Gibson Guitar is a Remarkably Unpopular Company

I have one of the "Classics" GC was selling. It's a really nice guitar, on par with my PRS SC and others I own. I did run the racks to find one I like.
 
I have been playing Gibson Guitars since I was a Jr. In HS back in '68...I cannot count the numbers of Gibson's I have owned, but can comfortably say that it's easily 30 or more...several were guitars I used on tours and then there were the ones I put in my collection. Over the years I sold most as in the early years if I wanted a new guitar I had to sell or trade the one I was currently playing...I currently own 5 Gibson's...a '96 ES 335, a'97 LPC, a 2013 R9, a 2013 R0, and a 2014 J45 Custom KOA Elite acoustic...all are great instruments, several a bit more than that (three others were sold to make room for the Bursts)...I have seen Gibson go through the ups and downs over the past30 years...the horror of the early Norlin era, the sporadic quality of the late 80's and early 90's but since circa 1995, their quality, with a few exceptions, has gotten steadily better. Of course, the ridiculous notion of making the minEtune system mandatory was probably made over too many shots of whiskey one dark evening...but that withstanding, the historic models are IMHO the best RI's the company has made thru 2014...where the future will head can only be determined by whether or not the idea of making the minEtune tuners mandatory is reversed/scrapped...QA is something that needs to be ramped up to a high level that spans the various factories...


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Interesting how many folks are on the Carvin bandwagon. I picked up a mid level Strat reissue and basically had it rebuilt with hardware & new Bill Lawrence pickups (originals were noisy, these are quiet and not humbuckers). It's a fantastic guitar. When I wanted a Les Paul, I went the route of Heritage. I like the guitar a lot, but jeez is it heavy. My final choice was to pick up a guitar from my childhood dreams - something from the Carvin catalog. I settled on the california carved top. The first finish was way too dark - it was gorgeous if you put a flash on it - probably looks great under stage lights, but in my bedroom it just look black. I sent it back, no questions asked & got a replacement. Still not happy with the finish, but both guitars played great. Then I saw the Andy Timmons guitar and checked into that - wow... that was pricey! Back to Carvin - got a bolt on, replaced the pups with the AT pickups and It looks and plays fantastic. At $1,500 or less for any of the Carvins, I don't understand why they're not more popular - maybe they are, I don't know. To be able to pick out so many options for the guitar is hard to turn away from. I can't see ever picking up a regular Gibson/Fender, etc. just because it's made the way they have chosen. I have to find the finish I like, etc. With Carvins, I can pick whatever I want.

I love the look and sound of Suhrs, but 1 Classic is $3,800. I could get a Start, Tele & a LP type guitar from Carvin for the same price. While I'm sure the Suhr's play and quality is above the Carvin's, they just have to be for those people that can swing the cost more than me. For the combination of price, quality & options I don't know that you can beat Carvin.
 
dwmichaels said:
Interesting how many folks are on the Carvin bandwagon. I picked up a mid level Strat reissue and basically had it rebuilt with hardware & new Bill Lawrence pickups (originals were noisy, these are quiet and not humbuckers). It's a fantastic guitar. When I wanted a Les Paul, I went the route of Heritage. I like the guitar a lot, but jeez is it heavy. My final choice was to pick up a guitar from my childhood dreams - something from the Carvin catalog. I settled on the california carved top. The first finish was way too dark - it was gorgeous if you put a flash on it - probably looks great under stage lights, but in my bedroom it just look black. I sent it back, no questions asked & got a replacement. Still not happy with the finish, but both guitars played great. Then I saw the Andy Timmons guitar and checked into that - wow... that was pricey! Back to Carvin - got a bolt on, replaced the pups with the AT pickups and It looks and plays fantastic. At $1,500 or less for any of the Carvins, I don't understand why they're not more popular - maybe they are, I don't know. To be able to pick out so many options for the guitar is hard to turn away from. I can't see ever picking up a regular Gibson/Fender, etc. just because it's made the way they have chosen. I have to find the finish I like, etc. With Carvins, I can pick whatever I want.

I love the look and sound of Suhrs, but 1 Classic is $3,800. I could get a Start, Tele & a LP type guitar from Carvin for the same price. While I'm sure the Suhr's play and quality is above the Carvin's, they just have to be for those people that can swing the cost more than me. For the combination of price, quality & options I don't know that you can beat Carvin.
Click to expand...

I absolutely love my two Carvin (California Carved Top double cutaway and a Bolt T). They both have great playability and sound (I did replace the pickups in both guitars). For years people were saying that Carvin didn't compare to Fender or Gibson, but I couldn't disagree more. I had a 2001 Gibson Les Paul Classic that I sold after getting my California Carved Top. The Carvin blew the Gibson away in quality and feel. Simply put, Carvins are phenomenal guitars. You just have to get out of the mindset that the only guitars you play must be a Gibson or Fender (which is a very prevalent mindset).
 
Last edited:
pharmd07 said:
I absolutely love my two Carvin (California Carved Top double cutaway and a Bolt T). They both have great playability and sound (I did replace the pickups in both guitars). For years people were saying that Carvin didn't compare to Fender or Gibson, but I couldn't disagree more. I had a 2001 Gibson Les Paul Classic that I sold after getting my California Carved Top. The Carvin blew the Gibson away in quality and feel. Simply put, Carvins are phenomenal guitars. You just have to get out of the mindset that the only guitars you play must be a Gibson or Fender (which is a very prevalent mindset).
Click to expand...

The only thing I think Carvin/Keisel is lacking is a P-90 body/pickup offering. I know others have echoed this in recent years - surprised they haven't gone this route yet. They'd probably pick up (no pun intended!) a lot of new customers.
 
jyflorida said:
The only thing I think Carvin/Keisel is lacking is a P-90 body/pickup offering. I know others have echoed this in recent years - surprised they haven't gone this route yet. They'd probably pick up (no pun intended!) a lot of new customers.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know what you mean. Fortunately there are some P-90s on the market that will fit into a standard humucker mount. But those pickups don't look as cool as a traditional P-90. I would love an all mahogany California Carved Top with P-90s!
 
And, you know the shielding will already be done right, to help, at least a little, lower the noise.

They really do need to offer P90s, or at least the option of no pickups and routing for P90s.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom