Does Gibson still suck?

[tapper mike]

If you are happy with your guitar then.. Pat yourself on the back and make the most of what you have. (sincerely don't be like me.) I'm constantly searching for the next thing to make me happy. Even when I'm fully satisfied with something interest withers and I'm off to chase down the next thing because that will be the one that makes all the difference.

The secret of life can be found enjoying what you have as opposed to chasing after something you think will make you happy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcxWxNO8idc

[elxsound]

I'm not a guitarist. I was gifted a 50s Standard 2020 with a AAA top by my lovely missus (she got a IMO very impressive shiny ring). I've been so blown away by the difference between this and my Epi Wildkat (which I still very much love) that I've been practicing every day (minus a 2 -3 week recovery gap).

I'm definitely not weighing in on flaws that I wouldn't likely notice at this point, but knowing the price... I do feel this plays that much better than the Wildkat. The easiest way to say this is... Prior to having this guitar, I wouldn't set out to spend that much on a guitar for myself, but if I had dished out the money, I wouldn't be disappointed.

[tapper mike]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL3pzVGxIl8

Epi takes a dive for gibson in quality.
High frets bad finishes almost no qc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL3pzVGxIl8

Seriously my Jackson dinky was way cheaper new and perfect out of the box.

[pekbro]

Personally, it was always the case for me that I would never buy an epiphone.

[vurt]

Personally, it was always the case for me that I would never buy an epiphone.

my epi sg plays like silk
1986 i got it for xmas, and in times of no money have been offered more than she's worth (a lot more in one case) but i could never leave her.
many other girls have taken my fancy and we've had fun times, but she is my true love always

[pekbro]

Personally, it was always the case for me that I would never buy an epiphone.

my epi sg plays like silk
1986 i got it for xmas, and in times of no money have been offered more than she's worth (a lot more in one case) but i could never leave her.
many other girls have taken my fancy and we've had fun times, but she is my true love always

I guess I just never ran across one I liked, I've know a few friends who have bought them.
The same can be said for squire or whatever. I'm not super into guitars like I was when I was
young. I would have to say for probably the last 20 yrs or so, I'm not going to buy a guitar
that cost's much less than a couple grand. I don't know enough about them to have ideas for
setting them up with good tuners, frets or electronics, I prefer all that be done for
me ahead of time, by someone who knows what they are doing. tbh, I don't even look
at the affordable guitars at all. That thing where you have to pick up a guitar
or check it out because of it's paint or the way it looks, I don't have that.

[vurt]

some of us have no choice

now, i don't know tbh. not really been looking at new guitars much yet.
i shall let you know in the future what i experience.
i was 12 when i got that one, so had no clue, could have just been very lucky and got a good one, no idea.

[pekbro]

some of us have no choice

now, i don't know tbh. not really been looking at new guitars much yet.
i shall let you know in the future what i experience.
i was 12 when i got that one, so had no clue, could have just been very lucky and got a good one, no idea.

Well, It's been years since I have even bought a guitar myself, so it's not like I'm even looking
at the expensive ones very much either. I will look to see what they have in the store when I
get in there, rarely will I pick one of them up. I came pretty close to buying a Jeff Beck strat
a couple years ago, but that's about it in the last decade.

[tapper mike]

Honestly they didn't do too bad a job on my epi joe pass. My issues were design not workmanship. But as I've seen time and time again and shown... It's really a crap shoot.

I remember when (and this is backed up buy insiders at gibson, distributors as well as major retailers) Gibson purposefully sent out weak epiphones because buyers would come back and upgrade to a real gibson even if they lost their shirt in the transaction. That's the "Only a Gibson is good enough" branding. They try to steer away from acknowledging other brands and when they do it's under threat. In case you've forgotten.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VgjLDX9F4o

[resynthesis]

I bought an Epiphone 1956 P90 Pro a couple of years ago because I was P90 curious and the price was good. The person selling just didn't get on with the big neck so the guitar had less than 40 hours on it. I think it plays almost as well as my Gibson Historic which has had nearly 30 years of breaking in! The hardware (tuners, bridge) is not as good but it stays in tune well and sounds good. I can't see much wrong with the QC on it but what sets it apart from the Gibson is the finish, it's got that bulletproof poly paint which isn't the most aesthetically pleasing (the Gibbo has a well-checked finish which some might not like though). Having said all that, the Epi cost £175 and I shudder to think what I'd have to pay to replace the Gibbo.

