rfraboni Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I was talking with respected guitar store owner, former Gibson dealer, recently and he was mentioning that Gibson had some issues with some of the Truss rod slots in the early 1990's. He mentioned that the problem would cause a dip in the upper fret area leaving a plateau around the 3rd fret. Does anyone have any information about these issues? He stated that the problem was traced back to one of the machines used to cut the slots for the truss rods. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pfox14 Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I was under the impression that Gibson has had a problem with their truss rod cavities for longer than that. When you see so many broken head stocks due to the cavity being too deep, I would assume this has been going on since the 70's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincentw Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I was talking with respected guitar store owner, former Gibson dealer, recently and he was mentioning that Gibson had some issues with some of the Truss rod slots in the early 1990's. He mentioned that the problem would cause a dip in the upper fret area leaving a plateau around the 3rd fret. Does anyone have any information about these issues? He stated that the problem was traced back to one of the machines used to cut the slots for the truss rods. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Rich I have never heard this. I've heard just about everything, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 Never heard this either. But there certainly are a lot of broken headstock issues with older Gibson's. I have always heard that the problem was the HS angle... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 I was talking with respected guitar store owner, former Gibson dealer, recently and he was mentioning that Gibson had some issues with some of the Truss rod slots in the early 1990's. He mentioned that the problem would cause a dip in the upper fret area leaving a plateau around the 3rd fret. Does anyone have any information about these issues? He stated that the problem was traced back to one of the machines used to cut the slots for the truss rods. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Rich I wonder where he got his info from... Ive never seen or heard of it myself. maybe hes misinformed... . I know there were more issues about the neck tilting back at the 14th creating the Buzz.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfraboni Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 According to the owner of the shop, this was a problem that he and few other dealers noticed, it would make setting the guitars up properly, since the truss rod adjustments were not working properly. When he contacted customer service the stated they had not heard anything about this. After some run around he decided to call an executive of the company, someone he knew personally and discussed the issue with hm. He said he would investigate the issue and reported back that one of the pieces of equipment in Bozeman was not functioning correctly. Thank you for any information you may have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfraboni Posted January 23, 2012 Author Share Posted January 23, 2012 I wonder where he got his info from... Ive never seen or heard of it myself. maybe hes misinformed... . I know there were more issues about the neck tilting back at the 14th creating the Buzz.. What s the 14th fret issue? This may be what he was talking about, and I did a bad job of remembering/relaying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I knew of the 14th fret having the Hump in the early 90s.. but I do believe they corrected the problem . rfraboni,, the 14th fret meets the body.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfraboni Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 I knew of the 14th fret having the Hump in the early 90s.. but I do believe they corrected the problem . rfraboni,, the 14th fret meets the body.. So a hump at the 14th fret and then it dips back down? That sounds like it may be what he was describing. Do you know what the fix not it would be, or if Gibson considered this a manufacturing defect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 . Welcome. In the past there's been more than a couple threads on Gibson moving its acoustic production to Bozeman in 1989 and the quality of the guitars in those first few years. I've never seen this possible truss slot issue brought up here and I haven't heard about it either. But I'm aware of the hump at 14 issue. I'm curious to know why you've brought this up. . Have you got a early 90s Gibson with this issue? . And what are names of these people who provided you with this information? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Gibson isnt the only one that has had neck issues.. But I do believe Gibson corrected the problem as I havent seen any issues for quite some time... I know none of the Gibbys I owned had those problems.. Not even the early ones... you have to remember though.. the early 90s were the trial and error years too.. Not every Guitar was a Prime example.. Martin has had there Neck issues... to be honest.. I would rather have a Minor neck issue than a Top sinking .. which Ive encountered on other U.S Made newer Guitars... Those are irreversable.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfraboni Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 . Welcome. In the past there's been more than a couple threads on Gibson moving its acoustic production to Bozeman in 1989 and the quality of the guitars in those first few years. I've never seen this possible truss slot issue brought up here and I haven't heard about it either. But I'm aware of the hump at 14 issue. I'm curious to know why you've brought this up. . Have you got a early 90s Gibson with this issue? . And what are names of these people who provided you with this information? I am bringing it because he in formed that my 1993 Gospel re-issue suffers from that issue. I purchased the guitar new in 1993 from HOG in Rochester NY. It was new out of he box,and not setup. I was new to guitars, and was looking for a good guitar for my beginning guitar and fell in love with unit on the floor. The action was high but I did nt realize it was something that could be adjusted, it was making the guitar hard to play. I moved to NC about a year later and went to grad school, the guitar was stored in a nice climate controlled, temp and humidity, until my son decided he wanted to learn to play so got it out and started reading and learn. I took the guitar into the shop to get setup and that was when I was told about the issue and my guitar has the issue. He did a good job, and it is much better than it was. I am trying to gather info about what should be done, if anything. Out of respect for the person who shared the info I won't share his name without his permission. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 . Thanks for the additional info. What did the shop do to repair/adjust the situation? A fret leveling? Or something more involved and expensive? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfraboni Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 . Thanks for the additional info. What did the shop do to repair/adjust the situation? A fret leveling? Or something more involved and expensive? . Adjust truss rod, a little I guess and cut a new saddle. Tusq compensated saddle instead of the original non-compensated bone. This brought the action down lower than it was and made it much better for my limited practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Ive seen a few Gibson Warrenty shops remove the frets and Nut and Plane the Fingerboard down to try and fix the problem , reslot for the frets and glue those in .... Im pretty sure it was the wrong way of doing the repairs,,, to me it was a hacky way of fixing the issue.. My thoughts were when I seen those guitars with those issues , they should of been replaced with New Guitars from the dealer.. and in turn sent back for disposal.. or a new Neck installed for the Customers.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 . I'm with Slim on this. Basically the shop adjusted the guitar's action by adjusting its relief and adjusting the saddle height with a new tusq saddle (I'd rather have bone). I don't think that's properly addressing the problem you originally described (an improperly cut truss channel that caused a dip in the upper fret area leaving a plateau around the 3rd fret). To me frets that dip and rise along the fretboard would require a fret leveling in a minor case, and in a more severe case a fretboard leveling as Slim described. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfraboni Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 Is this something I should contact Gibson about, warranty issue, as the original owner? Thank you for your insights and advice. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slimt Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Is this something I should contact Gibson about, warranty issue, as the original owner? Thank you for your insights and advice. Rich The Hump is a Big deal... Because it can be over or improperly sanded.. and Not make any change.. if you over compensate with a taller saddle.. you risk it by pulling Up the bridge,, and Putting to much Upward tension on the Top... If you are in the U.S... you might be able to take it back to the dealer and get it dealt with, Make sure you get a couple of Luthiers opinions before talking to your dealer.. but dont let them monkey with the Guitar.... I know up here in Canada, its a 1 year Warrenty.. , after that its on you to get it Fixed.. Kind of a Stupid deal we get.. when we spend the U.S. full List for a Guitar here... .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 . I'm with Slim on this. Basically the shop adjusted the guitar's action by adjusting its relief and adjusting the saddle height with a new tusq saddle (I'd rather have bone). I don't think that's properly addressing the problem you originally described (an improperly cut truss channel that caused a dip in the upper fret area leaving a plateau around the 3rd fret). To me frets the dip and rise along the fretboard would require a fret leveling in a minor case, and in a more severe case a fretboard leveling as Slim described. Does anyone have any photographs or a detailed description of what caused this problem? It is a bit hard to visualize and understand, and it would be useful for anyone buying a guitar from this period that might be affected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmonics101 Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 When hearing lots of hearsay and unnamed sources, what i do pronto is immediately stop buying any products from manufacturer in question I take hearsay and unamed sources as GOSPEL truth and drop that manufacturer like a ball and chain. Whatever you do, don't buy ANYTHING Gibson. Those guitars are NUTHIN' but trouble ;) Harmonics101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfraboni Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 When hearing lots of hearsay and unnamed sources, what i do pronto is immediately stop buying any products from manufacturer in question I take hearsay and unamed sources as GOSPEL truth and drop that manufacturer like a ball and chain. Whatever you do, don't buy ANYTHING Gibson. Those guitars are NUTHIN' but trouble ;) Harmonics101 I apologize, I am not trying to cause problems, but was looking for additional reference about a problem. I do feel it is proper to post where the info came from without his permission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 I apologize, I am not trying to cause problems, but was looking for additional reference about a problem. I do feel it is proper to post where the info came from without his permission. The problem is that unsourced information of this type is little more than heresay or gossip, and as such, has limited credibility, since we have no idea of what someone's agenda might be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfraboni Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 The problem is that unsourced information of this type is little more than heresay or gossip, and as such, has limited credibility, since we have no idea of what someone's agenda might be. I understand, I was just trying ask if anyone else had heard of something like this? I do not have an axe, no pun intended, to grind I am just looking for information to see what people feel is the best way to proceed. If this is something that should be covered under the workmanship and material warranty from the factory. I was not trying to hurt Gibson at all, I was asking because I am the owner of an instrument that I have had for 18+ years and after sitting the last 17+ years I took it in to get correctly setup, after giving up on playing it since the action was so hard for me to work and then moving, etc. The person who did the work on my guitar, had explained the possible issue with me when I set up the appointment to bring the guitar in. I was hoping very much for this instrument not to have any issues. I bought the guitar as a young and naive adult, who didn't know a lot about guitars and the correct questions to ask. I had tried many instruments before deciding to get the Gibson, I liked it much more than many other brands, and many more expensive models. I was looking for a good guitar to learn on and one I could grow with. What I did not know was the level of variability in the instruments, as I tried the floor model and when I checked out they had given me one fresh out of the box. A brief check and I was sent on my way. I do want to thank the people who have take the time to respond and provide information. By the way I love my Gibson, I have loved the way it sounds since the first time I heard it. It was the sound it produced in the hands of a skilled player that led me to this guitar in the first place. Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rfraboni Posted January 24, 2012 Author Share Posted January 24, 2012 The problem is that unsourced information of this type is little more than heresay or gossip, and as such, has limited credibility, since we have no idea of what someone's agenda might be. I do not feel there was any agenda other than providing me with information about my instrument. My agenda gather additional information, and make an educated decision about how to proceed. Thank you, Rich here is a picture of the guitar, just showing I really do have it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hogeye Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 So a hump at the 14th fret and then it dips back down? That sounds like it may be what he was describing. Do you know what the fix not it would be, or if Gibson considered this a manufacturing defect? You don't know what you are talking about. Your words..So...Quit talking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.