Tell me how you really feel about Gibson Today

[Uncle E]

The recent Melody Makers were great. Not traditional at all (maple necks and humbuckers) but they were thin, light, great sounding, and easy to play. A bargain, too. I sold mine for under $500.

[tapper mike]

The recent Melody Makers were great. .... I sold mine for under $500.

E you confuse me.
They were that great???

[Daimonicon]

Never likes Gibson guitars and their necks. Gibson is overrated too.

[jens]

The recent Melody Makers were great. .... I sold mine for under $500.

E you confuse me.
They were that great???

Yes, they were so great that he sold his at bargain-price - that seems to be the gist of it.

[Uncle E]

E you confuse me.
They were that great???

“Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til it's gone”

[JamminFool]

I loved her, I loved that guitar. I do miss the guitar from time to time.

[mystran]

I think Gibsons are overrated. I think Fenders are kinda overrated as well. Everyone is going to disagree with me. That's fine.

[Bombadil]

IMO, the brands have watered themselves down too much. Models from €139 to >5000€. Naturally, with so many models, and built in so many places, there‘s going to be a lot of underwhelming instruments coming out.
I played a ‚57 Strat: once. It was everything that model was cracked up to be. The guy who owned it (1980? before the ‚Vintage‘ market was a thing) sold it to a mutual acquaintance when he waved 1000 CAD cash under his nose.
Many years later, he said he‘d had a couple of good cries over what it would‘ve been worth had he not sold it then.

EDIT: I played a couple of ‚63 SG‘s as well. That is why I always wanted one. At the same place as the Strat. He used to have full jams in his basement, and when the first-stringers took a break, I‘d get to play. Those SGs were extremely easy to play. I went places on them I‘d never reached for my age (19). Every SG I‘ve played since them has been a disappointment.

[Uncle E]

Lots of alternatives to Fender, plus they’re easy to DIY or change out the body or neck. Just save all the original parts because the value drops a lot if it’s not all original.

Gibson’s can’t easily be modified like that and the good alternatives are nearly as expensive as the real things. I’d love to try a Corso Little Dog some day, not cheap but people say they’re better than Gibson’s.

[Uncle E]

EDIT: I played a couple of ‚63 SG‘s as well. That is why I always wanted one. At the same place as the Strat. He used to have full jams in his basement, and when the first-stringers took a break, I‘d get to play. Those SGs were extremely easy to play. I went places on them I‘d never reached for my age (19). Every SG I‘ve played since them has been a disappointment.

I had a couple of 60s SG Jr's. The P-90 one was mint and all original, but the beat-to-hell and modified humbucker one was the one that I loved:

[JamminFool]

Both of those are beauties!

[digitalboytn]

Lots of alternatives to Fender, plus they’re easy to DIY or change out the body or neck.

Try changing the neck out on a Gibson

[XorXisT]

I think Gibsons are overrated. I think Fenders are kinda overrated as well. Everyone is going to disagree with me. That's fine.

I actually agree.

I would buy these instead :

[tapper mike]

IMO, the brands have watered themselves down too much. Models from €139 to >5000€. Naturally, with so many models, and built in so many places, there‘s going to be a lot of underwhelming instruments coming out.
I played a ‚57 Strat: once. It was everything that model was cracked up to be. The guy who owned it (1980? before the ‚Vintage‘ market was a thing) sold it to a mutual acquaintance when he waved 1000 CAD cash under his nose.
Many years later, he said he‘d had a couple of good cries over what it would‘ve been worth had he not sold it then.

Competition has killed fender in the EU and to a certain degree the US.
Seriously. Need a cheap reliable playable strat type guitar. hmmm Yamaha used to have that market covered with something that sounded like crap to my ears but played well for around $200 USD. Then there is AIO S3. Next we have Sire's and Harley Bentons and then as you go up in scale maybe a Suhr or a PRS or a Nash. The list goes on. Fender's only way to complete is to have guitars in each of those market prices.

I love my MIM tele. I like my MIM strat. I think Sire build em better for the price point but I also think the MIM's sound better and that's mostly about the pups. Or it also could be that while I didn't start out being a Fender fanboi I learned to love them and I've bought into the fender identity. I don't think younger players are as attached to the brand identity as I am and nor should the be.

[mystran]

Competition has killed fender in the EU and to a certain degree the US.

I think part of this is also that a lot of the EU plays metal. Walk to almost any guitar store (excluding some small ones that specialize to vintage or butique stuff) and this should be fairly obvious just from looking at the selection.