Warranty question

Jonathanthomas83

Say a friend of mine bought a Les Paul back in April last year and my friend spends the entire year trying to figure out why his shiney new guitar can't stay in tune and ends up spending more time tuning it up than playing it...

What would my, cough, I mean, my FRIENDS rights be?

• Is the warranty period usually a year or less?
• Should I have filled in some sort of warranty card and sent it off somehwere?
• Is my issue with the dealer or Gibson and who will sort it?
• What options do I have? (I'm guessing very little!)

Many thanks for all your help

MattFGBI

Is the shop local? If so, take it in and ask them to give it a once over. They should be able to tell you what the issue is and if it is a manufacturing fault or just a set up issue. 

WezV

Probably very few options after a year.

its a setup issue.  What have you tried to resolve it so far?

Jonathanthomas83

Shop isn't local but i can drive it up there. It's not April yet @WezV :-)

The neck angle is more pronounced than should be and the bridge and tailpiece are higher than normal.

Cols

I wouldn’t bother with the warranty issue overmuch.

The root of the problem lies in the nut; the strings are binding in it, leading to tuning problems.  Take it to a competent guitar tech and ask them to file the nut slots properly, or better still get the whole nut replaced.  Shouldn’t be expensive and it’ll make a world of difference.

WezV

Sadly that would fall “within spec” for many Gibson’s.  It’s not a fault as such

Jonathanthomas83

@WezV is going out of tune constantly a fault?

Jonathanthomas83

Sorry that sounds arsey, not meant to be.

WezV

Jonathanthomas83 said:

@WezV is going out of tune constantly a fault?

As Matt said above, it’s either a manufacturing fault or a set up issue.

its a very common set up issue on les Paul’s.  As stated above it’s usually the nut.   Has that been looked at?

thegummy

Les Pauls do have tuning issues that's just part of them.

Try the string butler, I've got one still in the packet, haven't tried it yet but hear that it works

bodhi

I'm not 100% sure if this is still the case, but my understanding at one point was that Gibson's "lifetime" warranty is only valid for 1 year after date of purchase if you're outside the US.

AFAIK, you have to approach the dealer you purchased from for any issues related to warranty.

But bear in mind that it may well be a very minor issue, which could be sorted out by a guitar tech quite easily, as mentioned above.

hobbio

I'd pay the £60 or so for a set up from a competent tech. 

bodhi

hobbio said:

I'd pay the £60 or so for a set up from a competent tech. 

Agreed.  I once went through Gibson's warranty process, and it was quite painful.  Got the guitar back after 3 months, and in worse shape than it was in the first place.  Can't say I'd recommend it, unless something is genuinely seriously wrong.

Funkfingers

Presumably, this is about the same guitar as in this earlier thread? 

If you are going to pursue the warranty claim option, you need to act immediately. Telephone the dealer tomorrow morning. Arrange to get the guitar to the dealership no later than this Saturday. 

After that, you will be up against the looming public holiday. Some shop staff may - entirely reasonably - be away on annual leave. The dealership could attempt to stall until your warranty entitlements evaporate.

Jonathanthomas83 said:

shiny new guitar can't stay in tune ... more time tuning it up than playing it.

When you say "tuning it up", do you literally mean that you always need to increase string tension to compensate for them going flat over time? 

Do you only need to retune because some of your strings stick sharp after you bend notes?

Your answers to these two questions would point towards either truss rod or nut slot issues.

Jonathanthomas83 said:

The neck angle is more pronounced than should be and the bridge and tailpiece are higher than normal.

This needs quantifying. Ruler measurements and/or photographs of your bridge/tailpiece combination might help.

The most significant consequence of the neck pitch angle being excessively steep is that the bridge and tailpiece have to be raised so far upwards along the travel of their threaded inserts that they can waggle. 

hobbio said:

I'd pay the £60 or so for a set up from a competent tech. 

This is probably the easiest solution. Alternatively, invest in a Dan Erlewine repair book and a set of nut slotting files.

Nick

The manufacturer is unlikely to honour the warranty as you've made modifications to the instrument.

Don't waste your time arguing the toss about a less-than-optimal neck angle. You are unlikely to convince Gibson that this is a "defect" and that it has any major implications at all.

Get a setup done if you haven't already, it seems the guitar is due one. £60 well spent!

thegummy

Funkfingers said:

This is probably the easiest solution. Alternatively, invest in a Dan Erlewine repair book and a set of nut slotting files.

Is that "Guitar Player Repair Guide" or "How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" or another?

Cols

thegummy said:

Funkfingers said:

This is probably the easiest solution. Alternatively, invest in a Dan Erlewine repair book and a set of nut slotting files.

Is that "Guitar Player Repair Guide" or "How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" or another?

 "How to Make Your Electric Guitar Play Great" - absolute goldmine of information.

Jonathanthomas83

Thanks all, I have the books and invested in a nut file and have flared the headstock side of the slots. I've already spoken to Jonathan about getting him to give it some TLC for me. It's getting to London which is a bit of a pain right now.

I think you're all correct about the warranty, more stress than needed and it's nobody's fault, I'm not out to rip anyone off.

I do, however, think my expectations are set too high, and maybe it's not so much a problem with the guitar as it is my expectation of perfection - which you'd have thought I'd have learned by now, I'm never going to get.

thegummy

Jonathanthomas83 I do, however, think my expectations are set too high, and maybe it's not so much a problem with the guitar as it is my expectation of perfection - which you'd have thought I'd have learned by now, I'm never going to get.

Unless you buy a PRS :P 

Jonathanthomas83

thegummy said:

Jonathanthomas83 I do, however, think my expectations are set too high, and maybe it's not so much a problem with the guitar as it is my expectation of perfection - which you'd have thought I'd have learned by now, I'm never going to get.

Unless you buy a PRS :P 

Funny you should say that...a Tremonti is on the horizon and I agree. Their builds are impeccable. I have a custom 24. They're no Les Paul though, sound wise, slightly different.

stickyfiddle

As with 98% of tuning related questions. It's the nut, and it's probably about 15 minutes work to fix it, by someone experienced.

Gibson don't cut their nuts very well because they expect the shop to do it. Shops don't because they either don't care or don't have time and margins to devote the time for it.