Gibson SG questions

[Jr_vw2]

So I have heard that Gibson quality has been pretty crap the last couple years. But I would assume it's like most everything else hit or miss on getting a bad egg. I have the GAS for a SG in the Autumn shade color but it looks like that was a one year only in 2018. Would love to get my hands on one before buying online but that's probably going to be hard to do if it really was a 1 year only. Next question is around what year did their quality start to decline? If I can get get hooked on. Different color I wouldn't mind looking into different years. My main criteria is sg standard with small pickguard. That autumn shade color just looks super sweet though.

 

[VinceT]

Re: Gibson SG questions

This being the internet, be careful of confusing what you read for absolute truth! (Particularly on YouTube, where hyperbolic Gibson-bashing vid titles were de rigeur up until the management change).

Sure Gibson has long been falling behind makers like PRS, Music Man, etc. for consistency of output quality, but the majority of instruments they’ve been producing have been fine (Note: not talking about design choices such as made on the infamous 2015 line).

That said, when you’re paying anything over $1,000 for a new guitar, a lemon is doubly painful (and leads to the sort of vitriol you’ll have been seeing online).

Bottom line, if you like that particular model, play a few and see which one speaks to you.

(If you’re buying without playing, make sure you use an online dealer with a decent return policy)


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[Gtrjunior]

Re: Gibson SG questions

This being the internet, be careful of confusing what you read for absolute truth! (Particularly on YouTube, where hyperbolic Gibson-bashing vid titles were de rigeur up until the management change).

Sure Gibson has long been falling behind makers like PRS, Music Man, etc. for consistency of output quality, but the majority of instruments they’ve been producing have been fine (Note: not talking about design choices such as made on the infamous 2015 line).

That said, when you’re paying anything over $1,000 for a new guitar, a lemon is doubly painful (and leads to the sort of vitriol you’ll have been seeing online).

Bottom line, if you like that particular model, play a few and see which one speaks to you.

(If you’re buying without playing, make sure you use an online dealer with a decent return policy)


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Agreed. I have 2 Henry era Gibsons and they are top notch.
When a company produces thousands of instruments a couple of bad apples are bound to get by. But as stated, the internet loves to make a big deal out of everything.
Take the Robert Kraft massage parlor thing.
How many hundreds of thousands of other men have been caught/arrested doing the exact same thing. But because it’s a high profile person it’s somehow a newsworthy scandal?
Really? Like I give a crap about him or what he does?

 

[man-in-moon]

Re: Gibson SG questions

A lot of it will fall on what you can love with. I went through 4 2017/2018 SG’s that all had issues. Some where worse than others. 2 of them the clear started flaking and peeling off at the nut and went down the binding on the fretboard. Which to me was unacceptable on a guitar that price that was only a week old. The third one stopped working after a few days so I took it in to have it looked at. And some of the components had came unsoldered from the PCB board. The fourth one the bridge pickup died after a few weeks.
But at the same time I know plenty of people that have bought recent Gibson’s that haven’t had any problems. The people at Sweetwater told me that the clear coat peeling was a common problem they were having.

 

[zionstrat]

Re: Gibson SG questions

You may recall the Saving Gibson series that I posted last year and it outlines the many challenges that Gibson has and the work they're going to need to do if they want to remain a profitable relevant company.

However I want to be very clear that there are many great Gibson guitars out there... my 61 Les Paul SG is an old incredible axe and I've played an incredible 2018 recently.

As everybody else mentions, there are great Gibs out there but the buyer really needs to understand Gibson quality and competition...

Considering that most of us have more than average knowledge, since we are modifying guitars, I believe we're the perfect market forGibson. We can identify problems ranging from paint to twisted necks and we're likely to find the lost pearls that otherwise get lost. We understand the competition and know the quality we should expect for x dollars.

So my concern is primarily for uneducated buyers or internationals who can't play before theybuy or anyone who looks to a Les Paul as an investment that automatically increased in value over the years.

To give you an example, I'm in the market for a 70s Les Paul deluxe but if I find a new Gibson that I like better first I have no problem buying Gibson. But I should have added patient to the list of characteristics, because I am very willing to walk away if the deal isn't what I need and I expect to look at 5-10 recent Gibs for every 1 that's a keeper

One other thing... Many of our clients ask us to evaluate resale guitars and I also get to visit GC and SA with clients to be their eyes ears and fingers. Quite often we will find a less expensive better guitar than Gibson. On the other hand I recommended to Gibson last year to a student was a perfect match for the guitar.

So I guess the moral of the story is if you know how to pick a great Gibson be prepared to help others and if you're not that confident ask someone who is to go with you


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[AlexR]

Re: Gibson SG questions

Most of the QC issues were minor - maybe some poorly scraped binding or a mark in the paint. Something that is not so great on a new guitar, but totally invisible on an old guitar amongst the other marks and dings.

I know of very few guitars released that would fail to be a great instrument.

And it matters not how impeccably your guitars are finished, you still run the risk of the wood part making a poor/dead instrument.