what happen to Gibson Guitars?

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leftymike01

Blues Newbie
I was over a friends house to check out his new 2018 Gibson Studio
with the 57's Humbuckers and the click noise,And Humming from the guitar
like wow what going on here he using a Marshall DSL40C,,I try out the Amp with my Carvin
No problems amp sound great,So he went on online And found a lot of reviews on the Current Gibson's having the same issues,I was going to to consider buying a less expensive 2017 Les Paul Brown Faded with the 490's in it but not so sure . are there better years to go with?
Leftymike
 
matonanjin

matonanjin

Chubby, old guy trying to play some blues.
Gibson's quality issues have been fairly well documented and discussed on various forums over recent years. If you're looking at "a less expensive 2017 Les Paul Brown Faded", before purchasing, I urge you to look at a PRS SE.
 
gpower

gpower

Blues Junior
Gibson's become so diluted and not focused on QC anymore... Anything you buy, regardless of price point, is hit or miss. I've gone to the main store here and picked up a $6000 guitar that was horrible, then take a bottom of the line studio of the stand and it's perfect... I have a CS ES-339 from Memphis plant, (picked it up as a bargain) that needed a really good setup to make it playable.... That's a $3000 guitar.

And you wonder why Gibson is in trouble?
 
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leftymike01

Blues Newbie
until I came over to my friends place to check out the guitar myself I did't realize
that Gibson has lost its touch in building Guitars or at least his , he order it online and is very unhappy for what he got for the money
 
A

Al Holloway

Devizes UK
The company is now restructured and the 2019 line is apparently streamlined. We will see if the new management address the QC issues. Just for balence always been very happy with my 2013 LP tribute.

cheers

Al.
 
MarkDyson

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
The satin finish Memphis ES-339 I acquired also needed a lot of TLC to be playable. The neck relief was so bad I was afraid of breaking the neck so I took it to my luthier buddy to finish straightening it out. :confused:
 
mountain man

mountain man

Still got the Blues!
Regardless of what everybody says about Gibson I like them. A lot. I've got 7 of them. 4 of them are the Standard or better level. 2 are commemorative issues and the most recent is the lowest level - a Traditional Pro. Gibson happens to be my go to guitar. Lately it's been my 2016 Flying V. Maybe your friends Studio model is a lemon. Gosh knows Fender has put out their fair share of them. I've had one such Fender Telecaster and I sold it. Look around. I would not go down in level, I'd go up.
 
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MarkDyson

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
mountain man said:
Regardless of what everybody says about Gibson I like them. A lot.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong: my 339 is my absolute favorite guitar—after I did some work on it. If I'd won the assembly line lottery and gotten one without issues it'd be a different tale—but I also wouldn't have gotten the deal I did.

I liked my 335 a lot, too; the only crits were how large the body was and the front-face output jack. They (Gibsons) do tend to suffer from the string angles around the nut (I know that's also hit or miss; mine have been misses), and the QC issues are completely hit-or-miss, but as a go-to guitar I'm definitely a fan.

Between the Memphis 339, the Memphis 335, and the Memphis ES-LP, all 2016 models, I amassed a laundry list of things that needed tweaking or fixing. I know three times anecdote is still anecdote but there it is. :Beer:
 
mountain man

mountain man

Still got the Blues!
MarkDyson said:
Don't get me wrong: my 339 is my absolute favorite guitar—after I did some work on it. If I'd won the assembly line lottery and gotten one without issues it'd be a different tale—but I also wouldn't have gotten the deal I did.

I liked my 335 a lot, too; the only crits were how large the body was and the front-face output jack. They (Gibsons) do tend to suffer from the string angles around the nut (I know that's also hit or miss; mine have been misses), and the QC issues are completely hit-or-miss, but as a go-to guitar I'm definitely a fan.

Between the Memphis 339, the Memphis 335, and the Memphis ES-LP, all 2016 models, I amassed a laundry list of things that needed tweaking or fixing. I know three times anecdote is still anecdote but there it is. :Beer:
Click to expand...
It's all good Mark. We all have what we like. And some like tinkering a little too. The only problem I've had on any of my Gibsons is on my 2014 Firebird and it's the input pack assembly. I thought I had it fixed with just a 0.25" wire brush I got from the gun cleaning counter at Walmart. I've got a couple of replacement jacks. I need to install one. The head-stock angle is no secret as being a problem from the inception of Gibson so that's not a sudden or new thing with current Gibson quality. I am as careful as possible about how I set the guitars down and put them in the rack.
 
