Poor Gibson

[swbo101]

If you want a good Gibson, do yourself a favor and buy an old one. Even the ones from the 70's through the early 80's are much better and cheaper than anything they make today.

 

[YellowJacket]

I love my 2002 Les Paul Standard. It sounds great acoustically, has awesome fret work, and it just rips. I played almost every guitar in the store to find it and when I did, only one pickup was working. Seriously, the electronics were not even working correctly. Furthermore, there is some orange peal finish around the neck pocket. You'd think with a $3,000 instrument, they'd get it right. PRS guitars in that price range (and lower) are perfect. Ultimately, I just liked the LP better so I got it instead.

I noticed in time that the neck pickup was boomy and the bridge was thin and bright. I replaced the pickups with Bare KNuckles and put the upgraded pots and caps in the guitar, and voila. NOW it is the guitar it should have been when I bought it. If I was to drop a wad of cash on a guitar again, I'd get a Godin. Canadian made and great value for $$$s.

 

[JUS]

I have a 2002 ES-135 with 57 Classics in it. I absolutely love this guitar. It stays perfectly in tune, has wonderful tone, is well adjusted. I did purchase it, however, with a hairline crack in the top level of laminate on the top, protruding 1.5" from the f fole. This crack has been epoxied and does not appear to be growing.

I also have a 2007 Studio Premium Plus Top. This guitar is beautiful, but I have noticed clearcoat peeling off the edges of the frets...with a green corrosion forming on those surfaces. I have never experienced this before. The guitar is difficult to keep tuned. The stock pickups are meh.