Proof of New Gibson Shoddy Workmanship

[garycoen]

So I bought a brand new Southern Jumbo back in January and absolutely love the guitar. However, the more I played it the less "right" that it felt. It didn't really bother me because I knew after I had my regular luthier "tweak" it a little to my specs that it'd be one that I'd probably never let go of. So, I finally get around to taking it in and tell him to "make it right" and explain to him that the action is a little high for me and that the guitar doesn't seem to meet the specs, even with just a visual inspection, listed on the accompanying paperwork of 6/64" (according to the paperwork, the guitar was thoroughly inspected and setup at the factory...what a laugh). He looks at the neck and determines that it is straight and then looks at the saddle and says, "found your problem!"... He asks me immediately if I had changed the saddle from the original, which I had not. Not only was the saddle about 1/8" too high (which I understand is normal so it can be setup for the individual), but it didn't even fit in the bridge! The tension of the strings was causing the saddle to lean about 15 degrees toward the neck because of the large gap in the bridge. While I can understand this kind of crap workmanship on a $300 guitar, there is simply no excuse for it in a guitar that has a list of better than $3300. I don't know if Gibson would have taken this in as warranty work but with shipping both ways and god knows how long it would be gone, I just had him do the repairs himself and do it right.

 

I didn't want to believe the criticism that the new stuff from Gibson gets so often, but now I think I'm a believer... To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement.

 

From your description, it appears that your guitar was fitted with an incorrect saddle. This is a mistake, and mistakes happen. Sometimes product configuration issues are created by the manufacturer and sometimes by their retail distributors. Either way, Gibson owns the mistake. We expect dealers to catch mistakes and remedy them before passing guitars into our hands. Sometimes this works and sometimes not. I have owned more than one Gibson acoustic, and I can vouch for their customer service: Gibson follows through to satisfy any reasonable customer complaint. The Gibson lifetime warranty is a valuable component of the purchase price.

[retrorod]

I don,t get it....This guy adamsjs69 makes a gripe back in June over a guitar he bought in January and 25 replies later he ain't replied/responded to anything!!! Ain,t told you about all the time's that he left it in a hot car....

Your wasting your breathe....just like talking to a politician,,,,

[Homeboy]

So, I got a really good deal from an acquaintance on a 2017 ES335 a couple years ago. It was brand new never played bought from Chicago Music,  still had plastic on the pickguard.  The guy I bought it from was a professional musician and it was one he never got around to playing.  So, I got it home and noticed gouges and un-even binding all over and the first 3-4 frets aren't even seated in the slot all the way but, they are level, how did they do this you say? My guess is the PLEK sys compensates for this. Still one would expect from a 3k plus guitar you should have better QC that this, I build guitars and would be embarrassed to put my name on it.  Now should I dump it as is or fix it then dump it? If Gibson would fix it that would be cool too.

 

Edited September 19, 2020 by Homeboy

[Paul14]

14 minutes ago, Homeboy said:

So, I got a really good deal from an acquaintance on a 2017 ES335 a couple years ago. It was brand new never played bought from Chicago Music,  still had plastic on the pickguard.  The guy I bought it from was a professional musician and it was one he never got around to playing.  So, I got it home and noticed gouges and un-even binding all over and the first 3-4 frets aren't even seated in the slot all the way but, they are level, how did they do this you say? My guess is the PLEK sys compensates for this. Still one would expect from a 3k plus guitar you should have better QC that this, I build guitars and would be embarrassed to put my name on it.  Now should I dump it as is or fix it then dump it? If Gibson would fix it that would be cool too.

 

Why didn’t you look at it before you got it home?

[Raul Rehlmann]

You got a good deal a couple years ago? You decide on this a long time.

Aquaintance a professional musician sells to you and you build guitars.

Maybe troll this at the ES forum in 9 more years

[fortyearspickn]

Homeboy,   the forum for complaints about used electric guitars is on the other internet.   Nice First Post.  

[Sacdubro]

I think Gibson should dump the UST  system on their acoustics and focus on the finish set-up.  I recently purchased a J50 Original and the UST was removed  by the dealer and fitted with a bone saddle immediately.   Perhaps if they remove that step from their build process  we would have one less item of concern about their build quality.

[zombywoof]

On 9/21/2020 at 1:27 AM, Sacdubro said:

I think Gibson should dump the UST  system on their acoustics and focus on the finish set-up.  I recently purchased a J50 Original and the UST was removed  by the dealer and fitted with a bone saddle immediately.   Perhaps if they remove that step from their build process  we would have one less item of concern about their build quality.

 

I am not a fan of UST systems either but do not see a connection to build quality.  It is like saying Gibson should not install neck strap buttons as they are a distraction.  While neither is necessary they are there because the modern guitar buying public expects them to be.  

[slimt]

5 hours ago, zombywoof said:

 

I am not a fan of UST systems either but do not see a connection to build quality.  It is like saying Gibson should not install neck strap buttons as they are a distraction.  While neither is necessary they are there because the modern guitar buying public expects them to be.  

So true.    

[slimt]

On 9/20/2020 at 11:27 PM, Sacdubro said:

I think Gibson should dump the UST  system on their acoustics and focus on the finish set-up.  I recently purchased a J50 Original and the UST was removed  by the dealer and fitted with a bone saddle immediately.   Perhaps if they remove that step from their build process  we would have one less item of concern about their build quality.

maybe just look for a J50 without the system.  There out there.    I dont think theyve had issues with build quality.  Maybe poor taste in what they add   .

But they have to accommodate everyone out there. Not just the few.      Most of the guitars Ive bought were out of the box just fine.  Ya maybe a few required setups.  But nothing major.   Thats been my experience with every builder.  And Ive never had a issue with the builder not backing there products.