Gibson Turning Around?

Ben Randolph

Ben Randolph

Power User
I’m looking at the new Les Paul Standard 60s and 50s models. Looks like Gibson got these right. These Les Pauls are solid mahogany, no weight relief, no robot tuners and no push/pull knobs. $2500 new from Sweetwater. Overall, not a bad deal considering that Gibson was doing north of $4000 for a Les Paul Standard with those stupid robot tuners, chambering and dumb push-pull knobs back in 2015.

Is Gibson turning a corner?

 
I nearly got one of the robot tuner SGs (purple one) on sale for $800 some time ago (but realized I had too many guitars...)
 
Much of the answer lies in QC and warranty coverage.

Gibson"s largest competitor is/will be their used products, which will be flooding the market as baby boomers down size, move to assisted living or die.
 
It’s a step in the right direction, but I’m still skeptical. I briefly owned a ‘61 SG Standard 2019 (the model released late last year, and not part of the current lineup, which removed “2019” from the name.) The guitar was pretty bad cosmetically. The binding had tool marks along the entire neck, as if chewed on by a toddler, and was stained red in places from a poor finish job. The nut, too, had red stains. On top of that, there were small beads of dried glue around the fretboard inlays.

I’ve had cheap import guitars that had superior fit and finish in comparison. I’d be interested to see if these problems have been addressed in the current lineup.
 
I agree with Luke. Who cares what they make, the QC has been the biggest issue.
With that said, As a Strat player for decades I am wanting one. Even started a thread about it. All the comments were"negative" and all about QC. I am looking hard at used stuff, but also reviews. Luke has it right! I would be very happy if they have got a handle on the QC.....
 
I agree that the robot tuners and etc were bad. But the real issue has been the QC rather than the gadgets. If they can't build a guitar that doesn't need significant work to become playable in that price range, then something bigger is going wrong.

But I do really like push/pull knobs for coil splitting - I usually add them to my HH guitars - and don't mind a lighter weight guitar so neither of those are pluses for me.
 
If they can build a great guitar at an attractive price point then yes. If not, then no amount of slick marketing will save them. Their debt may sink them anyway.
 
For $2500 quality control has to be top notch. I can understand that if I paid $1000 for a MIA Gibson I might still get some issues I would have to fix, but for $2500 it should have to play like butter, regardless of the included features. Most of which I happened to like, but I reckon most of Gibson's customer base is so conservative they haven't discovered fire yet. So old school it is. Fine, just as long as it plays old school too.
 
I don't see it. Their 2019 offerings are either nostalgic callbacks or just downright boring, not to mention insanely overpriced for what they offer. They can't seem to find a way to offer new and interesting options without totally fucking it up and/or making options standard that nobody seems to want or cares about (i.e. the dreaded robotuners), so now they've retreated back to the same-old-same-old. It might help them become more profitable in the short term, but long term it's going to bite them in the ass.
 
I was never into les pauls till i got my hands on the new 50s standard. Had to walk out the store with it. The 60s version was okay, but it had the shaved neck which i wasnt too fond of. The 50s was just so thick and resonant, along with the volume taper and rollback sound. I must of played 5 les pauls in a comparison, and the 2018-19s couldnt touch it in sound and feel.
 
Americans want American made guitars at made overseas prices, yet want paid an American wage.... go figure.

That aside, I think it's a step in the right direction, just if you are charging a premium price there better be something obvious for said price.
 
luke said:
Top notch quality tends to cost more than that, look at Knaggs, Suhr or Andersons. Can any of those be had as a setneck for $2,500?
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I don't own any of those guitars, nor do I ever plan to own one. Cause Suhr headstocks are fugly as hell and I would sooner lick the inside of the reactor of Chernobyl then get a Suhr guitar. But that's just my pet peeve. I reckon that a major builder like Gibson because of economy of scale should be able to build a guitar for $2500 that plays well and is made well. Fender can deliver better MIA quality then Gibson for half of that price, then why can't Gibson?
 
Remains to be seen. I like that they listened, but that GC thing is big...why should I need to play 12 or more LP's to find one that sounds and feels great?

We'll see.
 
I can now attest with first hand knowledge that quality control is NOT improved whatsoever. Like a fool, I thought I would give Gibson a shot. I ordered a brand spanking new Gibson Les Paul Standard 60's model from Sam Ash. Guitar just arrived and I opened up to see that the pickup selector switch was loose inside the body and bouncing around. Upon further inspection I saw that the nut that screws down over the switch body and holds the switch in place was broken in two. Also, I noted that the nut was not in fact metal, but just a cheap piece of plastic! Unforgivable for a $2500 guitar! Also, unforgivable for a company trying to improve their image! I will never, ever entertain the thought of a Gibson darkening my door again. I will stick with my faithful Paul Reed Smith guitars. I have had several over the years, both brand new and used. Not one of them ever had an issue related to quality control, poor manufacturing or shoddy/cheap materials. So rant over, but let me put the question of the OP to rest. No Gibson is not there yet. I am not sure that they ever will be at this rate.
 
luke said:
Much of the answer lies in QC and warranty coverage.

Gibson"s largest competitor is/will be their used products, which will be flooding the market as baby boomers down size, move to assisted living or die.
Click to expand...

This, totally.

However, even though guitar music itself is in decline, recent generations have normalized the idea that guitarists can have 20+ guitars instead of the one or two their Dad had. So I imagine all the boomer guitars will be bought up and still leave room for the new market.
 
I got a new Les Paul Classic last fall, after Henry Juszkiewicz was ousted from Gibson. It was a Sweetwater exclusive model, and even though it technically is a plain top, it actually has a decent amount of flame to it. Beautiful guitar.

When I got it, it played pretty well, but I could tell the nut wasn’t cut exactly right. The low E string nut slot wasn’t cut deep enough, and I was having some tuning stability issues. I took to to my guitar tech and he fixed the nut for about $50. Now it plays amazingly well, and is an absolute joy to play. I still have some very minor tuning issues, which I think is just due to the Gibson headstock design. It’s not too bad, but I may try a String Butler after hearing Tim Pierce’s positive reviews.

I do wish my Les Paul didn’t have the circuit board in it. It makes it impossible to change pickups without replacing all of electronics in the guitar. Fortunately, the classic 57 pickups sound pretty good, and the AxeFx allows me to shape the tone any way I want.
 
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