Gibson Quality Control - exposed

Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

very good read!

tells alot about how to "pick" out any kind of guitar!

that's what i liked about the schecter i just bought...it sounds great unplugged!!! very, very resonant and even sustain.
 
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Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

The owner would say, I've got one sold to a guy who plays harmonica for a famous British guitarist who used to be in a band named after a rich dairy product found on top of milk.
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Cheese's guitarist never had a harmonica player. :smack:

That was a really interesting article. A lot of good stuff to watch for when buying any guitar - even if you don't believe what he's saying about Gibsons (I'm inclined to believe much of it, though). Thanks, man.
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

Great article! Thanks! Maybe I don't like Les Pauls only because I've never played one of the rare good ones.
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

JacksonMIA said:
That was a really interesting article. A lot of good stuff to watch for when buying any guitar - even if you don't believe what he's saying about Gibsons (I'm inclined to believe much of it, though). Thanks, man.
Click to expand...

no probs, i found it a good read so i thought id share, as i guessed others would enjoy it too
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

That was a great read, and valuable informaition that you can use when shopping for any guitar, not just a Les Paul.
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

Great article, I love how he gives mention to Heritage a few times, and even Hamer.

Luke
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

Kamanda~SD said:
nice story.....sort of a bash to gibsons though.
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Judging by the story and also my own experience as a guitar tech, I think there is plenty of enough reason to bash them.
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

MikeS said:
That was a great read, and valuable informaition that you can use when shopping for any guitar, not just a Les Paul.
Click to expand...

It's true. Mass produced guitars aren't like other mass produced consumer goods. When you make things out of wood, you are bound to have inconsistencies in your production. Two of the same model may have very different tonal characteristics. This is true for all makes and models of guitar.

However, I think the point of the article is this: precious few of Gibson's guitars are at the quality level you would expect for a brand with their reputation and price tag. The percentages he gave really say it all: 2% great or excellent, 49% decent, and 49% garbage.

Going by the Fenders I've played (probably close to 50 over the past 15 years, everything from Squiers to custom shops), I'd say on average 25% are excellent or great, 50% are decent, and 25% are garbage. It doesn't seem to matter whether it's a Squier, a Mexi, a Jap, or a US made, those ratios hold true for the most part. That's my experience at least - do you guys think those percentages are accurate?
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

I kept waiting for the "smoking gun" in that article. There was none.

He has some good philosophies about how to choose a good guitar but honestly that whole interview came across as one man's opinion. I tend to agree with much of his definition of what's considered good but that's not to say the remaining instruments are junk. It's just not what he tonally expects from a Les Paul. But that's just him. It's kind of like when an old-timer insists you can't make a Strat with noiseless pickups sound good because it doesn't match the sound in their head. It may not be the sound you expect to hear but don't tell me it ain't good.

I kept waiting for the "...and I picked up the guitar and the neck fell off and sawdust, sand, old Chinese newspapers and apple cores spilled out of a hollowed-out cavity that ran the entire length of the neck!" Now that would be a good story!
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

if there is physical problems, like just horrible craftsmanship on a certain part of the guitar......i can understand this whole deal..... but when it comes to sound and playability, thats where my interest is lost, cause what that guy thinks is the supreme Les Paul sound could quite possibly be nothing like what i want or what a majority of players want.....so who knows?
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

my big problem is his role as a teacher seemed to be to sell guitars. I am no Gibson fan, but if one of my students comes to me and asks 'what kind of guitar should I get', it seems unethical to me to point them to a $3000+ guitar. In fact, I refer them to a salesman that takes me out of that position anyway.
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

yunno, i am quick to rag on gibson for their hostile policies and their pricetag given their quality .... but having played scott's r8 through GJs bogner, i gotta tell you that it was a near to a religous experience as i've ever had playing guitar ... when everything is right, an LP is still a world of it's own ... it'll take another financial bolt of lightning before i ever buy another guitar north of 2k, but i know what guitar i'll be trying out first when the time comes ... until then, i'll satisfy my LP-esque jones with an agile or a tokai and a set of ants ... a heritage would be nice if i could scrape up bigger bread ... and i'd look into hamers or anyone else that makes a sweet playing/sounding/looking singlecut ... but the bar in my mind's eye and ear and hands is set pretty high from the real deal

t4d
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

Very, very good info in that interview. After reading that, I think I'm gonna go down to the (closer) guitar shop in town and play a few guitars(they don't have Gibsons, but they have alot of nice guitars)
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

I've read that article, but I'm pretty dismissive of it. I think he makes some good points about how to pick a guitar, and it's true that Gibsons aren't consistent or perfect. However, when you start to read stuff like.....

"So I started going through pickups trying to save it. But all my regular pickups failed me. Gibsons with ceramic magnets — couldn't get the warm tone."

It becomes more clear that the importance of the amp and pickups isn't being fully taken into account.

I strongly believe that the biggest difference between one les paul and the next is the pickups. The dimensions are the same, the woods and finish are the same, but they come with a variety of very different sounding pickups.

Also, notice that nowhere in that article is Seth Lover mentioned.
 
Re: Gibson Quality Control - exposed

Some of you are saying that he's only commenting on tone and playability - that he's not presenting "physical" (tangible) problems. Go back and read the article again. He had frets popping out of place during the spring. He had one where a fret was in the wrong place. Are these problems you can live with? I guess if you only play on the first two frets you're ok. If I pay $6000 for a guitar...heck, if I spend $200 on a guitar, the frets better darn well be in the right place. That's totally unacceptable. Sure, that's just one particular case, but he claims that nearly half fall into that category.
 
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