New Gibson build quality ....

adam1990 · May 2019

So for the last few years you only really read about people moaning about the build quality and the price of new Gibson guitars.

I have owned 2 Gibsons and personally don't see what all the bad press is about... Ok my ES 339 needed the nut to be cut to accommodate a set of 10-52 strings and the frets needed a dressing to be perfect. But other than that I think that it is built very well, thankfully I got it second hand barely used for a good price though.

My other Gibson was a 2007 SG standard which I got while on holiday in the USA and that was perfectly set up out of the box and until the day I sold it with not a single quality issue.

Would it be fair to say that most of the bad feedback is from people that either can't afford one or don't want to afford one?

I still find it hard to believe that people are still moaning about the price even though Gibson has just slashed the price of them! After all how many other companies drop the price of a high end product?

terada · May 2019

In a nutshell:

- There are examples of shockingly bad QC out there
- These are nowhere near as widespread as the internet would have you believe
- More often Gibsons have minor issues (that other brands also often have), and these compound the poor build quality perception
- Gibson have completely misunderstood their market in recent history, and as such have put a lot of people off. They put their prices up to silly amounts, and messed around with their range in ridiculous ways.
-Hopefully under new management things will improve. It seems like it is, but only time will really tell

ICBM · May 2019

adam1990 said:

Would it be fair to say that most of the bad feedback is from people that either can't afford one or don't want to afford one?

No.

Most of the bad feedback is from people who have owned Gibsons with QC issues which are unacceptable at the price point of the guitars.

JDE · May 2019

I think some people just like to knock Gibson. Don’t know why.
The other factor behind “real” (to them) gripes is that most guitars in the £500-£1000 range are now actually *very* good. I think a lot of people who go from one of them to, say, a new Les Paul without having ever played a lot of >£1000 guitars have a level of expectation which would be virtually unattainable. They expect everything to be literally perfect for their playing style and setup preference right out of the box, and complain on the internet when it isn’t. I will say, however, that in my personal experience, Gibson have made some really basic fails on the guitars I’ve played in the last few years - sloppy fretwork and nuts, mainly. Unacceptable on a >£500 guitar, IMO, let alone their prices. And I’m not even picky, I’ve just played a lot of guitars and a poorly cut nut makes a guitar unplayable really quickly. Fundamentally, Gibson’s aren’t for me, so I’m not bothered, but if someone’s dream guitar was an LP and they’d saved up for years to buy one, I get that they have high hopes. It’s compounded by the fact too many people buy sight-unseen online. Which would curb a lot of this negative bollocks.

Fact is, if you’re buying online and want, for example, absolutely flawless fretwork, buy from a reputable agent who actually checks stuff before they send it, or just buy a Prestige-level Ibanez and shut up.

tony99 · May 2019

I don't think it's a blanket, "there are quality control issues with every gibson guitar" it's more a case of how the bad ones that get through, get through, especially when they are pretty much what one would consider a premium brand

I own two, both fine btw

GoldenEraGuitars · May 2019

Mustn’t forget that Gibson also attracts a lot of customers who don’t want the lacquer to check yet buy one anyway

Blaendulais · May 2019

Over the last few years I have bought 9 gibsons.

5 were brand new:

ES345 perfect
SJ200 neck warped rendering unplayable after 1 week returned
Les Paul Std- poorly cut nut, cap coming off returned
ES 339 usual cant cut g string nut slot sticking fixed
ES 335 neck needed tech adjustment still almost unplayable returned for replacement
R9 perfect

No its not bad press they are often shit

I couldnt tell you the number that I have picked up in a shop to play and thought they were really shabby despite being new.

TTBZ · May 2019

As someone who loves Gibson style guitars, I do want to like their current output but find it hard to pay the premium when the Japanese or lesser known brands can offer a superior product (imo) for much less money. I'm still interested in the new LP Studio just because it's the real deal, but will find it hard to look past what I could get for my money from Tokai etc.

I do own a 2008 Gibson SG. It's a great guitar. Probably just wouldn't pay that much again. Played a few of the 2019 models at NAMM and wasn't hugely blown away by anything. The faded style SGs felt awful. The new all access LP neck joint was a nice touch though.

meltedbuzzbox · May 2019

Do you think that the amount of negative press on here has anything to do with people buying blind on blowout deals and generally not focusing on the most important thing (how it plays)?

SouthpawMark · May 2019

All the ones I have bought new (LP Standard 2018, SG HP 2018, V 2018) have been flawless. I picked up a mint 2018 Firebird last week and that was perfect too, other than a comically high action, which is an easy fix.

