Replacement NAMM '67 Flying V has arrived... not good news

[Icandrive55]

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I was pretty shocked to see my replacement Flying V already being sent out to me. I thought I'd be waiting many months for sure. But unfortunately, that's where the good news ended.

This guitar has an even BIGGER piece of wood missing at the nut. What on earth is going on at this place?? They went through the trouble to rebuild a guitar that has the same problem I had in the first place. Whoever is working on these fretboards should be let go, frankly. They are ruining these guitars.

To make matters worse, the color of this guitar barely resembles the original. It's wayyyy darker. I would call it a drab green metallic. There is also pretty visible uneven finish on the bottom corner.

I already told them I'm sending this guitar back. Frankly, I'm done with Gibson at this point. At least any new instruments. I asked to speak directly with the Custom Shop so we'll see if they let me. It should not be this difficult to get this guitar right. Especially, at over $5k. Another weird quirk... you have to push obscenely hard to get the guitar cable to click into the input jack. Clearly... this was another rush job and no care was put into it.

 

[El Gringo]

I am so sorry to hear this awful news which sucks of course . I think now i would demand a full and complete refund as it's strike 2 and i would not want to continue down this path . Be firm and make a lot of noise to get a full refund !

 

[Icandrive55]

Thanks El Gringo.

 

[El Gringo]

Thanks El Gringo.

It'll be real interesting to see how Gibson responds to this. So far, they've apologized for nothing and treat me as if I know nothing about guitars. They had the original guitar so it's just plain lazy that the color is so far off.

I'm guessing they're going to try to offer me a completely different guitar, which I'm not interested in. I think they should either have a master luthier oversee the entire build or give me my money back. And I also asked for pictures before shipment. Those are the options I gave them. They should have a response for me tomorrow.

FYI, Gibson's Master Luthier is Jim DeCola

 

[Icandrive55]

FYI, Gibson's Master Luthier is Jim DeCola

Good to know. I've seen him on their youtube channel but wasn't sure if there were any other Master Luthier's. I just sent them this picture below, which really shows how far off the color on this new guitar is.

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[wild.joz]

Good to know. I've seen him on their youtube channel but wasn't sure if there were any other Master Luthier's. I just sent them this picture below, which really shows how far off the color on this new guitar is.

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Holy sh*t! Thats an entirely different color!!!

 

[El Gringo]

Good to know. I've seen him on their youtube channel but wasn't sure if there were any other Master Luthier's. I just sent them this picture below, which really shows how far off the color on this new guitar is.

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Keep us updated as this important to find out how they respond to this and how they remedy this .

 

[El Gringo]

Good to know. I've seen him on their youtube channel but wasn't sure if there were any other Master Luthier's. I just sent them this picture below, which really shows how far off the color on this new guitar is.

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Keep us informed on how they respond and how they remedy this .

 

[Icandrive55]

Jim finally responded and copied their service and quality managers. I have a feeling they're not going to step up and take care of the situation but we'll see. A customer shouldn't have to fight and argue over dozens of emails to resolve something like this.

 

[GreenBurst]

I had to follow up for the 3rd time today. They had not offered any kind of apology or even response. I even emailed Jim DeCola. This time, I threatened to file a complaint with the attorney general. This isn't a small sum of money and they can't expect me to just chill out and wait indefinitely. I'm entitled to an instrument that's free of defects or a refund. They also promised an exact replacement so they are on the hook for that legally as well.

Frankly, this is absolute s$%t customer service for what's supposed to be a top of the line guitar and manufacturer. It doesn't take two seconds to look at those pictures and acknowledge there is clearly a problem. Even a color blind person could tell those guitars are completely different colors.

Jim finally responded and copied their service and quality managers. I have a feeling they're not going to step up and take care of the situation but we'll see. A customer shouldn't have to fight and argue over dozens of emails to resolve something like this.

No need to worry. Be patient and professional, this will get addressed. The color change is significant. No business will argue that. It will probably get categorized as a shipping error.

 

[GreenBurst]

No need to worry. Be patient and professional, this will get addressed. The color change is significant. No business will argue that. It will probably get categorized as a shipping error.

 

[Icandrive55]

Greenburst, I think it's reasonable to think that they'll look at this and do the right thing. That just hasn't been the case so I am worried. I had to send Customer Service (Europe) a ton of emails for over a month before they even acknowledged there was a problem with the first guitar. Customer Service USA never even got back to me. They just expected me to get tired of dealing with them and move on. That's why I'm looping in the higher-ups now.

 

[Icandrive55]

Wow... I am livid. Gibson just responded, "it seems we're unable to build a replacement that will satisfy your requirements." They told me to return the guitar for a refund.

No apology or attempt to actually provide the guitar they promised. Even worse, they are acting as if there is nothing wrong with this guitar and it's just me.

