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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Thu May 02, 2013 10:26 pm
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As far as overall quality goes,the absolute best Les Paul of any kind that I ever played was an Epiphone '59 Tribute Limited Edition,it was superb in tone,fit and finish,playability,feel etc.,just an incredible guitar.A friend of mine bought his first Gibson Les Paul in 2009 and paid over $3000 for it taxes in.He has had nothing but trouble with it since day one,especially with its ability to stay in tune.It is hardly possible to get through a whole tune without it going out of tune yet he refuses to part with it despite many trips to the dealer for warranty work.He figures that since it's his first Les Paul he should keep it-which is beyond me.

After buying 6 Epiphones over the past few years,I'm convinced that they offer better bang for the buck than their uber-expensive parent company's guitars.I have an Epi Les Paul Traditional Pro with coil tap and it sounds so much like a PAF Les Paul that it's uncanny.My Custom Shop sunburst Epi Firebird V sounds incredibly like a mid 60s SG and my John Lennon '65 Casino that's one of the first 50 made is the easiest of all my guitars to play and is quite possibly the very best made of all my guitars.Even my Indonesian made Casino is an excellent guitar but the JL just outdoes just about anything that Gibson has made in years.I have an Epi Les Paul Custom that is a 3 pup SG bodied howler,it can produce some of the softest jazz tones that are usually the realm of the big old Epi jazz boxes or raunch out classic ZZ Top style rock or even full on heavy metal.A guy I know tried out my Epi Custom Les Paul and actually prefered it to his Gibson SG and he was so impressed that he bought one of his own and sidelined his SG.

Gibson would have to really improve the quality of their guitars substantially to entice me to abandon the Epiphone line of guitars as Epi quality is consistantly way above average and you get an exceptional instrument for considerably less cash when compared to Gibson.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 2:24 am
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Blertles wrote:
you need to get a std now


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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 5:56 am
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63supro wrote:
None of the big box stores like to send you off with a free setup. It's a load. I usually go to the Mom & Pop shops when I can. Sam Ash tried pulling that crap on me when I bought my Gibson LP Tribute, I told them it was a deal breaker, then they magically pulled another LP out of "the back" and it was great. The Mom & Pop store I usually deal with not only do the setup, the change the strong gauge if you want free of charge.
It's a shame these guys are so rare.

Long and McQuade in Canada offers a free set up with every guitar they sell within the first year of purchase.


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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 6:06 am
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TA462 wrote:
63supro wrote:
None of the big box stores like to send you off with a free setup. It's a load. I usually go to the Mom & Pop shops when I can. Sam Ash tried pulling that crap on me when I bought my Gibson LP Tribute, I told them it was a deal breaker, then they magically pulled another LP out of "the back" and it was great. The Mom & Pop store I usually deal with not only do the setup, the change the strong gauge if you want free of charge.
It's a shame these guys are so rare.

Long and McQuade in Canada offers a free set up with every guitar they sell within the first year of purchase.


As it should be. I deal with Cintioli's in Philadelphia. Way back in 72 when I got my Strat at Music City, you got a handful of picks, a strap and a cord as well as a free setup.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Fri May 03, 2013 2:54 pm
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L&M is a chain store but I don't know if it qualifies as a "big box store". They don't cut corners and they don't cut prices. You get the original case and all the candy, you get a single setup and the price is fairly competitive with most other Canadian outlets. I don't equate them with Costco. Safeway, maybe.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 10:23 pm
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I've just seen the same conversation in a local guitar forum- lots of people who own/have owned a Les Paul have said that the best value if you are looking new can be found in a Les Paul Traditional. Les Paul Studio also being a very gig worthy in the sense that you wont worry about putting any dings etc in them. Secondhand/used there is good value in a Standard that is say, 10years old+
As far as a new Les Paul Standard is concerned.. I'd pass on one. But I'd happily own a Traditional but not in the current sunburst.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 10:05 pm
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I really like the Les Paul DC Standards.

Here's a couple from various craigslist ads.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/msg/3751323156.html

http://sarasota.craigslist.org/msg/3703961899.html

They look good, have 24 frets, better upper register access, and are better balanced than the single cutaway Les Pauls.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 3:13 pm
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Gibson busted their union back in the '70s and moved to an anti-labour state, so that is not a factor in the cost that management might be passing off to the consumer. Their guitars have always been high-quality, and you get what you pay for. I have four Gibsons from different eras, and they blow away anything on the market I've tried.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 6:26 pm
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Hi Her Wanna.
You ask, -What´s the deal?

An expensive one.

Gibson, Martin guitars, they built a mystique right from day 1.
So why lower expectations and bring the price down?
They should be getting more expensive, pedantic.
There should be Gibson cologne and sun glasses. :lol:

We all love the market, don´t we?
Cheers to diversity man, because the other makes you possible.

I browse for guitars, some luthier instruments cost $7,000
and so the Les Paul is just what it is.

