"Sloppy" New Gibson Acoustics

[Larry Mal]

Well, buy a Yamaha or an Ibanez, then.

[davidd]

The ironic thing is Collings came out with Waterloo guitars with the intention of not worrying about sloppy glue in the interior, not having a highly polished finish and basically making a cheap department store guitar from the 1930's that plays and sounds great, which they certainly do. They price them higher than a J45, go figure.

[Vinnie Boombatz]

I am fine with a glue blob here and there, a minor, insignificant finish flaw, etc. What's most importable to me is the way a guitar sounds. If it came down to choosing between an amazing sounding guitar that had a glue blob, and an absolutely pristine looking guitar (sans glue blobs!), I'd b\pick the better sounding guitar, hands down.

Sure, there's a point where finish "flaws" and imperfections are a dealbreaker, but dare I say some have unrealistic expectations of a production line made instrument. Plus, these are built/assembled mostly by hand, by a human being, so there are going to be some that slip through the cracks.

Everyone wants a handmade instrument, but nobody wants a handmade instrument it seems.

[Vinnie Boombatz]

Originally Posted by davidd

The ironic thing is Collings came out with Waterloo guitars with the intention of not worrying about sloppy glue in the interior, not having a highly polished finish and basically making a cheap department store guitar from the 1930's that plays and sounds great, which they certainly do. They price them higher than a J45, go figure.

I'm waiting for the thread where a Waterloo owner complains because their guitar squeaked through QC without any glue blobs.

It will go something like this:

"I was at my local shop and picked up a Waterloo. It felt and sounded great, but man, I took a peek in the sound hole and it had ZERO glue blobs! Last time I checked the glue blobs were part of what makes these things Waterloos. Looks like the folks at at Collings/Waterloo are started to get sloppy and inconsistent in their quality!"

I've owned 5 Gibsons over the past 25 years. Never had an issue with workmanship.

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Larry Mal

Well, buy a Yamaha or an Ibanez, then.

I've played a few of both these brands myself. No doubt they make nice instruments.
This whole thread reminds me of when Eastman was unfairly under fire last year on the AGF for "quality issues." Like Gibsons they are handmade and the human factor sometimes comes into play.
It just isn't fair to make generalizations based on a very limited sample set. These types of threads seem to take on a life of their own. I'm glad the mods are upholding the brand-bashing rules.

[catfish]

My Gibson J-45 Standard 2015 has impeccable finish, very beautiful instrument in all departments.

[TBman]

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

[Humbuster]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

I've owned 5 Gibsons over the past 25 years. Never had an issue with workmanship.

Gibson acoustics I have owned since 1996.

Gospel
Hummingbird
Custom shop Hummingbird
Country and Western
J 45 Custom shop
J 185

no glue blobs or shoddy work on any.

[joelhunn]

Just read a link to a rolling stone article that said much the same thing. Among their many problems, QC complaints from dealers have been very high

[s2y]

I have seen some messy paint, binding, and inlay work on some $2-3k acoustics. I could understand on a sub $1k instrument or import.

[ripdotcom]

While it seems a bit exaggerated (the term sloppy), Pictures of such an atrocity will never likely be seen or at least to the value they have been described. It is true that gibson has a fit and finish problem on most of the low end equipment. I have seen offset fretboards, wrongly angled tuners, impossible intonation (perhaps from misplacement of bridge system. But on high end equipment (comparatively Les Paul Standard and higher or perhpas L-00 whatever the standard edition is for the year and up) they typically have a higher standard of quality control. Perhaps this was a repaired guitar, I would just like to get an idea of how bad this thing is because I'll bet a gentleman could walk in that store, show them the error and if they then choose to reciprocate, they may pick up the phone and get that beauty looked at by someone who builds them for a living. Perhaps even replaced as particular buyers would expect.

[ripdotcom]

Originally Posted by davistld01

I wasn't being critical of Gibson acoustics in general...I was surprised that these 2-3 I looked at all looked way less perfect and clean than I would expect a $3000-4000 guitar to. Flukes? Maybe.

And as far as shopping at a 5-star dealer...I doubt seriously that Gibson would ship "factory seconds" to a dealer that carried their name and products. I would imagine that my shop would get product that is just as nice as the products shipped to Maury's, Eddie's or any other "name" shop.

Oh, you think so? That is not how they work sorry. Business philosophy versus product quality is a dangerous area and will surely limit you on the battle between what is good and what is best.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by Vinnie Boombatz

I'm waiting for the thread where a Waterloo owner complains because their guitar squeaked through QC without any glue blobs.

It will go something like this:

"I was at my local shop and picked up a Waterloo. It felt and sounded great, but man, I took a peek in the sound hole and it had ZERO glue blobs! Last time I checked the glue blobs were part of what makes these things Waterloos. Looks like the folks at at Collings/Waterloo are started to get sloppy and inconsistent in their quality!"

I went to a good dealer with the intention of buying a Gibson L-00 style. They had a good selection of various versions of the model ... I came home with a Waterloo WL-12!

I'll confess that I haven't looked for glue spills ... hang on.... yes I have, no glue spills but one of the braces isn't as well sanded as the others .. FAIL!
Actually, once I got it home I didn't bond with it, and after a while it went on ebay ... then one of my students let his really heavy Aria jumbo fall on it giving it two scars either side of the fret board so after declaring them, I go no interest and quite suddenly, it opened up and so I decided to keep it. Apart from the neck being a bit slim for me, I really rather like it now.

Earlier today on another thread about Gibsons, I voiced my observations of what I've seen over the last few years in the UK, so I don't need to re-iterate it.

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by Humbuster

Gibson acoustics I have owned since 1996.

Gospel
Hummingbird
Custom shop Hummingbird
Country and Western
J 45 Custom shop
J 185

no glue blobs or shoddy work on any.

Your experience is certainly greater than mine, but I gotta add, my recently acquired Limited Edition 2018 Gibson Songwriter Deluxe 12-string is nothing short of sensational.