Buyer Beware! Another Gibson USA Failed QC story - July 2023

[Fuzzbuzz]

About a month ago I purchased an SG Special from musiciansfriend. They were on back order which I was totally fine with. It arrived yesterday, and I finally got to see first hand what Gibson has been allowing through their QC. When I called MF they did confirm the guitar was direct from Gibson and it did not come from a store and it was not a demo. (I paid full price, brand new)

Everyone at MF have been great by the way. Super nice reps. They set up a return very quickly and we’re sympathetic. What I worry about is this guitar will be on their site as an open box and in my opinion it’s not worth $1399 which was the price they offered me as an alternative to return. Sweetwater would more than likely have this priced as a demo for $1199 which is a fair price.

Anyhoo… the damage is all cosmetic. It looks like someone got a little carried away with the buffing wheel and stripped the nitro finish off a few spots. Nice scratch on the top of the guitar exposing the white undercoat. White undercoat showing through on the serial number. ( at least the serial number is visible on this one)

I get it it… guitars are meant to get played and bumped and dinged… and I don’t disagree with that. But the fun of buying a new guitar is knowing you were the one that did all the bumping and dinging.

Just an FYI.

Cheers!

[Embenny]

That's especially brutal. I don't think the serial number is stripped paint though, that's most likely buffing compound caught in the impression since the number is stamped (it would be impossible to cause an abrasion in a stamped number without burning through the finish surrounding it).

I only buy used Gibsons. I have experienced the full gamut, from a Memphis ES-339 that I can only describe as having some sort of autoimmune disorder causing it to reject its own finish, to the most utterly pristine and inspiring Flying V I've ever laid hands on (which I now own).

The price tags on Gibsons are all over the map, both new and used, and the quality of the guitars varies just as much, so their value proposition is seemingly random and can land anywhere from "steal of the century" to "overpriced piece of garbage."

I will never, ever, ever buy a Gibson sight-unseen. The only one I ever got that way was a trade with an OSGer whose opinion I trusted, so I don't consider that to be a true "sight unseen," and it was as great a guitar as they said it was.

But I still own like...5 Gibsons currently (4 if you don't count the one that has one foot out the door with three active sale/trade negotiations ongoing), because I was able to lay hands on them before making the purchase or trade, and they're all top-notch guitars.

I would try not to let this sour you on them, though I understand why it would.

I just wouldn't buy any by mail again, unless you're happy with it being another roll of the dice.

[Fuzzbuzz]

I’m honestly under the opinion that musicians friend might not have been up front about where the guitar came from. I looked at the shipping label and it originated from musicians friend warehouse in Missouri. I’m kind of betting they sent me a store demo for new guitar price.

[Jonesie]

I’m honestly under the opinion that musicians friend might not have been up front about where the guitar came from. I looked at the shipping label and it originated from musicians friend warehouse in Missouri. I’m kind of betting they sent me a store demo for new guitar price.

From what I gather that's been their MO since the pandemic started.

[GilmourD]

I’m honestly under the opinion that musicians friend might not have been up front about where the guitar came from. I looked at the shipping label and it originated from musicians friend warehouse in Missouri. I’m kind of betting they sent me a store demo for new guitar price.

Being a former GC employee the worst thing that ever happened to MF was GC buying them. The company as a whole doesn't have a good relationship with honesty.

[shoegaze_head]

Scary stuff, thanks for sharing. I think I've pretty much decided if I ever want a Gibson, I'm just going to get an Epiphone. For how much you hear about Fender slacking with QC control it feels like Gibson has got them beat. Makes me wonder if QC has always been bad and now we are just talking about it more, or if something changed to make the companies start putting out more duds.

I’m honestly under the opinion that musicians friend might not have been up front about where the guitar came from. I looked at the shipping label and it originated from musicians friend warehouse in Missouri. I’m kind of betting they sent me a store demo for new guitar price.

Being a former GC employee the worst thing that ever happened to MF was GC buying them. The company as a whole doesn't have a good relationship with honesty.

I've never used MF but GC is a real pain to do business with. Every time I go in there to try out the offsets they're set up terribly to the point where some of the strings just buzz or the neck is bone dry. The non offset guitars normally do better but still will have dried out necks and terrible action. I know that the guitar you buy comes out of a box and is not the display piece, but how are you supposed to know if you like the guitar if you can't test it out?

