Tony Iommi SG Special showed up today and has to go back.

[Super fuzz]

This is only after opening what will happen to this in time? I won't take a picture of every marker because they are all the same.

I can’t even see what the issue is here. Play it more and inspect it less.

 

[Bettyboo]

I completely respect Gary's right to have the guitar he wants - especially for the price.

Not everyone can do it, but if you have very specific requirements then going to a shop and checking it out in every detail has to be the route forward.

Gibson uses nitro and that "moves" during the manufacturing process and the rest of its life; personally, I love nitro finishes and am willing to pay extra for it - I don't expect a regular finish because if I did then I'd buy a poly finish of some type.

Gibsons are always a pain in the arse... My pictured SG special Ltd ed had a crap nut, the nitro is too thick and glossy which obscures the wood, I hate the circuit board, the bridge was faulty, the bridge is just a bad design due to its movement on the studs (I added Faber locking studs to fix it), I don't much like the standard tuners (I added 18:1 strip tuners), and the list goes on. But... working with the [email protected]£$... I have the guitar where I want it to be, and everybody who plays it says its amazing. It's a Gibson, it is quite unlikely to be perfect out of the factory (maybe 20% are? - until the nitro cures, and the neck moves and...), but it gets there.

Fenders are great, imho. If a Fender US standard had nitro, a hard case, the P90s/humbuckers, that amazing neck angle sound quality (that makes the tuners and nut and... such a problem), that neck with no bolts then nitro'd over - how much would Fender charge, and how many would be at the current consistent level of Fender USA??? I suspect, about 20% or so.

The OP, Gary, has every right to have his expectations met - Gibson is a marketing machine than makes promises. It's easier to reach that place with a unique Gibson guitar when holding the guitar in your hand in a shop, imho.

 

[Gary Gretsch]

I completely respect Gary's right to have the guitar he wants - especially for the price.

Not everyone can do it, but if you have very specific requirements then going to a shop and checking it out in every detail has to be the route forward.

Gibson uses nitro and that "moves" during the manufacturing process and the rest of its life; personally, I love nitro finishes and am willing to pay extra for it - I don't expect a regular finish because if I did then I'd buy a poly finish of some type.

Gibsons are always a pain in the arse... My pictured SG special Ltd ed had a crap nut, the nitro is too thick and glossy which obscures the wood, I hate the circuit board, the bridge was faulty, the bridge is just a bad design due to its movement on the studs (I added Faber locking studs to fix it), I don't much like the standard tuners (I added 18:1 strip tuners), and the list goes on. But... working with the [email protected]£$... I have the guitar where I want it to be, and everybody who plays it says its amazing. It's a Gibson, it is quite unlikely to be perfect out of the factory (maybe 20% are? - until the nitro cures, and the neck moves and...), but it gets there.

Fenders are great, imho. If a Fender US standard had nitro, a hard case, the P90s/humbuckers, that amazing neck angle sound quality (that makes the tuners and nut and... such a problem), that neck with no bolts then nitro'd over - how much would Fender charge, and how many would be at the current consistent level of Fender USA??? I suspect, about 20% or so.

The OP, Gary, has every right to have his expectations met - Gibson is a marketing machine than makes promises. It's easier to reach that place with a unique Gibson guitar when holding the guitar in your hand in a shop, imho.

Thank You. I may have to keep one that is not perfect. As sad as this makes me feel. I also called Gibson. I can send it to them and at there choice repair or replace. From where I live shipping to Tennessee will be $96.00 and between $50 and $100 to insure it for $2000.00.

 

[OldDog]

The QC processes at Gibson seem to be very tolerant. The Japanese have a life philosophy called Wabi Sabi. What it means is that in life, in nature, there are flaws. In that regard, perfection's pursuit requires the builder, artist, or whatever, incorporate tiny, insignificant but necessary flaws in their creations as the mark of a craftsman. With that, it seems Gibson is really heavily into Wabi Sabi. Like way, way into it.

Painting anything by hand is always going to have variations. No two guitars are ever going to be the same even with solid colors. There are some variations that will result in fatal flaws. Like paint being too thick will always cause cracking down the road. Things like uneven scraping, runs, finishing flaws like buffer burn through and all that are flaws in training and, again, in QC. Gibson's throughput seems to accept fixable quality problems. Like; Hey, Joe. That last guitar had some paint sags, and Mary, the scraping you did on the neck binding dug in too deep and you chipped the clear. I wonder what their turnover is like in finishing? Are they hiring just anyone? Seems like people they hire in paint and finish would have autobody training.

 

[An Abiding Dude]

Thank You. I may have to keep one that is not perfect. As sad as this makes me feel. I also called Gibson. I can send it to them and at there choice repair or replace. From where I live shipping to Tennessee will be $96.00 and between $50 and $100 to insure it for $2000.00.

