I worked for Gibson Montana Division back I the early 90's. I was in QA for a very short time, I was removed from that position after about a week. I didn't pass any guitars in the binding scraping area because none of the binding was properly scraped. Lots of spots, gaps, etc. I was at fault for not letting them go through. I was punished by moving me to the binding dept. That was a great move for me. I ended up doing all the white wood repair and eventually moved to the custom shop where I was the body build guy and did all the banjo resonators.
Yup. Unfortunately a very REAL aspect of QA for a lot of companies (not including food manufacturing) is letting a pretty alarming amount of sub-par quality products pass inspection to meet demand. Gibson and the Epiphone of recent have been letting a lot of poor QC out the door. You'd think they'd implement some sort of a continuous QA process since they run it like an assembly line where they have carvers, people who focus on finishing, electronics, binding, etc. But it seems the QC related issues can be found at every step.
Thank you for posting. My future son in law toured the plant (in the mid or late 00's?) and was offered a job as he left, which he declined as he wanted to finish his education. He'd really like to have one of the bird acoustics, but it's too expensive. We're both happy with the Breedlove Concert B-stock that I gave him; solid European spruce and African mahogany, satin finish $350. We can live with the small delamination spots in the finish with the binding at that price. My keeper is a Cole Clark Angel 2 of Spanish heel construction, Australia-grown redwood and Aussie blackwood. 🤠
This what happens whenever venture capital owns a business, decline wages leading to a younger less experienced workforce, pressure to speed up production with consequent drop in attention to detail and quality control, decline in quality of materials and increase in price
We’re definitely in late-stage capitalism. After a while, it just doesn’t work anymore. Might be the best thing for the 99%, but it’s going to be painful for a while.
That guitar was frozen, I doubt Gibson would store them in freezing but likely got on a delivery truck and left in a UPS warehouse or truck overnight or in transit in a semi trailer and froze. The timeline you mention seems about right. That would cause the wood to move as wood does retain some small amount of moisture. It would explain the finish cracking, the frets raising up Wood, metal frets, and lacquer all expand and contract at different rates in extreme temps. If you send this back mention it to them.. you dont want a frozen one. Spring is here so hopefully you luck out.
It's the higher cost of doing business in the USA, labor, regulations, etc... The competition fierce now. If I paid $3,000 for a guitar, it had better be perfect. Otherwise I would return it. Today you can get a lot of guitar for $1,200 such as an ESP LTD EC-1000. However, it's made in Indonesia not USA. You can get a Harley Benton SC-550 II PAF for $375 with shipping.
@@Cypherdude1 I don't know about that, I paid a grand less than this for my American fender strat and the QC was absolutely faultless, that guitar was perfect out of the box.
@hawver i have a new am pro 2 telecaster. I need to look at the receipt and see exactly when I bought it. But, anyhow, I've had it for around 2 years. The factory setup was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Best guitar I have ever held or had. Period.
I purchased my Les Paul Supreme from Sweetwater and it is perfect. Sweetwater do a quality inspection and I am pretty sure they would have rejected it and sent it back to Gibson if it had these kinds of issues. Just an additional peace of mind.
Its jut f'd up you need a middle man when you're buying a US made Gibson LP. This guy went through at least 10 Gold Top Les Paul's and couldn't find ONE worth buying. That speaks volumes about Gibson.
Sadly from what I’ve seen, Sweetwater is no guarantee because people do receive faulty instruments from there as well. It all depends on who it goes through and how lazy they are. Either way I’d much rather buy from Sweetwater than GC. I feel like through GC, it’s simply pure luck. If your instrument is a quality example, it just happened to be. Still, can’t beat GC financing selection so unfortunately they get my business.
You can get a Tokai from Japan that won't have the same issues, and will be less expensive even with shipping and import duties...They still have the open-book headstock, nitro or poly finish depending on what series you get (premium is nitro, vintage is poly). It won't have fret nibs, but...the quality is there. Certainly worth a look.
@@MarkTurner-vs7uc it’s not that difficult at all, they’re for sale on ebay from Japan all the time and the last time I ordered one it took 3 days to get to my house
If that's how you feel about this guitar, don't buy a gibson, you'll be paranoid for the rest of your life. If I lay my Tele down like that, I can prolly stand on it mid neck without breakage...😂
Its not about Gibson or Fender or whichever brand. I have Gibson LP standard too.. point is that any guitar shouldnt be laying like that leaning on headstock, especially 3k$ angled headstock guitar. Cheers
@@AD-jd8isthe point is there are numerous flaws with Gibson's designs that they haven't fixed, but still find it acceptable to sell basic poorly designed hardtail guitars for twice what they're worth to the morons still dumb enough to buy them. I actually broke off a headstock but not from what you're complaining about, I do that all the time even with the one I repaired (which was super easy to fix).... I guess some people spend more time worrying about something very unlikely to happen than it actually takes to repair the damage from it happening.
I bought that same guitar two years ago. I went through five returns/replacements. All had QC issues like yours in one way or another. The last one still had QC issues, but much less... EXTERNALLY! Inside the control cavity, the ground solder joint had broken free, and someone wasn't accurate with their soldering iron because one of the volume pot wires had been slightly singed, but it still worked. I called my sales rep and told him enoughs enough, something's gotta give, and he understood. I ended up keeping that sixth guitar with those QC issues, but in order to do so, I asked for considerable compensation to make up for the giant hassle. We settled on a $550 Blackstar HT5R-MKII tube como amp I'd been thinking about buying, along with an MXR EQ pedal and three packs of strings, FREE OF CHARGE! I soldered the ground wire back in place and left the slightly singed wire alone. So, at the end of the day, I was given nearly $700 worth of gear to keep the guitar. Most people think it was a wise move, myself included, while others think I should have just returned the guitar entirely. There's some cosmetic issues with the headstock wings not being perfectly semantical, but that's virtually unnoticeable, and a common flaw with old Les Paul's. The internal wiring issue can be fixed cheaply if it ever shorts out, and ironically, the guitar was made on Oct 12, my birthday, and weighs just under 9 lbs. So it's got some neat stuff going for it. Plus, I got a great amp, a pedal, and a few packs of strings for free out for the deal. I definitely feel your pain, though. The QC issues are off the charts. I tried six guitars, and this was the best. That's pretty sad. To be fair, I have a Gibson SG Special that I bought a few months prior, and it's fantastic! The only issue it had was an improperly cut nut, but I always get bone nuts put on my guitars anyway, so that was a non-issue for me. The 50s goldtop ordeal was a complete nightmare, and I'm glad it's over. Due to the compensation I received, I don't have any buyers remorse, but I still think it was a ridiculous ordeal to have to go through for a guitar at that price... and they've gone up about $400-500 since then! To see that still going on is insane. I've since named the guitar "the unicorn." 😅 Cheers! 👍
@war2thegrave no one was fooling anybody, and there was no shame either. I was simply trying to land a "perfect" model. With Gibson's, that's next to impossible, but I made out. The guitar is great. I had to re-solder one ground wire. No playability issues. I got a huge discount (a few hundred dollars) as well as a free Blackstar HT5R-MKII amp for all the troubles. That's around $800 compensation in total. I ended up landing a Gibson 50s LP for just a little over 2 grand, plus a free amp, a pedal and a few packs of strings! I didn't settle until I was generously compensated for the reoccurring hassle. That's winning in my book. YMMV
Horror - simply too much production, too much is exported from the factory, too many guitars are made too quickly and the result is catastrophic for a Gibson and that price range. Only money and money, no more good old quality!
@Mitch-Master super easy to dial it in for any situation. Coolest neck shape (my opinion) My Santana (17) is most "Gibson like" in its pickups but not necessarily LP like. Plug one in if in a shop.
A few years ago my salesman at my local shop told me "If you find a good one, buy it and hang on to it for life" he was referring to Gibson and their QC that never seems to change. I can't buy any of their USA line anymore, always an issue. Spend a little more and get a custom shop, all of those never seem to have issues in my experience. I'll be hanging to those ones for as long as possible. These days, I tend to only buy PRS as they are always perfect.
Not true, I’ve played several Custom Shop LP’s that were dogs and major tuning stability issues. A perfectly cut nut should eliminate a majority of that.
Fact, a properly Plek'd guitar will never have uneven frets, ever. NOTE I said a PROPERLY Plek'd guitar. If the operator of the Plek machine isn't 100% up to snuff, it's quite easy to screw things up. Nothing I've ever played has a better fret job than a properly Plek'd guitar. It's so worth the money if you play your guitars a lot.
Love when uninformed people state, “But THIS one’s been Plek’d”. I’m a luthier. I know what goes into a good setup, and what a Plek is capable of correcting. Short story?…a lousy tech doing a lousy setup, and then tossing the guitar into a Plek machine will essentially RUIN that guitar in one swoop.
@@pandaman1968 you can't turn shit into shinola! LOL it starts off with frets not seated then the plek shaves most of the usable thickness off to make up for the uneven fret install which critically shortens the life of the refret capability. And you don't want to pay for a proper refret and keep the binding nibs on an expensive Gibson! I have refretted a few and had to redo the binding and finish as well.
Plek is crap. Gibson is a using a higher nut string groove cut so there is less chance for string buzz. This of course makes for horrible feel and action like a cheap acoustic
Yes! Plek is also only as good as its operator. Machines didn't know if the fret isn't fully seated. It's ruined afterwards. Man I would like to have a Gibson but I have seen now so many examples of guitars that should NEVER have passed QC. I have Harley Bentons that are perfect for 80 bucks used. They are incredible. And finding can't even install filter systems to avoid clear coat contamination???
