn't be comparing to the almost bulletproof thick gloss finishes on my other Gibsons. I have a well-played 25 year-old Martin that's not missing less finish despite seeing the inside of many a dive bar. Sure, wear and tear will happen over time, but if I'd wanted it from the factory I could have spent $1500 more on a Murphy Lab! Speaking of, does anyone know if the VOS finish wears quicker than a gloss finish - helping accelerate the aging process? home remodeling team Los Angeles In my search for slope shoulder I can’t find anything that I like the sound of as much as the Gibson. As much as I wanted a Bourgeois or Santa Cruz to be the answer they just are not. The problem is that I can’t put my hands on any of these guitars. I’ve found videos of each brand by the same player using the same recording setup for each of them and the Gibson does it for me. Can anyone advise me on your experience with the Gibson as far as quality and playability? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 10 minutes ago, cayine said: In my search for slope shoulder I can’t find anything that I like the sound of as much as the Gibson. As much as I wanted a Bourgeois or Santa Cruz to be the answer they just are not. The problem is that I can’t put my hands on any of these guitars. I’ve found videos of each brand by the same player using the same recording setup for each of them and the Gibson does it for me. Can anyone advise me on your experience with the Gibson as far as quality and playability? Thanks! My opinion.... I don’t like new guitars much, so retail new J45 Banner reissue Historic etc is $4999. A very quick look at J45s under $5K on Reverb.com shows two 1959 Gibson J45s! That would be my recommendation - the real thing....non scalloped late 50s tall bracing - loud and strong tone forever in old wood! No worries about new finish or build issues - the 59s look like ‘light aged’ ha ha.....maybe not so light....😑 BluesKing777. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
62burst Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 41 minutes ago, BluesKing777 said: My opinion.... I don’t like new guitars much, so retail new J45 Banner reissue Historic etc is $4999. A very quick look at J45s under $5K on Reverb.com shows two 1959 Gibson J45s! That would be my recommendation - the real thing....non scalloped late 50s tall bracing - loud and strong tone forever in old wood! No worries about new finish or build issues - the 59s look like ‘light aged’ ha ha.....maybe not so light....😑 BluesKing777. I don't know. . . one of those had a small bit of finish missing from the heel. 😐. "Murphy" can go jump in a lake- 'took a look, and indeed, there were a couple late 50's in that price range that looked like they would be fine players. Don't know if the OP would be up for the ADJ guitars, but looks like there were some converted ones, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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