Gibson suck

nicolasrivera said:
Rodrigo, some Studios are really really good Les Pauls, the ones from the 90's are great IMO.

I took a bad one and refinish it from the owner, he was floored with it and i was too, with better pots the stock pickups actually sounded great and the guitar ended up feeling amazingly close to a "real" Les Paul as some like to call it.









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Dammit man!
You make me want to buy old beat to hell guitars just to send them to you!
 
LVC said:
When you find a great Gibson -- they are hard to beat .... however finding one is the trick.

Here are a few of my "holy grail" finds

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What year is the Black Custom?
 
those cracks look like stress from pressure on the control knobs during shipping I'm guessing. too strange they are around the controls.
 
I agree with the OP! Gibson sucks in quality control.
I got my Les Paul traditional some time ago and it didn't have ground wire to the bridge. It came with quality control "checklist", that had mark on electronics. But obviously, nobody had tested the electronics. So this gives me the feeling, that Gibson just puts that peace of paper inside the guitarbag, without actually checking the damn guitars quality.

I have Schecter Blackjack, that is about the same price (1200€-1300€). It was flawless and the setup and everything was spot on, right from the start. My more expensive Mayones Regius... well, Gibson don't have even a change with this companys quality control. Hell, my cheap of the cheapest Ibanez RG7321 was flawless when i bought it. :D

So, for the money we pay, i think Gibson isn't doing a good job.
 
It's a shame to hear those bad stories.
I've never had troubles with my Gibsons.
At the moment I own 2 standard explorers that are really great.
With one of them some frets feel a little rough around the edges but that's the only thing.
I have also owned 2 Les Paul standards, great guitars but I grew to enjoy thinner necks more (they had 50's neck profiles...)
 
BBN said:
What year is the Black Custom?
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Not a black custom.

2004 Custom shop CR Historic 57 RI

Wildwood & Dave's Guitars did a special limited run of these (52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 59) -- I think they are the best sounding Gibson's ever. About as close to tone/sustain as you can get to a real 50's LP. Billy Gibbons owns a bunch of them and plays them on the road.

2004 was the first year and the best run (IMO). I have owned other production years (O6, 08, 09) and I liked the 04's the best.


Wildwood just came out with another limited run of Historic RIs with specially selected tone/light woods

Gibson Custom Shop Historic Featherweight Wildwood Spec Les Paul Guitars | Electrics - Gibson Custom Shop | Wildwood Guitars

I am saving up to buy one -- would love to get a 59 Lemon Burst like this




Just sick -- the quality of these guitars is completely off the charts

Looks like Dave's Guitar did another limited Historic CR run

http://davesguitar.com/?s=chambered
 
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It took Les Paul number 3 before I got one I liked.

Wanted to like the first two but in the end despised them.

This one doesn't even seem like the same brand guitar.

I'm fighting with myself over if I should sell it to fund a Friedman. I'm worried I might regret it so holding off on selling for now.

Only grip I have with it is it weighs a million lbs. I can't play with it on my lap for more then a few minutes or it causes a lot of leg pain.

Fun guitar though.

And I love the tobacco burst look.

2001 Les Paul Standard

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I'm in a weird place on this.

On one hand...Gibson KNOWS that they can have more than a few slip through the cracks...they're going to sell anyway. Many dealers use the catchall *Certified Gibson Technician* to have someone do a proper setup and act as a final quality control at the shop you purchase from. They also save the REAL quality control to the upper end '59 reissues, etc (I have rarely found one that was a disaster...)

On the OTHER hand...I have looked for roughly 7 years for one that would be buried with me. I was never really satisfied (even after buying a Wine red one 4 years ago that lasted about 15 days...)

Serendipity beckoned, and I found one at long last. The key I see here is buy from a dealer who REALLY knows Les Paul's. I went to WildWood Music, and with the demo's of each one, I was able to get the combination of price, tone, and looks (I do love the flame...) and finally the itch is scratched. It's on the bright side for me, and I'm not a fan of the circuit board electronics in the vol/tone cavity, but it plays and sounds like love, so I've put aside my instrument luddite tendencies, and let live.

Edit: I payed under $3k for this...maybe too much, but the next best one was $5k+, and it was even with this one in tone...and less than this one in top.

 
electronpirate said:
The key I see here is buy from a dealer who REALLY knows Les Paul's.
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^ Pretty much sums it all up.

Wildwood, Dave's are standouts for new Gibson (especially Historic reissues).

For used gear ... I've learned my lessons the hard way. I only buy/trade with a couple of folks that I have dealing with for many years.

When you find a dealer who knows his shit and treats you well ... keep him on your speed dial for when the itch hits you!
 
Not sure much has changed at Gibson. Before I bought my Edwards from Japan about 6 years ago, I played quite a few real Les Pauls in various shops and I was shocked at how many of them had issues like high and low frets, poorly cut nuts, and finish issues. I kind of expect those things from a $600 Epiphone, but for a $2000+ Gibson I better get damn close to perfection.
 
mr_fender said:
Not sure much has changed at Gibson. Before I bought my Edwards from Japan about 6 years ago, I played quite a few real Les Pauls in various shops and I was shocked at how many of them had issues like high and low frets, poorly cut nuts, and finish issues. I kind of expect those things from a $600 Epiphone, but for a $2000+ Gibson I better get damn close to perfection.
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true, but mr_gibson didn't contribute to the obama campaign, unlike other manufacturers who will now and forever be on my shit list.
 
