Larsongs Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 (edited) Several months ago I noticed a Crack about 5-6” long on the Top Side of my 2002 Gibson Bozeman J-160E.. This Guitar has been played nearly every day since new. Definitely not a XXXXXX Case Queen.. I have many Guitars but I really like this one.. Not only because of “The Beatles”, though I’m a huge fan & play lots of their music. But also because it is one of the best Round Shoulder Guitars I’ve ever heard or played.. The Neck may have something to do with it? Being Set 1 Fret different than J-45’s? Maybe makes it louder & gives it more Sustain. I don’t know? I really like the P-90 & passive Electronics with Volume & Tone Control in an easy to use location on the front Body of the Guitar.. Plus, it looks Cool.. This Guitar has worked hard for the past 22 years.. In addition to the Crack I thought there may be some issues with the Electronics, Wiring & Braces etc. that should be inspected & corrected if need be.. Along with anything else I might not have detected. I knew it needed a Re-fret job as well. I contacted Gibson & arranged to send it to them.. They’ve had the Guitar about a month.. They assessed the whole Guitar. They approved the Crack repair under Warranty. They recommended a Re-fret job.. Sent me a very fair quote, which I approved.. I asked them to do a Pro Set up on the Guitar as well.. Gibson completed the work, sent it back & I received it today.. It’s still in the Box. I’ll let it acclimate over night.. I’m anxious to play it tomorrow! To be Cont’d….. Edited May 22 by Larsongs 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrdinaryNimda Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 What a great true story. Hope there'll be photos. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 You mean Case Queen? I think Closet Queen is something altogether different. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparquelito Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 3 minutes ago, Pinch said: You mean Case Queen? I think Closet Queen is something altogether different. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 LOL… Noted & Edited… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 I'm anxious to hear and see it..... looking forward to that! I have not had any experience with Gibson's warranty/repair team, other than Leslie returned the Hummingbird 12-String to them after the headstock was broken off in the big Napa Earthquake. She didn't recall exactly how long they had it for repair (not warranty) but she thought they charged her about $900. I have to say, you have to REALLY look to see where it was repaired....they did a fantastic job! If your repair was anywhere near the quality of the repair on my 12-String, you'll be TOTALLY satisfied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted May 24 Author Share Posted May 24 (edited) On 5/21/2024 at 9:15 PM, Larsongs said: Several months ago I noticed a Crack about 5-6” long on the Top Side of my 2002 Gibson Bozeman J-160E.. This Guitar has been played nearly every day since new. Definitely not a XXXXXX Case Queen.. I have many Guitars but I really like this one.. Not only because of “The Beatles”, though I’m a huge fan & play lots of their music. But also because it is one of the best Round Shoulder Guitars I’ve ever heard or played.. The Neck may have something to do with it? Being Set 1 Fret different than J-45’s? Maybe makes it louder & gives it more Sustain. I don’t know? I really like the P-90 & passive Electronics with Volume & Tone Control in an easy to use location on the front Body of the Guitar.. Plus, it looks Cool.. This Guitar has worked hard for the past 22 years.. In addition to the Crack I thought there may be some issues with the Electronics, Wiring & Braces etc. that should be inspected & corrected if need be.. Along with anything else I might not have detected. I knew it needed a Re-fret job as well. I contacted Gibson & arranged to send it to them.. They’ve had the Guitar about a month.. They assessed the whole Guitar. They approved the Crack repair under Warranty. They recommended a Re-fret job.. Sent me a very fair quote, which I approved.. I asked them to do a Pro Set up on the Guitar as well.. Gibson completed the work, sent it back & I received it today.. It’s still in the Box. I’ll let it acclimate over night.. I’m anxious to play it tomorrow! To be Cont’d….. I unboxed my J-160E.. I brought it into my little Home Studio & was going to shoot a Video with my IPhone.. Trying to shoot a Video turned into a