"Sloppy" New Gibson Acoustics

[00045]

Originally Posted by Frankie2blue

As the old saying goes, “Only a Gibson is glued enough”

you probably meant, "Only a Gibson isn't glued enough"

I own currently 2 newer Gibson acoustics. I owned quite a good number of Bozeman Gibson's and also vintage ones. Gibson was always "rougher" and not as elegant built as Martin guitars. But none of the Gibson's I own/owned had sloppy workmanship. Yes they are rougher and not as elegant as Martin and as perfect as Collings.

I read an interview by John Greven and he talked about his learning on how to capture THAT Gibson sound. He said he came to the conclusion in order to get the Gibson tone you cannot build the guitar as perfect as a Martin. The braces are rough cut not smooth sanded as Martin's. They didn't clean off the squeezed out glue like Martin etc.

I never had any issues with my Gibson's, finishes were always perfect and the workmanship, fit etc are as good as it gets. No guitar company builds 100% perfect guitars day in day out.

[The Kid!]

Originally Posted by TBman

I've played dozens of Gibsons and have never seen a drop of glue.

Yeah, neither have I.

[The Kid!]

My '52 J-45 has never had a neck reset, and won't need one in my lifetime. The neck is straight and plays perfectly up and down. I can't believe that it's held up so well over the course of 67 years.

I haven't looked inside of it with a dental mirror, and I don't care to. It sounds incredible and records like a dream.

People get caught up on a lot of nonsense with guitars. If it plays well and sounds great, I don't care if there's a finish flaw.

That's me though. YMMV, and that's ok with me. I hope those perfect finishes and impeccable glue jobs sound better than anything you've ever heard.

[Silly Moustache]

This thread has been going for a long time.
there have also been many threads about the management troubles that Gibson have experienced.

Under the previous management the staff were, I understand, pressured to knock out "product" as fast as they could, and that Gibson Inc was listed somewhere as the US corporate with the lowest employee satisfaction.

I have heard from friends in the retail business about the very strange and restrictive demands that Gibson imposes on their retailers.

To my knowledge , there are now only two large guitar dealers in the south of England who will handle Gibsons, and I've been to both in an effort to buy Gibson acoustics. Both of these retailers, have, literally, walls of Gibson solids and a batch of acoustics.

I can only speak of the acoustics, and have written before at my disappointment when looking for a Gibson for myself.
It seems to me that under the previous regime, Gibson simply has not understood the market nor have they moved with the times as far as presentation / build quality is concerned.
I have a regular at my club who buys guitars more than I do. He has bought a number of Gibson over the years, and I think he has now traded them back for Eastman and Yamaha guitars.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

This thread has been going for a long time.
there have also been many threads about the management troubles that Gibson have experienced.

Under the previous management the staff were, I understand, pressured to knock out "product" as fast as they could, and that Gibson Inc was listed somewhere as the US corporate with the lowest employee satisfaction.

I have heard from friends in the retail business about the very strange and restrictive demands that Gibson imposes on their retailers.

To my knowledge , there are now only two large guitar dealers in the south of England who will handle Gibsons, and I've been to both in an effort to buy Gibson acoustics. Both of these retailers, have, literally, walls of Gibson solids and a batch of acoustics.

I can only speak of the acoustics, and have written before at my disappointment when looking for a Gibson for myself.
It seems to me that under the previous regime, Gibson simply has not understood the market nor have they moved with the times as far as presentation / build quality is concerned.
I have a regular at my club who buys guitars more than I do. He has bought a number of Gibson over the years, and I think he has now traded them back for Eastman and Yamaha guitars.

Yes it has been going on for a long time and I am at a loss as to why there is a continued need to bring up the past with regard to Gibson. It was a previous regime and it has nothing to do with today.
I own a 2017 J45 and it doesn't have any "rough bracing", cosmetic flaws, , glue spills or any issues at all. It plays wonderfully, and is on par with my D18 and my Eastman 00 in every way.
As far as certain current dealer circumstances,that is obviously a result of the past as well. It's unfortunate, but it isn't universal.
Gibson is making excellent guitars now and has been in recent years.
There was a time when Eastman wasn't fairing so well and they have overcome that. Why keep drumming up the same old same, same old?
It's coming off as personal. Just sayin'

[Rosewood99]

Always curious why someone takes the trouble to search an old thread and start it up again. No problems for my two Gibsons.

[Larry Mal]

No problems with my seven Gibsons- well, that's the acoustics. I've owned another fifteen or so electrics and have never had any problems with those, either.

The whole "Gibson quality control" thing is a myth.

That being said, though, for some reason Gibson slops the guitars into the store with super cheap saddles and horrible setups, and I personally had to spend years getting over the very uninspiring way the guitars are presented to me in the showroom.

