New acoustic instruments from Gibson ...

[Eugenius]

Hey Guys:

I'd really like to know why not liking a product is considered bashing? Is everybody that sensitive?

Are we not allowed to express our dislike for a brand or model of guitar? I just want to be clear.

Cheers

[Epiphone100]

I am not knocking Gibson here by any means..........but... I bought a nearly new J45 for my 40th birthday, I had always wanted one ! God it was rubbish ! I spent a fortune on a top notch set up and fret dress by a great luthier. It still sounded dull and lifeless. plugged in was a joke with hoplessly inbalanced string volume. But the build quality was awful too, a great crack on either side of the bottom strap button, poor fretting and poor action, cheap nut, bridge, pins....... truss rod screws that were so loose they fell out !!! Russ Barenberg plays a vintage J45 and it sounds wonderful ! One day I intend to get another, they just have to be good don't they ?????

[rforman15]

Originally Posted by Epiphone100

I am not knocking Gibson here by any means..........but... I bought a nearly new J45 for my 40th birthday, I had always wanted one ! God it was rubbish ! I spent a fortune on a top notch set up and fret dress by a great luthier. It still sounded dull and lifeless. plugged in was a joke with hoplessly inbalanced string volume. But the build quality was awful too, a great crack on either side of the bottom strap button, poor fretting and poor action, cheap nut, bridge, pins....... truss rod screws that were so loose they fell out !!! Russ Barenberg plays a vintage J45 and it sounds wonderful ! One day I intend to get another, they just have to be good don't they ?????

You need a J-45 "type" guitar made by Collings, Santa Cruz, or Borgeois; you'll be happy. Santa Cruz probably comes the closest with their SJ and VJ models, they have "that" sound.

[Kitchen Guitars]

Originally Posted by Tama

Yamaha Junkie: I'm afraid not. The OP is the editor of gibson dot com. Google 'Gatorgabe' and 'Gibson' and you'll discover the extent of his persistently deceptive spamming. Also, be in no doubt that this behavior is fully endorsed by the company.

I'm too trusting Shoulda been supicious. Banjos should have set me off .

[rforman15]

yeah apparently Gibson encourages its employees to spam guitar discussion forums; it says a lot about the level and quality of their "cough" marketing strategy and corporate management in general, and is almost certainly reflected in the quality of the musical instruments they send to market

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Yowech, my local Gibson dealer has got a bunch of the Canadian-made Gibsons in stock, both dreadnoughts and OM-sized instruments. I played about six or seven of them the day after they arrived, with their strings still fresh.

The set-ups on them were good, fit and finish looked fine, but quite honestly none of them sounded very good at all.

I was hugely disappointed because I actually like Gibson's acoustic guitar designs when executed properly, but none of these were instruments I could see myself buying. Each and every one of them was a clunker, and it grieved me.

That was from the first batch of Canadian-made Gibsons made in the former Garrison plant that arrived here in Anchorage, and maybe subsequent batches have improved. But each and every one of those guitars that I tried was a waste of wood and effort.

Don't take my word for it - go out and try some for yourself. But whatever you do, don't buy one mail order or online without having the opportunity to try it first. While these are moderately priced by Gibson standards, I honestly think you'd be better off spending the same amount of money and getting a satin finish Larrivée instead. (And those are Canadian-made, as well!)


Wade Hampton Miller

Wade, I'm in full agreement here. I was in my music store today and tried two CSM, auditorium-style models, one in rosewood and the other in sapele. Both failed to impress and went back on the wall in short order.
Gibson can make a fine product but badge engineering, in this case, isn't going to win them many fans if these two examples are typical.

[rforman15]

funny this should come up because last weekend I went to Grandma's Music in Albuquerque. They had a wall full of Canadian made Gibson guitars. I only knew they were Canadian because they didn't resemble any Gibson models I am familiar with and when I looked in the sound hole the label said "made in Canada." They were all priced about $499 or $599, there were a couple of different body shapes in a couple of different wood combinations, I picked up three or four and strummed a few chords and quickly put them back, they all sounded like $499 guitars, and definitely did not have the characteristic Gibson tone or look. It is highly unlikely that I would ever purchase one.

[sfden1]

Originally Posted by rforman15

funny this should come up because last weekend I went to Grandma's Music in Albuquerque. They had a wall full of Canadian made Gibson guitars. I only knew they were Canadian because they didn't resemble any Gibson models I am familiar with and when I looked in the sound hole the label said "made in Canada." They were all priced about $499 or $599, there were a couple of different body shapes in a couple of different wood combinations, I picked up three or four and strummed a few chords and quickly put them back, they all sounded like $499 guitars, and definitely did not have the characteristic Gibson tone or look. It is highly unlikely that I would ever purchase one.

I don't think Gibson is trying for the characteristic Gibson tone with these, but for something completely different, and at a much less expensive price point. The real question is, at least to me, whether they sounded good for a four or five hundred dollar guitar, not whether they sounded like a standard Gibson.

Since they' will be competing with inexpensive Chinese imports (including Gibson's Epiphone Masterbuilt series), I think this is going to be a tough sell. A bit unfair to compare them to Gibson's regular line of acoustics though, since obviously that's not what they are intended to be.

[sfden1]

Originally Posted by rforman15

You need a J-45 "type" guitar made by Collings, Santa Cruz, or Borgeois; you'll be happy. Santa Cruz probably comes the closest with their SJ and VJ models, they have "that" sound.

This hasn't been my experience. I've had a few modern Gibson's, including a 1997 Historic Collection J-45, and currently have a 1949 Southern Jumbo. I've also played probably 25-30 other Gibson slope dreads in the last few years, both old and new, so I do have something to compare to.

