Jump to content
Gibson Brands Forums

New guitar purchase and wobbly toggle switches


Jamesie

Recommended Posts

My first post-

 

After weeks of deliberating I've decided my new guitar will be a honeyburst Epiphone les paul standard plus top. I went into the shop today to checkout the guitar (chap got it in specially for me to see). Thing is I didn't purchase. It was a lovely guitar, played fine, sounded fine.

 

But I bailed out because the toggle switch was very loose. I mean really quite loose with a lot of give. It worked but it didn't seem right to me. The other thing was that the pot control knobs were far from straight. They pirouetted quite a bit when you turned them so that the edge almost touched the top of the guitar.

 

 

Another guitar is coming in for me next week which is great but when I mentioned these things the guy at the shop went from being quite chatty and friendly to "give us your deposit" (I didn't mind giving a deposit, very sensible, but his change in tone threw me a bit).

 

Any advice?

 

Has anyone else experienced these things? Are these things a problem or am I just being too fussy?

 

What are the chances the guitar that comes in next will be the same?

 

Cheers

Jamesie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The pirouetting control knobs is standard for Epi these days, I'm afraid. The new Casino I bought in June had a real problem in this regard. If you otherwise really liked the guitar, these would not be hard to fix at all. Personally, I'd replace the knobs with speed knobs on a Les Paul anyway - should only cost a few quid. The toggle switch is also quite a straightforward and relatively inexpensive fix (but something one shouldn't have to undertake on a brand-new guitar, in my opinion).

 

I guess the guy in the store won't keep special-ordering you guitars without money on the table!

 

Anyway, welcome to the forum.

 

Johnny.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going to say that, being the store model, the switch had probably been subjected to a fair bit of abuse, but you said the guy got the guitar in specially for you, so presumably it was brand new. The switch toggle does have a bit of movement, because it basically has a tiny pin going through it on which it pivots. It's not perfect, so there is a bit of movement, both in the direction the switch moves, and side to side. As for the pots, it's probably less to do with the pots, and more to do with the knobs themselves being pushed onto the shaft crooked. And of course the stock pots in an Epiphone aren't of the greatest quality, and certainly not the smothest pots you will find. But functionally they're fine. Most people will complain about the electronics being low quality, and indeed they're not the super high quality you might find in a more expensive guitar. But I've owned, oh, half a dozen Epis now, and never had any problems. Even on the guitars I bought used, which perhaps weren't looked after as well as I might look after them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Guys

 

That does help. It's good to hear these things are fixable. I just know what it feels like buy something, get it home then feel you were sold a dud.

 

The guitar was certainly new, 'from the warehouse' and not long out of the box. The other epis in the shop had no probs with the toggle switch which made we wonder. Anyway, can't wait to get my hands on the new guitar next week which hopefully will be fine.

 

Jamesie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd be dubious with that one, too. Of course, we all are super critical when we examine a new guitar. I bought a Switchcraft toggle right after my first Epi, just in case the one on mine went bad, but that switch is still in the drawer after 3 years. I got out my 92 Gibson LP yesterday and had to work the switch back and forth for a while to get the scratch out of it. The switches are open to the air and get tarnished from non-use. If it's loose, it can be tightened. Wobbly pots, OTOH, could be from bent shafts if they only wobble when turned and the nuts are tight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Chinese Epiphones have very nice.....wood. Anything metal or edible should be replaced by something made or grown in the USA or Europe (that includes Australia).

 

Hey Jeff........hope you don't mind me plagerizing your "dedicated fixer upper" line there, but the more I thought about that, the more I realized you'd hit the nail squarely on the head !!

 

From what I've read in other threads, they're improving this situation on SOME of their guitars, lets hope they go for ALL of them.

 

I'm fixing to order that toggle switch today, and i'm also ordering the 2 volume pots to replace the ones on my Flying-V(Gibson) that have crapped out after about 30 hrs use.....The shafts are so loose it's really pitiful, & IT'S A GIBSON FOR HEAVENS SAKE!!!!!!!!!!

 

It's not JUST Epi. evidently !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Jeff........hope you don't mind me plagerizing your "dedicated fixer upper" line there' date=' but the more I thought about that, the more I realized you'd hit the nail squarely on the head !!

 

From what I've read in other threads, they're improving this situation on SOME of their guitars, lets hope they go for ALL of them.

 

I'm fixing to order that toggle switch today, and i'm also ordering the 2 volume pots to replace the ones on my Flying-V(Gibson) that have crapped out after about 30 hrs use.....The shafts are so loose it's really pitiful, & IT'S A GIBSON FOR HEAVENS SAKE!!!!!!!!!!

 

It's not JUST Epi. evidently !

[/quote']

 

That's Bender you're plagiarizing. Hmmph!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...