New Gibson line finally in stores

Moe_Zambeek

I had an SG with sideways vibrola that was off centre. Honestly it’s a shite trem system anyway, they don’t stay in tune and the sideways motion is just wrong...it’s best considered an ornament. It does look great and I felt it added something to the sound, due to the extra mass...


Also if you zoom in on the picture of that SG on Coda on the scales, you can see that the cover for the neck tenon doesn’t fit but they’ve just wedged it in anyway and fired in the screws, with the cover bending up where it fouls the bottom of the neck binding. Classic Gibson QC my 62ri from 1990 had a similarly poor fitting cover.

RandallFlagg

TINMAN82 said:

String alignment on this sideways vibrola SG from Coda looks off, although hard to tell for sure. Bottom E looks way too close to the edge at the nut and too far in at the end. Id still be wary about sight unseen Gibson USA models-

https://www.coda-music.com/gibson-usa-sg-standard-61-sideways-vibrola-vintage-cherry.html

I think the E and A strings may not be sitting in the grooves of the bridge saddles, the are not passing over the centre of the saddles so it may just be a case of siting the strings correctly on the saddles.

the neck tenon cover does look poorly fitted though

TINMAN82

RandallFlagg said:

TINMAN82 said:

String alignment on this sideways vibrola SG from Coda looks off, although hard to tell for sure. Bottom E looks way too close to the edge at the nut and too far in at the end. Id still be wary about sight unseen Gibson USA models-

https://www.coda-music.com/gibson-usa-sg-standard-61-sideways-vibrola-vintage-cherry.html

I think the E and A strings may not be sitting in the grooves of the bridge saddles, the are not passing over the centre of the saddles so it may just be a case of siting the strings correctly on the saddles.

the neck tenon cover does look poorly fitted though

They might not be centre grooved saddles. Older guitars and custom shops seem to be notched appropriate for the given guitar. 

Lebarque

FarleyUK said:

So, been setting the new 50s Les Paul up...

Added a Tonepros bridge and saddle, restrung with NYXL 1052 strings, removes the scratchplate and installed Bare Knuckle Mules.

Sounds great through the Kemper!

However.... I've noticed a few things that I'm not impressed with, for a 2k guitar:

- Glue residue can be seen on the neck join when you look at it from above (ie when playing it)
- some marks on the fretboard

Managed to sort most of the marks out, but pretty weird they're there in the first place.

At that price, you shouldn't have to do anything to it really...

SouthpawMark

The lack of lefty options is really annoying. I am bordering on lividity. 

Rabs

SouthpawMark said:

The lack of lefty options is really annoying. I am bordering on lividity. 

Ive seen so many of the vids I cant remember who said it (may have been Andertons) he said they are available lefty on special order which I guess just means you will have to wait some.. And have way less choice?  It does kinda suck.

Fortheloveofguitar

Seems to be same shit, different day regarding quality control over at Gibson. All hype and no substance yet again. 

Despite them bringing the cost of a standard down to 2k I would avoid them like the plague and bag a used R8 for little more than that. And that doesn’t look like it’s been dipped in a vat at the local boiled sweet factory 

One Shop commented on their FB that it was their lighting in the shop that made them look super glossy. No they look just as gooey in the flesh 

SouthpawMark

Rabs said:

SouthpawMark said:

The lack of lefty options is really annoying. I am bordering on lividity. 

Ive seen so many of the vids I cant remember who said it (may have been Andertons) he said they are available lefty on special order which I guess just means you will have to wait some.. And have way less choice?  It does kinda suck.

I was in Andertons on Monday and spoke to the captain just after he found out what was in the new range. He said Gibson really got burned the past couple of years by offering loads of leftie options, and having to sell it cheap in order to shift it on. This year they’ve gone to the other extreme, and there’s pretty much nothing for lefties, either stock or special order. 

I guess it will save me money, so every cloud... 

TINMAN82

I’m very tempted by the Les Paul junior. That one from Peach (sold quick) looked phenomenal. At £1199 it’s not such a big investment either and I could overlook a few file marks.

Was hankering after the goldtop 50s for a while but it’s not realistically going to hold a candle to my 2013 R8, new from Thomanne in 2014 for around £2600. Plus, weights seem to bottom out at 9lbs (which is a reasonable weight but way below average going by those now listed on sites like Peach, Coda and Wildwood). 

MagicPigDetective

I really like the look of the new Tributes with inlays, especially the satin cherry. The neck is ‘rounded’, I wonder where this lies on the 50’s/60’s neck profile spectrum. 

Danielsguitars

roberty said:

Philly_Q said:

bodhi said:

SteveRobinson said:

Babones said:

Hastily strung, I'd say. They can be corrected at the bridge

Nope, I think the bridge is in the wrong position. It might be CNC'd but if the machine isn't programmed right, they will all be equally wrong.

That would be disappointing, because I really fancied one of these new Juniors.

The bridge probably is a bit off, but there is also a tendency for the strings to drift over to the treble side with wraparound bridges - I think because they're feeding straight through the bridge which is set on a slant, then going off at an angle over a curved surface... string spacing ends up a bit rough and ready, it's not a precision piece of hardware.

And fortunately I don't think Gibson's CNC-ing combined with their QC procedures is anywhere near accurate enough to make all examples equally right, or wrong. 