OG_Blues

OG_Blues

Guitar Geezer
I like Gibson guitars too.
But I find their inability to address QC in a manner similar to umpteen other "lesser" manufacturers that do a better job, as well as their refusal to fix a serious known design issue (neck/headstock breakage), while retaining exorbitant prices, as a serious abdication of responsibility to their customers.
It's kind of like finding out after 40 years of marriage that your wife is a serial killer. Just how much can a guy overlook and tolerate? There is a limit.
Well, maybe it's not quite that serious. :)
 
sloslunas

sloslunas

NM Blues
Wow! Gibson is getting the complete beat down on this thread, and probably well deserved. Someone fell asleep at the wheel in that company. They turned a gold mine into dust. I never lusted after any of their guitars ( I am a Strat whore all the way). I will say that when CME offered these guitars at an extremely affordable rate (less than half), I did bite on the Memphis 339 (2016 model). I always wanted a 339 but I was not going to pay the ridiculous price that Gibson was asking ( and really didn't want another Epiphone, as good as they are). That being said...you would have to pry this guitar out of my dead cold hands. Of course YMMV greatly, and I totally and completely respect that...

Steve
 
mountain man

mountain man

Still got the Blues!
sloslunas said:
Wow! Gibson is getting the complete beat down on this thread, and probably well deserved. Someone fell asleep at the wheel in that company. They turned a gold mine into dust. I never lusted after any of their guitars ( I am a Strat whore all the way). I will say that when CME offered these guitars at an extremely affordable rate (less than half), I did bite on the Memphis 339 (2016 model). I always wanted a 339 but I was not going to pay the ridiculous price that Gibson was asking ( and really didn't want another Epiphone, as good as they are). That being said...you would have to pry this guitar out of my dead cold hands. Of course YMMV greatly, and I totally and completely respect that...

Steve
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I don't read that at all. I read some of same limited peoples bashing a reputable product and then saying that they have this one that they like. I'm not saying the Gibson hasn't had QC problems (which company hasn't?) And then of course you gotta complain that the guitar you bought was not set up they way you like it....... So? You bought a used guitar and the previous owner screwed it up and you had to fix it. Or you bought a new one and you were so darn anxious to get it home that you took it out of the shop without insisting the shop luthier set the darn thing up "to your very own preference". Uh huh. What's new. One size doesn't fit all. The most work I ever had to do to set up a guitar was a Tele with that darn barrel bridge. I was never was able to intonate the darn thing properly with the action and certainly wasn't going to deal with it every time I changed the strings. So I sold it long ago. And people are complaining about the Gibson neck angle? What about that primitive bridge that still finds it's way to the new Pro Series Tele guitars? This was long before Gibson came out with their neck angle and that lousy barrel bridge design is still around and popular today. Sure a Tele is on my acquisition list, but it won't have a barrel bridge and preferably not one with the ice pick sounding metal engulfing the bridge pup. I'm more interested in the Parallel Universe American Elite Nashville Telecaster or the James Burton Artist. I guess Albert Collins isn't my favorite Blues-man.
 
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leftymike01

Blues Newbie
This question my be a little off from this topic ,But if you buy a electric guitar that has 490,490T pickups that came uncover,And buy covers for it does it change the tone for the better?,or do nothing?
 
Grateful_Ed

Grateful_Ed

Student Of The Blues
leftymike01 said:
electric guitar that has 490,490T pickups that came uncover
Click to expand...
What? You don't like Zebra pickups? Next thing, I bet you don't believe in Unicorns! :eek:
Seriously, as PapaBear implied, the story is that guys started taking the covers off because it sounded better than with the covers on. I can't tell the difference. Do what suits you Mike.
 
CVTOT

CVTOT

Blues Newbie
That's some great news!! Hope they can fix what is wrong and get back on track as one of the worlds leaders in great guitar's.
 
gpower

gpower

Blues Junior
I wasn't even trying to bash the guitars themselves, I have my 339 setup and playing beautifully. Love it! The point was, for a $3k guitar, it should have been close to bang on factory spec out of the box, and not need more than touching up to my liking. That's a serious QC issue. The music stores who take one out of a box and present them to customers without at least ensuring they're on spec, are just as at fault. Their fault, my gain, being able to get it at a bargain bin price.
 
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