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Post by bellyshere on May 27, 2014 18:11:52 GMT
Had a do on a Gibson Hummingbird today in Dawsons in Leeds. £2000! It was utter junk. Sounded like it was under a duvet with blobs of glue poking out of joints inside. Not impressed at all. Are the new ones this bad?
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Post by andyhowell on May 27, 2014 20:58:09 GMT
That's Gibson for you - you really need to play them. Ipad out 20 years ago I nearly bought a 20 year old Humminbird which really sang - it was battered and abused by a lovely instrument. Another one that got away!
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Post by slasher on May 28, 2014 10:52:28 GMT
I have two friends who play Gibsons. One of the guitars sounds great, the other does'nt. I have played both with the same result (ie. it is the guitars with varying quality, not the players). A number of people on here have mentioned quality problems with Gibsons. As I have only this slight knowledge is this a general problem or one linked to a particular era of Gibson build?
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Post by bellyshere on May 28, 2014 14:09:04 GMT
I've got an 80s Washburn which cost me £300 then and the quality destroys that Hummingbird.
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Post by vikingblues on May 28, 2014 15:06:39 GMT
I have two friends who play Gibsons. One of the guitars sounds great, the other does'nt. I have played both with the same result (ie. it is the guitars with varying quality, not the players). A number of people on here have mentioned quality problems with Gibsons. As I have only this slight knowledge is this a general problem or one linked to a particular era of Gibson build? I've seen grumblings / rumblings about their QC variability for quite a few years now. Generally advice about the brand these days seems to be to try several to find a better one. There are many, many threads on forums about this issue most of which develop into wars between the pro and anti Gibson factions and it becomes difficult to know how much to believe from either side. As I'm new to acoustic I have no knowledge myself of that type of Gibson guitar, but I can say that when I used to buy and try out electrics (oops - dark side! ) I encountered amongst the good ones some real horrors. I had a really lovely SG standard for a while - an older modes that I bought used - so I wanted their guitars I tried to be good. I'm not in the anti-Gibson camp, I was just shocked by what I found. That older SG Standard was a very fine instrument, though it did have the traditional floppy SG neck - I had to sell it for financial reasons - high vet costs to try to save an ailing four legged pal. I more recently acquired a new SG as a big birthday treat and it did give a good first impression tonally trying it out on its own through an amp etc. But longer term when it came to cutting through the mix with other instruments or on a recording it failed rather badly - the sustain just wasn't up to scratch when put to the proper test whatever I did with pickup heights and tone and volume controls. I was going to resort to playing around with capacitors in the electrics, or even changing pickups, but on opening up the control cavity I found the whole wiring system was on a PCB. So I couldn't change 1 capacitor on its own and I couldn't obtain any information on the circuit board to see how it worked. If I wanted to change pickups I would need special connectors to the PCB that were only available from one place in Europe it appeared. Wondered about ripping out the electrics completely, waving goodbye to the warranty, and doing a proper wiring job .... like my older SG had, and like the more expensive SGs / Les Pauls still have. Got really annoyed by the whole thing and ended up selling it, and had no regrets - other than buying it in the first place. The PCB is a cost cutting excercise and it means less skilled work needed on the assembly. They could have made it a feature - have a switch or two built in to change "wiring style" to the 50s set up for example - but instead they did as cheap as possible, and avoided any publicity about it, and avoided any mention of it in the website specifications. Shoddy! I ended up with a much cheaper "Vintage" brand guitar that performed just so much better. The whole thing was just a shame. Mark
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Wild Violet
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Post by Wild Violet on May 28, 2014 15:16:25 GMT
There are several eras of acoustic Gibsons to be avoided - most notable the "Norlin" era in the early 80's. Specs were all over the place - this is when my J50 was made and it (rather than being a natural version of a J45, as it should be) is has a long scale and square shoulders. It's still a nice guitar, but my teacher played many guitars and picked this one out for me. I have played dogs from this era.
There were problems with humidity and excess cracking when Gibson moved to Nashville.
I think the current Gibsons being built in Montana are known as the best of the bunch since the 60's. I've only played a few but they were all nice guitars. Even though their quality control has improved, I would not buy a Gibson sight unseen.
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Akquarius
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Post by Akquarius on May 28, 2014 17:14:13 GMT
I fell in love once with a Songwriter deluxe. Great guitar, but we had different opinions about what kind music we should focus on. Admittedly, this was the only Gibson I played and liked. Most of them (especially the Hummingbirds and Doves I played)I didn't like at all. In addition to that I didn't find anything that would justify the price.
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Post by sigmadel on May 29, 2014 10:37:14 GMT
I'm not a big Gibson fan tbh . Theyre electrics look nice but have bad reps regards fit and finish . I've never liked the acoustics apart from a sunburst 45 . They're just too garish for my taste .