It does look like the slanted holes are pushing the thicker strings over towards the treble side. The G string is way over too. E A and G

This always happens so i set mine up and move the bridge about a mm furter over to the bass side, even my wonky eyes can get it better than that by hand/eye

0jones

Regarding the R8 vs 50s Standard, do others concur? Is it a silly question / no competition? That’s my dilemma at the moment - especially as an R8 would still be a few hundred quid more, and not in the gold which is my preferred colour...but if they are ‘that’ much better...

p90fool

0jones said:

Regarding the R8 vs 50s Standard, do others concur? Is it a silly question / no competition? That’s my dilemma at the moment - especially as an R8 would still be a few hundred quid more, and not in the gold which is my preferred colour...but if they are ‘that’ much better...

It's an argument you could use for any product ultimately, "You're crazy buying a brand new Fiesta, you could get an old Rolls Royce for that!"

Gibson Historics have a some small details which were found on late 50s Les Pauls, they're generally inconsequential and have nothing to do with tone or playability. If they're important to you then go ahead and buy a guitar in the wrong colour for more money.

Historic owners will insist they are "better", but actually they are just (very slightly) different. 

roberty

p90fool said:

0jones said:

Regarding the R8 vs 50s Standard, do others concur? Is it a silly question / no competition? That’s my dilemma at the moment - especially as an R8 would still be a few hundred quid more, and not in the gold which is my preferred colour...but if they are ‘that’ much better...

It's an argument you could use for any product ultimately, "You're crazy buying a brand new Fiesta, you could get an old Rolls Royce for that!"

Gibson Historics have a some small details which were found on late 50s Les Pauls, they're generally inconsequential and have nothing to do with tone or playability. If they're important to you then go ahead and buy a guitar in the wrong colour for more money.

Historic owners will insist they are "better", but actually they are just (very slightly) different. 

I think the custom shop mahogany is a bit nicer but that doesn't guarantee a better sounding guitar. Go for feel (neck/weight/balance), voice and look, and ignore the price. Try as many as you can (not always easy). Pickups are easy to change. No one in an audience is going to hear the difference between two Les Pauls

terada

Just saw a 8.8lb 60s standard in Andertons. That is really impressive for an unchambered USA model, they must be using more expensive mahogany than previously.

terada

Also, having looked at all weights available so far from Andertons/Peach/Coda. It appears (from this limited sample) that the gold tops are consistently much heavier.

FarleyUK

Yeah, the 50s Standard I've got is surprisingly light; almost as light as my chambered 2008 Standard.

Jez6345789

I am drawn to the 50's p90 gold top also some of the specials and SG  in Pelham blue but the gold top mainly. 

From what I have seen across the net so far the quality is still not where it needs to be on stuff like blemishes and file marks but it's going to take time to get people to change the habits or upgrade peoples skill sets to where they need to be whilst still getting enough output to stay viable.

 Most of the hires in the last 10 years in the factory under Henrie's production regime have been allowed to cut corners as long as the volume was maintained per shift. That will also mean you have a load of people who don't know how to work any other way and perhaps have never worked a fretboard without chewing it up with the file and being told that's fine onto the next. JC's Team will be playing cat and mouse routing out those that are trainable those that should of gone years ago and are simply not capable of doing a decent job. Quality is never like turning on a switch it takes years yes you can knock over the easy targets in the first few months but endemic and cultural takes time and skill.

 Without wishing to sound too negative it seems a step up and the Gold Top has my interest sounded pretty good on demo;

terada

Jez6345789 said:

I am drawn to the 50's p90 gold top also some of the specials and SG  in Pelham blue but the gold top mainly. 

From what I have seen across the net so far the quality is still not where it needs to be on stuff like blemishes and file marks but it's going to take time to get people to change the habits or upgrade peoples skill sets to where they need to be whilst still getting enough output to stay viable.

 Most of the hires in the last 10 years in the factory under Henrie's production regime have been allowed to cut corners as long as the volume was maintained per shift. That will also mean you have a load of people who don't know how to work any other way and perhaps have never worked a fretboard without chewing it up with the file and being told that's fine onto the next. JC's Team will be playing cat and mouse routing out those that are trainable those that should of gone years ago and are simply not capable of doing a decent job. Quality is never like turning on a switch it takes years yes you can knock over the easy targets in the first few months but endemic and cultural takes time and skill.

 Without wishing to sound too negative it seems a step up and the Gold Top has my interest sounded pretty good on demo;

Honestly, while there have been genuine examples of very poor qc. I think Gibson gets an unbalanced level of hate for tiny things that I personally have seen across most brands.

To me, Gibson has always had a level of variance model to model, which is why you hunt for one that fits you. Other brands are more consistent tonally unit to unit.

This leads people to call some brands poor quality, and others sterile and characterless. 

For me, what’s important about JCs work is of course partly about improving the quality of output. But a huge part of it for me is just about getting the range right. No bullshit, just a good guitar that people want. 

You can now get a sub 9lb all solid, no nonsense les Paul, with thinner binding and better bridge for a fair price.

I own a bunch of reissue Gibson’s, and having seen these I reckon (assuming the neck angle was good) I’d go for one. 

NelsonP

Sparks said:

NelsonP said:

Some real bargains on the 'old' range

https://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/product/gibson-2019-les-paul-junior-tribute-dc-worn-ebony/
https://www.dawsons.co.uk/gibson-2019-les-paul-studio-tribute-electric-guitar

Thanks for this. Dropped Mrs Sparks a WhatsApp message to mention the price drop as I'd told her recently I fancied a Junior, and she told me to buy it. Have dutifully obeyed.

Nice work! I've got a DC jr tribute and it's great.