Quality Control issues again..

[Rich W]

I think the "blame the re-seller" (e.g., Guitar Center) for product quality is a pretty lame response. It does not absolve the manufacturer of blame for building and shipping some problematic guitars. Certain re-sellers may have more of these questionable guitars for whatever reason, but this wouldn't be an issue if the quality of the product leaving the factory was uniformly good.

[charlie brown]

Has anyone here, had Gibson refuse to honor their warranty? My past experience

(and, I only speak to that), is their Customer Service, before and after the sale, has

been Great! In any instance, that I've needed help, they've gone above and beyond.

If it was something they (realistically) couldn't help me with, they said so..politely,

even regretfully, at times...but always professionally, and courteously. I've spoken

with "Benton" here, many times...in his CS capacity...before, I knew he was a member of

the forum. It's simply not in Gibson's best interest, to push out inferior products.

Once in awhile things happen. But, overall, considering the number of the various models,

they produce, I still think the "bad" ones are minimal. And, one cannot expect Custom Shop

quality, in the lower price range models. They're priced that way, for a reason. Mostly,

due to less "bling," and matte or "faded" finishes. So, some customer expectations need to

be adjusted, accordingly.

 

Rickenbacker, and PRS have reputations, for as near perfection, as one can get...yet, I've

seen a few, that were very poorly "set up," and even a couple, with more serious problems.

But, again...those were extremely rare, and promptly taken care of, either repaired, or replaced.

 

I think, overall, the Gibson's (and other's) manufactured today, are better than they've

ever been, all things considered. Are they perfect, No...never have been, probably never

will be. But, things rarely are.

 

CB

[AnonymousUser]

While the gibson warranty covers most of these issues, it's still an annoying to know that the people in nashville could do better. For example, my LP trad i got recntly plays great, but the highr frets have a lot of cosmetic problems. Fist off, it looks like the person that did the scraping on the binding acctually scratched the fretboard, and there also appears to be some glue that has dried on top of some of the inlays on the higher frets. I kept it because it felt so much diferent that any other les paul i tried out (in a good way), I'll be getting it fixed soon (in the meantime i'll have to play my cheap old squire strat), it should be a relatively simple fix, but shouldn't the QC staff be able to notice something so noticable like that?

[jotto4]

1320277855[/url]' post='1038473']

I first would like to start off by saying that I know from other posts about quality control problems but I would like to share my situation with you guys and maybe, just maybe Gibson will start to take notice,I doubt it but we gotta try.

 

Last month I purchsed a brand new Les Paul Traditional in Light burst from GC. They had it in stock at their ware house and had it shipped to my house.Well guitar arrives at my house in Gibson shipping box.Im extremely excited to say the least.I unpack it open up the case and notice that there are pieces of wood missing on the rosewood fret board in about 3 spots.Sorry no pics,Im very bummed but I still remove it from the case upon furth inspection I notice that the tail piece has been installed crooked! almost on the sam angle as the bridge.I immediatley pack it up and take it back to GC.They cant belive it and say over the last couple of years it becoming an issue that they have discussed with their Gibson rep.

 

They return it with no problems but no more Light bursts in stock,so I said ship me a Honey Burst.Well, UPS arrives I hurry up and unpack it everything seems okay then I see it! The binding on the cut out is off now I know from previous les pauls I had that they are all off a little this one is off so much you can stick a quarter in it.It looks like the didnt wrap it well when they glued it.It would deff come apart eventually so back to GC for return.Went home with a traditional Gold top.

 

I have been a fan of ALL Gibson Guitars since I was a kid.I love the sound the feel the heart and soul of these guitars but come on!! These things cost over$2000 bucks.Gibson please !!! Please revamp your quality controll departments, maybe hire some people who actually care about the Guitars they build. I examined about 6 Lespauls at GC and 3 of them had issues that I showed the sales people they couldnt belive it when I pointed it out.Am I being too annal?? You betcha I am!! for the money these cost I DONT WANT FLAWS GIBSON!!! Sorry this is a long post I just felt like venting about it.

