dponzi Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Well, my SG Melody Maker arrived yesterday. I was really looking forward to getting this, but I have to say I was really disappointed. I have not made up my mind whether to send it back or not. I want to start out by saying that I have 5 other Gibson guitars that I love to death. I've had 3 of them for over 30 years, and I have had 4 other Gibson's that I either sold, or traded, so I just want people to know that I love Gibson guitars, and I'm not just someone here bashing them. Let me give you my review. First off, I will list the pro's. I had a $100.00 off coupon, so I only paid $469.00 out the door for this. The guitar is pretty comfortable to play. The neck reminds me of my Faded Les Paul Studio neck. The 491T Humbucker absolutely screams. I thought the control knob and jack would get in the way, but the jack is behind the bridge, so that's not an issue. This little guitar is a nice flat out, rock your socks off guitar. Now for the cons. The finish on this thing is garbage. The pickguard was all scratched up when I opened the box. There are blemishes in the paint. It looks like a 13 year old bought some paint from ace hardware and sprayed it on in his garage. How can a Chinese company make a guitar for $200.00 that has a finish on it that is 100 times better than this guitar, that lists for $829.00? This guitar should never have left the factory looking this way. I wasn't expecting a great beauty for $469.00, but I wasn't expecting something that looks like total crap. I could see from the pictures that the finish wasn't great, and I know from the faded Les Paul's and SG's that they don't put a lot into these finishes, but Gibson, you should be ashamed of yourselves for letting these out the door looking like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 I have said it since they started doing these things, there is nothing quite as cheap as a cheap Gibson. They just can't do cheap is all. Sorry about the disappointment. I'd send it back if'n I was you. I hope you get another nice one real soon. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Pics, pics, pics...........................or it didn't happen................................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 From what I have read online, the only real complaint I see about the cheaper Gibsons is the finish. They rarely, if ever, complain about the setup, build, or feel of the guitar itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 ... The finish on this thing is garbage. The pickguard was all scratched up when I opened the box. There are blemishes in the paint. It looks like a 13 year old bought some paint from ace hardware and sprayed it on in his garage. How can a Chinese company make a guitar for $200.00 that has a finish on it that is 100 times better than this guitar, that lists for $829.00? This guitar should never have left the factory looking this way. I wasn't expecting a great beauty for $469.00, but I wasn't expecting something that looks like total crap. ... Finish complaints come up all the time. A recent Gibson response to an acoustic finish complaint (paraphrasing) - the bubbly, rough and unbuffed finish is in keeping with Gibson's quest for total "historic accuracy". Gibson excludes finish problems "of any kind", "for any reason", from their warranty - Exclusion# 10. Cracking, discoloration or damage of any sort to the finish or plating for any reason. So, you have two options - return it as unsatisfactory and get your money back. Or, return it as unsatisfactory for an exchange and hope for a better finish. I wish you the best possible outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SG FAN Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 From what I have read online, the only real complaint I see about the cheaper Gibsons is the finish. They rarely, if ever, complain about the setup, build, or feel of the guitar itself. +1, I have a "cheap" Gibson (SG Special faded) and after $50 dollars of rattle-can nitro I bet you can't tell it from a 1000 dollar "gloss" SG Special. That being said, I wouldn't go any cheaper in the Gibson line than the faded series, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dponzi Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 From what I have read online, the only real complaint I see about the cheaper Gibsons is the finish. They rarely, if ever, complain about the setup, build, or feel of the guitar itself. You're right. The set up was fine. It plays nice, and sounds pretty good. The finish is my only problem, and the cheap *** plastic, REALLY CRAPPY pickguard. The plastic looks like what they used to make cheap plastic toys out of in the 60's. I just put it down. I was just playing it for a while, just to see if I'd change my mind about sending it back. I have been leaning toward keeping it, but replacing the pickguard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chase1410 Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 That's odd about the pickguard...My Silverburst Explorer (witch is a 1700$ guitar) had its pick-guard all scratched to hell....I replaced as you can see in my avatar with a nice Stainless Steel PG..but when I originally received my guitar I was like wtf..? It came straight from the factory..no one had touched it before me, and yet the PG was just battered..it had no shrink wrap or anything but the rest of the guitar was flawless...So I don't wtf there doing to there pick-guards, or just don't care if it looks like **** when it comes out of the factory, but they need to STOP. Mine was literally GASHED and was just built two weeks earlier before I acquired it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dponzi Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 That's odd about the pickguard...My Silverburst Explorer (witch is a 1700$ guitar) had its pick-guard all scratched to hell....I replaced as you can see in my avatar with a nice Stainless Steel PG..but when I originally received my guitar I was like wtf..? It came straight from the factory..no one had touched it before me, and yet the PG was just battered..it had no shrink wrap or anything but the rest of the guitar was flawless...So I don't wtf there doing to there pick-guards, or just don't care if it looks like **** when it comes out of the factory, but they need to STOP. Mine was literally GASHED and was just built two weeks earlier before I acquired it. That's exactly what mine looked like. Literally gashes in it, and little holes, like the size of pins or needles. Like someone just started chopping at it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damian Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Um, hello........You guys are ordering the new " Road Weary Models ".......... .... Every 25th one sent has a complimentry cracked headstock........