Gibson suck

I had an Epiphone Sheraton John Lee Hooker edition that absolutely blew away any Gibson 335 I ever played, except maybe a '63 that I had the opportunity to play once.

Fit, finish, playability, and tone were all better on the Epiphone.
 
That's a lot of checking/cracking for a newer guitar.
I have and 80's LP Silverburst that has the same amount of checking....but it's almost 30 years old.

Bummer...

Wondering if the wood was not fullly dried, and as it is starting to dry out more, it shifts a small amount, causing cracks.....
I wouldn't be too happy if that happened to me.
 
Fabio KTG said:
The UK's authority on all things Epiphone, people ^^^^
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You're far too kind Fab, far too kind... but thank you
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The 'Unsung Hero' thing refers entirely to these guitars by the way - quietly brilliant! (well, after some work and attention to detail in the right areas!)

Some of the Korean ones were made at the Unsung factory so, well... you know the rest
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My main guitar is a 1978 Les Paul that I bought secondhand in 1983. I have used it for 90% of everything I have ever recorded. Still love it as much today as the day I bought it.
I have searched high and low for one as good. I did buy another '78 that was close but still, it was not the same.
The new stuff that Gibson are churning out is shameful. Seem you have to pay over £4000 just to get one that is built OK. Well, I would rather pickup another 70's Gibson with a proper rosewood fingerboard and decent mahogany. :)
I do own other Gibson (and have owned a few others in the past too). I have a lovely 81 Flying V (from the 75 -81 series) with a very rare cherry sunburst finish (less than 25 made).
The Norlin era has a bad reputation but I would play one over any new Gibson.
 
UnsungHeroGuitars said:
You're far too kind Fab, far too kind... but thank you
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The 'Unsung Hero' thing refers entirely to these guitars by the way - quietly brilliant! (well, after some work and attention to detail in the right areas!)

Some of the Korean ones were made at the Unsung factory so, well... you know the rest
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Wow!!!! I've just clicked on your website and I now have GAS for the 2003 White Custom.

I have a Epi dot 335 that I got second hand at a good price and LOVE it. The thing just resonates beautifully. I've played nice Gibsons before but they just never 'got' me for the price. The dot seems to perform as well as any other 335 I've ever played (quite a few, bugging shop owners in a continent near you... ;) ).

Are you in London, Clive? I'll be there first weekend in Sept.

Also, I can't let go of the idea that the 'nitro having better tone' debate is another snakeoil myth. As always, I'll be convinced by double blind tests. :)
 
steadystate said:
...lacquer increases the sustain on a thick slab of wood? Have they empirically measured this? If so, where are the results?
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Somebody had to say it.

Back when Gibson started making guitars, lacquer was the best finish you could get. Even though it's soft, it cracks, it fades, and it gets impregnated with dirt, sweat, and anything else it rubs against--right down to the wood. Some people call that "mojo." I call it "yuck."

Modern synthetic finishes are miles ahead of lacquer, and they don't change the tone if they're applied properly.
 
BigD1977 said:
Wow!!!! I've just clicked on your website and I now have GAS for the 2003 White Custom.

I have a Epi dot 335 that I got second hand at a good price and LOVE it. The thing just resonates beautifully. I've played nice Gibsons before but they just never 'got' me for the price. The dot seems to perform as well as any other 335 I've ever played (quite a few, bugging shop owners in a continent near you... ;) ).

Are you in London, Clive? I'll be there first weekend in Sept.

Also, I can't let go of the idea that the 'nitro having better tone' debate is another snakeoil myth. As always, I'll be convinced by double blind tests. :)
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Thank you D!
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That White Custom is a great example of what a Les Paul is all about - just so weighty, solid and pure rock n' roll!

It's also in fact the only guitar that I presently have ready and available to go - I can't get them worked through quicker than they're selling at the moment! I've sold a couple straight off the Workshop list too - move 'em up the line and get 'em out there
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Of course, I suspect some of that is down to the very attractive prices that I've been rolling them out for. With this being a relatively new venture, I need to get them into the hands of players, build a trading presence and establish a reputation - so there have been some cracking deals for buyers. As much as I'd love to keep them all for myself, leaving them on the wall with a hefty tag isn't going to keep the boat afloat.

I don't go in for the Gibson v Epi debates at all... utterly futile really because whilst they share the same, obvious similarities, they're different products in different price brackets - both are (generally!) fantastic in their own respective right and for varying reasons
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It does make me stare though when you consider that a good Gibson costs three or four times as much as all four of those guitars I pictured in the earlier post put together!
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I'm not in London - far from it actually - but if you're over in September and still looking, I'm sure we can sort something out. Even if it's not this bad boy, I'm sure I'll have something that will take your fancy at that time
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I got a new 2014 Les Paul Traditional and can't find a flaw on her...and I've looked long and played it for several weeks now. It plays, sounds, and looks great!

