My new SG limited sunburst from musiciansfriend came the other day...it was stamped 2011 and inspected Jan 2012 according to Gibson checklist. The thing is...and Im NEW to Gibsons..is there are little ridges next to the fret where it meets the binding on the top of fretboard..this occurs at a couple frets. There is also a line in the back of the headstock which I hope is not a repair or glue job...here are some pix...hard to photograph but...guitarzen's home
help someone please!
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I didn't see any problem with the frets, but perhaps I didn't understand what I was looking for. As for the headstock, it looks like the finish may have not been uniform at the wood joins for the "wings" of the headstock (the headstock of a Gibson is three pieces of wood glued together).
notchest
in the binding...before the actual fret...it looks like notches, for lack of a better word..as if the frets were cut in the wrong spot...maybe i'm being paranoid because I took a gamble with ordering blind via musiciansfriend. I usually like to pick my gits...My first Gibson though...thanks for the feedback
in the binding...before the actual fret...it looks like notches, for lack of a better word..as if the frets were cut in the wrong spot...maybe i'm being paranoid because I took a gamble with ordering blind via musiciansfriend. I usually like to pick my gits...My first Gibson though...thanks for the feedback
I should have such worries...
Typical Gibson finish over-run on the back of the headstock !
As a matter of fact, that's something I look for, because most Chinese fakes don't have over-run into the serial numbers and seams . What I can see,looks golden , but should you have any doubts, feel free to send it to me for more detailed inspection and analysis .
It might take a long time though .
Biddlin ;>)/
Typical Gibson finish over-run on the back of the headstock ! As a matter of fact, that's something I look for, because most Chinese fakes don't have over-run into the serial numbers and seams . What I can see,looks golden , but should you have any doubts, feel free to send it to me for more detailed inspection and analysis . It might take a long time though .Biddlin ;>)/
Stylemaster
Member
Welcome to Gibson's on-again/off-again craftsmanship. Gibson's point of view is that these guitars are made by people not machines (well some of the work is made by each) and therefore are not perfect - such is the charm. I say bullsh#t. What you're seeing on the fretboard/binding is sloppy filing. I recently acquired a much more expensive model (than an SG Standard), a 2007 Gibson Fat Neck ES-335 which I bought used, with the sloppiest filing you could imagine on the sides of the fretboard and the binding. It makes yours look like a work of perfection. Since it wasn't new I couldn't complain to Gibson and I just accepted it because the guitar has many other things going for it. But in 2007 I bought a brand new Historic Reissue 1960 Les Paul Standard in glossy finish and sent these photos back to the dealer. He offered to take it back in exchange for another one. I think it's nearly unforgivable for a Historic, at the prices they go for to have this kind of sloppy craftsmanship:
The above photo doesn't do this example of sloppy craftsmanship justice. The forward/backward and side-to-side bad filing indents are deeper to the eye then they appear in this photo.
However, I decided to keep it because I thought if I got a different one in exchange it might have other things wrong with it and this guitar had so many other things going for it I decided to keep it. I got over these imperfections in time (actually I had a luthier work on the headstock face a bit and he greatly improved it). Here is a shot showing some of the reasons I kept it:
It has other small craftsmanship issues but the sum of the good parts are greater than these little issues and it's my lifetime favorite guitar. However I would return your SG because the highly unusual bad glue joint on the back of the headstock is unacceptable IMO. That can be considered a defect. As it's been said before, all Gibson headstocks, including unobtainium real vintage '50s LPs, have the side pieces of wood but they are seamlessly glued.
Were you there in 1960 ?
First off, I am not particularly nostalgic for 50s and 60s guitars . They had a multitude of issues mechanical and electrical . I know, since I started playing on them . That said, Gibson guitars of that era had all of the flaws you detail in your vintage re-issue. The finishes are notoriously thin and uneven . My brother's 61 Les Paul SG JR has tool marks on the fingerboard and a lighter stain near the neck joint, since day 1 !
As discussed in a different thread, if you want a technically perfect guitar, buy a PRS . Virtually every one is flawless, if soul-less . Gibson guitars are noted for being good looking, excellent performing, musical instruments . If you're spending more time looking at the tiny anomalies than you are playing it for all it's worth, you're wasting it IMHO . Biddlin ;>)/
First off, I am not particularly nostalgic for 50s and 60s guitars . They had a multitude of issues mechanical and electrical . I know, since I started playing on them . That said, Gibson guitars of that era had all of the flaws you detail in your vintage re-issue. The finishes are notoriously thin and uneven . My brother's 61 Les Paul SG JR has tool marks on the fingerboard and a lighter stain near the neck joint, since day 1 !
As discussed in a different thread, if you want a technically perfect guitar, buy a PRS . Virtually every one is flawless, if soul-less . Gibson guitars are noted for being good looking, excellent performing, musical instruments . If you're spending more time looking at the tiny anomalies than you are playing it for all it's worth, you're wasting it IMHO . Biddlin ;>)/
Stylemaster
Member
Were you there in 1960? At home watching Leave It To Beaver.
There is not one thing you said that I disagree with. I was going to mention the same thing about perfect-yet-souless PRS guitars. I know about the flaws in the Gibsons of the '60s. I have a '68 ES-335 and yes they are there. I just thought that by now Gibson would have figured out how to avoid some of the more flagrant ones. Anyway, I play a lot. If I didn't have to do anything else I'd be playing all the time! The other stuff happens when I first get a guitar and look it over, then I make my peace with it and enjoy it. I love my Gibsons (and a lot more that are not yet mine!). I just wanted to give the OP some examples of what I think are more or less to be expected and accepted and how to deal with them. I don't think every flaw is acceptable, especially when a company like MF has a generous return policy.
There is not one thing you said that I disagree with. I was going to mention the same thing about perfect-yet-souless PRS guitars. I know about the flaws in the Gibsons of the '60s. I have a '68 ES-335 and yes they are there. I just thought that by now Gibson would have figured out how to avoid some of the more flagrant ones. Anyway, I play a lot. If I didn't have to do anything else I'd be playing all the time! The other stuff happens when I first get a guitar and look it over, then I make my peace with it and enjoy it. I love my Gibsons (and a lot more that are not yet mine!). I just wanted to give the OP some examples of what I think are more or less to be expected and accepted and how to deal with them. I don't think every flaw is acceptable, especially when a company like MF has a generous return policy.
" The other stuff happens when I first get a guitar and look it over, then I make my peace with it and enjoy it." Been there with my Dean A/E . After first unpacking it, I saw a chip in the binding on the back that I swore was the size of a pea ! I put it in its case with the intention of selling it at a loss and didn't pick it up for days, until my wife asked to see and hear it . I told her about the divot in the binding as I took it out of the case . We then spent about 10 minutes finding the pin head sized mark . Of course we found half a dozen more even tinier flaws as we did so . It has become my "go to" acoustic and one that always gets compliments. Since then, I remove the packing, wipe down the guitar, make sure everything is where its supposed to be, tune it and play it ! Biddlin ;>)/
oldleftySG
Active Member
I got a brand new Takamine acoustic last year that had some rough, sharp fret edges on the higher frets. I took it back to the store and they filed them off. Didn't expect that from an otherwise well made guitar.