I believe that PRS wouldn't exist as a major manufacturer if Gibson had decent quality control. Stores were getting on the act of poor Gibson quality by offering $150 setups for new guitars. The stores wouldn't actually name Gibson, but it's hard to find another brand that needs that much work.
@@tomashornak5759 true im shocked i have a 2010 epi dot and 2009 ibanez sz both had no issues with the finish or frets made in china shouldnt be a bad thing anymore
I’ve picked up a ton of new LP Standards and the paint is like rubber it stops my hand from slipping and feels like it’s 6 inches thick. My best luck has been 70s-early 80’s. I held two R7 Gold Tops today in ATL “Big House Guitars”. They didn’t feel great either man. I grabbed a 78’ Custom with a thin neck and worn paint, that was PERFECT
I've been repairing instruments since 2004 & trust me... I know the problem with Gibson. Their priority is cranking out money, not making a quality product.
I am a luthier and have had a few Gibson LP's 2000, 2001 and 1992 Classic's also a 1990 standard. My first one the 2001 Classic was the best one I ever had. The fret work, hardware placement general build quality is ridiculous now! Its because the way the frets are put in with no glue before the fret board is even placed on the guitar. My 2000 had huge gaps at the ends like yours with colored wood putty shoved in under them that I had to dig out with a razor blade and re seat all of the frets. As a luthier / repair person, I learned that most guitars I receive have lifted frets especially low end guitars. I always fix most of the unevenness by going over every fret and re seating and gluing them. I glue ALL of my frets in no matter what it is! It is stupid to not do this as the wood expands and contracts these things MOVE! Now back to Gibson I have seen epiphones with better fret jobs and hardware placement than expensive LP's. This really pisses me off! People pay out the ass for this crap. It is a shame these massive companies have wasted so much good wood that is hard to even get now to just make Crap like this!! Gibson Slow down and do the work properly!!! You guys suck!!! Now It's all about the money not quality! What a shame!!!
I can’t tell people enough to buy new guitars from Sweetwater. They have excellent pictures and list the weight of every Gibson they sell. I have 4 guitars/basses from them, including a ‘64 ES-335 reissue and they were all PERFECT. Excellent inspection/setups on every instrument in this price range(I believe $400 and up gets the treatment).
I used to think this until my last guitar purchase. $1500+ guitar came with scratches on the back of the maple neck and an almost unplayable setup. I said something immediately and wasn’t treated the best for coming to them with issues. I try to support my local shops now
This...If I order from Sweetwater I know I'm getting a new guitar that has been thoroughly inspected. When I buy from GC I know it's gonna be a hit or miss on what I receive. Could be new, could be something that's been on the wall for a year.
Purchased a Heritage H150 Custom Core from Sweetwater, plugged it in, sounded terrible, after trouble shooting, found a cold solder joint grounded to one of the pots from the factory, both Heritage and Sweetwater missed that, pretty shotty if you ask me for a custom shop guitar.
Yeah, I don't have remotely as many issues with my 50s Standard, but rough-ish toolmarks on the neckbinding - check, areas with crap under the clearcoat - check. Had the guitar professionally setup and love it even though it's on the heavier side. Having said that.... bought a Maybach Lester 59 and holy smokes. That should be the benchmark for Gibson USA! Spotless LP, 3.2 kg -aged, Plek'd, beautiful craftsmanship. Same, even a little lower price to a Gibson USA Standard.
Worked for Gibson for a few years and they HATED me because I would stop so many guitars and send em back cause they had issues, they do not give a single shit about the guitars, only the money, they also treat their workers like we’re nothing
Unfortuantely this has been going on for some time now. It's no longer a QC, it is a production problem. Gibson's workforce is younger and less skilled and my guess is they are getting pushed. At this point i'm ok with Gibson going bust, I am done defending them.
Labour quality has severely declined during the past 10 years or so. The present generation lacks work ethic and the immigrants simply don’t understand anything. As a society, we’ve allowed this to happen. This is true in most industries and most occupations. Gibson is but one of the victims.
@@guitarman3968They aren't a victim, if anything they are offenders. Work ethic isn't defined by national borders, it's mostly a consequence of corporate culture.
@@guitarman3968Gibson has done this all on its own. First they hire a car salesman for ceo, they do away the old experienced people, they become a "lifestyle brand", now they act like a law firm. Self inflicted stupidity, my friend.
I bought a new Gibson SG Standard a few weeks ago, it had many cosmetic issues, I sent it back for a replacement. It too had many, MANY issues. I sent IT back and bought a Guild Polara Deluxe for almost half the cost of the Gibsons. It arrived in flawless, ready to play condition.
I bought a Harley Benton SC550 and a TE-52 for under €300 each. Both absolutely flawless. What people are willing, or are expected to pay for a name on a headstock is nuts.
I have the same experience with my Harley Benton SC 550 plus. Absolutely flawless and I never gonna sell it. And it' not any difference in quality, between my HB and my Gibson Les Paul Studio. I bought the HB for around 300€ and the Gibson for 1200€. I say no more...
I picked up an Epi Elitist LP white custom which were all made there. It was a factory 2nd and the reason was the binding was yellowed. The rest of the guitar is flawless and I love it. Of all my guitars and all the ones I've played, that one has that "mojo".
Gibson has very inconsistent QC. I have a feeling they have a shift or two at the factory that does not give a flying fuck about their quality of work.
We aren't talking about a cheap or mid range electric guitar here. This is a Gibson. Supposedly one of the best electric guitars on the market. Will they be perfect? I don't think any electric guitar will be perfect from the Gibson production factory floor but it should go through a QC process that guarantees a minimum standard ensuring that the guitar will not be returned for warranty issues. Who is at fault? Ultimately Gibson for not ensuring this doesn't happen but also guitar shops and retailers for not checking the goods when they are delivered. If they did that, Gibson would get a lot more guitars returned to the factory and they would be forced to address the issue. I can understand retailers not putting out their best examples in the store where they can be played and handled by everyone but their warehouse stock should be ready to go and as perfect as possible. It shouldn't even be necessary for a retailer to set up the guitar with the exception of tweaking the trussrod to compensate for environmental changes. The world has changed immensely since Gibson started producing the Les Paul. Manufacturing methods and processes are completely different now. Even budget guitars have a relatively high standard compared to their counterparts from the 1960's onwards. This is an unacceptable state of affairs. There are many different manufacturers on the market and if Gibson doesn't up their game on QC they will loose. They should be ahead of their competitors in the QC department. There are lots of components that ultimately control the price of the end product. Materials, wages and production costs. You can't really control these factors but you can control the quality of the final product. Many companies have relied on the legacy of their name and reputation. They failed because that just isn't enough.
Excellent video, very eye opening. Super curious if these quality control issues go all the way up to the custom shop? Has anyone had any experience recently, would love to know?
I have a 2019 LP 50s Standard which I bought right after the new CEO took over and they refreshed the Gibson product lines and focused more on QC. My guitar doesn't have any of these major problems. So it seems that they have started to loosen up on QC in the past 5 years.
Somehow RUclips reviewers always get the messed up Gibsons. But every one I buy is beautifully finished. I just got a 50’s gold top that is absolutely perfect.
I have two custom Carvin guitars that are flawless. Anyone that I know that has one says the same. When they said"Custom" that's exactly what they meant, every option that you could think of was available for you to choose. If Gibson or Fender offered the same service they would charge 3-4 times what I paid. Do you want to buy a name or an instrument that works and STAYS IN TUNE?
I bought mine about 2 weeks ago from Sweetwater, the guitar has some painting issues but not a deal breaker. It has a buzzing sound that it might need a professional setup.
Recently purchased a 2019 LP Special Tribute. The seller on Reverb is a longtime NYS guitar store, the listing said new and never used, you could call this guitar 5 years old or 5 years new. Rounded neck, wrap around bridge for just under 1k. Highly recommend this model if you can pick one up.
My company owns a production studio. We stopped Gibson purchases over 20 years ago because of junk instruments. Went with PRS, Martin and Furch and have never looked back. People work hard for their money. They don’t deserve to be ripped off. Somewhere along the line Gibson lost its sense of shame.
I’d like you to start showing the QC cards if they still include them in the case. I’d like to know who the QCs are that are passing this crap. I worked at Gibson in Nashville for 20 plus years and I was a Final Assembly QC for 10 of those years. I can’t believe what I’m seeing now that’s leaving the factory. I left in 2020. Please let me know who signed the cards with these guitars and if it’s someone I know, I will send your videos to them.
If you want LP, I suggest looking for heritage guitars. G&L good choice for strat style. If you are looking for quality guitars, made in Japan like Ibanez and Esp this is the way to go. If you want to play authentic, 😅, then look for Gibson, and have a coffee at the Gibson stores to clear your head.
Yep I went with G&L I bought three over deciding to purchase PRS is like everybody else is. I would possibly consider a schecter for the next one I do have other Ibenez and I've had great luck with them too. But with my gnl so I have american-made ones Fullerton a Tele butter blonde But they're not the tributes for the american-made once I spent a little more for guitars sitting right up there in the 1700 range they are a damn good quality guitar for what I need.
I’m so lucky in that I can go to my local Mom & Pop Gibson & Fender retailer and buy the guitar from them. If they don’t have what I want they order it and call me when it’s in. They have found me more great guitars than I can count. They also sell on consignment. As a result I’ve purchased multiple Gibson guitars from them.