[tapper mike]

And you could get....
A Harley Benton SC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCKHt8qoNig

OR if you chose humbuckers
a Wolf WLP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlAVwW2UUuE&t=428s

Or XAVIERE PRO500
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LKgk0q8hhE

There are tones of lp copies priced cheap, to moderate which are far far superior in build and workmanship to Epiphone.

As for vintage Gibson prices...
Yeah they don't really take in the value that sellers attribute to them. Which is why they don't move. Prices on vintage gibsons would always go up and people would pay the price for the investment value. (Guitars are a crappy thing to invest in) That's stopped as younger (even richer younger) don't worship the brand like they used to.

[uOpt]

"Does Gibson still suck?"

Something bothered me about that question, now I know what. It is a lack of incentive to find out. I've been so disappointed in Gibson made guitars that I don't pick them up to try them out. How would I ever notice that they don't suck anymore?

[resynthesis]

Over the course of this pandemic the prices of Les Pauls of almost all varieties and ages has rocketed. I'm sure there'll be a corresponding drop but it's not a great time to be a buyer at the moment. If you have a spare 5 minutes, have a look at mylespaul or similar but have the puke bucket close to hand $700 (or best offer) for a set of knobs (make your own jokes here) sold in no time at all!

[tapper mike]

"Does Gibson still suck?"

Something bothered me about that question, now I know what. It is a lack of incentive to find out. I've been so disappointed in Gibson made guitars that I don't pick them up to try them out. How would I ever notice that they don't suck anymore?

I used to be a Gibson fanboi. Nothing but a gibson was good enough. Owned some. And I'd take a blind eye to the glaring flaws. Gibson guitars helped further my career (truth) When ever I'd show up with a Gibson folks would say things like, he owns a gibson he must be great. I've actually lost jobs for not sporting an american made guitar. In Detroit they used to frown over anything imported. When I started looking for a jazzbox, Epi was last on my list. Still I played one in the store (new) and I said this one works (once I get it home and do a setup on it) And... it's worked. It's not as satisfying as I thought it would be it was "good enough" not to return and a far cry better then the epi's or even gibsons I'd seen around town for the last decade or so.

I want Gibson to do better. I want them to build guitars that earn the name that they had established way back when. I want american workers to be in an environment optimized for them to do their best and earn commensurate with their skills. My wanting and wishing doesn't make that happen. The only ones who make that happen are the folks at Gibson. As for the president of Gibson. Every corporation hires presidents. Many hire someone who has worked in a top position somewhere else. That somewhere else might not even be close to the field. Board Officers don't care about the company. They care about earnings. CEO's usually come in trying to make everyone happy and leave trying to pillage the company. So, meet the new boss same as the old boss. It's true if this guy plays guitar or not.

[machinesworking]

"Does Gibson still suck?"

Something bothered me about that question, now I know what. It is a lack of incentive to find out. I've been so disappointed in Gibson made guitars that I don't pick them up to try them out. How would I ever notice that they don't suck anymore?

I used to be a Gibson fanboi. Nothing but a gibson was good enough. Owned some. And I'd take a blind eye to the glaring flaws. Gibson guitars helped further my career (truth) When ever I'd show up with a Gibson folks would say things like, he owns a gibson he must be great. I've actually lost jobs for not sporting an american made guitar. In Detroit they used to frown over anything imported. When I started looking for a jazzbox, Epi was last on my list. Still I played one in the store (new) and I said this one works (once I get it home and do a setup on it) And... it's worked. It's not as satisfying as I thought it would be it was "good enough" not to return and a far cry better then the epi's or even gibsons I'd seen around town for the last decade or so.

I want Gibson to do better. I want them to build guitars that earn the name that they had established way back when. I want american workers to be in an environment optimized for them to do their best and earn commensurate with their skills. My wanting and wishing doesn't make that happen. The only ones who make that happen are the folks at Gibson. As for the president of Gibson. Every corporation hires presidents. Many hire someone who has worked in a top position somewhere else. That somewhere else might not even be close to the field. Board Officers don't care about the company. They care about earnings. CEO's usually come in trying to make everyone happy and leave trying to pillage the company. So, meet the new boss same as the old boss. It's true if this guy plays guitar or not.

I'm gonna remain optimistic about it. CEO's etc. do matter to a degree. The last one was terrible, the fact that the company went downhill under him can't be ignored, plus all the great companies they destroyed under him. Hopefully we see quality go up in the coming years. I haven't ever bought a Gibson or a guitar for that matter new. I own a blond 1975 Gibson J-160E, a modified with humbuckers 78 Les Paul Pro, and a 75 Ripper bass. Mostly I would like to not have the talk about what a shit comany Gibson is every time I chat about guitars with people.