I have had a lot of nicer guitars that I did not take care that eventually had issues with. However, I no longer take these real nice guitars out to the beach or play them in all sorts of environments anymore...Instead I take a cheaper, beater guitar out.
 
I was looking for a Les Paul since 1998. I played lots of them in shops. There were only two official Gibby LP's that had the mojo.

One was a beat up 1972 LP Recording Custom that 48 ST Guitars in New York City had with case for the high price of $1,100 back in 2001. When I went back to try and make a deal, it was sold to some lucky bugger.

The other was the Gibson Dusk Tiger that I currently own. Guitar Center in Paramus had three of them. Two felt trashy like a lot of other new Les Pauls, but the one I own reminded me of the neck feel of that recording custom.

When I wanted an LP style guitar with a tremolo, I tried all the Axxcess's, Alex Lifeson guitars, even a couple floyd equipped Epiphones, but what I ended up with was a Paul Reed Smith SE Singlecut. It just had the feel, comfort, and tone, that I felt the others lacked.

Go figure. It's one of the reasons I dog Gibson so much is there is no quality control with the new Gibson stuff, it is all over the place. For those prices, it really is shameful that Epiphone can produce a more consistently good product with fewer issues... So can PRS, ESP Ltd, and a few others.
 
pneil2 said:
Check out the Tom Anderson Bulldog. LP vibe, better tone, less weight, much better quality, and unbelievable customer support.
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I'm a huge TAG fan (pic in my avatar is a drop top). I bought a trans black bulldog that was just gorgeous....but I couldn't bond with it. It just didn't have the same feel as a les Paul. So I found myself always thinking....I'd rather just be playing my actual les Paul's. i wanted to love it....but in the end, it just wasn't as nice as playing my Gibsons.
 
funny_polymath said:
Go Epiphone. They are eating Gibson's lunch in terms of price and quality. They are putting their 'sister company' to shame!
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Went out a few years ago shopping for a Gibson SG 61RI, the dealer also had a Epi Elitist SG 61RI (production had already been stopped at this time) that just totally blew away the Gibson in quality, playability and tonally. Bottom line, forget the name on the headstock, I got me the Epi and never looked back. This experience answered my question as to why Epi don’t produce then Elitist SG 61RI anymore, they made mother Gibson look pretty damned old. Gibson today has nothing to do anymore with those legendary guitars of the 50s-60s, quantity instead of quality has become the main objective.

PS. The Epi Elitist wasn’t much cheaper but very much better!
 
malenko said:
Okay I think I figured it, hope this works

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I still think this is exceptionally poor quality from Gibson and saying it looks aged is not the answer. If you want it aged, you buy aged, you want new, you buy (or think you buy) new. And no Robboman, my mate (nor myself), was ever aware of the different finishes and their pitfalls. It is something that Gibson is certainly keeping from it's customers.
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Wow. Looks like someone took a key to it. Absolutely unacceptable for the price of a Gibson. A real Gibson LP has always been one of my dream guitars. Now I have serious doubts.
 
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malenko said:
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I still think this is exceptionally poor quality from Gibson and saying it looks aged is not the answer. If you want it aged, you buy aged, you want new, you buy (or think you buy) new. And no Robboman, my mate (nor myself), was ever aware of the different finishes and their pitfalls. It is something that Gibson is certainly keeping from it's customers.
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That doesn't look like lacquer crazing. It looks more like the guitar body was subjected to a strong flexing force, or maybe was outright scratched.

As for manufacturers giving factual information about finishes, that's relatively rare. If an established manufacturer started saying that poly is just as good as nitro, plenty of guitarists would accuse them of trying to palm off an inferior product. Guitarists love heir mythology. Anyway, you sell more guitars by using words like "legendary."
 
AnthonyZ said:
Wow. Looks like someone took a key too it. Absolutely unacceptable for the price of a Gibson. A real Gibson LP has always been one of my dream guitars. Now I have serious doubts.
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Thats exactly what it looks like. Totally unnaceptable and to me does not look desirable because it is a gold top. Perhaps if it was a see thru finish then it might look ok as it shows the guitat is made of wood which is a living thing. But a gold top is a colour finish, not meant to look keyed!
 
Rex said:
There are still plenty of wonderful Gibsons being made. You just have to play them to find the good ones.
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But how can you tell if the paint is gonna crack after you buy it?

malenko said:
Thats exactly what it looks like. Totally unnaceptable and to me does not look desirable because it is a gold top. Perhaps if it was a see thru finish then it might look ok as it shows the guitat is made of wood which is a living thing. But a gold top is a colour finish, not meant to look keyed!
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I agree, that isn't redeemable in any way. The pics Nicolas posted of the cracked finish actually look desirable in a way, aged or vintage. This just looks like crap. I'm sorry for your friend dude, he got screwed alright.
 
i like how $60 dollar used guitars have ebony
but if you want any ebony on a Gibson in 2014 you have to spend $5999 on a supreme.
 
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