First of all, I am not looking to buy a guitar now. I just remember reading here that many people say that Gibson guitars have intonation problems, so I was wondering what are the users' opinions on this brand. Since there's so much praise around Gibson shit all over the world, I'd like to see some statements from you people, who often seem to have a less biased opinion.
Gibson guitars: opinions
- Thread starter locus_coeruleus
- Start date
Teddyboy
Member
Happy Gibson Explorer user here!! Stock pickups, but soon with Emg. I love that guitar. I'd love to check the ESP Explorer though..
No intonation problems for me
No intonation problems for me
Skinny Viking
¯\(°_o)/¯ How do Lydian?
owned 2 explorers
1st one had a FR setup and that bitch was PERFECT. Never had any issues with it ... loved that guitar until the day some cocksucker stole it from me
2nd one had a fixed bridge .. HATED it. Sold it several months later
1st one had a FR setup and that bitch was PERFECT. Never had any issues with it ... loved that guitar until the day some cocksucker stole it from me
2nd one had a fixed bridge .. HATED it. Sold it several months later
sprack
Thread Killer
2 LP's and an Agile here. If you're having intonation issues you're probably down-tuning without using thick enough strings.
Derpsicle
Member
Old_Gregg
Member
Never owned a Gibson but played my mates and was rather tasty I must say, however I feel with Gibson your paying more for the name on the headstock than the guitar itself. Quality guitars but far too overpriced IMO. If you have the money for it then go ahead but you can probably get a guitar of equal quality for half the price if you go with another brand
I've been playing Gibsons for 15 years. My '67 reissue Flying V has been in every tuning you can imagine. It's done tons of studio work and months-at-a-time on the road. I've probably played over 1,000 shows between 4 different bands with that guitar by now. It's NEVER had to go into a shop. I've replaced the JB in the bridge a few times because I sweat on stage like a pig on a spit, so I've killed 4 or 5 bridge pickups I think.
I've owned another '67 r.i. V, an Explorer, and an SG. The 2nd V was a bad idea. It didn't feel anything like my "go-to" V. The weight and balance was all wrong. It had a goddamn ebony fretboard, which I hate, and the mahogany was too light-weight and hard, so the sonic quality just wasn't warm enough. I bought it from a friend in another state and he shipped it. I had never played it. All my other Gibson guitars have been used purchases that I played at least once before buying.
Bottom line... when you want to get a Gibson... PLAY IT FIRST. I cannot stress this enough with ANY guitar maker, but with Gibson it is of the utmost importance. There are so many years and slight/huge differences that you have to hold it before you commit to the purchase. Also, pawn shops are a fucking GOLD MINE for Gibsons. I will always like used Gibsons more than brand new ones. I guess they have their own personality, or more character, or something.
I've owned another '67 r.i. V, an Explorer, and an SG. The 2nd V was a bad idea. It didn't feel anything like my "go-to" V. The weight and balance was all wrong. It had a goddamn ebony fretboard, which I hate, and the mahogany was too light-weight and hard, so the sonic quality just wasn't warm enough. I bought it from a friend in another state and he shipped it. I had never played it. All my other Gibson guitars have been used purchases that I played at least once before buying.
Bottom line... when you want to get a Gibson... PLAY IT FIRST. I cannot stress this enough with ANY guitar maker, but with Gibson it is of the utmost importance. There are so many years and slight/huge differences that you have to hold it before you commit to the purchase. Also, pawn shops are a fucking GOLD MINE for Gibsons. I will always like used Gibsons more than brand new ones. I guess they have their own personality, or more character, or something.
I had a Gothic Explorer from 2001, it was my first high (ish)-end guitar. It was pretty good, had a good chunky tone to it, and I loved the ebony board with no inlays (save for the 12th-fret moon/star thing).
It played pretty good but the frets weren't great. Nice neck, though. Electronics had issues (toggle switch especially). Nut wasn't cut great. Paint was chipping off around the nut area on the side of the neck.
It was a good guitar overall, but not for what I paid for it ($1400 ish Canadian). I got a LTD FX-400 (Korean made) a few years ago and honestly it played better than the explorer (for me, anyway - tuning to C standard). I've since fallen out of love with 24.75" scale guitars, though, so I traded the Gibson for a SC-607B and I don't regret it at all. Still have the FX-400 though, it rocks for how much I paid for it.
I won't be getting another Gibson. Bang for the buck isn't there, IMO.
YMMV.
It played pretty good but the frets weren't great. Nice neck, though. Electronics had issues (toggle switch especially). Nut wasn't cut great. Paint was chipping off around the nut area on the side of the neck.