A real shame, Gibson was a much better company many years ago. Sad to see them go down. I remember a guy who got a big high dollar Gibson jazz box back in the early 90's and it had a strand of log hair in the finish on the face of the guitar! True story back in Cambridge MA.
They still are. Things happen. I have bought numerous new Les Paul's between 2019 and 2024, I haven't had a single issue with a single one. Sometimes a bad one slips through the cracks and then we get a video like this. Gibson sells more guitars than any other brand, so by the numbers will have more guitars with qc issues seen by the public.
They didn’t send you a brand new one? If Im paying that much for anything that’s an instant deal breaker. Some people may be okay with that but Im not. If Im paying for something new, Im getting something NEW, especially a quality instrument like a Gibson.
@@MarkTurner-vs7uc I get all the quality control problems, but you can’t tell me you’ve watched the process of making a gibson at the factory and say its not quality. The only difference is they’re stupid enough to let the guitars leave the factory without fixing the shit that should have not been there when it left
@@helio1055there are a million guitars of choose before I’d waste my money on a USA Gibson. As someone who owns 2 incredible Murphy labs, however, I can’t find another brand in the price range that plays better. Moral of the story, buy Heritage or something similar if your budget is 3k, Gibson doesn’t give its USA line employees enough time to do it right that’s why so much can be missed. These ppl aren’t idiots they’re just under the gun without regard to whether the instrument is done right or not. If you’re shrewd you can get a good custom shop for 4K, Very much worth the extra 1k to get a proper example.
You correct are some of those things small sure. Can some of those things be easily corrected sure. But why ? For the price of that guitar it should be perfect end of story. There are so many great guitars in that price range that I have purchased and were perfect right out of the case. After a string change and a set up to my liking they were flawless. I feel for you send that back.
Hell yeah. “USA made” doesn’t automatically mean amazing quality in 2024.. at least for me. Back when I was a kid made in USA guitars was the ultimate standard. lol time changed my perceptions
I just ordered a Les Paul Supreme and saw in the photos (on Sweetwater) that there were some marks on the fretboard (the last 4 before the neck pickup) - they are stopping the shipment to inspect again. I hope I didn't make a $4000 mistake.
I bought a guitar on Amazon for $279 CAD, that has none of those problems. I did do a set up on it, and found zero problems frets. Gibson makes very expensive boat anchors.
Thank you for this video. I was torn between getting a PRS and a Gibson recently. I went with the PRS and thought about starting to save for the Les Paul next. I may wait and look for a good used one or wait until Gibson gets their act together. 👍
I'm a Gibson fan been buying guitars for 50+ years got all the Gibson guitars LPs SG s Juniors etc but the Eastman guitar are real quality .I got a new LP junior plays good sounds good but the finishing is terrible you get better on a guitar at a third of the price.@@theuserthatishere
This is a time where I am happy I'm left handed. I hear all the time how QC with Gibson is spotty, but my Les Paul, Les Paul Special, and my 335 are perfect. Out of the box ready to play and no faults. Even my old Les Paul 1960 (the ones they made in the late 90's early 2K's with the 1960 in gold on the pickgaurd) was perfect. I gues due to left handed guitars being small batch I don't have to deal with the issues most players have to deal with.
As time goes on, I find people having less and less integrity in regards to job performance. I see it everywhere I go. So many think they’re overworked and underpaid, taking their job for granted. It’s a scary trajectory we’re on.
@xa9590 You are working to a point where that is your entire life, and you expect everyone should do the same and with a good attitude? You have it so backwards
Hold on a minute…my worlds are colliding. Pretty sure I saw you tossing reverse entry drifts in an AWD beast yesterday, lol. And here it turns out you’re a guitar nerd just like me. A man of class and many talents!
I just want to say, you are completely justified in this video and how you feel. We all know we pay this premium for perfection. With that being said, I just got my purple burst trad pro v, and not as many issue that you have, but I definitely have more than I’m happy with.
That's true but if Gibson is charging 3k dollars for a standard les paul, I think as customers who are paying a premium price, we have the right to expect it to be perfect out of the box.
I have owned 12 Gibson Les Pauls over the past 35 years. Seven Standards, three Studios and two Juniors. I have sold them all except one. It is a 96 Les Paul Studio. It is Les Paul perfection as far as I am concerned and I will never sell it. Build quality is flawless, 50's neck, one piece mahogany body and outstanding tone with incredibly dynamic pickups. I have tried to love modern Les Pauls but they just don't have that wow factor.
Wait, can you put a lesPaul down like that, at 5:42 ??? I was told to never do that. Something about owners whinning about weak lesPaul headstocks and such, and turns out many were just making their own problems. Well, it looks like a fine guitar; wishing you lots of fun.
If you weren’t telling the truth! I have the same problem with my first experience but my dream guitar. I actually played one today with cracking around the nut and over staining on the neck joint but luck out and found one second hand after much searching! they should do better !
I bought several new Gibsons in the last 2 years and they've been fantastic quality. One cheapie special tribute had a rough edge on the fretboard where it meets the neck but the rest have had no problems. If there's a dud occasionally send it back and get a replacement. Bought a Custom SG last year and it's just incredible and just last week a Les Paul 70's deluxe. After lowering the extremely high action in 20 seconds with their tool it plays and tunes beautifully. Same with the USA Casino and another Tribute as well.
Look for a used Epi LP Elistist. They were all made in the Fujigen Japan factory and just the average one is as good as the best US made Gibson. I've read that's why Gibson stopped making the Epi Elitist because the quality far surpassed theirs.
Can you elaborate on the process because I'm a little confused - if you bought from a store, why/how did you go direct to Gibson for a replacement when they usually operate through the authorised retailer i.e. the store?
You can do either, but I chose to send it directly back to Gibson because the store isn't that local, it's about an hour and a half drive each way from my house. Instead of burning half a day, Gibson sent a return label and I took the easier route
@@linnykenneyleather I've heard of dealing direct with Gibson when they're the retailer (i.e. an online purchase or Gibson Garage), otherwise I've always been told the dealer is the liaison with Gibson and that's where the exchange will be sent. To buy a guitar from a retailer and then bypass them to deal with directly with Gibson is a new one for me - not saying it isn't possible, but I've always heard Gibson keeps within those channels.
I decided to get a demo guitar when I bought my SG modern, reasoning that they wouldn't have used a bad guitar as a demo. I'm very happy with it -- I can't find any flaws at all, and it was a little cheaper than it would have been otherwise. YMMV, of course. Parenthetically, I'd also mention that I more recently bought a Squier Toronado. I love my SG, but for me at least, the Toro is also a fantastic instrument and cost an order of magnitude less.
A lot of people think younger players aren't playing Gibsons because they're not cool anymore... personally I think it has a lot more to do with these issues. Millennials and Gen Z players are just not going to put up with it when you can get a Squier that's flawless and plays great for ~$500. The boomers will put up with the issues because Pete Townshend or Peter Green or Gary Moore or someone else used to play one back in the '70s when times were good and everyone drove muscle cars and hated communists
I bought a new Les Paul in the fall, and it’s perfect. But nobody who’s an actual musician cares about extremely minor cosmetic issues that you need a microscope to see. The only things that actually matter are issues that affect playability, which is all in the neck and fretboard. And most of those are fixed by a proper setup. The OCD of some hobbyists is insane. I mean, if it has a giant scratch on it or something, ok. But most of this stuff is literally microscopic. It seems that some people on the internet just have a weird obsession with trashing Gibson, and almost none of them can actually play beyond beginner level. And some of them claim to own like 30 guitars, which is insane. How about learning to play one of them?
The frets are sticking out of the fretboard, that's what sealed the deal that it was going back... you're right that the rest was pretty picky but you don't "need a microscope" and "literally microscopic" is obviously hyperbole on your part. These pics were all just taken with an iphone. And the thing is that nobody else is halfway this sloppy anywhere near this price point. If you look around and flip it over, you shouldn't find a half dozen messy little wood shop and paint shop mistakes here and there. This guitar gets an obvious F for the fretboard work and maybe a C- for overall finish. It should be an A for fretboard work and I'd live with a B for everything else. I'll keep sending them back at Gibson's expense until we get there!
@@linnykenneyleather I’ve never seen any of those issues with a Gibson, except maybe the binding being a little off. I chalk those things up to the fact that they’re largely hand made. So either you have really bad luck or you’ve got a dealer shifting you B-stock or something. If you paid full price for the first one and Gibson also gave you a rough one as a replacement, that is on them.
I have two Les Pauls a 72 Goldtop Deluxe and a 79 KM in CS. They are both great. My last 3 HB guitars have all been Heritages. Two 555s and an H157, their Custom. The Heritages are phenomenal. Glad I git them before there prices went way up!
come on....gibsons are perfectly fine for what they are....a image brand for hanging on the wall or spinning around the ceiling....why would a bunch of financial predators like KKR (look up the KKR company who owns gibson) not make great musical instruments... how can a company that has a director or brand experience not make good guitars...it is the "brand" that you experience, not the frets or neck or finish....it is a shame for the good people from the past that work at gibson ...not the new marketing types....play authentic
Buy a D'Angelico. I just grabbed a beautiful, used Excel DC Tour in wine red for only $400, and it's remarkable. Even came with the factory soft case plus a really good hard case (I dont remember the brand).