I have been playing Gibson's since I was 6 years old. That is the last new Gibson I will ever purchase. They don't stand by their product at all or care that it meets any kind of quality standard. And they certainly don't care about their customers. This experience has left an absolutely awful taste in my mouth. I always looked up to this brand and really can't believe how badly they've treated me.

 

[zacknorton]

Have you tried to reach out via instagram etc. to any of the gibson folks that are active there?? Cesar? Agnesi?

It seems like this is a "pass the buck" scenario, and no one who has their shit together at gibson has actually seen the buck.

 

[Icandrive55]

Hey Zack,

I had not but I just went ahead and reached out to both of them on Instagram. Thanks for the suggestion.

I mean.. there's not much I can do after that. Jim DeCola has seen all these photos and he passed the buck as well.

 

[El Gringo]

Unbelievable as to there response , and the response from Max Guitar is even worse to question you in that manner . Typical diversion tactic to shift the blame on you versus faulty quality control . Take it a step further - they would showcase this at NAMM ? Something had to have happened at NAMM or when it was shipped out , and you shouldn't have to lump it like a piece of coal and then say Thank You . Why can't they build an exact guitar that you want and PAID for ? The only thing that would suck is waiting for it to be built .

 

[garywright]

good luck

 

[Icandrive55]

I have a pretty exciting possible update to this situation. The owner of Max Guitar made a very generous offer to order me a new M2M guitar with the right color and proper fretboard. He's going to pick up the original NAMM guitar as well as the replacement I received. Assuming Gibson moves forward with this. I think that's pretty significant and not something a lot of shops would be willing to do.

For anyone interested in those guitars, I will say that the finish on the NAMM guitar is outstanding. It's a show-stopper for sure. The replacement guitar is a very cool color as well but I would say less impressive. It's more of a forest green and less metallic. But it does have a classy look to it. The other one is a lot more modern and vibrant so really depends on preference.

However, the fit and quality of the fretboard on the replacement is substantially better. In fact, minus the piece of wood chipped out at the nut (which you can probably fill in,) it's probably the nicest fretboard I have seen on a Gibson in a very long time. Very closed-pored, dark, and smooth. It's not dried out at all. That fretboard is also seamless with neck where it isn't on the NAMM guitar. The fretboard difference is substantial. I can't stress that enough.

So really, the choice is between playability and quality vs appearance. It's not an easy choice and I was going to try to pick one of them over taking the refund. If anyone has any questions, let me know.

 

[El Gringo]

I have a pretty exciting possible update to this situation. The owner of Max Guitar made a very generous offer to order me a new M2M guitar with the right color and proper fretboard. He's going to pick up the original NAMM guitar as well as the replacement I received. Assuming Gibson moves forward with this. I think that's pretty significant and not something a lot of shops would be willing to do.

For anyone interested in those guitars, I will say that the finish on the NAMM guitar is outstanding. It's a show-stopper for sure. The replacement guitar is a very cool color as well but I would say less impressive. It's more of a forest green and less metallic. But it does have a classy look to it. The other one is a lot more modern and vibrant so really depends on preference.

However, the fit and quality of the fretboard on the replacement is substantially better. In fact, minus the piece of wood chipped out at the nut (which you can probably fill in,) it's probably the nicest fretboard I have seen on a Gibson in a very long time. Very closed-pored, dark, and smooth. It's not dried out at all. That fretboard is also seamless with neck where it isn't on the NAMM guitar. The fretboard difference is substantial. I can't stress that enough.

So really, the choice is between playability and quality vs appearance. It's not an easy choice and I was going to try to pick one of them over taking the refund. If anyone has any questions, let me know.

Well this is most promising news and sounds like the owner came to his senses and wants to do the right thing for a good paying customer , for which in this day and age of the Pandemic times are tough and treat people right that want to patronize your business and stand by your products . I am by no means telling you what to do but if i were you i would go with that option/choice of having the owner order you a completely brand new M2M guitar with the right color and proper fretboard and also to have it SPEC'ed out to your personal specs and preference such as neck size and pickups and string gauge and such personal preferences and don't be shy in speaking up about that in a most polite way of course ,that way it is more tailored to your personal taste and thus makes it that much more special . Truly wonderful news and speaks volumes about shops doing the right thing , which sometimes can be all up hill , but then you hear news like this that made me smile . Please continue to keep us updated on this process and Best Wishes !

 

[Icandrive55]

Thank you for your suggestion, El Gringo. The pickups sound great and I'm happy with the .10's on there. However, the neck is a little beefy for my tastes. I asked if it wasn't any added trouble to go with a slightly slimmer neck so we'll see. I compared it to my '55 Special and it's quite a bit thicker than that as well as my Les Paul Standard. It still feels good but not quite what I'm accustomed to. I think that will also help with the neck dive a bit.

I'm crossing my fingers this all gets approved and moves forward. Would be a great ending to a pretty crazy experience!