NGTD - Where's all the supposed Gibson quality control issues I been hearing about?

SillyOctpuss said:
Love a goldtop les paul, bonus points for the P90s. Pay no notice of Eagle, he can't help pissing on people's chips.
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Thanks, starting to figure that out.
Eagle said:
Or your eyes. I like Gibson guitars but they still make things using older techniques and this is reflected in many things that you simply don’t find in other manufacturers. They don’t even have processes on the production line for flatting the lacquer up the fingerboard edges or the edges of the head . I’m glad you like the gold top it will be a great instrument .
But make sure you keep it in the case.
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Eagle, I sincerely wish that you have a better and brighter day tomorrow and a great weekend.
 
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maguchi said:
Yeah I just realized you're that guitar tech Andy Eagle with the "Ask Me Anything" thread on this forum, and a bias against Bigsby trems. And now an apparent bias against Gibsons too. I don't think I'll be bringing any of my guitars to you. And I won't be recommending you. Too much baggage. Those guitars and trems exist in big numbers whether you like them or not. So I take them to techs that have pleasant dispositions and don't complain about our guitars and tremelo bridges.
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I like Gibson but I am realistic about QC. Bigsby trems have a “tone” but they are a very poor design. My customers know what I think about stuff and it’s not about opinions it’s all based on facts and experience. I have been doing this for nearly 35 years full time I don’t advertise and my book is always full. Oh I get vintage Bigsby to work all the time;
IMG_2994.jpeg

Here’s a vintage Gibson with a Bigsby just for you.
 
Eagle said:
I like Gibson but I am realistic about QC. Bigsby trems have a “tone” but they are a very poor design. My customers know what I think about stuff and it’s not about opinions it’s all based on facts and experience. I have been doing this for nearly 35 years full time I don’t advertise and my book is always full. Oh I get vintage Bigsby to work all the time;
View attachment 30174
Here’s a vintage Gibson with a Bigsby just for you.
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That's a good looking 335, I want to say '64 but can't decide between it and '63 as my guess.

FWIW I agree with you about gibsons finishing QC but a thread where a guy's excited for his new guitar is probably not the best place to go over it.
 
SillyOctpuss said:
That's a good looking 335, I want to say '64 but can't decide between it and '63 as my guess.

FWIW I agree with you about gibsons finishing QC but a thread where a guy's excited for his new guitar is probably not the best place to go over it.
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You’re right about that and it’s a 64.
 
maguchi said:
I been buying Gibson electrics and acoustics both new and used since the 1980s and never found one with any problems or faults. My question is where are all these supposed quality control issues with Gibsons that people post about on these forums? I never seen a bad one before yet.
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They get sent to Finland, I swear. This is a laundry list of issues I've seen on brand new Gibsons, in multiple local stores:
  • Finish cracked on the side of the neck along every single fret. This was on a LP Custom too, yet they were trying to sell it for like 3999 €.
  • Orange peel effect on body - basically a faulty finish.
  • Heavy tool marks on fretboard and nut.
  • Non-working electronics or scratchy pots. Scratchy pots was on a guitar that was at most 1 year old at that point.
  • Incredibly subpar fretwork. Every fret was just flat. This was on a 2016 model, and they should have been using Plek machines at that point afaik. On others I saw tool marks on frets, like the work was left halfway done.
  • Too much neck angle. This is noticeable in a bridge and tailpiece that needs to be set sky-high because there's too much neck angle.
  • Tons of filler around inlays.
  • Overspray on binding on the body and/or neck.
  • Poorly cut nut so the strings are binding straight from the factory.
Now part of the blame lies on the guitar stores selling these pieces of shit instead of sending them back, but Gibson did make them and let them go out the factory and get shipped halfway across the world.

I've seen close to perfectly made Gibsons in USA, France and especially Japan. But I just refuse to buy the brand at this point because the name means nothing to me, made in USA means nothing extra to me. It's one thing to have an occasional flaw, but I've just seen too many 2000+ € Gibsons that are made worse than the cheap Fenix LP copy I bought two decades ago for next to nothing.

It's shit like this why my "ES-335" is a Yamaha, my "Les Paul" is a Heatley Tradition.
 
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I have to agree with @Eagle as I own two Gibsons and both have QC issues. They’re not rare issues and if you have one that doesn’t have any those issues chances are you’ll find them later.

My Les Paul took a whole lot of work to get it to stay in tune. It was factory Pleked so there were no fret issues. The finish is satin so I get crackles from static electricity when I play it. I replaced the crappy pots and sold the pickups and replaced them with Lollars. After much work it is actually usable. I’d have dumped it had it not sounded so great.

My SG has some finish issues. One of the fretboard markers is higher than the fretboard. The neck cannot handle 9s as it needs more tension or else it bends too easily (SG rubber neck syndrome). It had terrible neck dive until i swapped out the tuning machines (4 oz made a difference).

So in my case I’ve had 100% of them needing fixed from the factory. I like them and probably won’t sell them but I’m never buying another Gibson. To discount the issues that many have with the brand by titling a thread like this one gets you what you got.
 
maguchi said:
New Gold Top Day! I went into my local GC to buy some nylon strings for my classical. I shoulda known better and just ordered them online, but nylon strings take a long time to stretch and stay in tune, and I have a upcoming rehearsal with a nylon string guitar.

Anyways, I saw a brand new Gibson goldtop Les Paul hanging on the wall. I din't have a P90 LP yet and I been wanting one. I picked it up and immediately noticed that it was light. I played it through a Tweed Bassman reissue in the store and it sounded and played great. I got my little fisherman's weighing scale out of the glove compartment and it weighed only 8.6 lbs. I wasn't gonna buy it because I bought to many guitars lately. But the salesman saw me and said there was a 48 month with no interest special. So the guitar followed me home.

When I got it home, I went over it with a fine tooth comb and it was pristine. Plek'd frets, flawless binding and finish! The salesman told me they had just put that guitar out that morning., so maybe it hadn't been played much.

I been buying Gibson electrics and acoustics both new and used since the 1980s and never found one with any problems or faults. My question is where are all these supposed quality control issues with Gibsons that people post about on these forums? I never seen a bad one before yet.

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SWEET! I have one, as well!
 
Eagle said:
Oh I get vintage Bigsby to work all the time;
IMG_2994.jpeg

Here’s a vintage Gibson with a Bigsby just for you.
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Meh, it's kinda cool I guess. The fretboard inlays are a little too blingy for my tastes and that custom made plaque covering the stoptail holes is kind of corny, like what you'd see on a bowling trophy or something. I prefer a more understated look on ES-3_5 guitars. But that's cool, you do you.

GbsnES335.jpg
 
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