Sorry it's so long, I got no one else to tell.
Their customer service is still shit, but the service is fantastic. No communication beyond me calling and being told two weeks, like every time. Finally, I got someone honest who told me typical wait time is 6 to 8 weeks. I could live with that, I just wanted a realistic time line.
So, you'll remember I got a Les Paul Studio dark from GC. When I bought it,I talked to a sales person from their call center, (I guess?). I asked for 15% off, and he gave it to me. When the guitar came, the neck binding had horrific tooling marks, I mean bad. I called him up to discuss it. I asked for another 15% off, and he gave it to me. I didn't want to roll the dice on another one.
So, now I got a new Les Paul for 30% off, but it still had chewed up binding. After trying to decide who I wanted to take it to, I decided I'd rather have Gibson fix it. I emailed customer service with the photos, they mentioned it may be under warranty. Bonus! So I emailed that department who promptly sent out a shipping label so I could send it in. 6 weeks later, I got a fantastic Les Paul with rolled edges and a professional set up, all for a killer price. I couldn't be happier.
If you made it this far, it's a Studio Dark limited edition.
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I always wondered what tooling marks looked like when I see people mention that problem on Gibsons. Got any pics before it was fixed?
What's very strange is how does it make it thru any of the build phases like that? I mean from the guy that installed the binding, the finisher, the parts guy, the setup guy, to the guy that puts it in the case to box it up. Interesting that it's likely such a production line mentality that it become's "someone else's problem". I guess I tend to think of guitar building jobs as a bit more magical.
Anyway, thanks for posting this. Nice to have a happy story in the news these days.
Quote from: harryklippton on May 22, 2022, 04:00:08 AM
I always wondered what tooling marks looked like when I see people mention that problem on Gibsons. Got any pics before it was fixed?
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220522/dc2e85c2e13167ad23274db38d9a21a9.jpeg)
Looks like it was chewed on pretty good.
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Quote from: gordo on May 22, 2022, 11:47:40 AM
What's very strange is how does it make it thru any of the build phases like that? I mean from the guy that installed the binding, the finisher, the parts guy, the setup guy, to the guy that puts it in the case to box it up. Interesting that it's likely such a production line mentality that it become's "someone else's problem". I guess I tend to think of guitar building jobs as a bit more magical.
Anyway, thanks for posting this. Nice to have a happy story in the news these days.
I agree, hopefully they went back to the person that let pass, for a conversion.
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Quote from: jimilee on May 22, 2022, 02:27:44 PM
Quote from: harryklippton on May 22, 2022, 04:00:08 AM
I always wondered what tooling marks looked like when I see people mention that problem on Gibsons. Got any pics before it was fixed?
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220522/dc2e85c2e13167ad23274db38d9a21a9.jpeg)
Looks like it was chewed on pretty good.
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Oh wow yeah that looks like ass. Glad to hear they fixed it. How many les Paul's do you have Jimi?
I imagine someone down the production line only complains once about what someone did previously. They get told to stay in their lane, and they never feel like complaining again.
Quote from: EBK on May 22, 2022, 03:49:57 PM
I imagine someone down the production line only complains once about what someone did previously. They get told to stay in their lane, and they never feel like complaining again.
In my head, there's a different set of supervisory eyes for warranty work. I don't know...
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Quote from: harryklippton on May 22, 2022, 03:26:21 PM
Quote from: jimilee on May 22, 2022, 02:27:44 PM
Quote from: harryklippton on May 22, 2022, 04:00:08 AM
I always wondered what tooling marks looked like when I see people mention that problem on Gibsons. Got any pics before it was fixed?
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220522/dc2e85c2e13167ad23274db38d9a21a9.jpeg)
Looks like it was chewed on pretty good.
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Oh wow yeah that looks like ass. Glad to hear they fixed it. How many les Paul's do you have Jimi?
7, if memory serves.
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Now I need a picture of the fix, otherwise it will haunt me in my dreams every time I buy online.
Glad you got it fixed. Sounds like GC tried to send you a reject to compensate for that 30% 15% off. They are super shady like that
Quote from: Aentons on May 22, 2022, 08:14:25 PM
Glad you got it fixed. Sounds like GC tried to send you a reject to compensate for that 30% 15% off. They are super shady like that
Truth! Jokes on them, huh! No way I was gonna have them fix it.
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Quote from: thomasha on May 22, 2022, 07:20:58 PM
Now I need a picture of the fix, otherwise it will haunt me in my dreams every time I buy online.
You got it. I'm very happy with the rolled binding, it feels a lot better. I feel like the pro setup was doing that little bit extra. They also set up the Les Paul I bought in Nashville at the Gibson Garage.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20220522/d0f05f33ae1e4802059542f011bc363f.jpg)
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Jeebus, that's a pretty pricey guitar by any standards and that fact that the black binding calls itself out I'm really blown away by Gibson's Quality Control. Or lack of it. If I could afford a Gibby these days it does my head and heart good that at least they stood behind getting you in a happy place and that you're a satisfied customer.
Quote from: gordo on May 23, 2022, 02:03:45 AM
Jeebus, that's a pretty pricey guitar by any standards and that fact that the black binding calls itself out I'm really blown away by Gibson's Quality Control. Or lack of it. If I could afford a Gibby these days it does my head and heart good that at least they stood behind getting you in a happy place and that you're a satisfied customer.
Me too, sir. Thank you.
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Gibson is just not worth the money they're charging you for it. Glenn Fricker had a video about the Dave Mustaine signature he had ordered for $2800. It wasn't even properly set up. For that kind of money you expect it to play right straight out of the box. It's made in America products with Chinese levels of quality control. You might as well save you some money and order a Chibson straight away.