I’ve been looking for a Les Paul custom for years. I finally bought a slightly used 2003 57 gold top. I almost gave up on Gibson, due to all the issues I would see on them at the music stores. I got a good plek from an amazing business in Austin TX and everything’s great. It’s really sad that I had to look for specific years where production was better than others. I paid under what a new junk custom is today so I’m pleased. There’s gems still out there and it’s great when you finally find it.
@davedavid7061 Gibson has excellent quality control about 60% of the time. They likely have a personnel issue in the form of someone who phones it in much of the time and lets the crap pass through.
I sold off my last Gibson and never looking back. My PRS’s do everything I’ve ever dreamed of and if I absolutely had to have a Les Paul it would be from Heritage
😂 My local guitar center is full of Gibson guitars just like this. They are not worth the money. Maybe you could shop for an older Gibson that has your desired specs and was built before the covod boom. It appears the covod boom did bad things at Epiphone and Gibson facilities. The pressure to meet demands was probably immense and hasn't let up yet so their guitars show signs of shoddiness only cheapest of cheap $75 guitars show. Shit the cheap guitars didn't even have that much bad stuff wrong with them. 2017 seemed to be a good year for Gibson guitars as my SG standard with 57s is perfect and hardly any tooling marks on the binding around the fretboard. My 2019 Gibson Les Paul double cut special T is a killer guitar especially for how inexpensive it was, I think I paid $430 brand new at guitar center for a cherry 2 pickup p90 version ! It was 11 pounds+ and that's probably why it didn't sell until I asked about it and a hefty discount was offered before it would sell😂 I pretty happy with my 2020 Gibson Cherry burst Les Paul Tribute as it has nice bright 490 set on it and the maple neck gives it a nice snappy twang that I like in this Les Paul. That and I only paid $550 for it with nice brown padded good bag case. I Don't think I'd be happy with those guitars paying retail 😂 money either but since I got such a good deal I'm pretty happy with my Gibson guitars. Good luck on your search for a good gold top !
@@Joey_McElroy I’m speaking as myself who used to be insane about scrutinizing every detail on a new USA made LP. Moved onto custom shop 59 and 60 reissues and even they came with binding bleed, loose pickguards… as long as it’s a killer sounding and feeling instrument that’s what matters. But I get it, just know you’ll never get a perfect one
PRS doesn't have as many problems as this and that includes its SE lines made overseas. Since Gibson raised its prices, PRS pricing is now on par with Gibson. I haven't heard about Fender guitars having these problems either.
Weird - I've just bought a new SG standard 61 and it is almost flawless, I checked it with a fret rocker in the store and the frets were perfect - it clearly had been PLEKed.
That Gold paint is used as a ground coat for Candy finishes. You can't sand that Gold ground coat paint at all without ruining it. They sand the top clear cost.
I own a '74 LP Standard. My latest guitar purchase was a Squire baritone - cost less than $400, and has none of the defects this guitar has. You were robbed. I did buy the Squire from Sweetwater - second guitar I've bought from them and great service each time.
it took me 3 orders to get a somewhat playable Les Paul and I still had to send it to Gibson to get the frets leveled. The whole process all said and done with ordering, waiting, returning, ordering, waiting etc. took from the beginning of October to mid-January. Also, Gibson tried to have me pay to ship it back to them even though I'd had the guitar for less than two weeks and it's under warranty. I had to put up a fight to get them to send me a return authorization and shipping label. side note: the 2nd Les Paul I received was 11.5 lbs. The one I kept is 8.9 lbs. HUGE difference. The 2nd one was so heavy the knobs were cracked upon arrival, they probably cracked under the weight of the guitar if it was laying face down when shipping. The top strap button was coming out, and it left me with terrible neck and shoulder pain after playing it.
@@linnykenneyleather I thought perhaps it bypassed the weight relief stage of production but Gibson said it was most likely just a very heavy piece of mahogany paired with a very heavy maple top. Most of the weight was at the heal so I really felt it even with a decent strap.
@@JohnSpo shameless plug, if you ever need another strap take a look at our site linnykenney.com/guitar-straps-2-1 we can always do something custom if you don't see exactly what you like 👍
3 years ago went thru 3 new Gibson Les Paul Tributes - kept none. First one shipped actually had a corner of the nut sliced off, but was sent out anyway. Blew my mind that something like that could be missed. I tried two more - both had fret /fretboard issues similiar to ones in this video - then I gave up..
As someone who is in the market to buy my first proper LP, this video is making me reconsider buying new. I am grateful for this video bc it is really helping me to see and confirm that the qc at GIBSON is not as great as it should be for a $4,000 guitar. I think when I pull the trigger I may just buy used, at least then I know it’s more likely to be in better shape. Thank you for sharing this video. 🇨🇦
New or used, just play as many as you can get your hands on. QC aside they’re all different from each other anyways and the QC issues just compound that. I own two Gibson LPs and I bought them because they immediately jumped out at me when I played them, and were noticeably in a league of their own even before I plugged them in. Don’t rush the purchase, play as many as you can, and don’t let this video discourage you. For every 10 or 20 crap les pauls out there, there’s always one that’s a gem
![Jack Harlow - Hello Miss Johnson [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q86_nlRoIGw/mqdefault.jpg)
I worked for Gibson Montana Division back I the early 90's. I was in QA for a very short time, I was removed from that position after about a week. I didn't pass any guitars in the binding scraping area because none of the binding was properly scraped. Lots of spots, gaps, etc. I was at fault for not letting them go through. I was punished by moving me to the binding dept. That was a great move for me.
I ended up doing all the white wood repair and eventually moved to the custom shop where I was the body build guy and did all the banjo resonators.
"You're terrible at quality control! How about a new position improving our quality?" - Gibson
Yup. Unfortunately a very REAL aspect of QA for a lot of companies (not including food manufacturing) is letting a pretty alarming amount of sub-par quality products pass inspection to meet demand. Gibson and the Epiphone of recent have been letting a lot of poor QC out the door. You'd think they'd implement some sort of a continuous QA process since they run it like an assembly line where they have carvers, people who focus on finishing, electronics, binding, etc. But it seems the QC related issues can be found at every step.
I'd not buy a Gibson now, after reading/ seeing this ...
Thank you for posting. My future son in law toured the plant (in the mid or late 00's?) and was offered a job as he left, which he declined as he wanted to finish his education. He'd really like to have one of the bird acoustics, but it's too expensive. We're both happy with the Breedlove Concert B-stock that I gave him; solid European spruce and African mahogany, satin finish $350. We can live with the small delamination spots in the finish with the binding at that price. My keeper is a Cole Clark Angel 2 of Spanish heel construction, Australia-grown redwood and Aussie blackwood. 🤠
Gibson acoustics seem pretty great now. Maybe I've just been lucky.
This what happens whenever venture capital owns a business, decline wages leading to a younger less experienced workforce, pressure to speed up production with consequent drop in attention to detail and quality control, decline in quality of materials and increase in price
We’re definitely in late-stage capitalism. After a while, it just doesn’t work anymore. Might be the best thing for the 99%, but it’s going to be painful for a while.
EXACTLY!
@@davidwilkins5932I think you mean best thing for the 1%
Gibson sell DIY winter projects.
At least the USA division.
You forgot to mention American company. Doesn’t happen in Japan, Korea, Indonesia or Canada based on my personal experience
That guitar was frozen, I doubt Gibson would store them in freezing but likely got on a delivery truck and left in a UPS warehouse or truck overnight or in transit in a semi trailer and froze. The timeline you mention seems about right. That would cause the wood to move as wood does retain some small amount of moisture. It would explain the finish cracking, the frets raising up Wood, metal frets, and lacquer all expand and contract at different rates in extreme temps. If you send this back mention it to them.. you dont want a frozen one. Spring is here so hopefully you luck out.
Great point. Significant temperature changes will wreck any fret job and damage the finish.
No way a slam on Gibson?Myfriend, Fibson slammed itself with that piece of absolute horseshit.
😂 fair enough
Good ol' Fibson
A Les Paul Standard should be flawless. Their QC is atrocious.
It's the higher cost of doing business in the USA, labor, regulations, etc... The competition fierce now. If I paid $3,000 for a guitar, it had better be perfect. Otherwise I would return it. Today you can get a lot of guitar for $1,200 such as an ESP LTD EC-1000. However, it's made in Indonesia not USA. You can get a Harley Benton SC-550 II PAF for $375 with shipping.
@@Cypherdude1 I don't know about that, I paid a grand less than this for my American fender strat and the QC was absolutely faultless, that guitar was perfect out of the box.
I have one and it’s flawless. These videos exist for poors who can’t afford Les Paul to make them feel better 🤷🏼♂️
You literally make zero sense buddy. Not affording one doesn't make the fact that qc is not great buddy boy @Bob-dz9kn
@hawver i have a new am pro 2 telecaster. I need to look at the receipt and see exactly when I bought it. But, anyhow, I've had it for around 2 years.
The factory setup was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Best guitar I have ever held or had. Period.
I purchased my Les Paul Supreme from Sweetwater and it is perfect. Sweetwater do a quality inspection and I am pretty sure they would have rejected it and sent it back to Gibson if it had these kinds of issues. Just an additional peace of mind.
Its jut f'd up you need a middle man when you're buying a US made Gibson LP. This guy went through at least 10 Gold Top Les Paul's and couldn't find ONE worth buying. That speaks volumes about Gibson.