I also have an SC VSD and have played a number of other SC slope dreads, including a few VJ's. While my VSD is a great guitar that I will never part with, it doesn't come close to the classic Gibson J-45 funk, and neither did any of the other SC dreads that I've had the good fortune to play. SC's seem to me to have way more overtones than any Gibson I ever heard. Understand I'm a big fan of both, but no SC I've ever heard comes close to a J45. I'm not saying they're at complete opposite ends of the tonal spectrum, but maybe in different ballpark's playing different games. Not a bad thing for either one, but not comparable either.

I can't say from experience whether the same applies to Bougouis and Collings. If you want a good J45, they're out there, you just have to look. I don't think your going to find it buying another makers guitar though.

Just my opinion of course and anyone's mileage may and probably will vary.

[sfden1]

Originally Posted by Epiphone100

I am not knocking Gibson here by any means..........but... I bought a nearly new J45 for my 40th birthday, I had always wanted one ! God it was rubbish ! I spent a fortune on a top notch set up and fret dress by a great luthier. It still sounded dull and lifeless. plugged in was a joke with hoplessly inbalanced string volume. But the build quality was awful too, a great crack on either side of the bottom strap button, poor fretting and poor action, cheap nut, bridge, pins....... truss rod screws that were so loose they fell out !!! Russ Barenberg plays a vintage J45 and it sounds wonderful ! One day I intend to get another, they just have to be good don't they ?????

Epiphone100, very sorry to hear about this. But, when you say "nearly new", that implies to me that you bought used, either from the internet or from a dealer. In either case, there's no way you can know how the previous owner treated it, unless you knew him personally, and so no way you can say for sure if the problems you found were the result of Gibson's build quality or from the prior owners negligence. Or, maybe I'm missing something in your post. If so, my apologies.

I once made the mistake of buying a slightly used SC F from the internet. The seller told me he had hardly played it (apparently true), it had been mostly stored under his bed (don't know if that was true or not), and it was in excellent condition. That last was absolutely not true, the guitar had never been humidified properly and suffered the consequences. It cost me a fortune to put it right. The lesson for me was never buy a guitar that you can't play first, or at least know the seller enough to trust.

On Russ Barenberg's old Gibby, the new ones are not braced the same and will never, imo, sound the same. If you want that sound, you have to buy an old one. You can still find good ones from the early 50's, say up to 1954, that are not too expensive. Again, play before you pay, or buy from a reputable dealer that you can trust.

[rforman15]

Sfden1, for the record, I have owned many Gibsons over the years including a L-00 Century of Progress. a 1929 L-4, a 1950 L-50, and a slew of electrics. So I have a pretty good idea about what a Gibson sounds like.

[Epiphone100]

Originally Posted by sfden1

Epiphone100, very sorry to hear about this. But, when you say "nearly new", that implies to me that you bought used, either from the internet or from a dealer. In either case, there's no way you can know how the previous owner treated it, unless you knew him personally, and so no way you can say for sure if the problems you found were the result of Gibson's build quality or from the prior owners negligence. Or, maybe I'm missing something in your post. If so, my apologies.

I once made the mistake of buying a slightly used SC F from the internet. The seller told me he had hardly played it (apparently true), it had been mostly stored under his bed (don't know if that was true or not), and it was in excellent condition. That last was absolutely not true, the guitar had never been humidified properly and suffered the consequences. It cost me a fortune to put it right. The lesson for me was never buy a guitar that you can't play first, or at least know the seller enough to trust.

On Russ Barenberg's old Gibby, the new ones are not braced the same and will never, imo, sound the same. If you want that sound, you have to buy an old one. You can still find good ones from the early 50's, say up to 1954, that are not too expensive. Again, play before you pay, or buy from a reputable dealer that you can trust.

You may well be right about that. The instrument may have had issues caused by a former owner......thing is though, it was the sound that I was really unhappy with. The sustain on the bass was poor and when capo'd it could have been a cheap starter guitar. However, I know Gibson make great guitars and I suppose the old adage of trying as many as you can before buying rings true !

[sfden1]

rforman15, I have no doubt that you do and didn't mean to imply otherwise, just relating my own experience.

[AndrewG]

Originally Posted by Epiphone100

You may well be right about that. The instrument may have had issues caused by a former owner......thing is though, it was the sound that I was really unhappy with. The sustain on the bass was poor and when capo'd it could have been a cheap starter guitar. However, I know Gibson make great guitars and I suppose the old adage of trying as many as you can before buying rings true !

Similarly I tried a new J-45 here in Manson's which was simply awful; a £150 Yamaha sounded like an Olson in comparison.

[suburude]

I have never posted here but I cant help putting in my 2 cents.
I just sold a Martin D 28 Marquis for $2500 Its a $5000 retail guitar. Why? I did not like the tone! I just 2 weeks ago bought a Gibson 1942 Legend J 45 $9000 msrp . $6000 street price new. Hide glue exact reproduction of the first series J 45. I sent it back to the guy . I didn't like the tone.
I now have a Gibson AJ I love. A Gibson True Vintage adi top I love and a Martin D18 GE I love! I have sold every Larrivee Ive owned . Why? no spunk!
Very beautiful finely made guitars but no spunk!
Gibsons have a MOJO no other guitar that Ive played in my 63 years has. The new Bozeman guys are surpassing the 40s and 50s Gibsons. Guitars and Instruments in general are very personal thinks and as one of my fellow Gibson lovers says.

"Gibsons are an acquired taste. Kind of like giving a chardonnay drinker a shot of Knob Creek"