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Post by thejamsinger on May 29, 2014 12:00:48 GMT
Yesterday I had a bit of time on my hands whilst my wife was doing a spot of shopping. My 50th birthday is in a couple of months and I've been given a budget to buy a new guitar, so decided to go and try a few out. First one I tried was a Gibson J29 which was £1599. At first I thought it was me but it sounded as if it was being played in another room, very dull and quiet, was not impressed. Next on the list was a Martin D28 which was just under £2000. This sounded better and was ok when finger picking but it did not inspire me to get my wallet out. By this time I was feeling depressed. For the first time in my life I've got some money to buy a reasonably high end guitar and they sound s**t. I have a Takamine G series which cost me just under £250 nearly 10 years ago and it sounds tonnes better.
The next one I tried was a Farida D62E which was £800. This was on a different planet compared to the Gibson and Martin. Only played it acoustically but it sounded tonnes better. I even had another go on the Gibson just in case it was me, but no it still sounded s**t. I was really disappointed as I fancied a Gibson. Spoke to the guy in the shop about the sound of the Gibson and Martin and he said all the guys in the store prefer to play the Farida guitars as they sound better. He said we've had Taylor's in to and they don't sound as good as the Farida's.
Went to another store and tried a Takamine, can't remember the model number but it was about £850, this to was a lot better than the Gibson and Martin I tried. Whilst there I also tried a Yamaha AC3R which was just under £700. I was really impressed with this. It sounded good strummed or finger picked, but the guys in the shop thought the Takamine sounded better.
Upto now it could either be the Yamaha or the Farida, but still couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed that the Gibson or the Martin didn't sound as good as the Yamaha, Takamine or the Farida, especially as I've got this money burning a hole in my pocket. Will keep looking, thinking of a Taylor or a Guild now.
Thejamsinger
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Post by scorpiodog on May 29, 2014 15:19:48 GMT
Goodness me, Thejamsinger, you are understanding a reality that so many of us here know only too well. There are some fantastic guitars around the just sub grand mark that knock spots off the average US factory build. Depending on what you're after, you ought to try Tanglewood, Stonebridge/Furch, Faith, Godin, Vintage, Cort and many others. But at £2k (or just over) you could go up a notch to a handbuilt, Brook, Atkin, or even better, our very own DeFaoite. And second hand, you could gets bags of value from Avalon or Lowden(maybe!) or Fylde. If you have to have US, try a Breedlove (the Far East built are good, but the US built are great) or a Guild. The world of guitars is vast. The names you know and aspire to are just names. I would rather pay for quality than name. But give yourself some time. Your special guitar will be your companion for many, many years. Go and play lots and lots before buying. And if there's a Gibson you like, try the Epiphone equivalent. Sometimes they can surprise you. Do have lots of fun trying before you buy, but keep us up together with how your search is going. We love a guitar search thread here.
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Post by thejamsinger on May 30, 2014 9:18:29 GMT
Hi Scorpiodog
Yes I'm starting to find this out. Never had the nerve to ask to play an expensive guitar before when in a shop. A friend of mine was 50 last year and went into several shops. His wife said he could spend as much as he liked. Each shop he went into he just said the guys in the shop to just keep bringing him guitars no matter what the cost. He ended up with a Yamaha A3M with its new fancy SRT pre-amp. He said it was the best sounding guitar acoustically and plugged in and this was after trying Gibsons, Martins, Taylors etc.
Initially I did fancy a Gibson but after trying them and several others out I'm just gonna go for what sounds the best providing its in my budget.
There's a couple of places in Manchester and another one in Runcorn that have a large selection of guitars, so will keep you informed.
Thejamsinger
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alig
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Post by alig on May 30, 2014 11:13:44 GMT
That is the best and only way to go.
Good luck.
Alasdair.
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minorkey
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Post by minorkey on May 30, 2014 13:32:09 GMT
Ill stick with my cheap Fender
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leoroberts
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Post by leoroberts on May 30, 2014 13:40:40 GMT
Here, of course, is the dichotomy of subjectivity (who I think were an electro-fusion band out of Havana in the late 70s). What might be a 'terrible' guitar to someone might well be the sweetest sounding thing on God's green earth to someone else. Action, finish, construction flaws... these are all objective. But sound? Entirely subjective. Which is why the only way to go is to find an instrument that sounds good to you and buy it
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walkingdecay
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Post by walkingdecay on May 30, 2014 15:44:31 GMT
But sound? Entirely subjective. Which is why the only way to go is to find an instrument that sounds good to you and buy it This is true. I'm aware that my favourite guitar would seem all but unplayable to many of the fingerpickers, tunings-from-space users and flamenco wangers on this forum, but to me it's a very capable flatpicker with some character in its sound, and balanced enough that it can carry off a bit of jazz when needed. Suits me perfectly. Regarding Gibson acoustics, I associate them with some of the Nudie-suited country frontmen I used to play pick up for. They seemed to me to be bulky affairs, best suited to thrashing out chords. Maybe there are some out there I'd like if I played them, but as it is I have a sort of aversion to them and wouldn't even think to try them in shops.
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