@@libertinemeHe said in the video he went to one. A Gibson license dealer and tried all their goldtops. Apparently they all had the same issues
Sadly from what I’ve seen, Sweetwater is no guarantee because people do receive faulty instruments from there as well. It all depends on who it goes through and how lazy they are. Either way I’d much rather buy from Sweetwater than GC. I feel like through GC, it’s simply pure luck. If your instrument is a quality example, it just happened to be. Still, can’t beat GC financing selection so unfortunately they get my business.
Same
Apparently Sweetwater's QC is just as inept and corrupt as Gibson's. Just read the reviews.
You can get a Tokai from Japan that won't have the same issues, and will be less expensive even with shipping and import duties...They still have the open-book headstock, nitro or poly finish depending on what series you get (premium is nitro, vintage is poly). It won't have fret nibs, but...the quality is there. Certainly worth a look.
Yes ,they are really good. But getting one is very difficult. Notice, nobody in America who has one will sell it.
@@MarkTurner-vs7uc it’s not that difficult at all, they’re for sale on ebay from Japan all the time and the last time I ordered one it took 3 days to get to my house
Sadly, you are totally right. Japanese guitars are flawless.
T-totally agree…. Tokai rocks!
@helio1055 where did you buy it from? And you didn't have any problems?
Every time you lay down that guitar on top of the case leaning on back of headstock I get vomit reflex.
If that's how you feel about this guitar, don't buy a gibson, you'll be paranoid for the rest of your life. If I lay my Tele down like that, I can prolly stand on it mid neck without breakage...😂
@@ErickvdK You obviously dont know how fragile and notorious Gibson headstocks are for breaking. Tele is nothing compared.
Its not about Gibson or Fender or whichever brand. I have Gibson LP standard too.. point is that any guitar shouldnt be laying like that leaning on headstock, especially 3k$ angled headstock guitar. Cheers
Definitely bout had a panic attack 🫣
@@AD-jd8isthe point is there are numerous flaws with Gibson's designs that they haven't fixed, but still find it acceptable to sell basic poorly designed hardtail guitars for twice what they're worth to the morons still dumb enough to buy them. I actually broke off a headstock but not from what you're complaining about, I do that all the time even with the one I repaired (which was super easy to fix).... I guess some people spend more time worrying about something very unlikely to happen than it actually takes to repair the damage from it happening.
I went through 3 Blueberry Burst Standards 2024, with binding neck issues. Ended up not getting anything. Gibson QC is a major concern.
I bought that same guitar two years ago. I went through five returns/replacements. All had QC issues like yours in one way or another. The last one still had QC issues, but much less... EXTERNALLY! Inside the control cavity, the ground solder joint had broken free, and someone wasn't accurate with their soldering iron because one of the volume pot wires had been slightly singed, but it still worked. I called my sales rep and told him enoughs enough, something's gotta give, and he understood. I ended up keeping that sixth guitar with those QC issues, but in order to do so, I asked for considerable compensation to make up for the giant hassle. We settled on a $550 Blackstar HT5R-MKII tube como amp I'd been thinking about buying, along with an MXR EQ pedal and three packs of strings, FREE OF CHARGE! I soldered the ground wire back in place and left the slightly singed wire alone. So, at the end of the day, I was given nearly $700 worth of gear to keep the guitar. Most people think it was a wise move, myself included, while others think I should have just returned the guitar entirely. There's some cosmetic issues with the headstock wings not being perfectly semantical, but that's virtually unnoticeable, and a common flaw with old Les Paul's. The internal wiring issue can be fixed cheaply if it ever shorts out, and ironically, the guitar was made on Oct 12, my birthday, and weighs just under 9 lbs. So it's got some neat stuff going for it. Plus, I got a great amp, a pedal, and a few packs of strings for free out for the deal. I definitely feel your pain, though. The QC issues are off the charts. I tried six guitars, and this was the best. That's pretty sad. To be fair, I have a Gibson SG Special that I bought a few months prior, and it's fantastic! The only issue it had was an improperly cut nut, but I always get bone nuts put on my guitars anyway, so that was a non-issue for me. The 50s goldtop ordeal was a complete nightmare, and I'm glad it's over. Due to the compensation I received, I don't have any buyers remorse, but I still think it was a ridiculous ordeal to have to go through for a guitar at that price... and they've gone up about $400-500 since then! To see that still going on is insane. I've since named the guitar "the unicorn." 😅 Cheers! 👍
What a lot of bullshit. They're not giving you $6-800 worth of free shit.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me five times, ?
@war2thegrave no one was fooling anybody, and there was no shame either. I was simply trying to land a "perfect" model. With Gibson's, that's next to impossible, but I made out. The guitar is great. I had to re-solder one ground wire. No playability issues. I got a huge discount (a few hundred dollars) as well as a free Blackstar HT5R-MKII amp for all the troubles. That's around $800 compensation in total. I ended up landing a Gibson 50s LP for just a little over 2 grand, plus a free amp, a pedal and a few packs of strings! I didn't settle until I was generously compensated for the reoccurring hassle. That's winning in my book. YMMV
Would be interesting to see this under a black light.
... eewww... lol
Good call.
Horror - simply too much production, too much is exported from the factory, too many guitars are made too quickly and the result is catastrophic for a Gibson and that price range. Only money and money, no more good old quality!
I like the picture of you with the beard and long hair in the background, why did you shave??
Thats funny stuff
Lololol 😂😂😂
Get yourself a PRS 594 and you will not have to worry about any flaws! And they play incredibly well!
True
That's what I did. It's fit and finish is flawless and sounds amazing.
Ya mon 4real. Switched to a 594 few months ago, I'm happy with it.
@Mitch-Master super easy to dial it in for any situation. Coolest neck shape (my opinion) My Santana (17) is most "Gibson like" in its pickups but not necessarily LP like. Plug one in if in a shop.
@@jeremydahm2124 Exactly. I also love the neck. rock on
A few years ago my salesman at my local shop told me "If you find a good one, buy it and hang on to it for life" he was referring to Gibson and their QC that never seems to change. I can't buy any of their USA line anymore, always an issue. Spend a little more and get a custom shop, all of those never seem to have issues in my experience. I'll be hanging to those ones for as long as possible. These days, I tend to only buy PRS as they are always perfect.
Not true, I’ve played several Custom Shop LP’s that were dogs and major tuning stability issues. A perfectly cut nut should eliminate a majority of that.
exactly +1 on PRS's Always perfect!!
Spend a little less and get an Eastman SB
thats the thing if its a CS why would u need to do more to it after. Should be perfect already
I don't understand how those frets are so uneven if it's been plek'd. Even if it missed final setup, they should all be level.
Fact, a properly Plek'd guitar will never have uneven frets, ever. NOTE I said a PROPERLY Plek'd guitar. If the operator of the Plek machine isn't 100% up to snuff, it's quite easy to screw things up. Nothing I've ever played has a better fret job than a properly Plek'd guitar. It's so worth the money if you play your guitars a lot.
It looks like whatever mistake could be made on the frets, except missing frets, was made.
They definitely should.
The PLEK is not that great. A decent tech can match or beat it for half the cost.
@@MarkTurner-vs7uc This 👍
Love when uninformed people state, “But THIS one’s been Plek’d”. I’m a luthier. I know what goes into a good setup, and what a Plek is capable of correcting. Short story?…a lousy tech doing a lousy setup, and then tossing the guitar into a Plek machine will essentially RUIN that guitar in one swoop.
@@pandaman1968 you can't turn shit into shinola! LOL it starts off with frets not seated then the plek shaves most of the usable thickness off to make up for the uneven fret install which critically shortens the life of the refret capability. And you don't want to pay for a proper refret and keep the binding nibs on an expensive Gibson! I have refretted a few and had to redo the binding and finish as well.
Plek is crap. Gibson is a using a higher nut string groove cut so there is less chance for string buzz. This of course makes for horrible feel and action like a cheap acoustic
Basically...😅keep away from the venture capitol gain era..
@@lovingpeace9715 You're delusional if you believe that.
Yes! Plek is also only as good as its operator. Machines didn't know if the fret isn't fully seated. It's ruined afterwards. Man I would like to have a Gibson but I have seen now so many examples of guitars that should NEVER have passed QC. I have Harley Bentons that are perfect for 80 bucks used. They are incredible. And finding can't even install filter systems to avoid clear coat contamination???
Get your money back and buy a heritage guitar, you will have none of these issues.
I believe that PRS wouldn't exist as a major manufacturer if Gibson had decent quality control. Stores were getting on the act of poor Gibson quality by offering $150 setups for new guitars. The stores wouldn't actually name Gibson, but it's hard to find another brand that needs that much work.
or epiphone
@@tomashornak5759 true im shocked i have a 2010 epi dot and 2009 ibanez sz both had no issues with the finish or frets made in china shouldnt be a bad thing anymore
No not at all. Especially since we'll be completely under their control by decades end. Might as well start bowing down now. @@nikolabakich9709
went with Heritage, Eastman 59V and a PRS core 594 rosewood neck! All great fit and finish.
I’ve picked up a ton of new LP Standards and the paint is like rubber it stops my hand from slipping and feels like it’s 6 inches thick.
My best luck has been 70s-early 80’s. I held two R7 Gold Tops today in ATL “Big House Guitars”. They didn’t feel great either man.
I grabbed a 78’ Custom with a thin neck and worn paint, that was PERFECT
these guitars are a lot of players holy grails and cost so much its such a big commitment to purchase they should be perfect straight outta the box
I've been repairing instruments since 2004 & trust me... I know the problem with Gibson. Their priority is cranking out money, not making a quality product.