It seems Gibson are the flavour of the month for moaners. If you manufacture a sizeable batch of anything which requires human input in one way or another, you will always get one or two that don’t quite come up to spec. You get it with cars, with watches, with electronics, pretty much anything and everything. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad company, but it’s one of those things, and you’re a little unlucky if you get one. Any decent company will put it right ASAP though.

sweepy · May 2019

I own and have owned a fair few Gibson’s over the years, the frustrating thing is that most of the faults are minor and stupid . When you are paying @2k plus for a guitar, machine marks on the fretboard, wonky tuners and loose pots etc are unacceptable. I see a lot of guitars through my untidy old workbench and it becomes more annoying when compared to other guitars when they consistently get it right. I even had one Les Paul in that was missing 2 side dots on the binding !

tony99 · May 2019

sweepy said:

I own and have owned a fair few Gibson’s over the years, the frustrating thing is that most of the faults are minor and stupid . When you are paying @2k plus for a guitar, machine marks on the fretboard, wonky tuners and loose pots etc are unacceptable. I see a lot of guitars through my untidy old workbench and it becomes more annoying when compared to other guitars when they consistently get it right. I even had one Les Paul in that was missing 2 side dots on the binding !

did you check though coz sometimes they put them in the case seperate and you can attach them yourself

bodhi · May 2019

It's probably a case of bad news travelling faster, and further.

I've owned 14 Gibsons over the years. I don't think any of them were "flawless", but I always took that as being part of the charm.

I can't recall that any of them had what I'd call serious QC issues, though. The one which comes closest (slightly shrunken neck binding) is ironically also my favourite guitar.

Gibson pitches itself as being a premium brand. That needs living up to. No-one's going to do it for them. They let one shitty example in a hundred slip through, and people notice and people talk.

TINMAN82 · May 2019

ICBM said:

adam1990 said:

Would it be fair to say that most of the bad feedback is from people that either can't afford one or don't want to afford one?

No.

Most of the bad feedback is from people who have owned Gibsons with QC issues which are unacceptable at the price point of the guitars.

Think this is true I'm afraid. I don't think its all related to buying sight unseen (or in blowout sales) either- I've been caught out a couple of times buying in store only to find an issue at home later on. It takes a few bad experiences to learn about all the little things to look out for more closely in store. At least buying online you're covered for returns through distance selling.

The only Gibson I still have is an R8 from 2013 (perfect and one of the best electrics I've ever played). Love and will never sell it.

The others:
A 2011 Flying V (fretboard slightly narrower than neck so a palpable "shelf" at the join).

A 2008 Les Paul Studio, used from ebay. (Was a good one and should've kept it as I loved the old "59 rounded" profile...but I fell into the upgrade trap).

A 2014 Hummingbird acoustic (paint chip from factory at edge of fretboard end, weird shiny stripe through length of rosewood board which noone could explain and missed under shop lights, poorly cut trapezoid inlay, never sounded that great).

Les Paul traditional 2013 (Horrible file marks on fretboard, jack socket washer mounted squint, huge gap between fretboard end and neck pickup ring- we're not talking the historic spec gap this could only have been down to manufacturing error).

L1 American Eagle acoustic (tuners mounted off line on one side of headstock, high E string saddle slot cut about 2mm further away from B string than the spacing between all other strings).

ES-335 Figured (f holes not painted properly, top of headstock not sanded let alone polished, tailpiece and saddle not perfectly aligned with each other- verified by pro luthier).

I'll almost certainly buy another Gibson and have half an eye on the new LP junior but I'd inspect it very carefully before deciding to keep. Also inclined to buy online under distance selling so I can inspect without shop pressure at home.

SouthpawMark · May 2019

I can’t remember the exact stats, but it’s something along the lines of that you will tell 1-2 people if you receive good service, and 10-15 if you receive bad service.

Philtre · May 2019

adam1990 said:

I have owned 2 Gibsons and personally don't see what all the bad press is about...

Is the same as saying "it's been a bit nippy today so I don't know what all this global warming is about."

I have owned 2 Gibsons and personally do see what all the bad press is about.

Bad binding, inlays lifting and other issues.

Would it be fair to say that most of the bad feedback is from people that either can't afford one or don't want to afford one?

No, it wouldn't be fair to say that at all. In fact it would be fucking stupid.

Philtre · May 2019

JDE said:

I think some people just like to knock Gibson. Don’t know why.

For fuck's sake.

Philtre · May 2019

SouthpawMark said:

It seems Gibson are the flavour of the month for moaners.

Fucking hell not another one.

antonyiv · May 2019

SouthpawMark said:

I can’t remember the exact stats, but it’s something along the lines of that you will tell 1-2 people if you receive good service, and 10-15 if you receive bad service.

That sounds legit but doesn’t explain why people bash Gibson but have good opinions on PRS, Musicman, G&L, Yamaha, Collings, Suhr, Tom Anderson.

Most of the brands I mentioned are even more premium than Gibson.

JDE · May 2019

Philtre said:

JDE said:

I think some people just like to knock Gibson. Don’t know why.

For fuck's sake.

Did you read the rest of my post or just the first two sentences?

antonyiv · May 2019

My favourite Gibson moment was when I removed the strings on my Midtown to oil the fretboard and the NUT fell off. There was no glue.

But it there was plenty of glue in my ES-335 dot that was coming out from the f-holes in the form of white powder.

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