Wildwood has been mentioned a few times here. I bought an ES335 from them last year after I had issues with a SamAsh purchase. They are an awesome shop. The guitar was setup and cleaned up before they sent it. They are expensive so don't expect a steal.
 
IMHO, any brand that requires such an effort to find a decent model doesn't deserve supporting.
There are plenty of good alternatives out there.
And it's because people need a certain brand on their guitars to feel accepted the greedy bastards keep getting away with it.
 
Old vintage Gibsons are hard to replicate --- even for Gibson. Much easier for strats and teles -- for example I love Suhrs for teles and strats.

However ... many try to imitate the sound and feel of a great vintage Gibson.. and a few have done it.

Builders Gustavsson, Yaron etc have done it in spades but to buy one you have to wait in some cases several years and pay over $10K.

Personally I love the thrill of the hunt. I have owned and played many great vintage as well as Historic Gibson guitars, so in my case I know exactly what I am looking for.

Again I am taking about vintage (60s and 50s) as well as Historics (not pancake Gibbys etc).

I can guarantee you that a lot of people shopping for guitars have no clue what a vintage Gibson is suppose to look or sound like. So they have no point of reference.

For my tastes, Suhrs and Gibsons fit the bill. For the longest time, I would not even look at a guitar from Fender. However, recently I got to play a couple of guitars from their custom shop and they were outstanding. PRS ... forget about.. Don't want one unless it was free. Exception - Spruce Top HB 1 (awesome guitar!)

If you want to get something that you can easily convert to a vintage spec Gibson guitar (and will sound awesome) -- find a used Gibson Faded Les Paul and have a knowledgable luthier bring it to spec (pickups, wiring, pots, etc). For under 2 grand you will have a Gibson that will sound and feel like a $6K Historic.

MisterE said:
IMHO, any brand that requires such an effort to find a decent model doesn't deserve supporting.
There are plenty of good alternatives out there.
And it's because people need a certain brand on their guitars to feel accepted the greedy bastards keep getting away with it.
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Tonemeister said:
Wildwood has been mentioned a few times here. I bought an ES335 from them last year after I had issues with a SamAsh purchase. They are an awesome shop. The guitar was setup and cleaned up before they sent it. They are expensive so don't expect a steal.
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Sounds like a good shop to buy from.

I just remembered another experience I had in 2007 (I think) when the Silverburst ReIssue Gibson RD's came out.
I ordered one from ZZounds.com. Got it....brought it right to my luthier for a set up....he could not get it to stop buzzing as the guitar had a back bow, even with the trussrod fully relieved!
Sent it back....they sent me another one. Brought that one straight to my luthier and SAME EXACT PROBLEM.

Sent it back to ZZounds.....they refused to send me a third. I called them and they said that I was being too picky.
I told them to take the guitars I sent back, and put a f'n straight edge on the fretboard. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the fret slots were not cut wide enough and it's causing the neck to be in a back bow. A guitar with a back bow is not playable....period.
They said - "we're not a repair shop, so we can't verify if the neck is bad or not".
I said - "then you're in no position to tell me that I'm being picky, are you? If you don't have the basic knowledge of what is required for a guitar to be playable, then I'm all set with doing business with you"

Got my money back and then bought one from MusiciansFriend (gasp)....and this one came and was fine.
It was in a slight back bow, but releasing the rod a bit made it straight and playable.

This run of the Silverburst RD was only 400 guitars.
I played 3 of them....or which 2 were junk.

What a shame.
 
That's F-d up. I had heard that Guitar Center and places like ZZSounds and such, get the runts of the litter so to speak. They get whatever is leftover after the "favored" vendors take their pick. I have no idea who the "favored" vendors are, and honestly I'm curious as to why Guitar Center wouldn't be considered as such, with the volume they do. Still doesn't excuse the fact that these "less than perfect" instruments are out there and being offered at the same ridiculously high retail prices.
 
BBN said:
Sounds like a good shop to buy from.

I just remembered another experience I had in 2007 (I think) when the Silverburst ReIssue Gibson RD's came out.
I ordered one from ZZounds.com. Got it....brought it right to my luthier for a set up....he could not get it to stop buzzing as the guitar had a back bow, even with the trussrod fully relieved!
Sent it back....they sent me another one. Brought that one straight to my luthier and SAME EXACT PROBLEM.

Sent it back to ZZounds.....they refused to send me a third. I called them and they said that I was being too picky.
I told them to take the guitars I sent back, and put a f'n straight edge on the fretboard. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the fret slots were not cut wide enough and it's causing the neck to be in a back bow. A guitar with a back bow is not playable....period.
They said - "we're not a repair shop, so we can't verify if the neck is bad or not".
I said - "then you're in no position to tell me that I'm being picky, are you? If you don't have the basic knowledge of what is required for a guitar to be playable, then I'm all set with doing business with you"

Got my money back and then bought one from MusiciansFriend (gasp)....and this one came and was fine.
It was in a slight back bow, but releasing the rod a bit made it straight and playable.

This run of the Silverburst RD was only 400 guitars.
I played 3 of them....or which 2 were junk.

What a shame.
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Also bought an '07 Silverburst RI off MF in 2007. Plays like a dream to this day, my favorite of a couple dozen LPs over the years.
 
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