I am a luthier and have had a few Gibson LP's 2000, 2001 and 1992 Classic's also a 1990 standard. My first one the 2001 Classic was the best one I ever had. The fret work, hardware placement general build quality is ridiculous now! Its because the way the frets are put in with no glue before the fret board is even placed on the guitar. My 2000 had huge gaps at the ends like yours with colored wood putty shoved in under them that I had to dig out with a razor blade and re seat all of the frets. As a luthier / repair person, I learned that most guitars I receive have lifted frets especially low end guitars. I always fix most of the unevenness by going over every fret and re seating and gluing them. I glue ALL of my frets in no matter what it is! It is stupid to not do this as the wood expands and contracts these things MOVE! Now back to Gibson I have seen epiphones with better fret jobs and hardware placement than expensive LP's. This really pisses me off! People pay out the ass for this crap. It is a shame these massive companies have wasted so much good wood that is hard to even get now to just make Crap like this!! Gibson Slow down and do the work properly!!! You guys suck!!! Now It's all about the money not quality! What a shame!!!
I can’t tell people enough to buy new guitars from Sweetwater.
They have excellent pictures and list the weight of every Gibson they sell. I have 4 guitars/basses from them, including a ‘64 ES-335 reissue and they were all PERFECT. Excellent inspection/setups on every instrument in this price range(I believe $400 and up gets the treatment).
I used to think this until my last guitar purchase. $1500+ guitar came with scratches on the back of the maple neck and an almost unplayable setup. I said something immediately and wasn’t treated the best for coming to them with issues. I try to support my local shops now
I second that experience.
I bought a 2022 Les Paul Standard 60s new from Sweetwater and it is flawless.
This...If I order from Sweetwater I know I'm getting a new guitar that has been thoroughly inspected. When I buy from GC I know it's gonna be a hit or miss on what I receive. Could be new, could be something that's been on the wall for a year.
Purchased a Heritage H150 Custom Core from Sweetwater, plugged it in, sounded terrible, after trouble shooting, found a cold solder joint grounded to one of the pots from the factory, both Heritage and Sweetwater missed that, pretty shotty if you ask me for a custom shop guitar.
Yeah, I don't have remotely as many issues with my 50s Standard, but rough-ish toolmarks on the neckbinding - check, areas with crap under the clearcoat - check. Had the guitar professionally setup and love it even though it's on the heavier side.
Having said that.... bought a Maybach Lester 59 and holy smokes. That should be the benchmark for Gibson USA! Spotless LP, 3.2 kg -aged, Plek'd, beautiful craftsmanship. Same, even a little lower price to a Gibson USA Standard.
Worked for Gibson for a few years and they HATED me because I would stop so many guitars and send em back cause they had issues, they do not give a single shit about the guitars, only the money, they also treat their workers like we’re nothing
Unfortuantely this has been going on for some time now. It's no longer a QC, it is a production problem. Gibson's workforce is younger and less skilled and my guess is they are getting pushed. At this point i'm ok with Gibson going bust, I am done defending them.
We'll see what the second replacement is like when it gets here... but I'm not far behind you at this point.
Labour quality has severely declined during the past 10 years or so. The present generation lacks work ethic and the immigrants simply don’t understand anything. As a society, we’ve allowed this to happen. This is true in most industries and most occupations. Gibson is but one of the victims.
@@guitarman3968They aren't a victim, if anything they are offenders. Work ethic isn't defined by national borders, it's mostly a consequence of corporate culture.
@@adrianguggisberg3656 Not at all.
@@guitarman3968Gibson has done this all on its own. First they hire a car salesman for ceo, they do away the old experienced people, they become a "lifestyle brand", now they act like a law firm. Self inflicted stupidity, my friend.
I bought a new Gibson SG Standard a few weeks ago, it had many cosmetic issues, I sent it back for a replacement. It too had many, MANY issues. I sent IT back and bought a Guild Polara Deluxe for almost half the cost of the Gibsons. It arrived in flawless, ready to play condition.
I bought a Harley Benton SC550 and a TE-52 for under €300 each. Both absolutely flawless. What people are willing, or are expected to pay for a name on a headstock is nuts.
I left a comment above, but I was shocked at how well-made my Harley Benton is.
Version 1 of the SC550’s was really good.
I have the same experience with my Harley Benton SC 550 plus. Absolutely flawless and I never gonna sell it. And it' not any difference in quality, between my HB and my Gibson Les Paul Studio.
I bought the HB for around 300€ and the Gibson for 1200€.
I say no more...
I bought a Gibson Les Paul 60's standard for under 3000e and it's perfect in every way. Nothing to complain about.
there's no way that this guitar left the factory in that condition with Gibson's in-depth QC. If anything, that looks more like a factory second.
About the high frets, aren't they all supposed to be "Plek'ed" at the factory?!
Exactly
Wood moves, it pry got stuck in shipping somewhere overnight in subzero weather.. that will make wood move and crack the finish and mess up the frets.
@@green461not like that…I build guitars. This is just poor QC from Gibson while trying to charge very high prices
i think only custom shop
Mr Plek doesn't realize the frets are flexing and the employees don't care because they are underpaid, overworked and taken for granted.
All my FujiGen Les Pauls are flawless.
Japan made are stunning. Better then USA production
I picked up an Epi Elitist LP white custom which were all made there. It was a factory 2nd and the reason was the binding was yellowed. The rest of the guitar is flawless and I love it. Of all my guitars and all the ones I've played, that one has that "mojo".
Same: FGN :sheer perfection
I also love Gold tops with P90s
I currently own a 1991 Les Paul Hall of Fame All Gold with P90s
it's one of the best Les Pauls I've ever played
Yes you do see high Frets on fenders. I just set up an American Fender Strat....15 high frets.
Quality control should be important. This is a real shame. Especially for a company that is so historic.
no gigging guitarist that i know talks about gibsons
Jeez I don’t know how lucky I am. Picked up a late 2023 60’s Standard AAA, two weeks ago. Seems pretty flawless so far and plays beautifully.
Gibson has very inconsistent QC. I have a feeling they have a shift or two at the factory that does not give a flying fuck about their quality of work.
We aren't talking about a cheap or mid range electric guitar here. This is a Gibson. Supposedly one of the best electric guitars on the market. Will they be perfect? I don't think any electric guitar will be perfect from the Gibson production factory floor but it should go through a QC process that guarantees a minimum standard ensuring that the guitar will not be returned for warranty issues. Who is at fault? Ultimately Gibson for not ensuring this doesn't happen but also guitar shops and retailers for not checking the goods when they are delivered. If they did that, Gibson would get a lot more guitars returned to the factory and they would be forced to address the issue. I can understand retailers not putting out their best examples in the store where they can be played and handled by everyone but their warehouse stock should be ready to go and as perfect as possible. It shouldn't even be necessary for a retailer to set up the guitar with the exception of tweaking the trussrod to compensate for environmental changes. The world has changed immensely since Gibson started producing the Les Paul. Manufacturing methods and processes are completely different now. Even budget guitars have a relatively high standard compared to their counterparts from the 1960's onwards. This is an unacceptable state of affairs. There are many different manufacturers on the market and if Gibson doesn't up their game on QC they will loose. They should be ahead of their competitors in the QC department. There are lots of components that ultimately control the price of the end product. Materials, wages and production costs. You can't really control these factors but you can control the quality of the final product. Many companies have relied on the legacy of their name and reputation. They failed because that just isn't enough.
Excellent video, very eye opening. Super curious if these quality control issues go all the way up to the custom shop? Has anyone had any experience recently, would love to know?
Is it me, or is the angle on the headstock for 50s necks more angled and pronounced? This one looks like it is. Probably just an illusion. Idk
I have a 2019 LP 50s Standard which I bought right after the new CEO took over and they refreshed the Gibson product lines and focused more on QC. My guitar doesn't have any of these major problems. So it seems that they have started to loosen up on QC in the past 5 years.
Somehow RUclips reviewers always get the messed up Gibsons. But every one I buy is beautifully finished. I just got a 50’s gold top that is absolutely perfect.
I have two custom Carvin guitars that are flawless. Anyone that I know that has one says the same. When they said"Custom" that's exactly what they meant, every option that you could think of was available for you to choose. If Gibson or Fender offered the same service they would charge 3-4 times what I paid. Do you want to buy a name or an instrument that works and STAYS IN TUNE?
Kenny get an Eastman sb59 you'll love it half the price
Mine is great
Mine too.😁👍
I bought mine about 2 weeks ago from Sweetwater, the guitar has some painting issues but not a deal breaker. It has a buzzing sound that it might need a professional setup.
I was sick when I bought a studio les Paul... Sold it😮 I ordered (back ordered)a SIRE L-7 Black Beauty les PAUL, way better quality and design.😊
Recently purchased a 2019 LP Special Tribute. The seller on Reverb is a longtime NYS guitar store, the listing said new and never used, you could call this guitar 5 years old or 5 years new. Rounded neck, wrap around bridge for just under 1k. Highly recommend this model if you can pick one up.
My company owns a production studio. We stopped Gibson purchases over 20 years ago because of junk instruments. Went with PRS, Martin and Furch and have never looked back. People work hard for their money. They don’t deserve to be ripped off. Somewhere along the line Gibson lost its sense of shame.
