Late to the party for sure on the Gibson Mod Shop

[blakejcan]

Just discovered this one but digging it. Something new, shiny and funky every week to look at. Seems like lots of candy and flake finishes which are really my jam as of late.

Do we know how this works? Are these just demo guitars that they can't sell and they experiment on them a bit, repackage them and sell them for more? Kinda like Costco rotisserie chicken?

https://www.gibson.com/en-US/Collection/gibson-mod

 

[Chistopher]

I remember they did a Explorer with tunable sympathetic string behind the bridge a while back. You could do a sitar type thing with it. I think it's a hodgepodge of things. Prototypes, proof of concepts, salvaged mistakes on high dollar instruments.

 

[GuitarDoc]

But why are the prices 2-3 times what they should be?

 

[Securb]

I think it is cool that they are letting their luthiers get creative with their designs. While these custom shop editions are expensive, I hope some of the finishes and electronics configurations will make their way into some of the production models.

 

[Mincer]

I kinda feel like none of these will make it to regular production, unless an artist requests it. They seem to be clearing out some proof-of-concept ideas and paint tests. The warehouse was probably getting backed up and they figured they could sell these one-offs.

 

[blakejcan]

I'm not so sure. There is a new crop of stuff every Wednesday.

 

[Chistopher]

But why are the prices 2-3 times what they should be?

A large portion of Gibbon's target market is collectors who would be willing to pay a premium for a one off, regardless of if there's merit to the idea.

 

[Mincer]

I'm not so sure. There is a new crop of stuff every Wednesday.

They are probably still making their way through sell-able guitars. But no doubt this series will be a success, and they will create specifically for it. i dig the idea a lot, just don't dig the prices.

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Wow!

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

This would look awesome with Witch Hats or Black Reflectors.

 

[Hiwatts and Gibsons]

Be still my beating heart.

 

[Mincer]

Many of them are just paint jobs, but I dig the Teal and 'Razz Fusion' (?!?) LPs. I wish you could just order a guitar with a custom paint job for a reasonable upcharge.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Op: yes, a lot of these guitars began life as seconds and now they're just repainting them (not always well) and doing a few other mods, and slapping on a substantial fomo tax. Well, I'm not the intended audience, anyway .

This is a LP Jr in a fancy colour, they want 4k for it. For that, not sure I want sharp and ragged fretboard edges... Have seen several with these kinds of flaws.

 

[Mincer]

^ Wow, that isn't acceptable even on a 'relic'.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

This is a '22 LP 60s Standard, repainted in a red burst, 5.8k. On the bass side, it's equally chewed up. Issue with plek?

In general, from years of looking at Gibsons, so many have poorly done neck binding and tooling marks on the fretboard, and seemingly this is something they can't/won't address. Don't get it; maybe someone can explain. Don't wanna sound like a basher, just looking to understand.

 

[Mincer]

My guess is that the people buying these guitars (and their target audience with these) don't notice or care about such things.

 

[Ashurbanipal]

Yes, I'd agree. It's a pity - the concept of the mod shop is a good one, arguably with the potential to be on par with something like Fender/Squier paranormal stuff, but execution is wanting and markup is laughable.

 

[Securb]

I wish you could just order a guitar with a custom paint job for a reasonable upcharge.

Custom paint is almost impossible to do over the internet. Everyone's phone and monitors are set to their preferences. The color I see on my phone could be vastly different than what you see. Someone could order a blue guitar and when it shows up it might be seafoam or even purple. Custom colors over the internet see tons of returns.

 

[Mincer]

Custom paint is almost impossible to do over the internet. Everyone's phone and monitors are set to their preferences. The color I see on my phone could be vastly different than what you see. Someone could order a blue guitar and when it shows up it might be seafoam or even purple. Custom colors over the internet see tons of returns.

But yet they still seem to sell many guitars with one-off paint jobs that I bet the buyer doesn't see in person before they buy.

 

[blakejcan]

well not just one offs.......millions of regular guitars are bought online