No idea why they don't put the guitars out there with a basic and decent setup.

[jjrpilot]

My 17' J45 Standard is VERY well built. There is a slight paint issue, ever so slight that I've come to appreciate as funny as that sounds as only I know where it is. Kind of a birth mark.

I think the whole Gibson quality issue is way over blown.

Not trying to start a war but my brand new Martin OMJM 3K+ the binding started to separate even though I kept it in its case and well humidified.

I ended up selling it years ago just for something different but as I later found out that Martins have a tendency to have their binding pull off.

My Gibson's binding has never separated. Now don't get me wrong, while the binding issue seems to be with Martin, I know that it's not an every guitar issue either. I know it's rare.

Just enjoy your guitars!

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Willie Voltaire

Some folks should by all means buy a Yamaha or whatever guitar meets their assembly-line-perfect cosmetic standards. Leave the Gibsons and Waterloos to the rest of us.

It isn't only about cosmetics but about general untidiness in finishing. If Yamaha can manage to make a flawless product which also sounds good-especially when you get to the $3K+ level-there is no excuse for Gibson, or any mass producer, frankly. I have had to return two Gibson acoustics; an SJ200 and a CJ165, and an ES135 semi because of appallingly sloppy workmanship-and these aren't cheap guitars. Details on request.

On the other hand every Taylor, every Martin, both Santa Cruz and all the Yamahas I have owned, have been as perfect as you would expect in a new instrument. That's not to say that Gibson can't do a good job; my Advanced Jumbo, two Custom Shop Les Paul reissues and an ES175 were excellent. It's their frustrating and well-documented inconsistency which bugs the hell out of me.

While I'm at it, why oh why have Gibson discontinued the Advanced Jumbo-their best acoustic!

[Rpt50]

I recently took pictures of a new Gibson at GC, mainly to show my son. I wish it were easier to post pictures here. There were clear glue lines at the neck/body/fingerboard junction. I can't imagine how that guitar made it past even the most rudimentary quality control check. There is no excuse when a "high end" product can't match the fit and finish of even the cheapest guitars.

[Kerbie]

Guys, this thread is eight months old. Can we just give the Gibson-bashing a rest? There are lots of guitar brands out there. Buy something else... that just leaves more for the Gibson fans.

[Pitar]

The new CEO of Gibson has a shop-floor focus that tells me he's a nut & bolts kind of guy who sees when he looks at the myriad details that impact a final product. I think this interview with him (Jan, 2019) inspires that mental image of him as a leader to follow, which is probably something new at Gibson. So, having never owned a Gibson for reasons of my perception of it contrasted to its competitors, I'm taking a step back to see how this new guy performs. It should be evident in the quality and that isn't an overnight change in any company.

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news...omplaints.html

[arlum]

My very best Electric guitars are built by Gibson and Melancon. Melancon's "boutique" so we'll leave it out of the race.

My Gibson Custom Shop CS-336 is GOLD. Perfection.
My Gibson Les Paul Traditional with quilt top is top of the line.
Even my old 2002 Gibson Les Paul Studio is excellent.
That said ..... current Gibson acoustic guitar builds leave something to be desired. #1 ..... Richlite! If you want to be faked out go for it. If you don't ....... run! #2 ...... Attention to detail. It's like Gibson has fired all their inspectors and anything that's been built and ready for shipment is a go. So much slop. So many mistakes making their way to the sales floor. I was a Hummingbird lover for over 40 years but I wouldn't touch one now. Today's Hummingbirds wouldn't fulfill a shadow of those built in the '60s and '70s.
I've proudly owned a Gibson SG Deluxe built in 1971 and have lusted over Doves and Hummingbirds for long and long but would never consider any of Gibson's acoustic offerings.
I recently went looking for a Gibson L-00. I found a studio that fit me to a T but didn't quite fill my tonal desires. I went up to the L-00 standard and found it to be tonally better but a couple of upper frets were higher than they should have been. When I jumped to the top of the line I found a Richlite board and that ended it for me. Others may, and have a perfect right, to differ. I'm 64 years old. I will never buy a guitar with a Richlite fingerboard. I've had far to much experience with the real thing and hopefully won't live long enough to be forced into this pretend fingerboard. No. Never mind. If I live to be 100 I will never buy a guitar with a Richlite fingerboard!

Originally Posted by arlum

If I live to be 100 I will never buy a guitar with a Richlite fingerboard!

... and I won't buy a cutaway, but I don't gripe about brands that make them.

[GeneralDreedle]

I bought a J45 Rosewood and a Southern Jumbo at Guitar Center and both were and are fantastic guitars. So everyone seems to have a different experience.