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 My MM finish is very thin to, but i kinda like it like that. Shows that i actually play the thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondJig Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 Got my Satin Blue Melody Maker SG today. Sorry to here about your finish and pick guard, mine are fine no problems with both. Some times the scratches are in the protective plastic. The PG is a one ply basic same as on my LPDCSPL. Would be nice to replace. Some stats on mine weight is 6lbs-10oz The 491T is HOT and bright 14.75 ohms. Under the PG there is no cut out for a neck PU. The PG looks to be the same size/shape as a standard. I feel the volume knob gets in the way. It's a one piece body and one piece neck. The fret board is very smooth and the frets are nicely done (pleck'd ?). Out of the box the setup was good, I lowered the action a bit and the pickup, it was set very close to the strings. I'm very happy with the way it plays in tune, the combo bridge has no compensation notches and it stays in tune pretty good. I don't like the Gibson strings, after play'n I had black all over my fingers, that only happen with my other cheap $2 strings. I compared it side by side with my Classic and the body seems to be the same size and shape. The necks are different the MM is smaller, not a 60's. The heel on the MMSG is smaller than the classic and standard more of the body wood under the neck. The spec say it's a maple body, but I can't tell, I can see the grain on the back but can't tell what type of wood. It's a very bright sounding guitar without being plug'd in. Sounds good plug'd in and play'n with the volume knob does change the sound has a good range. When I change the strings I'm going to break in down and take a few pix. Wish you luck if you get a replacement from GC, it worth a shot if your not happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dponzi Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Got my Satin Blue Melody Maker SG today. Sorry to here about your finish and pick guard, mine are fine no problems with both. Some times the scratches are in the protective plastic. The PG is a one ply basic same as on my LPDCSPL. Would be nice to replace. Some stats on mine weight is 6lbs-10oz The 491T is HOT and bright 14.75 ohms. Under the PG there is no cut out for a neck PU. The PG looks to be the same size/shape as a standard. I feel the volume knob gets in the way. It's a one piece body and one piece neck. The fret board is very smooth and the frets are nicely done (pleck'd ?). Out of the box the setup was good, I lowered the action a bit and the pickup, it was set very close to the strings. I'm very happy with the way it plays in tune, the combo bridge has no compensation notches and it stays in tune pretty good. I don't like the Gibson strings, after play'n I had black all over my fingers, that only happen with my other cheap $2 strings. I compared it side by side with my Classic and the body seems to be the same size and shape. The necks are different the MM is smaller, not a 60's. The heel on the MMSG is smaller than the classic and standard more of the body wood under the neck. The spec say it's a maple body, but I can't tell, I can see the grain on the back but can't tell what type of wood. It's a very bright sounding guitar without being plug'd in. Sounds good plug'd in and play'n with the volume knob does change the sound has a good range. When I change the strings I'm going to break in down and take a few pix. Wish you luck if you get a replacement from GC, it worth a shot if your not happy. DiamondJig, Did you say your pickguard had a protective plastic on it? Mine had no such thing. What did you get in the way of any accessories, if anything? I had a checklist, warranty card and owners manual. I wonder if someone else had it and it was returned? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondJig Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 It came from GC double boxed in a gig bag, with a warranty card and 2 check lists. That's it. I stripped her down and replaced the pickup with an Alnico V PAF a little mellower, but she's still got plenty of bite. I also added a PU ring, didn't put the screws in the adjs screws hold it in place, didn't want to damage her. Also changed the tuners to some Planet waves self trimming and locking that I had lay'n around. They are gold, I might change all the hardware to gold. Here's a few pix the one with the PG off you can see the white maple wood in the screw holes. I had a chance to match the PG up with a standard, they do not match up perfectly, screw holes are off, the bridge holes are off the MMSG is spaced like a stop tail, the PU holes do line up. The last 2 photo's I tried to show the neck joint, the thicker wood under the neck and the raised height of the neck above the body, doesn't change the way it plays, can't feel the difference. I took the volume knob off, it gets in my way. I'd like to add a tone knob, not much room in there for a stacked pot, not too deep, you can see how they dug out the extra hole for the jack. I'm really like the feel of that finger board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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