WHY ARE GIBSONS SO FREAKING EXCPISEVE??????

Tukk04

Poop said:
If you're a Gibson player, you want the guitars to be expensive. (Subconsciously or not.)
Gibson has a reputation for making well-crafted instruments and that reputation is reflected in the price tag of a new (or used) Gibson.
If they came out with a $300.00 Gibson, people would immediate discredit them based on the MSRP. Even if the guitar was top of the line with all of the deluxe appointments, the majority of people would try to find fault with them because the idea of something being nice and affordable seems absurd.
Take, for instance, the Melody Maker. I don't think that I've read a negative first-hand review. Everyone that has one raves about the quality, the feel, the sound, etc. But then you look online and people automatically assume that they're crap just because almost anyone can afford one. Or that the guitar would be okay if you upgrade the pickups, the hardware, the wiring, the neck, the body and enlarge the headstock. 🙄
Gibsons seem more prestigious is they aren't affordable. They're like the holy grail of guitars. Some bozo in a garage band probably can't afford one. They're for the real players.
Either way, there are only about three Gibson models that I've ever liked so Gibson can keep their guitars.

some of their newer models aren't that great even with the high price tag, i've tried(never owned, so my opinion may be invalid) epiphone sg's that have better feeling necks than their gibson conterparts, and the same goes for les pauls. The old copy I have has a lot better feel than some of the grand+ gibbys i've tried, your really just paying to get into the club not for quality.

on a sidenote: does anybody elses lp weigh over 15lbs.?

feedbackismyfriend

Tukk04 said: on a sidenote: does anybody elses lp weigh over 15lbs.?

my friend's does

Tukk04

my friend's does

mines not chambered and i think its alder, so thats probably why mine is, what model does your friend have?

funtoosh

glassdoor.com said: You'll also be told, "Never suggest a really good idea." This is part and parcel of the incredibly toxic work environment that is is 100% attributable to the CEO. You can read from the other reviews that the character flaws exhibited by the CEO trickle down through upper management all the way to production. Backstabbing is de rigueur at Gibson. It is also the Achilles heel of the company.

the climate at gibson appears to be, uhm, not too good:

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Gibson-Guitar-Reviews-E6869.htm

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/backstage/71111-glassdoor-com-gibson-labelled-worst-place-work.html

most astonishing, i think ...

Poop

Tukk04 said:
your really just paying to get into the club not for quality.

I have only played a handful of Gibsons and they were nothing to write home about. I wouldn't pay $6,000.00 for a guitar that was licked by Kiefer Sutherland, let alone some piece of crap that came stright off the line from the Gibson factory.

Epiphones are great instruments but there again, they're considered inferior, sometimes only because they are affordable.

I think that you've hit the nail on the head there. Back in the day, when they were handbuilt works of art, they were probably quite deserving of the pricetag. To me, though, they play just like any other guitar that comes off the assembly line.

Gibson isn't stupid, though. They know how the human mind works. They recognize the it's-the-most-expensive-and-therefore-the-best mentality that people (Americans especially) exhibit. (Think Harvard versus the state college.)

So most of the time, Gibson players are paying for the quality, just not really. They expect their new Les Paul to be the ultimate example of craftsmanship just because they spent, like, three grand on it. Understandable, I think. If I spent that much, I'd want a guitar built by Jebus himself. And maybe the person gets the Les Paul home and gets a nagging feeling, sort of a "Geez, this doesn't play as nice as I thought that it would" but they can't accept that so they convince themselves that their guitar is superior to all else made by the hands of men.

Not the rule, of course. More of an observation that I've made about some local Gibson players. 😍

feedbackismyfriend

@ Tukk04: I dunno much about it other than it's a black Les Paul Custom that he loves but I pretty much hate cuz the neck is just fat enough to bug me, it's heavy as heck (he plays sitting down most of the time so I guess it doesn't bother him too much), and to be honest I dun really like the sound of it all that much. Since I dun like it all that much I've never really asked him too much about it (although he prolly wouldn't know all that much if I did ask).

Poop

Yeah, the lumber thing is kind of funny. Wasn't Gibson a big proponent of using renewable resources and not purchasing wood that was endangered and whatnot?

Maybe that's the reason for the exorbitant prices. You're paying for illegal wood, possibly culled from th black market.

