Simple Human said:
If I were you, I'd stay away from Gibson. Their newer product is absolute crap! If you want a Gibson, get an older one that's used. I bought a brand new Gibson Flying V two years ago and have had nothing but trouble with it and it's a high end model that cost me close to $2,000! I bought the guitar from a dealer over the internet and when I got it I was surprised to see that Gibson didn't even bother to finish the neck before it left the factory - the frets weren't dressed and they stuck out over the edges of the neck like little pieces of barbwire. It was like running my hand up and down a saw blade! My brother had the same problem with the Les Paul he bought a few years ago and he even managed to cut his hand on the frets they were so sharp! The neck on my V is also constantly going out of wack and needing adjustments more than should be normal. I also had the back of the headstock crack on me which ended up costing $200 to repair. The guitar looks cool, but is a total piece of junk!
I've had great luck with Carvin guitars. My main guitar is a Carvin DC127 that I've had for sixteen years and is without question the best guitar I've ever played. I've yet to find any guitar that has had the level of quality as that Carvin in terms of both construction and sound.
Good luck with whatever brand/model you choose!
That is absolutely ashamed as far as The Gibson. You can buy a Chinese made guitar for $200 that has the frets finished well enough to play right out of the bag. Gibson should be ashamed of themselves.
There are only two brands I would even think about buying without first playing these days.... Carvin and Ibanez. I don't think either necessarily are "the best" guitar brand as I am not brand loyal, but I have played $250 Ibanez guitars made in Korea that were almost equal to their more expensive Japanese counterparts and American competitors costing twice as much less the pots and pickups. I own a cheap Korean Ibanez made in the late 80's and it still has the original tuners on it. The guitar is a "no frills" model, but it is still a fine instument, not a hunk of wood with strings on it. I love it.
As far as the Carvins go, I know three people who play/played Carvins. A deceased former friend of mine, ordered an "ultra-V" and it was one of the ugliest beasts I have ever seen, but it was super hot as far as the electronics and had a super fast neck and great action. The neck had a huge radius therefore it and was extremely thin, but also a bit narrow for my taste.
The other two guys both had a Koa wood strat bodied style Carvins. I don't recall the model numbers. Both were different models, but were pretty similar in shape. One had a very "strat" style neck 22 fret (again slightly narrow for my taste) and the other a 24 fret, but slightly wider neck with almost a Les Paul width fretboard.
Anyway, I am blessed in some ways physically and cursed in others as a guitarist. I have huge hands, but fat average length fingers including fingertips. I really prefer a wide neck or my fingertips will occasionally muffle another string while I am trying to transition a finger from one string to another. Also due to having strong hands I tend to use power as opposed to finesse ala lots of string bending. I am extremely heavy handed. A wide neck is better for me, that is why Gibson is one guitar I like. Many of their models offer a wide neck.
Having said that, I am not "looking" for a Gibson, but rather a wider style neck on an oldschool style body.
Bryant