Quote from: Muadzin on May 25, 2022, 08:07:57 AM
Gibson is just not worth the money they're charging you for it. Glenn Fricker had a video about the Dave Mustaine signature he had ordered for $2800. It wasn't even properly set up. For that kind of money you expect it to play right straight out of the box. It's made in America products with Chinese levels of quality control. You might as well save you some money and order a Chibson straight away.
Gibson definitely deserves some of the complaints they get about QC. For example, Jimilee's tool marks are absurd.
I tend to be more understanding about setups as wood often moves during storage and/or shipping as it goes from one environment to another. I've seen some really bad setups on new guitars that sat in a warehouse somewhere; and not just Gibsons. My local guitar shop does setups on every guitar that comes in the store. Some manufacturers are better than others at factory setups, but even the better ones move around a bit from the time they leave the factory and may need tweaking.
Quote from: pickdropper on May 25, 2022, 11:18:50 AM
Quote from: Muadzin on May 25, 2022, 08:07:57 AM
Gibson is just not worth the money they're charging you for it. Glenn Fricker had a video about the Dave Mustaine signature he had ordered for $2800. It wasn't even properly set up. For that kind of money you expect it to play right straight out of the box. It's made in America products with Chinese levels of quality control. You might as well save you some money and order a Chibson straight away.
Gibson definitely deserves some of the complaints they get about QC. For example, Jimilee's tool marks are absurd.
I tend to be more understanding about setups as wood often moves during storage and/or shipping as it goes from one environment to another. I've seen some really bad setups on new guitars that sat in a warehouse somewhere; and not just Gibsons. My local guitar shop does setups on every guitar that comes in the store. Some manufacturers are better than others at factory setups, but even the better ones move around a bit from the time they leave the factory and may need tweaking.
I've found setups to be very subjective, and wood moves with its environment. I feel like they messed up the binding but we're more than willing to fix it at no cost. I've found that people love one brand and hate another. I have probably about as many Fenders as Gibsons.
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Some places have a serious QC manager/department that enforces downward with people checking along the entire MF process (and they are hated by MF). I've also worked in a fairly major factory that's QC only did first article inspections and returns. Beyond that MF was responsible for rejecting & doing quality on individual parts or builds in their own work cells. Guess how often that happened? "ship it".
Quote from: pickdropper on May 25, 2022, 11:18:50 AM
Gibson definitely deserves some of the complaints they get about QC. For example, Jimilee's tool marks are absurd.
I tend to be more understanding about setups as wood often moves during storage and/or shipping as it goes from one environment to another. I've seen some really bad setups on new guitars that sat in a warehouse somewhere; and not just Gibsons. My local guitar shop does setups on every guitar that comes in the store. Some manufacturers are better than others at factory setups, but even the better ones move around a bit from the time they leave the factory and may need tweaking.
Yeah, but for a guitar that costs me €1000 I will accept that there should be some setup required. For €3000 I expect it to play well straight out of the box. Solar delivers good playability straight out of the box at around a €1000 every time. Gibson remains hit and miss. Maybe they should move away from hand built into using more CNC so their guitars become more consistent. Hand built by a luthier makes sense. Hand built by a guy working minimum wage is a different thing. A luthier worth his or her name strives for quality. You only need to see Ben's videos from Crimson Guitars the absurd attention to detail he tends to go too. A guy working minimum wage is just clocking in hours. That is why CNC has revolutionized guitar building, bringing in a consistency in quality that used to vary, depending on whoever was in charge of management.
Quote from: Muadzin on June 09, 2022, 10:42:44 AM
Quote from: pickdropper on May 25, 2022, 11:18:50 AM
Gibson definitely deserves some of the complaints they get about QC. For example, Jimilee's tool marks are absurd.
I tend to be more understanding about setups as wood often moves during storage and/or shipping as it goes from one environment to another. I've seen some really bad setups on new guitars that sat in a warehouse somewhere; and not just Gibsons. My local guitar shop does setups on every guitar that comes in the store. Some manufacturers are better than others at factory setups, but even the better ones move around a bit from the time they leave the factory and may need tweaking.
Yeah, but for a guitar that costs me €1000 I will accept that there should be some setup required. For €3000 I expect it to play well straight out of the box. Solar delivers good playability straight out of the box at around a €1000 every time. Gibson remains hit and miss. Maybe they should move away from hand built into using more CNC so their guitars become more consistent. Hand built by a luthier makes sense. Hand built by a guy working minimum wage is a different thing. A luthier worth his or her name strives for quality. You only need to see Ben's videos from Crimson Guitars the absurd attention to detail he tends to go too. A guy working minimum wage is just clocking in hours. That is why CNC has revolutionized guitar building, bringing in a consistency in quality that used to vary, depending on whoever was in charge of management.
Yeah, Gibson can be a bit hit or miss, which is maddening at times.
But even a great factory setup can change once the environment does. Wood is dynamic by nature and even great QC companies have issues with necks moving in transit or once they arrive in a new environment. The local shop that I go do (not a Gibson dealer) gives every guitar a setup when it arrives, even ones from companies with a solid rep for QC. As long as guitars are built out of wood, that will often be required.
wood is environment responsive, IF these things were made of ONLY plastic/metal then it'd be ok to see things maybe going a 1/8 turn out of tune from shipping. A stradavarius goes wonky sitting in a damp room for more than 1 hour ffs.... I leave wood for a build sit by my furnace for 6 months before I even THINK of drawing the body lines. While it's nice to hear that the factory corrected a minor issue most people can tolerate a bit of hard to notice scratch and dent to get the discount. I look at those marks and think not that bad, ever see what an axe looks like after you've had to use it to defend yourself middle of a bar fight?