Some dude in a trench coat standing outside of Gibson, offering to hook them up with some great ebony and rosewood as he pulls two ounce samples from the inside pocket of his jacket and the CEOs get hooked on the stuff and start selling their bodies to local drunks just to afford some grainy rosewood from the far reaches of the world and then they need to recover the cash so they charge nine billion dollars for a sucky new Les Paul with an asymmetrical neck, done "on purpose", of course, wink wink... 😲

feedbackismyfriend

Poop said: Yeah, the lumber thing is kind of funny. Wasn't Gibson a big proponent of using renewable resources and not purchasing wood that was endangered and whatnot?
Maybe that's the reason for the exorbitant prices. You're paying for illegal wood, possibly culled from th black market.
Some dude in a trench coat standing outside of Gibson, offering to hook them up with some great ebony and rosewood as he pulls two ounce samples from the inside pocket of his jacket and the CEOs get hooked on the stuff and start selling their bodies to local drunks just to afford some grainy rosewood from the far reaches of the world and then they need to recover the cash so they charge nine billion dollars for a sucky new Les Paul with an assymetric neck, done "on purpose", of course, wink wink... 😲

😆

kurdtCobain

The gibson h.q. is in nashville and os is one of they're production lines so would'nt that make them cheaper in my area?

Poop

kurdt Cobain said: The gibson h.q. is in nashville and os is one of they're production lines so would'nt that make them cheaper in my area?

Probably not.

Irving Oil is only a stone's throw from my town and gas prices are higher here than at an Irving station downstate. 😲 Figure that one out...

kurdtCobain

hmm you have a point it would make sense if things made in your area were cheaper but there not,whitch makes little to no sense to me.

BanditGuitarist1

Tukk04 said:
your really just paying to get into the club not for quality.

I think people are paying for guitars, i know more then enough people who buy Gibon's just because they love the way they play and there are that minority that exhibit that elitist mentality however I've never seen that as a majority case. I know just as many people who owner Fender's are regard them as better then everything else because of the very same elitist mentality its not just to Gibson owners alone or another other guitar company. There is craftsmanship that goes into Gibson's same as any company Gibson and Fender probably don't do very much different craftsmanship on guitars and the high dollar Gibsons in the 5-6k range are from the Custom Shop which are pretty much even with Fender's Custom Shop guitars which are also in the 4k+ range its ridiculous but its widespread in all guitar companies.

Now I own Gibson's and Fenders and I'd never think ones better then the other simply because my Les Paul cost more money than my Mustang there all just instruments to make that help me make music and they all have there own unique voice. But I think there really is a large amount of bashing going on. All in all more people I know just play there guitars because they love there sound I've met the elitists on both sides of the fence and nobody likes them even owners of the same brand. It comes down to what type of person you are I think really with a company there are the morons that are going to pay through the nose for a name and others that just want a solid good sounding instrument.

Poop

Good points. I agree with you.

I didn't mean for my post to come across as a Gibson-is-#### bash. They're obviously not since they're one of the biggest brands going. Maybe I just don't like them because I can't afford one. 😆 I just think that people will generally consider their Gibson to be superior because they paid an arm and a leg for it. Of course there are exceptions but if I spent that much on a guitar, it had better be the greatest one in the world.

There is definitely a level of snobbery that goes on, especially between Fender and Gibson players. It's actually really stupid.

I'm glad that you brought the Fender thing up, too. That was one of the reasons that I ever started playing Fenders. They had a solid reputation, the guitars could be worked on easily by a novice (such as removing the neck, pickguard, etc.) and they were a hell of a lot cheaper than Gibson axes. Now, however, things have changed. Jags at almost $2,000.00 a pop. Cheesy American Strats at $1,200.00. And the price increase that jumped reissue Mustangs from around $600.00 to almost a grand. Fender has become kind of pricey in my book. I rarely bought new guitars to begin with but I can't even fathom doing so now.

And are AVRI Jags worth that much in my eyes? Not a chance. I'll keep my MIJ, thank you. (Hypothetically, of course, since I plan on selling it. 😆 )

Gibson just seems to be able to sell based on their reputation and to do so at a ridiculous price. And as we see, Fender is right behind them.

BanditGuitarist1

Its very true reputation goes a long long way in the retail business especially musical instruments look at things like Baldwin pianos and Stradivarius Violins huge price tags based on there reputation as great instruments but are they worth that much its debatable. Its a shame guitar prices are rising as a whole almost every company is raising prices and its ridiculous! There are few in any guitars that I can justify there prices for anymore, however the used market is very nice right now at least it was for awhile you could see used 1959 Reissue Gibsons in the 3k region down from 5 or 6k 😆

What happened to the days of the 1950's where a brand new high quality Fender or Gibson could be bought for 300 bucks 😆😆

Joey

someone said: Henry asks the President of Gibson;
"What are they saying about us on the Internet?"
The President says;
"I don't know Henry, but I'll find out."
and he asks his secretary to send a memo to the Vice President,
telling him to find out what is being said about Gibson on the
Internet.
The Vice President sends an email to the General Manager,
and the General Manager, goes and talks to the head of Customer
Service, who gives the assignment to the new Customer Service Rep.
The new Customer Service Rep. reads Glassdoor.com and writes a
report that says;
The buzz on the Internet about Gibson is that Henry is ruining
everything and needs to go.
The Head of Customer Service reads that and says;
"Oh no! If Henry reads that he will fire everybody" so he changes
it to say;
The buzz on the Internet is that even though Gibson has some problems,
the Customer Service department is second to none. Then he sends it to
the General Manager. The General Manager doesn't want to send a report
to Henry that says Gibson has any problems, so he changes it to say;
The buzz on the Internet is that Gibson still leads the way in the American
music industry, and he sends it to the Vice President.
The Vice President doesn't want Henry to think that Gibson's success is
limited to just America, so he changes it to;
The buzz on the Internet is that Gibson still leads the world in innovative
guitar technology, and sends it to the President.
The president goes in to see Henry and says;
"The buzz on the Internet is that the Dark Fire is the hottest guitar out
of Nashville since the Robot!"

