Gibson Rant Pt. 1

[roodyrocker]

roody - you buy all the high-end shit. some of the "lower" priced gibsons, like my $2199 LP traditional had paint runs on the the back of the neck and orange peel around the knobs. it was quickly exchanged for another, which had paint so soft that it dented when i looked at it. it was traded in for a $599 LP special that has paint that flakes off when the strap hits the body - but, at least that guitar was only $599.

now, my SG standard with the mini tune crap works great, looks great, sounds great and is a MORE than stellar example of gibson quality.

Not always the high end. I have Les Pauls ranging from Studios to Sig models. My 2 Studios have no issues whatsoever

[leftykingv2]

I have never had an issue with my Les Paul but I bought it used off of a guy who bought it new in 1976. I personally have had no issues with the company either as I have none of their guitars aside from the aforementioned LP. My friends are the ones with the real issues as I mentioned before. My buddy has a Custom Shop Built Zakk Wylde sig. that won't stay in tune for more than ten minutes as I have stated in this post already. Every repair guy he has taken it to has told him he got a dog. The issues you mentioned above-( filing excess casting flash on a bridge to allow the low E string saddle to seat fully as well as one guitar having low neck pickup volume (a wiring issue). With a price tag of $2500.00 to $3999.00 dollars before tax this should not be happening at all. That's my point. Bad binding, bad paint, bridges not centered these are issues you see in a way cheaper product line (Usually). I know everyone will say no guitar is perfect but I disagree!!! I have two Jackson USA Select KV2's and I paid way less money than what a standard Les Paul costs now and they're both perfect.

[roodyrocker]

If your friend's Zakk Wylde LPC won't stay in tune I'd check the nut for binding or perhaps its his stringing technique, I don't know. I can tell you my 2007 Zakk Wylde stays in tune just fine. You're right, even small issues like I described shouldn't happen on a $4K guitar but in reality they do. And not just to Gibson. I think Jackson has the best quality control in the business but I have seen one guitar that never should have left the factory. I ordered a USA KV2 in black/silver dragon when that graphic was re-released a few years back. I knew the sales person at the local store it was ordered so he called me and said it arrived and he would let me be the first to open the box. The guitar had broken binding on the low E side that was reglued into place, the paint around the rear trem cover was applied over an edge that looked like a burr skipped across it full length, and although it had a hang tag with serial number there wasn't a serial number stamped into the guitar. It was refused and promptly sent back to Jackson by the store for a replacement. The new one arrived just fine and I still own it today. Point being that if you judge by one or two guitars you're going to get the wrong impression. I've never run into another new Jackson with any of those issues, they still have the best quality. Gibsons are out there in much larger numbers so you may see more issues or hear of them. But in reality they're no better or worse than other high end brands.

[leftykingv2]

Wow it's crazy that guitar made it out of the factory without a serial # in the fret board. That's a huge mistake. I agree that Jackson has the best quality control as well. I see dogs from every brand in all honesty and I must admit I probably have ran into more dogs that are Gibson's just because there are so many Gibson's out there. Where I live in Pgh. all you see people playing are Gibson's and Fenders. I'd say you see probably 25 Gibson's and about 35 Fenders to every one U.S.A. Jackson around here. The guitar center here doesn't even have a USA Jackson in the shop but there's over a hundred Gibbys and Fenders in the place.

[roodyrocker]

It's the same here as well as I'm not too far from you. You're in Pittsburgh. I'm just across the Ohio border from you in the Warren-Youngstown area

[Rupe]

Ever since Specialty Guitar closed its doors, there haven't been too many custom Jacksons in the Pittsburgh area

[leftykingv2]

Ever since Specialty Guitar closed its doors, there haven't been too many custom Jacksons in the Pittsburgh area

Holy shit!!! I used to go there quite a bit in my teen years! They had Mooks music store right next to them! That placed closed it's doors a long time ago.

[Newc]

$4000 USA CS Jackson hanging on my wall right now tunes itself sharp about a half-step and stays there. It's done that since about the 2nd week I had it. I tweak the rod and retune.

It's not like it's work or anything.

Of course, I haven't needed to touch the rods on my other 20+ Jacksons (from CS to imports) since I got them, but that's beside the point. It is generally accepted that any guitar will require a certain degree of maintenance by the owner. While a tweak a week may seem excessive, I'm pretty sure those cherished 1950s models were no better when they came out.

[leftykingv2]

That thing would have gone back to Jackson so fast if it was mine that it would've left skid marks on their door step when it got there.

[hippietim]

Gibson makes some amazing instruments. They've made their share of dogs. Same with Jackson - search this forum for epic failures by the acclaimed Jackson Custom Shop. I've owned some great Jackson's and some that pretty much sucked donkey balls.

At the end of the day, hardly anyone wants a Jackson. Tons of people want a Gibson.

[leftykingv2]

[QUOTE=hippietim

At the end of the day, hardly anyone wants a Jackson. Tons of people want a Gibson.[/QUOTE]
That's their loss!

[roodyrocker]

I honestly can't say that I've owned any true dogs from Jackson or Gibson for that matter. Perhaps that's why I've never sold any of them off and keep them all to myself

[leftykingv2]

I honestly can't say that I've owned any true dogs from Jackson or Gibson for that matter. Perhaps that's why I've never sold any of them off and keep them all to myself

Thankfully I am in the same boat as you. But I only own one Gibson and I have no plans of selling it!

[vector]

At the end of the day, hardly anyone wants a Jackson. Tons of people want a Gibson.

Nah, not true. If hardly anyone wanted Jacksons, the wait time for customs would be about 2- 3 months instead of 24+

I'd also point out, again, that Gibsons have a distinct advantage of having been around a LOT longer. That kind of longevity breeds a lot of brand loyalty as well as staking a "brand" claim on quite a few more generations ahead of Jackson.

[Chad]

I love my Jacksons, but looking at the whole guitar market......hippietim is right. Hardly anybody wants a Jackson.

From what I can gather, the main reason for the two year wait is that Jackson is fairly low on the importance totem pole at FMIC. There are like 3 guys building the guitars. If they would bump up focus/attention/staffing to the level of the Fender brand....they could probably knock that wait time down to almost nothing.