Sorry, but more gibson insight

[LerxstLee]

That may be, but my Heritage Millie slays any LP I've ever heard...

I do thank you Mavguy, I had contacted Heritage Guitars and they are going to repair my Gibson Alex Lifeson
ES-355 for me. I have taken a look at some of their instruments and they sure do seem like a consideration over
Gibson. I will be sending my guitar soon at which point they will look over and determine if they can indeed correct
the numerous issues I have with the poorly finished product. I am not sure they can take the chunk of wood off that
was supposed to make it period correct, '70s volute era, yet the poor neck binding tape/paint job and the neck pickup being 4-6MMs off center is something that to this day has bothered me. I would love to name the place where I puchased this guitar, they have a great name from plenty of sources, yet after 48 hours they won't even entertain assisting you with help towards an instrument you purchased from them. As I have pointed out before, With nine instruments I have never ran into issues like I had with this Gibson AL-355, and with 48 hours from the time you sign for it that is not as much time as it really sounds. 48hours, minus 12-16 hours to sleep, 20 hours working counting breaks and travel time, plus the normal everyday grind, I was overwhelmed with how nice it played, looked, and most importantly sounded. Well by the end of the week you start to notice some issues that are easily overlooked yet easily forgiven, I have seldom found issues that were easily overlooked yet would haunt me. Then contacting Gibson made what I thought would be a simple "we would gladly take care of those issues" to over two months of "we are looking into that issue and perhaps we can take care of the rest at the same time" to the echo's of "sorry you are unhappy with the instrument, the neck is not incorrectly made, you could (1) send it to our repair and restoration dept., you will be responsible for all shipping and the cost of all parts and labor,(2) or being a limited guitar that sold out quickly, you could probably sell it on ebay.
I also love the way Gibson puts a disclaimer on all of their emails, this is the property of Gibson and can only be used for ECT,ECT, basically you can't show anyone nor forward it.
Well wake up Lerxst, and bend over to take the friendly Gibson 24/7 customer service award.
Thank you for spending $3800.00 with us and we are sorry the guitar is sub par.
/cheers

 

[toneguy86]

Anyone tried the Collings LP "copies?" They look nice and well built (Collings makes great guitars with an attention to detail) and seem to really be a stab at the market of dissatisfied Gibson players that want a quality axe, are willing to pay for one and want "that tone."

Mark

 

[KH Guitar Freak]

Sadly, there are plenty of Gibson copies out there that slay many Gibsons produced today. Many do suffer from poor resale value though, not to mention do not appreciate in value much. I guess brand name really sells well...

 

[toneguy86]

Sadly, there are plenty of Gibson copies out there that slay many Gibsons produced today. Many do suffer from poor resale value though, not to mention do not appreciate in value much. I guess brand name really sells well...

True enough. Sadly it isn't about what it used to be in the 80s, it's about issues people have with instruments today. Someone here was putting down Epiphone guitars as "travesties." Ah...some are...no doubt about that. But I have played some that weren't bad at all. Acoustically they played wonderfully and with a decent set up and maybe a cap and pickup swap they would be great players.

I have played a LOT of Gibson Les Pauls and a ton of copies. I have found some Gibsons that I liked enough to consider purchasing (But I really really had to hunt--1 or 2 out of 100 maybe). What I had to weigh was the price, especially when the setup didn't seem that great and I knew that the pickups, electronics, caps, etc. would need to go, UNLESS I shelled out a few grande more to go to their custom shop. I simply can't justify it. On the other hand, a Heritage is looking more and more practical, affordable, etc. AND Collings, Burny, Tokai and some of the other copies don't look bad either.


Mark

 

[swbo101]

This company is now run by a bad CEO. I went to a web site recently that rated companies by current and former employees (careerbliss.com ?) and the ratings for Gibson was in the toilet. EVERYONE basically wrote the same thing and there were dozens of comments. It sounds like the CEO overly micro-managers and they treat their employees poorly. Also many said that they have seen things done wrong and are made to do things that are not the best for the instrument. At this point Gibson is living off their past. I have 2 Les Pauls from the early 80's, not the best period for the instruments but have been very happy with them. Still compared with some today, I'd take mine. I bought a ES-335 a few years back and the set up was done sooo poorly. I got it for $700 below retail and knew that I could fix the setup myself. Still for that amount of money a guitar shouldn't leave the factory like that.

 

[splatter]

I have had many les pauls and a few explorers over the years . All of them were exceptional guitars . I have also owned many other brands (suhr, wayne , charvel ) to name a few. I currently have a les paul axcess which is imho the best guitar I've ever owned .I will admit the pups sucked and had to be changed but other than that its jam up . Sorry to hear so many people are disenchanted with Gibson .Just remember all guitars including gibsons are not created equal . PLAY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT . NEVER buy a guitar because of the way it looks . :wink: