Another poor finish

[LarryUK]

After seeing Craigaboy's guitar. I've been looking at the finish of guitars for sale on the net. I found this 175 and the finish is dreadful. Look at the 12th pic down. This is a top end guitar,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2001-Gibson-ES-175-ES175-Wine-Red-Flametop-335-336-/160479435468?pt=Guitar&hash=item255d51dacc

I'm not knocking the seller. Just the finish. Mainly the binding in the cutaway, The fret edges are bad as well.

There's rough edges in the f holes. Generally bad finish.

[kaicho8888]

Hmmmm...

 

Maybe it just looks ungainly with all the macro pictures at closeup...looks like it is well cared for and probably plays sweet!

[badbluesplayer]

Are you sure you're talking about the guitar shown in the photos?

 

I think the finish looks great for a nine year old guitar. The finish is dreadful? Are you sure you know what dreadful means? Looks like a great guitar to me. Wow.

 

Where do you little finish nazis come from, anyway? Whatever possessed you to post this? The guitar looks great. You're out there, dude.

 

[LarryUK]

Are you sure you're talking about the guitar shown in the photos?

 

I think the finish looks great for a nine year old guitar. The finish is dreadful? Are you sure you know what dreadful means? Looks like a great guitar to me. Wow.

 

Where do you little finish nazis come from, anyway? Whatever possessed you to post this? The guitar looks great. You're out there, dude.

 

As I said. Look at the 12th pic down and look how bad the binding in the cutaway is. The nibs on the fretboard edges are rough as well.

[kaicho8888]

I am an old fart and I like the guitar!

 

It is an inherent sign of being handmade and hand crafted finish. By the way, I like the nibs and fret board. I consider a guitar as an art product rather than a CNC machine product. Some art are uniquely exciting; others are not...each to his/her own taste. Besides, more important is that the wood should be dryer and sound much better than a newly made off the factory shelf.

 

Ater more than 15-20 years, my guitars are a joy to play! I again rediscovered the joy playing my old ES345 that I got 43 years ago. I can't believe the vibration I feel from the body...it actually tingles against my ribs with longer sustain...LOL...or maybe age has something to do with it.

[LarryUK]

I'm 51 and I find I get more 'picky' as I get older.

I see furniture with amazing finish. So I expect a guitar to have that sort of finish.

[vincentw]

You might try to locate some videos online what exactly goes into building a Gibson guitar. Not one single step along the way is ever easy. There's virtually no room for error when it comes to this.... Hand-built Gibson guitars may not appear to be absolutely perfect, but they generally sound incredible and play incredibly well. For the best looking finish, you might want to seek guitars with a Poly finish...such as the Epiphone line.

[LarryUK]

I disagree. A handbuilt guitar should have the 'human' touch.

But it costs much more than a standard guitar. So the finish should be perfect.

The binding on that cutaway is awful. No excuse for that.

I understand that machine finish can be better than hand, But with modern tech, the finish should always be perfect at the price.

[badbluesplayer]

It's a used guitar. You don't know that it came that way from the factory. Maybe the guy likes to scrape the binding with his fingernail or maybe he chews on it. Maybe the guy spilled some solvent on it or something. Maybe the guy used the guitar as a hammer. Maybe the guy used it as a bumper for his yacht. You don't know. Plus, it's none of your business. It's not your guitar and Gibson has no duty to you to explain why somebody else's used guitar doesn't meet the standards for a new guitar. Gibson's only duty is to the original owner.

 

What is it with you guys always whining about somebody's used guitar? Once it's sold to another owner, it's not Gibson's problem anymore. Don't you get it?

 

My truck that I bought used has a ding in it. Is that Toyota's responsibility?

[talbotpat]

That guitar is in great condition for a 2001. The issue with the binding on the cutaway is purely cosmetic, is easily fixed, and almost certainly did not leave the factory that way.

 

I was lucky enough to score a 2001 ES-335 in Vintage burst that was near mint condition and I was very pleased with the fit and finish of the instrument. Only relevant due to the fact that it's also a 2001 that should have been cranked out in Memphis. Obviously, even one day to the next, and instrument to instrument there can be variation in quality, but that guitar is in otherwise fantastic shape and appears to be very well put together.

[BigKahune]

Don't let these characters BS you. There definitely ARE "purely cosmetic" issues that would cause them to pass on a guitar - used or new. It's just that people have different thresholds of acceptance. Now I'm not into red, but that ES does look gorgeous.