A look inside a new 2019 Les Paul 60s Standard

Rabs

sweepy

Two piece back and still machine marks on the fretboard  ! Oh dear

stickyfiddle

sweepy said:

Two piece back and still machine marks on the fretboard  ! Oh dear

Because those things will stop you playing good songs with it, right?

sweepy

stickyfiddle said:

sweepy said:

Two piece back and still machine marks on the fretboard  ! Oh dear

Because those things will stop you playing good songs with it, right?

No, but at that price its unacceptable

chrisj1602

sweepy said:

stickyfiddle said:

sweepy said:

Two piece back and still machine marks on the fretboard  ! Oh dear

Because those things will stop you playing good songs with it, right?

No, but at that price its unacceptable

I don’t think it’s an issue, it’s wood that has had work done on it by hand, it’s a playing surface, and he said in the video that it’s exaggerated under his camera light. The gloss areas look perfect.

TheMarlin

chrisj1602 said:

sweepy said:

stickyfiddle said:

sweepy said:

Two piece back and still machine marks on the fretboard  ! Oh dear

Because those things will stop you playing good songs with it, right?

No, but at that price its unacceptable

I don’t think it’s an issue, it’s wood that has had work done on it by hand, it’s a playing surface, and he said in the video that it’s exaggerated under his camera light. The gloss areas look perfect.

A Tokai LP will not have machine marks, and will also have perfect glossy finish, but at a fraction of the price. 

The last SG I had had a few ropey finishing touches, and my ES195 has ‘orange peel’ paint in some areas. Gibson are not living up to their own reputation. 

Still love that ES195 though.....

Iamnobody

Re. two piece bodies this isn’t new and they’ve been building them this way for years.

Aesthetics aside is it an issue? Who studies the back of their guitar and gets upset about it?

My Les Paul has a three piece back (Orville by Gibson) and it’s a never bothered me.

I do like a one piece body on an SG though as the translucent finish really highlights the join and I’ve seen some that do look dreadful on the front due to mismatched timbers. One of my SGs is two piece though and it’s fine.

Fender bodies are multi piece upwards of 5 sometimes but I don’t hear complaints.

sweepy

It does make a difference if the back of the body is one piece, my 2012 Trad was one solid lump of mahogany so they can do it

Grumpyrocker

Two piece back doesn't matter at all. It's another of those total none issues that people have ascribed some sort of audio mojo too. It's hooey. 

sweepy

Grumpyrocker said:

Two piece back doesn't matter at all. It's another of those total none issues that people have ascribed some sort of audio mojo too. It's hooey. 

It makes a difference with a set neck guitar because of the way the timbers react with eachother. Bolt on neck guitars have a totally different vibration transfer due to the neck and body interaction s and so being a 2 or 3 piece isn't so crucial. It's far From Snake Oil, over 40 years of playing and setting up guitars has convinced me that this is the case to my ears and only gets reinforced the more guitars I play and work on

Legionreturns

^^^
Well it was only a matter of time.  

Here we go again.

dindude

Not worried about 2 piece back but rev overall quality, that’s the one thing they have to nail with this restart - if there are basic things like string alignment and file mark issues, then they’ve lost their biggest opportunity.

guitars4you

Ref a 1 or 2 pc back - At the end of the day does it matter ? - Obviously some will say yes and say no

Yet I think Gibson have been a bit 'cheeky' with their listings on this - Back to roots has been part of its thought pattern under the post Henry regime - The Gibson spec on the web site for the LP Std states 'solid mahogany body' - So I think, great no weight relief or chambers etc - Looks good so far - Then you find they have been a touch economical with the truth, or more what they don't say - A bit cheeky really

Many other builders can utilise a 1 pc back - Yet I dare say Gibson will have chosen such an option based on price and/or adequate supply of the appropriate grade of wood they require

Traditionally it is wrong - But we have seen many different concoctions of Gibson bodies for far to long and they still sell - So each to their own I suppose

SteveRobinson

Thin neck binding gets a big YAY from me!

richardhomer

No Fender products at any price point seem to suffer from file marks on their fingerboards. In fact - apart from Gibson - I can’t think of a brand where this is normal/acceptable.

They need to get the basics right - issues like this were not common even in the darkest days of the Norlin era.

Philly_Q

TheMarlin said:

The last SG I had had a few ropey finishing touches, and my ES195 has ‘orange peel’ paint in some areas. Gibson are not living up to their own reputation. 

Which reputation is that?  The fantasy of the 1959 Les Paul or 1962 SG on the cover of every other issue of Guitarist?  Or dodgy quality control, file marks on fretboards and orange peel paint which has been precisely their reputation for at least the last 30 years?

As I said on the "New Gibson line finally in stores" thread, the new management team have come in with good intentions, but they're not magically going to offer Custom Shop spec at Gibson USA prices.  And it's the same workforce who've been doing things a certain way and to a certain standard all their lives, they're not going to turn into PRS or Tom Anderson overnight.

Yes, of course there's an argument that "I've paid £2,000, I expect perfection at that price".  But that hasn't been the reality of the deal with Gibson for decades and we all know it.  They're heading - or at least pointing - in the right direction but it's not all going to be fixed in a few weeks or months.

SteveRobinson

It's an artefact from the manufacturing process when the binding is scraped. 

I've got a Suhr here with a crack in the fretboard that has been filled before fretting at the factory. 

JezWynd

When he's measuring the neck depth, is the measurement taken from the top of the fret or from the fretboard adjacent to the fret? Can't quite tell from video.

Philly_Q

JezWynd said:

When he's measuring the neck depth, is the measurement taken from the top of the fret or from the fretboard adjacent to the fret? Can't quite tell from video.

From the top of the fretboard just behind the fret.

Musicman20

QC still needs work... 

thegummy

I wonder if the people who believe only mildly questionable things about "tone" read the wackier statements and think "is this what I sound like to others?"