Gibson USA Guitars: Quality Control 2024

How many returns will it take to get a good one? Only time will tell! Come along on our journey trying to buy a Gibson Les Paul Standard without too many issues in 2024. So far we have bought and returned one guitar, received the replacement, and then had to return that guitar as well. Hopefully third time will be the charm, but who knows?! Join us in looking at some actual Gibson Les paul details and quality control issues in modern 2024 Gibson USA guitars.

[brucegagne]

I worked for Gibson Montana Division back I the early 90's. I was in QA for a very short time, I was removed from that position after about a week. I didn't pass any guitars in the binding scraping area because none of the binding was properly scraped. Lots of spots, gaps, etc. I was at fault for not letting them go through. I was punished by moving me to the binding dept. That was a great move for me.
I ended up doing all the white wood repair and eventually moved to the custom shop where I was the body build guy and did all the banjo resonators.

[vox]

This what happens whenever venture capital owns a business, decline wages leading to a younger less experienced workforce, pressure to speed up production with consequent drop in attention to detail and quality control, decline in quality of materials and increase in price

[mars]

A Les Paul Standard should be flawless. Their QC is atrocious.

[mollirodhaet]

No way a slam on Gibson?Myfriend, Fibson slammed itself with that piece of absolute horseshit.

[green]

That guitar was frozen, I doubt Gibson would store them in freezing but likely got on a delivery truck and left in a UPS warehouse or truck overnight or in transit in a semi trailer and froze. The timeline you mention seems about right. That would cause the wood to move as wood does retain some small amount of moisture. It would explain the finish cracking, the frets raising up Wood, metal frets, and lacquer all expand and contract at different rates in extreme temps. If you send this back mention it to them.. you dont want a frozen one. Spring is here so hopefully you luck out.

[AD-jdis]

Every time you lay down that guitar on top of the case leaning on back of headstock I get vomit reflex.

[ElOsodelasMontañas]

Worked for Gibson for a few years and they HATED me because I would stop so many guitars and send em back cause they had issues, they do not give a single shit about the guitars, only the money, they also treat their workers like we’re nothing

[superlead]

You can get a Tokai from Japan that won't have the same issues, and will be less expensive even with shipping and import duties...They still have the open-book headstock, nitro or poly finish depending on what series you get (premium is nitro, vintage is poly). It won't have fret nibs, but...the quality is there. Certainly worth a look.

[reddsshaker]

Love when uninformed people state, “But THIS one’s been Plek’d”. I’m a luthier. I know what goes into a good setup, and what a Plek is capable of correcting. Short story?…a lousy tech doing a lousy setup, and then tossing the guitar into a Plek machine will essentially RUIN that guitar in one swoop.

[Aubrey_Yates]

I purchased my Les Paul Supreme from Sweetwater and it is perfect. Sweetwater do a quality inspection and I am pretty sure they would have rejected it and sent it back to Gibson if it had these kinds of issues. Just an additional peace of mind.

[calebbhawkins]

Would be interesting to see this under a black light.

[BaroqueBlues]

I've been repairing instruments since 2004 & trust me... I know the problem with Gibson. Their priority is cranking out money, not making a quality product.

[bellend]

Get your money back and buy a heritage guitar, you will have none of these issues.

[mikea]

I went through 3 Blueberry Burst Standards 2024, with binding neck issues. Ended up not getting anything. Gibson QC is a major concern.

[scottjamable]

I am a luthier and have had a few Gibson LP's 2000, 2001 and 1992 Classic's also a 1990 standard. My first one the 2001 Classic was the best one I ever had. The fret work, hardware placement general build quality is ridiculous now! Its because the way the frets are put in with no glue before the fret board is even placed on the guitar. My 2000 had huge gaps at the ends like yours with colored wood putty shoved in under them that I had to dig out with a razor blade and re seat all of the frets. As a luthier / repair person, I learned that most guitars I receive have lifted frets especially low end guitars. I always fix most of the unevenness by going over every fret and re seating and gluing them. I glue ALL of my frets in no matter what it is! It is stupid to not do this as the wood expands and contracts these things MOVE! Now back to Gibson I have seen epiphones with better fret jobs and hardware placement than expensive LP's. This really pisses me off! People pay out the ass for this crap. It is a shame these massive companies have wasted so much good wood that is hard to even get now to just make Crap like this!! Gibson Slow down and do the work properly!!! You guys suck!!! Now It's all about the money not quality! What a shame!!!

[byolken]

I like the picture of you with the beard and long hair in the background, why did you shave??

[GeorgeVGuitars]

Unfortuantely this has been going on for some time now. It's no longer a QC, it is a production problem. Gibson's workforce is younger and less skilled and my guess is they are getting pushed. At this point i'm ok with Gibson going bust, I am done defending them.

[Mcfly]

I don't understand how those frets are so uneven if it's been plek'd. Even if it missed final setup, they should all be level.

[johns]

Get yourself a PRS 594 and you will not have to worry about any flaws! And they play incredibly well!

[kennyjohnson]

All my FujiGen Les Pauls are flawless.