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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Sept 29, 2014 6:04:53 GMT -7
In 1970 my folks bought me a brand new off the shelf Les Paul Custom, the fretless wonder/black beauty. It was $600, and the quality was unbelievably good. That guitar was perfect, and I had it for 15 years before foolishly selling it. In 2002 I bought a brand new off the shelf Les Paul Standard Premium Plus for around $2,000. Another great guitar, the first Les Paul that had really sounded good to me in a while. This last year, I traded a guy an amp that I valued at around $1400 for his 2011 Gibson 335 satin, and I bought a couple of baked maple fret board Les Pauls, one a goldtop and the other a GC special LP Junior. I thought that the $2K I paid for my Premium Plus was steep at the time but that guitar was special and so I bought it... I think that the quality is pretty poor on the baked maple fret board guitars. They both play and sound great, but the LP jr. has waves in the finish, and the Goldtop has the neck pickup mounted with the neck side tilted down slightly...but I do love the way they play and sound. All that brings me to this...I'm sure glad that I am not in the market for any more Gibsons right now. I'll pay top dollar for quality (I am probably going to buy my first Dr Z amp today, a Maz 8 w/Blue) when it's a good value. I just don't see good value in a %=*@! $3500 run of the mill Gibson. What are the 335's going to be, $6,500? This is a clear case of marketing gone wild, with greed as the driving force. Sad. I am sure glad that I was able to find a nice 335 before they escaped my ability to get one, and I think I've bought my last over the counter Gibson.
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Post by hymns on Sept 29, 2014 10:06:11 GMT -7
Played a new SG this weekend and it was bad. Talk about a wide neck. It was as wide as a 5 string or 6 string bass. I couldn't even see around the neck while playing. It also had that tuning crap on it. Also the wood on the neck was bad. I wouldn't pay $25 for that guitar or really have it. It felt like a toy. I would be embarrassed if I called that my guitar. Gibson surely needs to rethink this.
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Post by Albert on Oct 2, 2014 14:16:41 GMT -7
Hey let's not forget Heritage I bought my Gold Top used and it plays fantastic and made by former Gibson employees in Kalamazoo !!!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 3, 2014 12:35:05 GMT -7
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Post by Traumatized (Eric) on Oct 3, 2014 13:57:27 GMT -7
HAHAHA!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 4:58:45 GMT -7
Hey let's not forget Heritage . . . .
You've got that right, Albert! I picked up this 535 last year for about $1,300 less than a 335. Plays like a dream. Can't go wrong with a Heritage!
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Post by benttop (Steve) on Oct 4, 2014 8:09:00 GMT -7
Did you guys get a load of all the changes? Brass zero-fret nut (bleah). Removable pickguard (tiny tabs that snap into the pickup rings (bleah). Freaking e-tune on EVERY guitar (triple-bleah). And the necks are as wide as an airplane wing. The Les Paul I handled was the widest neck I've ever experienced on an electric guitar - no way I would want that thing.
I could see offering any of these things as an option. But putting them all on every instrument AND increasing the price 29% makes me wonder if they've legalized pot in Nashville...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2014 8:53:48 GMT -7
Has anyone else actually looked at the 2015 line-up on the Gibson website? www2.gibson.com/Gibson-USA-2015.aspxInteresting that they have separated the wood into so many different grades to show which grades go on which instruments.
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Post by wubberdubber on Oct 4, 2014 9:42:59 GMT -7
Dear Gibson; bite me. All I can say is, there's a lot of good USED Gibsons out there.
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Post by Pete aka shouldb on Oct 4, 2014 15:04:07 GMT -7
Dear Gibson; bite me. All I can say is, there's a lot of good USED Gibsons out there. .... and a LOT of other great guitar makers who won't charge a fortune for their "brand" and force you to use their crappy digital tuner........ Hmm, I feel another PRS headed my way! Paul must be rubbing his hands with glee about now........
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Post by Joey Beverages on Oct 5, 2014 8:04:14 GMT -7
Edsel
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2014 8:57:49 GMT -7
Oh, Henry.
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Post by justblues on Oct 5, 2014 9:41:51 GMT -7
Hey let's not forget Heritage I bought my Gold Top used and it plays fantastic and made by former Gibson employees in Kalamazoo !!! Nice guitar! I have an eighties Heritage archtop ... Cool guitar.
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Oct 6, 2014 10:39:30 GMT -7
Guitar Center email just hit my inbox moments ago: "HUGE PRICE DROPS ON ALL 2014 GIBSON USA GUITARS".