It was a good guitar overall, but not for what I paid for it ($1400 ish Canadian). I got a LTD FX-400 (Korean made) a few years ago and honestly it played better than the explorer (for me, anyway - tuning to C standard). I've since fallen out of love with 24.75" scale guitars, though, so I traded the Gibson for a SC-607B and I don't regret it at all. Still have the FX-400 though, it rocks for how much I paid for it.
I won't be getting another Gibson. Bang for the buck isn't there, IMO.
YMMV.
TravisW
Member
I'd pick up a used Gibson after trying it out. The problem that I have with them is that they're inconsistent considering the price. I've seen new Gibsons with very obvious build flaws, like poorly placed nuts, etc. Granted, I've seen that on other brands, but they were all below $500, not over $1500. That's not to mention stupid design flaws that they haven't had the balls to fix since their current jackhole owners took over.
That being said, a good Gibson sounds fantastic.
That being said, a good Gibson sounds fantastic.
Danny Drama
Member
- Jun 30, 2010
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2 Les Paul Customs, 2 Les Paul Axcess (one Floyd Rose, one stop tail), 2 Les Paul Standards, a Buckethead Les Paul Sig (I wanted a 24 fret LP), an SG and a 335.
Safe to say, I like Les Pauls!!
Safe to say, I like Les Pauls!!
I jam with a dude that owns a Les Paul Custom with stock pickups. It´s a great guitar, but overpriced. Also, this dude don´t want to change the stock pickups for some EMGs, so my cheap Ltd guitar with EMGs has a much better rhythmn tone than his Gibson. The guitar also weights a ton and it´s pretty easy to hurt the finish, but don´t get me wrong, put some EMGs on that bitch and it´s an axe for the entire life.
Been loving my Faded Explorer for a couple years now. Mine has an EMG 85/81 (B/N) setup. I have tuned mine as far down as C# standard with no issues on intonation. Honestly I fucking love that guitar, I wanted an Explorer for years and finally got one, it feels and sounds great.
Skinny Viking
¯\(°_o)/¯ How do Lydian?
^ +1
I should have maybe also added that ... I had mine tuned to C# standard all the time with absolutely no intonation problems ever ... the one with the FR anyway
that fixed bridge one I had, maybe it was just flawed. The neck was nice enough but the balance was completely off and it had tuning problems like a mofo no matter how well it was setup
so yeah, bottom line like Travis said is you really can't tell sometimes unless you actually try playing it before buying
I should have maybe also added that ... I had mine tuned to C# standard all the time with absolutely no intonation problems ever ... the one with the FR anyway
that fixed bridge one I had, maybe it was just flawed. The neck was nice enough but the balance was completely off and it had tuning problems like a mofo no matter how well it was setup
so yeah, bottom line like Travis said is you really can't tell sometimes unless you actually try playing it before buying
Harry Hughes
âââ¬â¬
- Apr 25, 2009
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Don't take it for gospel as people have their opinions, but here's a small list of what I feel is the lowest you can tune too on certain scale lengths while still maintaining optimal and intonation AND tone:
24.75 inches = C # standard
25.5 inches = B standard
26.5 inches = A standard
You can still push those down by 2 semi tones for each scale length and still be within good intonation, but IMHO that would be the absolute lowest you'd want to go for those scale lengths, because as it is I think you're sacrificing a fair bit of tone after those original tunings I listed.
24.75 inches = C # standard
25.5 inches = B standard
26.5 inches = A standard
You can still push those down by 2 semi tones for each scale length and still be within good intonation, but IMHO that would be the absolute lowest you'd want to go for those scale lengths, because as it is I think you're sacrificing a fair bit of tone after those original tunings I listed.
Oh my god I could'nt even believe this is possible
Keep in mind, there are no pup rings on a Flying V unless you add them. So, my bridge pup is almost completely exposed, and the sweat off my arm would run right down into it, eventually ruining the innards. I've actually had the most recent JB in the bridge about 6 years now. They stopped dying as often when I started wearing those old school "James Hetfield-esque" wristbands.
May be true for the tight modern metalcore sounds, but every Doom/Stoner guy has 24.75" guitar usually tuned from C# to A, most guys seem to prefer C standard. Of course most of their stuff is usually slightly out of tune though
(sorry for my drunken pointless post
DD stoner metal rules )
TravisW
Member
BTW...Kluson tuners' marketing slogan should be "Kluson: We'll Get You in the Ballpark". To be honest, the best things that ever happened to my Flying V were a result of the headstock breaking (which is ridiculously common and has been for decades). I reglued the headstock, which made that end of the guitar a whole lot stiffer, and I replaced the crap-o-matic Klusons with Grover locking tuners.