 

PS

My sons Epiphone Les Paul is flawless and so were all of the ones at GC. Maybe they are trying to tell us somthing

 

Same problem here. I'm waiting 7+ weeks for my THIRD traditional pro to arrive from GC. (long story detailed in another post, but nearly exactly the same experience)

When buying a guitar that costs about 5% of the average American's annual income, it should arrive in new, unblemished condition. American made shouldn't mean a 30% chance of it being done right. Oh, oh, I sense another rant bubbling up, better hit "submit" quickly!

Watching this video makes you want to punch the guy at the end who goes over the guitar before sticking it in the box...rough binding on neck, gouges in wood, inconsistencies where top and binding match up, among other minor gaps and issues found on the 2 I've had.

[Fungus]

Gibson Guitars...please read!!!!!

 

In this day and age, people expect quality products when they pay their hard earned money for something. I think it's reasonably fair to expect this as well. Gibson and every other manufacturer should be ashamed to let sub par or faulty products get out the door. If I owned that company, I would personally call and apologize to every person that got a guitar that had issues. I would personally see to it that they were corrected to the customer's satisfaction and ensure the customer was happy. Businesses that fail to act with urgency when it comes to product issues will not be around too long if they don't correct their problems......

[Vega1]

Sadly when mail-ordering Gibsons, you're basically getting a guitar right from their plant. I suggest when you decide to buy an SG (great guitar), you buy it locally. The guitar shop usually fixes any issues before they put it on the floor for testing.

 

 

I agree and said so in another thread when someone mentioned they only mail order guitars because they don't want the ones others have "banged on" in the store. As far as I'm concerned I would *never* buy a guitar I have not personally played and inspected, especially an expensive one. I bought my LP from GC a few weeks ago, and I played numerous models and picked the one I was very happy with. Limited my choice? Sure, but it also limited my chances of getting crap.

 

To be clear, I am not saying manufacturers including Gibson should not improve QC, they should (I also had very bad experiences when renovating our kitchen with so-called "high-end" appliances). I guess one way to try to protect yourself is to play before you pay, and then vote with your wallet.

[bobouz]

As long as high volume sales combined with questionable QC remains the standard practice at Gibson, the simple & honorable thing to do would be a return to the practice of marking imperfect instruments as seconds (blems), and then establishing a clearly discounted price for them.

[Markini]

I have returned a couple of LPs I purchased at GC. Gibson overall (don't flame me please). Overall the quality is not good in my opinion. Examples are poor finsihes, gouges in fret board, picket fence frets ..etc.. But on the other hand Gibson is doing a fantastic job with their classic custom series, it may be a different group within the factory building them, I don't know, but every GCC I have played or seen is top quality. I own the red wine colored one.

 

I also own two Hummingbirds, once again I played alot of Birds and J45s that were dogs IMO before I found these two. One a used 2003 is perfect and the 2010 with on board fishman is perfect too.

 

I also own a 60s tribute, with P90s, great tone, but I had to have 3 setups (two different Luthiers), fret leveling, fret polished and ends filed down (twice) Finish had to be touched up, it is satin black so I used a "sharpie". It is now a fantastic guitar after spending an extra $150.

 

Now all guitar makers have quality problems, but Gibsons sure do seem to have more than most IMO,... and guys I love Gibsons.

 

In support of the posters before me, I have a Epi Ultra and an Epi SG, both have great workmanship and no flaws.

 

PRS seems to have the most consistent good quality from a mass produced guitar manufacturer, but I did run into a mark tremiti(spelling)?

That had the bridge mounted wrong (screw holes off) and would not intonate properly. To this day that guitar still sits in GC (over a year) not sold and GC knows it a dog.

 

Anyway whoever is building the Gibson Classic Customs needs to share their QC processes with the rest of the factory.