For my part, my Custom Shop Strat cost $3,650 and I was offered
$5,800 just two weeks ago. And that´s a 2010 build.
Needless to say, it won´t leave my hands. 8)

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Sat May 11, 2013 7:32 pm
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I have been dealing with my local Mom & Pop store-Reid Music in Mt Pearl NL,Canada for over 20 years and have been buying guitars and gear from the owner since 1976 when he was working for another local music business.They never put a guitar on the wall until a complete set-up has been done on it plus you can rest assured that no guitar you pick up to try out has been mauled,smudged,scratched etc. by pimple-squatting weekend shred-bangers because they have a strict "hands off unless you really intend to buy something" policy that is respected and observed by all.I very rarely go to L&M,especially on the weekends because the cacaphony that eminates from there from all the Marshall stacks being run on full-tilt-boogie,would blow the ears off a corncob.Even though my nephew works at L&M,it has been over a year since I dared to venture in there as my ears haven't fully recovered from the trauma of my last weekend visit there some 3 years ago.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 1:35 am
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artisan4 wrote:
Their guitars have always been high-quality, and you get what you pay for.



possibly that's your experience, but certainly not everyone's. especially with gibson. their quality in the past decade or so is spotty, inconsistent. i love some gibson guitars. (the strat i just bought is my first. previously i was an all humbucker guy, gibsons included) i'm not knocking gibson guitars, just pointing out a fact. you DONT always get what you pay for when buying a gibson guitar. i have seen many twisted necks, blems, poorly installed tuners, inlays, frets, pots, etc.

but more to the original question - gibson pricing. the entire reason for gibsons being so expensive is to foster a boutique-y sort of branding for the label. i saw a news show interviewing henry juszkiewicz. the guy asked him the very same question. henry's response was that marketing data showed that every time they raised prices it increased sales. he just pushed it till it began to drop off and then he stopped there. he said so in plain language, on national television. it really is that simple.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 2:30 am
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kumachan wrote:
I saw a news show interviewing henry juszkiewicz. the guy asked him the very same question. henry's response was that marketing data showed that every time they raised prices it increased sales. he just pushed it till it began to drop off and then he stopped there. he said so in plain language, on national television. it really is that simple.



Wow, that does make sense on a lot of levels.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 7:52 am
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kumachan wrote:
artisan4 wrote:
Their guitars have always been high-quality, and you get what you pay for.



possibly that's your experience, but certainly not everyone's. especially with gibson. their quality in the past decade or so is spotty, inconsistent. i love some gibson guitars. (the strat i just bought is my first. previously i was an all humbucker guy, gibsons included) i'm not knocking gibson guitars, just pointing out a fact. you DONT always get what you pay for when buying a gibson guitar. i have seen many twisted necks, blems, poorly installed tuners, inlays, frets, pots, etc.

but more to the original question - gibson pricing. the entire reason for gibsons being so expensive is to foster a boutique-y sort of branding for the label. i saw a news show interviewing henry juszkiewicz. the guy asked him the very same question. henry's response was that marketing data showed that every time they raised prices it increased sales. he just pushed it till it began to drop off and then he stopped there. he said so in plain language, on national television. it really is that simple.



You don't always get what you pay for with Any guitar including Fender. When you buy any guitar you need to check it out thoroughly before you take it home.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 7:56 am
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nikininja wrote:
kumachan wrote:
I saw a news show interviewing henry juszkiewicz. the guy asked him the very same question. henry's response was that marketing data showed that every time they raised prices it increased sales. he just pushed it till it began to drop off and then he stopped there. he said so in plain language, on national television. it really is that simple.



Wow, that does make sense on a lot of levels.


It works for Harley Davidson and Apple as well. It worked for me in my photography business too. It's a pretty common business practice. Generally, Low end buyers are more of a pain in the neck than your higher end buyers.

When I raised my prices, I got more work and made more money with fewer clients.

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Post subject: Re: Gibson. What's the deal?
Posted: Sun May 12, 2013 8:02 am
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kumachan wrote:
artisan4 wrote:
Their guitars have always been high-quality, and you get what you pay for.



possibly that's your experience, but certainly not everyone's. especially with gibson. their quality in the past decade or so is spotty, inconsistent. i love some gibson guitars. (the strat i just bought is my first. previously i was an all humbucker guy, gibsons included) i'm not knocking gibson guitars, just pointing out a fact. you DONT always get what you pay for when buying a gibson guitar. i have seen many twisted necks, blems, poorly installed tuners, inlays, frets, pots, etc.

but more to the original question - gibson pricing. the entire reason for gibsons being so expensive is to foster a boutique-y sort of branding for the label. i saw a news show interviewing henry juszkiewicz. the guy asked him the very same question. henry's response was that marketing data showed that every time they raised prices it increased sales. he just pushed it till it began to drop off and then he stopped there. he said so in plain language, on national television. it really is that simple.


That's surprising about your quality experience. As far as guitar companies go, the only one I've noticed drop in quality (VERY far) is Ibanez. I examined a few of those in a store and it was amazing how poor the materials and workmanship was, compared to the ones I knew in the late '70s. In contrast, have never had a problem with Fenders and Gibsons, and I have owned many. I had a '79 BC Rich Mockingbird that had a Grover Imperial Stairstep tuner problem and a strap peg problem-those are actually the only quality control problems I've ever encountered in musical equipment.

As far as prices, it's the private sector, so sky's the limit, right? I haven't bought a guitar in a few years because I'm part of the 99%/stagnant wages crowd. But if I had the bucks I would buy a Gibson Les Paul Historic Reissue for sure.

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