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  #1  
Old 11-30-2022, 01:28 PM
Nick84 Nick84 is offline
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Default Gibson Generation Series build quality?

I’ve been looking at a G Writer which I can choose from 4 different guitars for a very good price.

How have people found the build quality on the newer Generation guitars? I watched a video of a review of a G-45 were they cut the guitar in half and this revealed some really shoddy workmanship according to the reviewer.

This is what has put me off taking the plunge : (

Also did any G owners get a feedback buster for the player port with their guitar? Or does this need to be sourced separately?
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  #2  
Old 11-30-2022, 01:39 PM
jacot23 jacot23 is offline
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My son(18) loves his G-45. Build quality seems as good as any other brand to me. He hasn't blocked the sound port and seems to like it being there.
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Old 11-30-2022, 02:09 PM
Krab Krab is offline
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Here is a break down from Driftwood. As with any review, it is subjective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP3_TY69bAM
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Old 11-30-2022, 02:12 PM
Nick84 Nick84 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Krab View Post
Here is a break down from Driftwood. As with any review, it is subjective.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP3_TY69bAM
That’s the video I watched that made me question how well these were built compared to their other lines
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Old 11-30-2022, 02:19 PM
zombywoof zombywoof is offline
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Sorry but I cannot get past the plastic sheet rock screw in the tail block.

I do not normally give a fig about anybody's opinion but you Driftwood Guitars review would make anybody think twice about buying one.
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Last edited by zombywoof; 11-30-2022 at 02:52 PM.
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Old 11-30-2022, 02:22 PM
rollypolly rollypolly is offline
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I've got the G-00. I ordered it used based on the fact that it's an L-00 shape, all solid made in USA Gibson and it was about $700 in excellent condition. For that price I'm not complaining, I'm actually very impressed by it. But you have to understand that these guitars are all tone and absolutely as sparse as a guitar can be.

It honestly has the cleanest, clearest tone of any of my guitars. That can be a good thing or bad , depending on what you like. it's a nice tonal option to have, but I would obviously pick my 00-18 as my only guitar.
I haven't had any issues with the guitar except for a slightly loose brace. I was able to put some glue and clamp it down and haven't had any other issues. The ebony board and bridge are actually a nice upgrade compared to walnut used on some other Gibsons.
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Old 11-30-2022, 02:31 PM
Krab Krab is offline
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Now that I have a break, I can express some more thoughts. As we know build quality on a factory line is hit or miss. THe one that they had at Driftwood could have been at 4:45 on a Friday at the start of a holiday weekend.

They also talked about how great the IBG j-45 was, but I have played a ton of them and have not liked the necks on any of them. Could be great guitars, but I can not connect with the necks.

I do like the sounds I have heard from the few G-00s I have played, but not enough to replace my Loar LH-200. I sometimes catch myself trying to force myself into a guitar because of the name on the headstock even though I am not even 80% into digging the guitar.

So, I would say play all you can find of the body shape you like, Look inside all of them. If they have more then one at the shop make note of the SN and give it a day and come back to the one you like and see if it still connects with you.
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Old 11-30-2022, 02:38 PM
JackC1 JackC1 is offline
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IMHO, the video shows too much superficial fluff (like so many Youtube videos) as far as the guitar is concerned. In this case, they should've concentrated on tone and playability (both of which they rated pretty high).

The interior construction, although nice to be pretty, as long as it holds up (which they never said it wouldn't ; all they ever said was it's ugly and looks sloppy), it doesn't really matter that much since we have to realize that this is a Gibson for $1000.
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Old 11-30-2022, 02:59 PM
Nick84 Nick84 is offline
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These guitars are a 6 hour drive away so I’d be ordering online.

I get they are sparsely finished that’s not the issue. It’s just how well they are put together. I’m not even overly bothered about excess glue.

I’d like to hope the one in that video is a complete one off. Surely they can’t all be that bad?
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  #10  
Old 11-30-2022, 03:18 PM
Krab Krab is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick84 View Post
These guitars are a 6 hour drive away so I’d be ordering online.
Make sure they have a good return policy in case you do not bond with the feel or the neck.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick84 View Post
I’d like to hope the one in that video is a complete one off. Surely they can’t all be that bad?
Most of the time, you will find on factory made guitars, about 15 to 20% are sub par.
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  #11  
Old 11-30-2022, 04:53 PM
rollypolly rollypolly is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick84 View Post
These guitars are a 6 hour drive away so I’d be ordering online.

I get they are sparsely finished that’s not the issue. It’s just how well they are put together. I’m not even overly bothered about excess glue.

I’d like to hope the one in that video is a complete one off. Surely they can’t all be that bad?
With the sound port you see everything inside the guitar so they can’t leave the factory in really poor shape. Mine looks fine. The braces aren’t tucked neatly into the lining like on most good guitars, but that doesn’t bother me. Mine sounds and plays great. I’m actually probably going to keep it and sell my Eastman E2OM-CD. The Eastman is better built but the G-00 has a very unique tone among the others in my herd.
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Old 11-30-2022, 07:41 PM
zombywoof zombywoof is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rollypolly View Post
With the sound port you see everything inside the guitar so they can’t leave the factory in really poor shape. Mine looks fine. The braces aren’t tucked neatly into the lining like on most good guitars, but that doesn’t bother me. Mine sounds and plays great. I’m actually probably going to keep it and sell my Eastman E2OM-CD. The Eastman is better built but the G-00 has a very unique tone among the others in my herd.
You do realize that Gibson did not feather the bracing so it tucked underneath the kerfing. All of the braces such as those in my 1932 L1 and 1942 J50 were butt joined.
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Old 11-30-2022, 08:17 PM
DetroitDave DetroitDave is offline
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This summer my wife picked out a G-00 after sampling a number of other acoustic guitars.
The biggest selling point to her? The port on top, as she has hearing issues but this gave her much better feedback.
I checked the guitar out rather thoroughly. It's not perfect (e.g. satin finish spray never made it to the neck, missing by about 2"), but neither of us worry too much about those details.
Sound is all Gibson.
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  #14  
Old 11-30-2022, 11:14 PM
Leo MacIntosh Leo MacIntosh is offline
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I've played two different G-45's and liked them both -- great tone and playability. I really appreciate the soundport. The only reason I don't own any Generation Collection guitars is they have thinner bodies. I noticed a volume decrease of about 15%.
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  #15  
Old 11-30-2022, 11:58 PM
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Jeremy Jeremy is offline
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I've also seen that Driftwood review and I wouldn't broad brush an entire line based on one bad example. I've seen way more expensive Gibsons with worse problems.

I've owned a G-00 and it was cleanly built and sounded good. My local shop has three G-45s in stock and one had an issues with one of the back braces, but the others were fine. The benefit to me of the Player Port is being able to see the inside in more detail, and every one I've seen (two G-00s, three G-45s, one G-Writer) except one was well and cleanly built, even more so than some of their more expensive brethren I've laid eyes on.
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