The prices for the used gear is insane too. They will have used pedals just sitting in the display cases maybe 20 dollars cheaper than I could buy one new, or amps for maybe 100 dollars less than new. Really sucks that its the closest music store to me.

[Embenny]

Scary stuff, thanks for sharing. I think I've pretty much decided if I ever want a Gibson, I'm just going to get an Epiphone.

Nah, Epiphones really aren't Gibsons. They're great guitars, maybe even better in several objective ways and some more subjective ones, but they aren't Gibsons. And I don't mean that as in, "they're just imitations," I just mean that they have their own set of strengths the way Gretsch and PRS have different strengths, and they finally seem to be outgrowing their longstanding reputation as "Gibson's Squiers."

So for sure, if you want a Gibson-shaped object, Epiphone has lots of great options.

But remain open-minded about Gibsons. It literally took me 20 years to truly connect with a Gibson for the first time, my black Flying V. I bought it on a lark because it was stupidly underpriced and I figured I'd flip it so I could put the money into a Jazzmaster or something.

Man, when I played it for the first time it was like a lightning strike. Like the first time I strummed my Jaguar in 2002 and said, "this guitar will be mine forever." Thay Jag still is, by the way, with the only mods being a Staytrem, a new pickups/pickguard. I knew it from the first moments with it.

The V was the same. I will never part with it. Nothing I say about it will sound unlike things I say about other guitars, but it's a feeling. The gestalt, whole being more than the sum of its parts. And many of those parts, like the feel of the nitro, the neck profile, the frets, the fretboard wood (Granadillo), are things that can't be found on an Epi.

Now, I traded for an Epiphone Flying V later, and frankly it was every bit as good. The poly wasn't a minus, it was flawless and durable and felt amazing under my hand as I moved around the neck. But the gestalt wasn't there, it didn't feel like that lightning strike when I picked it up. It had the '58 shape instead of thr '67 shape, which is shorter and wider, and the strap button ends up being about 2 frets closer to the bridge, which changes how it hangs on a strap (and can't be fixed by a simple relocation of the button), so the angle it sat at, the angles of both my left and right hands, all these little things were just totally different.

It was insanely good, especially for its price, but even for the price I paid for the Gibson. It just wasn't my guitar.

Don't buy Gibsons sight-unseen. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Don't consume yourself with a quest to find the right one. But remain open to the idea. Because some day you might find someone looking to sell a Gibson, and you'll pick it up, and maybe that lightning strike will hit you. And then you'll find yourself on a Fender forum telling people who are rightly complaining about bullshit QC or terrible ideas like hologram stickers and robot tuners, and you'll be saying, "But I still managed to find one that is as inspiring to play as any guitar I have ever owned."

I never thought in a million years that I'd feel that way about one. Now I actually have two that I feel that way about. And I'll continue giving them a shot, even though the last three I traded for headed back out the door.

[PapaB]

I'm a late convert to Gibsons. My first was a mahogany Explorer with the most impressive case I've ever seen. It's huge, and when it opens you feel like you are staring into the Holy of Holys! Lol.
My lightning moment came with SGs, my friend has a vintage 1961 LP Custom white (SG), like Sister Rossetta played, three pickups, thin, with a funny vibrato arm and pretty useless thin frets .... I own two SGs now, and love them. Very punk guitars, lightweight .... Tremendous fret access especially for slide guitar.
I'm not crazy about American (USA) instruments per say. I generally prefer MIJ Fenders, MIM are ok too. (I do think Martins are the greatest acoustic guitars ever made (probably not true, but ....) I wouldn't sell my Elvis Presley D28M for $30k, I think it's a national treasure. )
But what I wanted to add to the conversation was this, USA Gibson stamped on the back of the head-stock means a lot to me. It's not a label, a sticker, or a neck plate .... It's like a tattoo: permanent. It's not going anywhere. Necks are set in, the number tells you where and when it was made ....
I think Gibsons are a better investments than other brands. I like 1965 and earlier instruments in particular.
It's nice to see this post, so that others buying new will consider checking their instruments well.
On the other hand, Gibson is hanging by a thin thread as a business. They just survived chapter 13 bankruptcy ....
I'd love to see them continuing making instruments. Time will tell.
They better tighten up their QC on all their instruments. Gibsons are expensive. They better be good.