[anaconda]

I have returned a couple of LPs I purchased at GC. Gibson overall (don't flame me please). Overall the quality is not good in my opinion. Examples are poor finsihes, gouges in fret board, picket fence frets ..etc.. But on the other hand Gibson is doing a fantastic job with their classic custom series, it may be a different group within the factory building them, I don't know, but every GCC I have played or seen is top quality. I own the red wine colored one.

 

I also own two Hummingbirds, once again I played alot of Birds and J45s that were dogs IMO before I found these two. One a used 2003 is perfect and the 2010 with on board fishman is perfect too.

 

I also own a 60s tribute, with P90s, great tone, but I had to have 3 setups (two different Luthiers), fret leveling, fret polished and ends filed down (twice) Finish had to be touched up, it is satin black so I used a "sharpie". It is now a fantastic guitar after spending an extra $150.

 

Now all guitar makers have quality problems, but Gibsons sure do seem to have more than most IMO,... and guys I love Gibsons.

 

In support of the posters before me, I have a Epi Ultra and an Epi SG, both have great workmanship and no flaws.

 

PRS seems to have the most consistent good quality from a mass produced guitar manufacturer, but I did run into a mark tremiti(spelling)?

That had the bridge mounted wrong (screw holes off) and would not intonate properly. To this day that guitar still sits in GC (over a year) not sold and GC knows it a dog.

 

Anyway whoever is building the Gibson Classic Customs needs to share their QC processes with the rest of the factory.

 

I know what your saying i have a poll and its seems about 50/50 on quality control issues. the ony thing is i find i hard to belive that i have a problem with a guitar and gibson gives me the run around and people here voted to not have henery/gibson contact me. kind of rude i think but i maybe wrong on that just cant get anywere with them.

poll

http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/80314-gibson-quality-conrtol-your-turn-to-have-a-say/page__p__1097328#entry1097328

[RowdyMoon]

I have a 60's tribute Les Paul Honeyburst and to be honest I have had no issues at all, tone is great, quality is good, the finish is par to the price ( 850 Canadian, new)..Once the strings have an hour or so of playing the stay in tune fairly well, mind you , I am not beating the hell outa it as I am playing mostly old style blues and 60's type rock.

[charlie brown]

I've said it before, I'll say it, again! Play, BEFORE you Pay!

Most, of the QC issues, we hear about here, are from folks that buy "on-line," seemingly.

Those retailers (with notable exceptions), just warehouse, what Gibson or anyone else

sends them, unopened. And, they ship, accordingly. A Good dealer (large or small)

will open the boxes, inspect the goods, and ship back the "duds!" Even so, there will

always be perfectly good guitars, that don't suit everyone's needs. That's why it's so

important (IMHO) to inspect, and play as many as you can, and find the "right" one, for

you. You cannot do that, with on-line retailers, unless you love to ship back and forth!

Some folks "luck out," with the "crap shoot," of buying on line. I prefer buying a known

quantity, and rarely have any "buyer's remorse," by so doing.

 

CB

[brundaddy]

Y'all do know the reason today's Les Pauls's QC is SNAFU, don't you?

 

It's because It's no longer the Custom, Standard, and Junior ... now there's the Traditional, Classic, GT, BFG, POS, Studio, Axcess, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.,

 

Why the hell do you think people think of quality when they look back to the time when Les Pauls only came in the Custom, Standard, and Junior? Because Gibson could manage to control the quality.

[charlie brown]

Y'all do know the reason today's Les Pauls's QC is SNAFU, don't you?

 

It's because It's no longer the Custom, Standard, and Junior ... now there's the Traditional, Classic, GT, BFG, POS, Studio, Axcess, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.,

 

Why the hell do you think people think of quality when they look back to the time when Les Pauls only came in the Custom, Standard, and Junior? Because Gibson could manage to control the quality.

 

Actually, it was Custom, Standard, Special, and Junior...

 

CB