I’d like you to start showing the QC cards if they still include them in the case. I’d like to know who the QCs are that are passing this crap. I worked at Gibson in Nashville for 20 plus years and I was a Final Assembly QC for 10 of those years. I can’t believe what I’m seeing now that’s leaving the factory. I left in 2020. Please let me know who signed the cards with these guitars and if it’s someone I know, I will send your videos to them.
If you want LP, I suggest looking for heritage guitars. G&L good choice for strat style.
If you are looking for quality guitars, made in Japan like Ibanez and Esp this is the way to go.
If you want to play authentic, 😅, then look for Gibson, and have a coffee at the Gibson stores to clear your head.
Yep
I went with G&L I bought three over deciding to purchase PRS is like everybody else is.
I would possibly consider a schecter for the next one
I do have other Ibenez and I've had great luck with them too.
But with my gnl so I have american-made ones Fullerton a Tele butter blonde
But they're not the tributes for the american-made once I spent a little more for guitars sitting right up there in the 1700 range they are a damn good quality guitar for what I need.
I’m so lucky in that I can go to my local Mom & Pop Gibson & Fender retailer and buy the guitar from them. If they don’t have what I want they order it and call me when it’s in. They have found me more great guitars than I can count. They also sell on consignment. As a result I’ve purchased multiple Gibson guitars from them.
A real shame, Gibson was a much better company many years ago. Sad to see them go down. I remember a guy who got a big high dollar Gibson jazz box back in the early 90's and it had a strand of log hair in the finish on the face of the guitar! True story back in Cambridge MA.
They still are. Things happen. I have bought numerous new Les Paul's between 2019 and 2024, I haven't had a single issue with a single one. Sometimes a bad one slips through the cracks and then we get a video like this. Gibson sells more guitars than any other brand, so by the numbers will have more guitars with qc issues seen by the public.
Mine had extremely dry fingerboard with quite some tooling marks (issues that you don’t even see with
They didn’t send you a brand new one? If Im paying that much for anything that’s an instant deal breaker. Some people may be okay with that but Im not. If Im paying for something new, Im getting something NEW, especially a quality instrument like a Gibson.
I think the return count and not sending out a new one says all that needs saying about quality *_"like Gibson."_*
Quality? Gibson? .No. Expensive doesn't mean quality.
@@MarkTurner-vs7uc I get all the quality control problems, but you can’t tell me you’ve watched the process of making a gibson at the factory and say its not quality. The only difference is they’re stupid enough to let the guitars leave the factory without fixing the shit that should have not been there when it left
@@helio1055there are a million guitars of choose before I’d waste my money on a USA Gibson. As someone who owns 2 incredible Murphy labs, however, I can’t find another brand in the price range that plays better. Moral of the story, buy Heritage or something similar if your budget is 3k, Gibson doesn’t give its USA line employees enough time to do it right that’s why so much can be missed. These ppl aren’t idiots they’re just under the gun without regard to whether the instrument is done right or not. If you’re shrewd you can get a good custom shop for 4K, Very much worth the extra 1k to get a proper example.
That’s what I’ve been saying…the employees are pushed so hard to meet numbers, things have to slide…and that’s a management problem
You correct are some of those things small sure. Can some of those things be easily corrected sure. But why ? For the price of that guitar it should be perfect end of story. There are so many great guitars in that price range that I have purchased and were perfect right out of the case. After a string change and a set up to my liking they were flawless. I feel for you send that back.
Maybe they need to have some of the Chinese employees at Epiphone come here and show Gibson how to build a good guitar.
Hell yeah. “USA made” doesn’t automatically mean amazing quality in 2024.. at least for me. Back when I was a kid made in USA guitars was the ultimate standard. lol time changed my perceptions
I just ordered a Les Paul Supreme and saw in the photos (on Sweetwater) that there were some marks on the fretboard (the last 4 before the neck pickup) - they are stopping the shipment to inspect again. I hope I didn't make a $4000 mistake.
I bought a guitar on Amazon for $279 CAD, that has none of those problems. I did do a set up on it, and found zero problems frets. Gibson makes very expensive boat anchors.
Thank you for this video. I was torn between getting a PRS and a Gibson recently. I went with the PRS and thought about starting to save for the Les Paul next. I may wait and look for a good used one or wait until Gibson gets their act together. 👍
I bought a Eastman Gold Top , top quality great & half the price.
yeah but for some the shape is a deal breaker
I'm a Gibson fan been buying guitars for 50+ years got all the Gibson guitars LPs SG s Juniors etc but the Eastman guitar are real quality .I got a new LP junior plays good sounds good but the finishing is terrible you get better on a guitar at a third of the price.@@theuserthatishere
I just purchased the 61 Sg reissue with burstbuckers in TV Yellow, and it's pretty much excellent.
I guess I'm super lucky. I've bought four USA Gibsons since 2020 and they are all flawless.
This is a time where I am happy I'm left handed. I hear all the time how QC with Gibson is spotty, but my Les Paul, Les Paul Special, and my 335 are perfect. Out of the box ready to play and no faults. Even my old Les Paul 1960 (the ones they made in the late 90's early 2K's with the 1960 in gold on the pickgaurd) was perfect. I gues due to left handed guitars being small batch I don't have to deal with the issues most players have to deal with.
As time goes on, I find people having less and less integrity in regards to job performance. I see it everywhere I go. So many think they’re overworked and underpaid, taking their job for granted. It’s a scary trajectory we’re on.
It's not the same country anymore.
I’d say I’m overpaid as a forklift driver but definitely overworked. Spontaneously mandated OT for the past 10 years. 60-84/hrs a week.
@@Jeffcatbuckeye I work 60-80 hr /week myself.
@@xa9590 People should be working LESS and putting in more quality time both at work and with their families.
@xa9590 You are working to a point where that is your entire life, and you expect everyone should do the same and with a good attitude? You have it so backwards
Hold on a minute…my worlds are colliding. Pretty sure I saw you tossing reverse entry drifts in an AWD beast yesterday, lol. And here it turns out you’re a guitar nerd just like me. A man of class and many talents!
U dont lay a paul down like that on the head with body up
I would be looking for an older used model on second hand market, 90s etc.
This is truely astounding. The state of those fret nibs is mind blowing. I thought Gibson were getting back on track with QC. Obviously not.
I just want to say, you are completely justified in this video and how you feel. We all know we pay this premium for perfection.
With that being said, I just got my purple burst trad pro v, and not as many issue that you have, but I definitely have more than I’m happy with.
That’s why you go to a store and pick one out. Just because some aren’t great doesn’t mean they all are. They still make great guitars.
That's true but if Gibson is charging 3k dollars for a standard les paul, I think as customers who are paying a premium price, we have the right to expect it to be perfect out of the box.
I have owned 12 Gibson Les Pauls over the past 35 years. Seven Standards, three Studios and two Juniors. I have sold them all except one. It is a 96 Les Paul Studio. It is Les Paul perfection as far as I am concerned and I will never sell it. Build quality is flawless, 50's neck, one piece mahogany body and outstanding tone with incredibly dynamic pickups. I have tried to love modern Les Pauls but they just don't have that wow factor.
The Custom Shop guitars are top-of-the-line but expensive.
I turned my back on new Gibson guitars.About twenty five years ago. Their quality control sucks
Wait, can you put a lesPaul down like that, at 5:42 ??? I was told to never do that. Something about owners whinning about weak lesPaul headstocks and such, and turns out many were just making their own problems. Well, it looks like a fine guitar; wishing you lots of fun.
Dealbreaker? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes....
Fair enough haha
If you weren’t telling the truth! I have the same problem with my first experience but my dream guitar. I actually played one today with cracking around the nut and over staining on the neck joint but luck out and found one second hand after much searching! they should do better !
I'd send that back and demand a replacement. It looks like a child build it.
Kids today.
I bought several new Gibsons in the last 2 years and they've been fantastic quality. One cheapie special tribute had a rough edge on the fretboard where it meets the neck but the rest have had no problems. If there's a dud occasionally send it back and get a replacement. Bought a Custom SG last year and it's just incredible and just last week a Les Paul 70's deluxe. After lowering the extremely high action in 20 seconds with their tool it plays and tunes beautifully. Same with the USA Casino and another Tribute as well.
I’m buying an epiphone.
Look for a used Epi LP Elistist. They were all made in the Fujigen Japan factory and just the average one is as good as the best US made Gibson. I've read that's why Gibson stopped making the Epi Elitist because the quality far surpassed theirs.
The question is. WHERE DID YOU BUY IT? Because there are dealers around the world who work properly and filter instruments with those issues.
Can you elaborate on the process because I'm a little confused - if you bought from a store, why/how did you go direct to Gibson for a replacement when they usually operate through the authorised retailer i.e. the store?
You can do either, but I chose to send it directly back to Gibson because the store isn't that local, it's about an hour and a half drive each way from my house. Instead of burning half a day, Gibson sent a return label and I took the easier route
@@linnykenneyleather I've heard of dealing direct with Gibson when they're the retailer (i.e. an online purchase or Gibson Garage), otherwise I've always been told the dealer is the liaison with Gibson and that's where the exchange will be sent. To buy a guitar from a retailer and then bypass them to deal with directly with Gibson is a new one for me - not saying it isn't possible, but I've always heard Gibson keeps within those channels.
He just told ya what happened!
Guck Fibson !
Neck stamp is rarely the date of finished guitar...can be a year different between neck stamp date and guitar completion date
Id rather get ripped off for a few hundred by the Chinese than give money to Gibson and have the same problems
Gibson must be buying Chibsons and sticking real Gibson headstock finishes on them.