Hi Gary,

Finally came back and saw your photos of the issue. The fact that you live in Tennessee and Gibson USA is in Nashville it seems baffling that it could be caused by temperature changes (the phenomena of taking a guitar out of the shipping box/case too soon between temperature extremes rather than letting it acclimate in the box/case for 24 hours which has the possibility of causing finish checking). Sounds like you're buying direct from Gibson and not a third party retailer, so I take it eliminating the shipping factor by taking a road trip to Nashville and visiting the Gibson Garage is out of the question for you for some reason? That way you can inspect before you buy? Seems like that would save a lot of the heartache and frustration you're going through.

I live in Las Vegas and bought mine through GC here. I went and inspected my binding on my Iommi just a few moments ago, but no fine checking on the fretboard binding like you're experiencing. I can only imagine that there is some kind of temperature factor that is causing this problem, unless it is a manufacturing flaw in the binding itself because how can a clearcoat finish be fundamentally flawed from the outset when being applied in a liquid state? Weird.

 

[Gary Gretsch]

Hi Gary,

Finally came back and saw your photos of the issue. The fact that you live in Tennessee and Gibson USA is in Nashville it seems baffling that it could be caused by temperature changes (the phenomena of taking a guitar out of the shipping box/case too soon between temperature extremes rather than letting it acclimate in the box/case for 24 hours which has the possibility of causing finish checking). Sounds like you're buying direct from Gibson and not a third party retailer, so I take it eliminating the shipping factor by taking a road trip to Nashville and visiting the Gibson Garage is out of the question for you for some reason? That way you can inspect before you buy? Seems like that would save a lot of the heartache and frustration you're going through.

I live in Las Vegas and bought mine through GC here. I went and inspected my binding on my Iommi just a few moments ago, but no fine checking on the fretboard binding like you're experiencing. I can only imagine that there is some kind of temperature factor that is causing this problem, unless it is a manufacturing flaw in the binding itself because how can a clearcoat finish be fundamentally flawed from the outset when being applied in a liquid state? Weird.

I live in N.Y. state. But the guitar did acclimate and they were all luckily for me delivered on a warmer day. 40s and 50s it has been a warm winter here. This last one I posted pictures of had rust spots on the strings. I wish I lived in Nashville I would take it there personally.

 

[An Abiding Dude]

I live in N.Y. state. But the guitar did acclimate and they were all luckily for me delivered on a warmer day. 40s and 50s it has been a warm winter here. This last one I posted pictures of had rust spots on the strings. I wish I lived in Nashville I would take it there personally.

Ah, a lot of humidity up there, eh? Must've misread your previous post. Yeah, too bad you're not closer.

 

[MR D]

Thank You. I may have to keep one that is not perfect. As sad as this makes me feel. I also called Gibson. I can send it to them and at there choice repair or replace. From where I live shipping to Tennessee will be $96.00 and between $50 and $100 to insure it for $2000.00.

get urself a set of Nut Slot files (Jalisco= $53) and String Action Gauge ($8), yes? Getting the string height at the 1st fret right (.23-.25-.27-.18-.14-.11 Low E across to High-e) is sooooo important ! Yet that is something I have never seen GIBSON USA get right..... (on a GIBSON USA solid body electric ! OR any other GIBSON Guitar that is less than a CUSTOM Shop Guitar) .... out of the Factory..

 

[Gary Gretsch]

get urself a set of Nut Slot files (Jalisco= $53) and String Action Gauge ($8), yes? Getting the string height at the 1st fret right (.23-.25-.27-.18-.14-.11 Low E across to High-e) is sooooo important ! Yet that is something I have never seen GIBSON USA get right..... (on a GIBSON USA solid body electric ! OR any other GIBSON Guitar that is less than a CUSTOM Shop Guitar) .... out of the Factory..

The nut is not bad, but what is bad every Gibson I have seen has been cleared over the nut. They must put the nut in before the clear coat. They do a bad job of masking it and the clear is super thick on the part of the nut that is cleared. The last one I sent back had cracking clear from the nut into the neck.

 

[papagayo]

This is only after opening what will happen to this in time? I won't take a picture of every marker because they are all the same.

What' s wrong with the dots ?

 

[MR D]

The nut is not bad, but what is bad every Gibson I have seen has been cleared over the nut. They must put the nut in before the clear coat. They do a bad job of masking it and the clear is super thick on the part of the nut that is cleared. The last one I sent back had cracking clear from the nut into the neck.

Yeah, getting the original NUT out can be a challenge, the clear coat is really thick.

 

[Gary Gretsch]

What' s wrong with the dots ?

Hard to take a picture and resize it to post on here. A crack at every dot and at the nut.