Les Paul Forum

I was watching an episode of Dirty Jobs. Mike was working with a guy that cleans grease traps & septic tanks. Mike goes "I heard you used to be a psychologist. Why'd you quit that job for this?"........ the dude responded "I got tired of listening to people sh*t".

BanditGuitarist1

bahaha good jokes i dont hang around on the LPF from what i've seen its the breeding grounds for elitism 😆

Mad-Mike

Dunno if I've posted here before....

Gibsons are expensive mostly for the name, and their image of being an uber-high end traditional guitar with a long pedigree of excellence. Of being a "hand made" with "old world craftsmanship"....the key word here is IMAGE. That's part of how these things sell these days.

Most of the "Gibson guys/gals" I meet love to tell me how much they paid for their prized Les Pauls, and I find it amusing, because I get this idea the price is a part of the ownership. It's kind of like owning a high end sports car, you sort of belong to an elite club of some sort, I find the whole thing humorous.

As far as Gibson's modern designs, that Zoot SG makes the Dusk Tiger look like a seventies L5 custom by comparison. Every time I see that guitar the song "The Candy Man Can" starts playing in my head.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9B_6PH4dhU

The Dusk Tiger makes me think more of Frank Zappa, looks like something he'd play, and the lines of the hardware looks like the trademark moustache of Zappa used as a symbol for him on various media. All it needs is a Electro Wagnerian Emancipator and I'd be right up for playing the Apostrophe or Baby Snakes material on it.

I like the new Gary Moore Les Pauls, mostly because they have what I've wanted to see in a Les Paul for years, particularly a P-90/Humbucker combo with the P-90 in the neck, to me that's like the best of both worlds, the only thing better to me would be an Explorer with that setup, available in some more 60's-ish colors like Foam Green or Sonic-Blue.

Most of the Gibsons I have played have been older ones. Ones that stick in my mind were a 72' Firebird I played years ago when I had been playing guitar about 2 years, an 84' Flying Vee with a Kahler, an 85' Explorer in red that was 3rd runner up as my first guitar, and a 72' Gibson SG with a reglued headstock that seems to have a history with a few Auburn AL area musicians, and a 67' SG Special with Vibriola that a friend in Florida had, which had an amazing tone.

feedbackismyfriend

dude it's been forever since I've seen Willy Wonka.

Poop

Mad-Mike said: Dunno if I've posted here before....
Gibsons are expensive mostly for the name, and their image of being an uber-high end traditional guitar with a long pedigree of excellence. Of being a "hand made" with "old world craftsmanship"....the key word here is IMAGE. That's part of how these things sell these days.
Most of the "Gibson guys/gals" I meet love to tell me how much they paid for their prized Les Pauls, and I find it amusing, because I get this idea the price is a part of the ownership. It's kind of like owning a high end sports car, you sort of belong to an elite club of some sort, I find the whole thing humorous.
As far as Gibson's modern designs, that Zoot SG makes the Dusk Tiger look like a seventies L5 custom by comparison. Every time I see that guitar the song "The Candy Man Can" starts playing in my head.....

I think that Mad-Mike summed it up quite well.

And as for the Zoot SGs, I want one. I like ugly guitars and they don't come much uglier than those. I actually like the red/black one. But yeah, the rainbow one... Candy Man. Haha. 😆

sonicmansuperb

Gibsons are expensive because they are status symbols, like lamborghinis. I've only played one gibson that I enjoyed, and it was the p90 model SG. I found better playing guitars like a Fiesta Red Jag-stang that played comfortably, yet was a terribly constructed mess. The fingerboard between fret's was carved out, like vertically scalloped, a piece of plastic was in the bridge because it was missing a saddle, the fret ends were sharp, and the back of the body was dented heavily. It was the best playing guitar I've ever played. But they wanted 500 dollars for it, and justified that price with recent ebay auctions for practically brand new jag-stangs saying the bridge was a 30 dollar piece, which it's not, but back to my original point. Rarely do you see a gibson in this condition that plays so well. They are made to be as close to perfect, which is why they are so expensive, and why they don't play so well. A guitar that is designed to be perfect is for those that play perfect. That's why people get an elitist sense when they own one, because they feel that since they own an instrument designed for players with skills, they have skills and their les pauls are the symbol of their supposed skills.

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