Made by Chibson for Gibson.
I decided to get a demo guitar when I bought my SG modern, reasoning that they wouldn't have used a bad guitar as a demo. I'm very happy with it -- I can't find any flaws at all, and it was a little cheaper than it would have been otherwise. YMMV, of course. Parenthetically, I'd also mention that I more recently bought a Squier Toronado. I love my SG, but for me at least, the Toro is also a fantastic instrument and cost an order of magnitude less.
A lot of people think younger players aren't playing Gibsons because they're not cool anymore... personally I think it has a lot more to do with these issues. Millennials and Gen Z players are just not going to put up with it when you can get a Squier that's flawless and plays great for ~$500. The boomers will put up with the issues because Pete Townshend or Peter Green or Gary Moore or someone else used to play one back in the '70s when times were good and everyone drove muscle cars and hated communists
I bought a new Les Paul in the fall, and it’s perfect. But nobody who’s an actual musician cares about extremely minor cosmetic issues that you need a microscope to see. The only things that actually matter are issues that affect playability, which is all in the neck and fretboard. And most of those are fixed by a proper setup. The OCD of some hobbyists is insane. I mean, if it has a giant scratch on it or something, ok. But most of this stuff is literally microscopic. It seems that some people on the internet just have a weird obsession with trashing Gibson, and almost none of them can actually play beyond beginner level. And some of them claim to own like 30 guitars, which is insane. How about learning to play one of them?
The frets are sticking out of the fretboard, that's what sealed the deal that it was going back... you're right that the rest was pretty picky but you don't "need a microscope" and "literally microscopic" is obviously hyperbole on your part. These pics were all just taken with an iphone. And the thing is that nobody else is halfway this sloppy anywhere near this price point. If you look around and flip it over, you shouldn't find a half dozen messy little wood shop and paint shop mistakes here and there. This guitar gets an obvious F for the fretboard work and maybe a C- for overall finish. It should be an A for fretboard work and I'd live with a B for everything else. I'll keep sending them back at Gibson's expense until we get there!
@@linnykenneyleather I’ve never seen any of those issues with a Gibson, except maybe the binding being a little off. I chalk those things up to the fact that they’re largely hand made. So either you have really bad luck or you’ve got a dealer shifting you B-stock or something. If you paid full price for the first one and Gibson also gave you a rough one as a replacement, that is on them.
I have two Les Pauls a 72 Goldtop Deluxe and a 79 KM in CS. They are both great. My last 3 HB guitars have all been Heritages. Two 555s and an H157, their Custom. The Heritages are phenomenal. Glad I git them before there prices went way up!
come on....gibsons are perfectly fine for what they are....a image brand for hanging on the wall or spinning around the ceiling....why would a bunch of financial predators like KKR (look up the KKR company who owns gibson) not make great musical instruments... how can a company that has a director or brand experience not make good guitars...it is the "brand" that you experience, not the frets or neck or finish....it is a shame for the good people from the past that work at gibson ...not the new marketing types....play authentic
Buy a D'Angelico. I just grabbed a beautiful, used Excel DC Tour in wine red for only $400, and it's remarkable. Even came with the factory soft case plus a really good hard case (I dont remember the brand).
Just buy an eastman and be done with it.
I’ve been looking for a Les Paul custom for years. I finally bought a slightly used 2003 57 gold top. I almost gave up on Gibson, due to all the issues I would see on them at the music stores. I got a good plek from an amazing business in Austin TX and everything’s great. It’s really sad that I had to look for specific years where production was better than others. I paid under what a new junk custom is today so I’m pleased. There’s gems still out there and it’s great when you finally find it.
RUclips comments make it sound like Gibsons sending out every guitar like this.
probably because so many people receive guitar with issues like this.
@@gscgold I have a 2021 LesPaul Standard that's flawless
@@davedavid7061 trade you for a 2024 gold top 🤣
@@linnykenneyleather sounds like a deal😉
@davedavid7061 Gibson has excellent quality control about 60% of the time. They likely have a personnel issue in the form of someone who phones it in much of the time and lets the crap pass through.
I sold off my last Gibson and never looking back. My PRS’s do everything I’ve ever dreamed of and if I absolutely had to have a Les Paul it would be from Heritage
😂 My local guitar center is full of Gibson guitars just like this. They are not worth the money.
Maybe you could shop for an older Gibson that has your desired specs and was built before the covod boom. It appears the covod boom did bad things at Epiphone and Gibson facilities. The pressure to meet demands was probably immense and hasn't let up yet so their guitars show signs of shoddiness only cheapest of cheap $75 guitars show. Shit the cheap guitars didn't even have that much bad stuff wrong with them. 2017 seemed to be a good year for Gibson guitars as my SG standard with 57s is perfect and hardly any tooling marks on the binding around the fretboard. My 2019 Gibson Les Paul double cut special T is a killer guitar especially for how inexpensive it was, I think I paid $430 brand new at guitar center for a cherry 2 pickup p90 version ! It was 11 pounds+ and that's probably why it didn't sell until I asked about it and a hefty discount was offered before it would sell😂 I pretty happy with my 2020 Gibson Cherry burst Les Paul Tribute as it has nice bright 490 set on it and the maple neck gives it a nice snappy twang that I like in this Les Paul. That and I only paid $550 for it with nice brown padded good bag case. I Don't think I'd be happy with those guitars paying retail 😂 money either but since I got such a good deal I'm pretty happy with my Gibson guitars.
Good luck on your search for a good gold top !
What I don’t get, why does your local guitar center accept them to begin with?
They should return them asap.
Is there a recent year when Gibson didn’t have such QC problems with their gold tops?
Bro you will never get a perfect Gibson. Even the custom shops have flaws. Understand they’re handmade and none of them will be flawless.
Boom!! ❤
@@Joey_McElroy I’m speaking as myself who used to be insane about scrutinizing every detail on a new USA made LP. Moved onto custom shop 59 and 60 reissues and even they came with binding bleed, loose pickguards… as long as it’s a killer sounding and feeling instrument that’s what matters. But I get it, just know you’ll never get a perfect one
PRS doesn't have as many problems as this and that includes its SE lines made overseas. Since Gibson raised its prices, PRS pricing is now on par with Gibson. I haven't heard about Fender guitars having these problems either.
Handmade does not mean something has to be flawed or defective. Handmade by kids in Nashville getting paid $15/hr though... I get it
@@linnykenneyleather exactly
Weird - I've just bought a new SG standard 61 and it is almost flawless, I checked it with a fret rocker in the store and the frets were perfect - it clearly had been PLEKed.
Dude! You're the rally driver on O'Neill too! How awesome can you get
Hahaha you're the only one that noticed
20yrs ago my Firebird V was missing screws to several tuners on back of headstock.😢😮
That Gold paint is used as a ground coat for Candy finishes.
You can't sand that Gold ground coat paint at all without ruining it. They sand the top clear cost.
I own a '74 LP Standard. My latest guitar purchase was a Squire baritone - cost less than $400, and has none of the defects this guitar has. You were robbed. I did buy the Squire from Sweetwater - second guitar I've bought from them and great service each time.
it took me 3 orders to get a somewhat playable Les Paul and I still had to send it to Gibson to get the frets leveled. The whole process all said and done with ordering, waiting, returning, ordering, waiting etc. took from the beginning of October to mid-January. Also, Gibson tried to have me pay to ship it back to them even though I'd had the guitar for less than two weeks and it's under warranty. I had to put up a fight to get them to send me a return authorization and shipping label.
side note: the 2nd Les Paul I received was 11.5 lbs. The one I kept is 8.9 lbs. HUGE difference. The 2nd one was so heavy the knobs were cracked upon arrival, they probably cracked under the weight of the guitar if it was laying face down when shipping. The top strap button was coming out, and it left me with terrible neck and shoulder pain after playing it.
Holy smokes! 11.5 lb is the new record for the heaviest I've heard of on a current LP
@@linnykenneyleather I thought perhaps it bypassed the weight relief stage of production but Gibson said it was most likely just a very heavy piece of mahogany paired with a very heavy maple top. Most of the weight was at the heal so I really felt it even with a decent strap.
@@JohnSpo shameless plug, if you ever need another strap take a look at our site linnykenney.com/guitar-straps-2-1 we can always do something custom if you don't see exactly what you like 👍
@@linnykenneyleather woah, those straps are beautiful
3 years ago went thru 3 new Gibson Les Paul Tributes - kept none. First one shipped actually had a corner of the nut sliced off, but was sent out anyway. Blew my mind that something like that could be missed. I tried two more - both had fret /fretboard issues similiar to ones in this video - then I gave up..
I just got a brand new tribute, and it’s flawless. Maybe I was just lucky.
As someone who is in the market to buy my first proper LP, this video is making me reconsider
buying new. I am grateful for this video bc it is really helping me to see and confirm that the qc at GIBSON is not as great as it should be for a $4,000 guitar. I think when I pull the trigger I may just buy used, at least then I know it’s more likely to be in better shape. Thank you for sharing this video.
🇨🇦
New or used, just play as many as you can get your hands on. QC aside they’re all different from each other anyways and the QC issues just compound that.
I own two Gibson LPs and I bought them because they immediately jumped out at me when I played them, and were noticeably in a league of their own even before I plugged them in.
Don’t rush the purchase, play as many as you can, and don’t let this video discourage you. For every 10 or 20 crap les pauls out there, there’s always one that’s a gem