Gibson in 'Chucked Together' Shocker!

[Skipped]

One of the questions asked of Gibson Kalamazoo workers in the 'Golder Era' is what was it like. It was a factory job then as it is now.

True. But it was a factory making fine quality archtop jazz guitars. When the Les Paul was added to the production line in 1952 the guys somehow got the crazy idea that they were still building fine musical instruments for the same discerning group of musicians.....

[ICBM]

It's the bits that *are* "hand made" - especially the neck tenon - that bother me. If you've ever wondered why Gibsons have notoriously variable neck angles, sometimes very poorly-fitting joints with cavities in them, varying tone quality and all the rest, now you know. There's really no reason for doing it like that given the degree of machine work on much of the rest - and it would produce a much better result.

[musophilr]

Looks like normal mass production to me. Given the scale of the operation it doesn't surprise me that some get out of the factory in less desirable condition than others. To hear some people talk you'd think they were all duds. I wonder what the real dud rate is. Then there's the people's expectations side of it - can we really expect handbuilt boutique quality in every instrument from mass production on this scale?

[ICBM]

Looks like normal mass production to me. Given the scale of the operation it doesn't surprise me that some get out of the factory in less desirable condition than others. To hear some people talk you'd think they were all duds. I wonder what the real dud rate is. Then there's the people's expectations side of it - can we really expect handbuilt boutique quality in every instrument from mass production on this scale?

No. But we should be able to expect proper mass-production quality .

Fender, Yamaha and possibly some of the Korean manufacturers (I'm not certain) make more guitars than Gibson, and their quality is still higher overall. PRS and some others make almost as many guitars as Gibson and their quality is *much* higher.

[TheGuitarWeasel]

Interesting to hear how coy they were about the 2008 'weight relief' which amounted to the instrument being more or less semi-acoustic.

[Hertz32]

http://youtu.be/nFFvrHHct70
the Chinese guitars are more handmade than the US ones!

[Rocker]

I couldn't see anything wrong with the video. We revere and look after the finally built guitar, but until it's leaves the factory, its just bits of wood and metal stuck together.

Yeah, I totally agree with you.

[stickyfiddle]

Will have a watch later.

The Rickenbacker tour is a good watch if you haven't seen it before. They still built very old-timey designs, but with CNC throughout purely to make sure the guitars come out consistently and perfectly.

[musophilr]

No. But we should be able to expect proper mass-production quality .

Fender, Yamaha and possibly some of the Korean manufacturers (I'm not certain) make more guitars than Gibson, and their quality is still higher overall. PRS and some others make almost as many guitars as Gibson and their quality is *much* higher.

I think you're right, sad to say. They need to be run by people who care about being better, rather than by people who are only bothered that the product says Gibson on it.

[monquixote]

It does make you think twice about coughing up for an LP standard when you could have something proper handmade like a Feline for a few quid more.