Toolman Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Has anyone had any experience with ordering through your music dealer of choice from the custom shop? Last week I ordered a 339 with the 59 neck in antique red. I called Gibson directly and they said it could take 30-90 days to ship because they are back ordered. He said that model was the most popular and demand is high. I know vendors have to give the worst case delivery time, but was just curious if anyone has any experience ordering from the custom shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich W Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Last week I ordered a 339 with the 59 neck in antique red. I called Gibson directly and they said it could take 30-90 days to ship because they are back ordered. He said that model was the most popular and demand is high. Maybe that's partly why they bumped the 339 price up by $300 since last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolman Posted August 12, 2012 Author Share Posted August 12, 2012 Well, good news and bad news. I got a text from my friend at Sam Ash just as we were pulling into the Grove to see Buddy Guy again (yes twice in one week) that my guitar came in already. Next morning I met him at the store when it opened and he proudly brings out the box. Yep, it's still in the Gibson cardboard box.....nice. He opened it up and it was gorgeous. He hands it to me and said go play... have some fun. AS soon as my hand hit the neck I knew this wasn't what I ordered. I looked at the serial number and sure enough it was the 30-60 as I suspected. I brought it to his attention that the serial # should have read ES3399...... designating the 59 neck. He's like are you sure? yep I'm sure, go check the one you have on the wall and the Gibson part#. So, bottom line is, I refused it and back in the box it went. Were he screwed up was the store skew # was for the 30-60 neck even though he wrote 59 neck on the invoice. It doesn't matter, the purchasing people look at the skew and could care less what it says on the invoice. So they'll re-order on Monday and maybe the right one will show up next time. I figured no big deal, I have plenty of guitars to play. My birthday falls first week of Sept. so maybe it will show by then. Feeling sort of bad for Henry, that they have to return it, or let it sit on the wall, I almost kept it. I wanted to like it, but it just didn't blow my skirt up and I didn't want to settle for something I didn't want. It also had some defects in the polishing on the back and top leading radius, like the buffing wheel was loading up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich W Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Feeling sort of bad for Henry, that they have to return it, or let it sit on the wall, I almost kept it. I wanted to like it, but it just didn't blow my skirt up and I didn't want to settle for something I didn't want. It also had some defects in the polishing on the back and top leading radius, like the buffing wheel was loading up. Good move. You might have it for a long time, and you would have regretted settling for one that you don't love. You can change pretty much everything else with mods, but not the neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted August 27, 2012 Share Posted August 27, 2012 I didn't know red was that popular...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolman Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 I didn't know red was that popular...... Yea I didn't think so either but that's what I was told. Good news is the right one came on Sept. 6 two days before my birthday so that was a treat. I ditched out of work a little early to avoid traffic and inspect it. Nice cutting open a fresh factory sealed box and that new guitar smell...ahhh. Visually it is perfect with no buffing marks or spatter from the coating they spray on it like the first unit had. The neck was oh so waiting for, feeling similar to my LP's that I've come to love. After having it set up, we went around the store and plugged it into several amps. They all sounded great through this thing. Being pleased with the product I go home and played for hours. It took several tunings for the strings to settle in and it stays put now. The tuners are like butter smooth. It sounds great in all my amps also, especially the Rivera and '65 reissue. Ok, sounds like the guitar is perfect as it can be. However,this is what pisses me off. After taking a break from practice I realized I hadn't taken the pick guard protector off yet. I peeled it away and this thing had been played hard with pick scratches on the surface. There isn't a song I do that requires this sort of strumming and I would have tore through the protective coating and noticed that I had done it but I had not. I haven't called it to there attention yet but am wondering if I should take this matter up with the store or contact Gibson directly. If I wanted scratches in my pick guard, I'll put them there myself. Every time I take it out of the case my eyes go to it and it pisses me off every time. Mostly because it was shipped as a used or returned item but sold as new. I did get a good deal at 10% above vendor cost but I want a new pick guard replacement. I don't think the store had anything to do with this because the box came sealed from the Gibson factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich W Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 I haven't called it to there attention yet but am wondering if I should take this matter up with the store or contact Gibson directly. It's disappointing to discover that your brand new "baby" isn't totally brand new. You do have a lifetime warranty ... and you would only have to return the PG and not the whole guitar. If you feel strongly enough about this, it might be worth insisting on a new PG. Or, if you're going to scuff it up anyhow in the coming years, it might not be worth it. In your position, I think I might ask for a new one. Either way, thanks for the post. I'm always curious about folk's experiences on new guitar day, and things to look out for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 According to Gibson's website "The ES-339 is only available from Musician's Friend, Musician.com, Private Reserve, Guitar Center, Guitarsale.com, and Music 123." This model has been out for quite a while. I think it's about time they open it up to more dealers. I got mine at the House of Guitars, but it's a figured top which can be sold through other dealers. I walked in, saw this beautiful guitar, played it, loved it, they gave me a great price and out the door I went with it. I owe it all to Murph who suggested it to me in the first place. Just sayin' (hey Murph!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badbluesplayer Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Maybe the stuff on the pickguard is residue from the back of the clear plastic that's stuck on the pickguard. You might try some alcohol to see if it comes off. It's much more likely that the pickguard situation is from something you don't understand yet rather than Gibson selling used guitars. Wouldn't put it past 'em, though. Nice axe, though. I have a red one. I see they still use beveled pickup rings for the neck pickup. Maybe Henry can find some flat ones. How can they make thousands of them and still look at those neck pickups and think "Close enough."? Here's a flat one: Here's a kitty pic: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PingPongBob Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Has anyone had any experience with ordering through your music dealer of choice from the custom shop? Last week I ordered a 339 with the 59 neck in antique red. I called Gibson directly and they said it could take 30-90 days to ship because they are back ordered. He said that model was the most popular and demand is high. I know vendors have to give the worst case delivery time, but was just curious if anyone has any experience ordering from the custom shop. I walked into GC today and bought an antique red one on the spot. It's does as advertised even with the old crappy strings on it. I'll post pics next week. I LOVE Gibsons!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FennRx Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 and to think i bought my 59 neck, red 339 NIB for $1400 a few years ago. Gibson prices are out of control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolman Posted October 4, 2012 Author Share Posted October 4, 2012 According to Gibson's website "The ES-339 is only available from Musician's Friend, Musician.com, Private Reserve, Guitar Center, Guitarsale.com, and Music 123." This model has been out for quite a while. I think it's about time they open it up to more dealers. I got mine at the House of Guitars, but it's a figured top which can be sold through other dealers. I walked in, saw this beautiful guitar, played it, loved it, they gave me a great price and out the door I went with it. I owe it all to Murph who suggested it to me in the first place. Just sayin' (hey Murph!). I placed my order with Sam Ash and they had three in stock hanging on the wall. When mine finally arrived, the shipping label was directly from Gibson Custom to Sam Ash. So maybe Gibson policy has changed. I've done a lot of business with Sam Ash because I was treated well from the begining. I have a GC close by and I will drive the extra distance to Sam Ash. Here's why, I showed the picture to the sales manager and he walked over to the Gibson parts area. He pulled a new pick guard off the display and handed it to me. Didn't even want the scratched one back and HE apologized for Gibson sending a product with a scratched pick guard. He also said to bring it in and their guitar tech would install it fo me. I declined that offer as it's a pretty simple task but thanked him and told him this is why I keep coming back here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murph Posted October 6, 2012 Share Posted October 6, 2012 So what is the bottom line? The guitar was used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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