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Post by BritInvasion on Oct 6, 2014 10:42:32 GMT -7
Guitar Center email just hit my inbox moments ago: "HUGE PRICE DROPS ON ALL 2014 GIBSON USA GUITARS". They gotta move 'em quick thanks to that stupid "commemorative" inlay on the 12th fret.
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Post by Pete aka shouldb on Oct 6, 2014 10:53:20 GMT -7
Guitar Center email just hit my inbox moments ago: "HUGE PRICE DROPS ON ALL 2014 GIBSON USA GUITARS". not huge enough!
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Post by Mark (Basement Enthusiast) on Oct 6, 2014 11:10:49 GMT -7
Guitar Center email just hit my inbox moments ago: "HUGE PRICE DROPS ON ALL 2014 GIBSON USA GUITARS". They gotta move 'em quick thanks to that stupid "commemorative" inlay on the 12th fret. You know, seriously.. that kinda mucks up the "classic" look of the guitar, doesn't it? And I mean, that's the whole reason any of us still buy Gibson, right--for "the" correct look? They could practically run their business these days just selling ONE guitar anyway: an exact replica of the '59 Les Paul sunburst. Talk about a streamlined business model. But I digress...
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Post by BritInvasion on Oct 6, 2014 11:18:16 GMT -7
They gotta move 'em quick thanks to that stupid "commemorative" inlay on the 12th fret. You know, seriously.. that kinda mucks up the "classic" look of the guitar, doesn't it? And I mean, that's the whole reason any of us still buy Gibson, right--for "the" correct look? They could practically run their business these days just selling ONE guitar anyway: an exact replica of the '59 Les Paul sunburst. Talk about a streamlined business model. But I digress... I've read a whole load of commentary on various forums about that inlay , nobody liked it. On guitars with the "crown" inlays , it looked like they put the one for the 12th fret in upside-down. On boards with dot inlays , it just looked wrong.
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Post by Pete aka shouldb on Oct 6, 2014 14:59:13 GMT -7
They gotta move 'em quick thanks to that stupid "commemorative" inlay on the 12th fret. You know, seriously.. that kinda mucks up the "classic" look of the guitar, doesn't it? And I mean, that's the whole reason any of us still buy Gibson, right--for "the" correct look? They could practically run their business these days just selling ONE guitar anyway: an exact replica of the '59 Les Paul sunburst. Talk about a streamlined business model. But I digress... No, they HAVE to have a '60 as well.............. !! Joking aside, I think you're on to something there........ They should ONLY make historic, replica, reissue Les Pauls, and pull in new customers with their other models. Set the high bench mark with the Les Paul, and stop messing with it!
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Post by wubberdubber on Oct 10, 2014 16:32:14 GMT -7
Back when you had guys like Leo Fender running a big guitar company...who was a guy really paying attention to what the PLAYERS wanted by the way...one could concentrate on a few good quality models that they couldn't make enough of. Gibson was like that too once upon a time, but now it's all corporations, and boards of directors, and bunches of guys trying to justify their salaries, so you get crap like commemorative badges that look hideously out of place.
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Post by justblues on Oct 25, 2014 4:06:44 GMT -7
So I finally played a new Gibson ... Didn't like it at all. I could live with the tuners -- yes, they are ugly, but who knows maybe they work okay. I did not like the neck or the frets ... i really hated the feel.
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mazme
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Post by mazme on Oct 31, 2014 18:49:07 GMT -7
I kinda got driven away from Gibson's over quality issues and away from Fender because I found G&L's which were WAY better build quality, more options, better bridges and pick ups, and what....? Cheaper.. ? I go to PRS for my Gibsonish needs, and G&L for my Fenderish needs.
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Post by amg on Nov 4, 2014 10:39:03 GMT -7
Too many people hung up on name brands.
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Post by Lash LaRue on Nov 8, 2014 17:34:10 GMT -7
Two names to get "hung-up" on:
Dan Strain (Danocaster)
Tom Bartlett (Bartlett Guitars, Retrospec and amazing LP builds.). If a six-figure LP is not in your realistic future, start saving your beans and contact Tom. No affiliation, whatsoever. Soon to take delivery of my second LP from him (with aged Bigsby) and they are serious weapons.
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Post by Hohn on Nov 12, 2014 14:27:08 GMT -7
Dear Gibson; bite me. All I can say is, there's a lot of good USED Gibsons out there. .... and a LOT of other great guitar makers who won't charge a fortune for their "brand" and force you to use their crappy digital tuner........ Hmm, I feel another PRS headed my way! Paul must be rubbing his hands with glee about now........ Amen. I'll buy a great guitar, not a well-branded one.
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