disaster! This was my first attempt with an IPhone. I finally gave up.. So I’ll do my best to put into words.. (I’ll try the Video later after some self tutoring).. I was in my Studio & opened the Case.. It had been Polished & looked better than new! I took it out of the Case & looked where the 5-6” Crack on the Top Side had been.. It was almost invisible.. It was almost impossible to see in the Video so you aren’t missing out on a visual.. I looked inside & noticed they hadn’t used Cleats.. I was surprised but there may be a good reason. They did that repair under Warranty.. They did a complete overall evaluation & everything else was in excellent condition no further repair work was needed. I knew it needed Fret work.. They gave me a very fair & reasonable quote which included.. Gibson Recommendations.. Level and Dress - The Frets have some wear to them. We should level, crown and polish them for consistent playing surface all the way up the neck. This will alleviate any playablity issues on the Fingerboard. Pro Setup - After the fretwork, we will setup the guitar to the shops standards. Thanks for allowing Gibson Restoration & Repair to serve you! Level and Dress Pro Setup Handling Labor Labor Parts EVA-1 EVALUATION AND QUOTE - WILL BE WAIVED IF 1.00 QUOTE IS APPROVED LVL-1 MAKE SURE ALL FRETS ARE SEATED PROPERLY, GLUE INTO PLACE, LEVEL AND DRESS PRO-1 RESTRING AND PRO SETUP NEW GIBSON STRINGS-LET US KNOW WHAT GAUGE YOU PREFER The Fret work was excellent as is the Pro Set up they did. I wanted .11-.52’s.. They used Gibson Phosphur Bronze which sound great… I played for a couple hours & so far it plays & sounds great.. I will play tomorrow & do a deeper dive.. If I’m able I’ll try to do a Video & share it when I’m able.. Gibson did an excellent job on Warranty work & all Re-Fret Repair work, we’re reasonably priced, fast turn around time & are very professional. Edited May 24 by Larsongs 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepdog1969 Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 1st, I am happy to hear how professional and quality focused Gibson was regarding your repair/restoration issues. Like how a parent worries about their kid the entire time they're away at summer camp, it has to be unnerving sending your baby anywhere without you, (regardless of why). Based on personal experience, I fear the shipping process more than the repair/resto. 2nd, as the original owner of two wonderful Gibson guitars from the '80's, I never thought about how Gibson's warranty may "cover" product failure unrelated to negligent abuse/damage the instrument incurred throughout it's life. As an example, the 3 way selector switch on my '83 CSE Korina Explore has been giving me fits for the last 5 years or so, despite always either being stored in it's case or beneath a guitar cover while on a stand unless it is/was being played. (it's volume and tone pot(s) exhibit no "crackling" associated with dust contamination, btw). When the selector is left in the bridge pickup position after it was played last, I find I must "jiggle" it a bit, the next time I play it, in order to get output from the bridge p/u. Until recently, I only had to employ this "jiggle" method once, at the beginning of a playing session to "activate" the bridge p/u, regardless of how many other selector changes I employed after that, during that same session. Now, I find that switching to the bridge p/u is becoming more and more hit and miss, without employing a "jiggle". Despite the 40 or so years of body dings and wear, (I bought the guitar new in '85 from GC), never has the selector suffered an impact or been abused. I have never attempted to "clean" it with any chemical spray for fear of harming the original finish and/or screwing up the selector. I have used the upholstery brush attachment on my vacuum to attempt to suck out any contamination in the switch, to no avail. Since the '83 Explorer is a CSE, it has 24K Gold plated hardware (all original), so just replacing the selector is not a simple process. Gibson does not make it easy to simply order CSE Gold plated replacement parts, nor do I want to mess with anything on a Guitar that represents 1 of only 6 or 8 made like mine that year. (Based on my research, I have not been able to find even one other example matching the exact factory set up my Explorer came with.) I am wondering if Gibson would consider this part failure as a warranty covered issue? Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted May 24 Author Share Posted May 24 (edited) Yes, it is hard to send your prized Guitar across the Country.. Trying not to worry about what could happen.. I forgot to mention that it was supposed to arrive on Friday according to UPS Tracking.. But, it didn’t! I got worried! I checked UPS Tracking online & it said, there was a mechanical failure & it was delayed & would be re-routed. They gave no arrival date.. Just “label created”… Oh No! Then later I got an email saying it would be delivered on Monday.. Which it was.. Incidentally, Gibson packed my Guitar in a brand new Gibson box. They used inflated Bubble wraps that conformed to the bottom & top of the Guitar case fitting in the box so it was completely protected.. It was packed so well I had difficulty getting it out of the box.. Best Packing I’ve ever experienced on a Guitar.. I’ve bought a few Online.. You should call Gibson Customer Service on the Phone. Emails, in my experience, usually are never responded to.. Tell them about your special Ltd Edition Guitar. Tell them you believe it has Warranty issues.. Explain to them what they are.. Tell them you only trust Gibson Restoration & Repair in Nashville to work on your special Guitar.. Good luck! Thanks Edited May 24 by Larsongs 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted May 24 Share Posted May 24 8 hours ago, Larsongs said: I unboxed my J-160E.. I brought it into my little Home Studio & was going to shoot a Video with my IPhone.. Trying to shoot a Video turned into a disaster! This was my first attempt with an IPhone. I finally gave up.. So I’ll do my best to put into words.. (I’ll try the Video later after some self tutoring).. I was in my Studio & opened the Case.. It had been Polished & looked better than new! I took it out of the Case & looked where the 5-6” Crack on the Top Side had been.. It was almost invisible.. It was almost impossible to see in the Video so you aren’t missing out on a visual.. I looked inside & noticed they hadn’t used Cleats.. I was surprised but there may be a good reason. They did that repair under Warranty.. They did a complete overall evaluation & everything else was in excellent condition no further repair work was needed. I knew it needed Fret work.. They gave me a very fair & reasonable quote which included.. Gibson Recommendations.. Level and Dress - The Frets have some wear to them. We should level, crown and polish them for consistent playing surface all the way up the neck. This will alleviate any playablity issues on the Fingerboard. Pro Setup - After the fretwork, we will setup the guitar to the shops standards. Thanks for allowing Gibson Restoration & Repair to serve you! Level and Dress Pro Setup Handling Labor Labor Parts EVA-1 EVALUATION AND QUOTE - WILL BE WAIVED IF 1.00 QUOTE IS APPROVED LVL-1 MAKE SURE ALL FRETS ARE SEATED PROPERLY, GLUE INTO PLACE, LEVEL AND DRESS PRO-1 RESTRING AND PRO SETUP NEW GIBSON STRINGS-LET US KNOW WHAT GAUGE YOU PREFER The Fret work was excellent as is the Pro Set up they did. I wanted .11-.52’s.. They used Gibson Phosphur Bronze which sound great… I played for a couple hours & so far it plays & sounds great.. I will play tomorrow & do a deeper dive.. If I’m able I’ll try to do a Video & share it when I’m able.. Gibson did an excellent job on Warranty work & all Re-Fret Repair work, we’re reasonably priced, fast turn around time & are very professional. I am so happy this repair seems to have worked out well. We really WANT Gibson to be successful and have pride in what they do....or we'd probably join the Taylor Forum! Congratz! All my videos are recorded on my iPhone....I just kinda "point & shoot"....I'd love to add stuff to my videos (Like Johnson Blake does) but I'm too low tech! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larsongs Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 (edited) 15 hours ago, DanvillRob said: I am so happy this repair seems to have worked out well. We really WANT Gibson to be successful and have pride in what they do....or we'd probably join the Taylor Forum! Congratz! All my videos are recorded on my iPhone....I just kinda "point & shoot"....I'd love to add stuff to my videos (Like Johnson Blake does) but I'm too low tech! I like simple! My Video started falling into a mess when I tried to show close ups where the Crack had been repaired, the fretwork & how nice it looked when it came back.. Then I tried to play a little to give an idea how it sounds.. I got Sea sick watching it! LOL! Not to mention my narrating! LOL! Edited May 25 by Larsongs 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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