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One More
Reason For All You Gibson Lovers To
Bash Me On The Net
I really don't mind the
Bashing
Or The Name Calling
as much as the
fact that
No one ever makes any sensible rebuttal arguments !!!!
Gibson
Guitars Require A Major Redesign !!!!
The Design Flaws Are Many
Les Paul
Necks Are All Prone To Easy Breakage!!!
Why is it, that one of the most expensive
guitars on the planet.
is famous for the fact that the necks
always break?
See The Nicest Affordable
Gibson Les Pauls Anywhere
Gibsons Have a 12% Market Share & An 81% Problem Rate in Our
Shop.
Back To Gibson Guitars Main
Page
Writing articles like
these does not endear me to people who have
spent tons of money on Gibson Guitars.
There are many people out there who dismiss me
as an asshole simply because they don't know the
facts.
It is a poor business practice for me to point
these things out and call attention to Gibson's
blunders. Why do I
do it then ??
I could probably make more money if I just bit
my tongue and looked the other way like everyone
else does. There is no consumer reports in
the guitar business. All the magazines are
on board with their advertisers and will never
reveal any of the things you will see on my
site.
I know
I'm fighting a losing battle, I'm one guy
standing in a hard wind. The magazines & large
corporations are all standing upwind taking a
leak !!!!
Be assured I will never surrender now
matter what the odds.
PLEASE BELIEVE ME..
I like money just as much as the next guy.
I just cannot sit still for all the hype that
this substandard, short-necked, easily broken,
corporately made cheap instrument gets simply
because the media likes to take care of their
advertisers.
I get these indignant calls from Gibson owners
who call me up all ready to start bashing me on
the phone.
When & if I have the time I rationally
explain to them what I am talking about. They
usually grudgingly agree with what I have to
say. Occasionally someone cannot be convinced. I
submit that they have been so totally
completely brainwashed & programmed that they
will probably never see the light. But
those calls are extremely rare. I make a little
progress every day and I enjoy trying to make
things better. |
Ask Me What's Wrong with the Gibson Les
Paul Neck
-
Question: Is the headstock angle designed wrong?
Answer:
YES:
-
Question: Is the guitar too
heavy? Answer:
Definitely YES:
-
Question: Is the
weight distribution incorrect?
Answer:
Definitely YES:
-
Question: Is the case poorly designed?
Answer: Yes most of
the time, depending on the year.
-
Question: If they put a
volute on the neck would that solve the problem?
Answer: Maybe,
It would definitely be a step in the right direction.
-
Question: Why
doesn't Gibson put a volute in the neck. Answer: Don't know the answer, it
would seem to be a clear admission of guilt. If they
actually finally fixed the original design.
-
Question:
Is mahogany a good choice for a neck wood?
Answer:
Most luthiers prefer
hard rock maple on electrics.
-
Question: Is the guitar poorly
designed?
Answer:
In Ed Roman's opinion the guitar is not designed at all.
It's nothing more than an exact copy of an old 1930's era
Jazzbox made smaller & solid.
If you look at any Les Paul neck joint it's obvious that
it's the same joint that they use on the ES 175 !!
I have said for years that
Gibson should simply break all the necks at the factory
before the guitars are even painted. (Some
People Think I'm Joking) Actually I'm
quite serious !!!!
Keep Reading
I know that sounds crazy, but consider
this. They rarely if ever break once they have been glued.
Every Luthier knows that glue is far stronger than wood. If
Gibson did this to their guitars, they could simply paint
them after the repair, there would be no visible break
and the final integrity of the instrument would actually be
better. This would be far
cheaper for them than using
quartersawn wood
and doing a 5 piece lamination which would probably also fix
the problem.
The absolute best
Les Paul style guitar I have ever seen, Would be the Rick
Turner Model One. Rick installs a volute he uses a 5
piece neck and he uses 24 frets. The pickup positioning is
adjustable and far superior to anything Gibson ever did.
When Rick Turner worked for Gibson he saved the company from
bankruptcy, He is the one who signed Slash up as a Gibson
Endorser. Without Slash, Gibson would have finally gone the
way of the dodo. Oh well !!! Today I am
building the Tiberius guitar which I believe to be superior
to the Rick Turner.
I have a large repair
shop. I fix a lot of Gibson broken necks,
The fix is easy and
cheap because
they all break in exactly the same place. They are
all held together by their trademarked plastic "Bell Shaped"
truss rod cover or by the thin phenolic overlay on the
headstock. I can fix most of them usually
for just a one hour labor charge and make good money doing
it. What gets expensive is camouflaging or painting over the
break to hide the ugly scar the break leaves.
Back To Gibson Guitars Main
Page |
This Next Section Will
Astound You !!
We fix
more Gibson Les Paul & SG Broken necks than all other broken
necks put together from all the other companies in the world
put together!!!
Here's the real funny
part !!! I cannot remember ever fixing a
broken neck on any Les Paul Copy. I'm sure some of them had
to break but in my 33 years in this business I personally
cannot remember ever seeing one. There are over 100
companies out there that make dead on Les Paul Copies &
probably about 500 of them that make close approximations.
There are countless more that make singlecut style guitars
in various shapes, weights & sizes. I have personally
seen forgeries and actual counterfeit guitars.
I swear to the fact that I cannot remember ever fixing a
broken neck on any of those guitars.
Whether it be an Ibanez, Tokai,
Heritage, Tradition, Samick, Washburn, Dean, Hamer, PRS,
Burny, Jibson, Madore, Navigator, Guild, Triggs, Tom Holmes,
Edwards
Stephenson, Dillion,
or even an Epiphone which is Gibson's cheapo exact copy of
their own guitar. Why don't their necks break? I
have absolutely no idea, I'm supposed to be some kind of
guitar guru and I'm completely at a loss to explain that.
It's the mystery of the ages. It makes no sense!!! Yet
facts are facts simple & true!!!
As guitars go Fender is probably the most
copied brand, then Gibson and
Mosrite comes in
as
third. This page is about Gibson so I will stick to that
subject.
Guild, Hamer,
JET, Tom Holmes, Abstract etc all build a better Single Cut
style guitars than Gibson. Common sense dictates that if they
didn't make it better they couldn't sell it.
After all they
all cost as much or more than Gibson does. There are plenty of companies
that charge a lot less and still build a better guitar. Notably
Ibanez, Tokai, Heritage, Burny, Navigator, Madore !!! I am planning on putting up a bunch of
photos of broken neck guitars. Please send me
photos of what happened to your guitar. (Any Brand). I
will post them all. I'll bet money that the Gibsons will
always rule on the broken neck page.
Are you
tired of broken neck Bull-shite
Buy an Abstract
Maximus
Because of the fact that
Gibson headstocks break so much we have decided to offer a
lifetime warranty on the Maximus neck. We really aren't too worried
we will have to replace too many because we use a volute on the back
of the headstock. We also use an intelligent headstock angle which
should prevent any breakage. We build the neck to withstand much
more abuse than you would expect to happen to a guitar.
We won't warranty it if your wife throws it out of a 5th
story window (That Really Happened) However,
we will even warranty it if gets
knocked over on it's stand 13 years after you buy it.
We will also warranty it if it gets broken in shipping 9
years after you buy it. |
Below See why we can
offer this warranty
Lifetime Neck Warranty
applies to all guitars manufactured after June 2008
See The Nicest Affordable
Gibson Les Pauls Anywhere
What is planned obsolescence?
When a manufacturer realizes a product will easily break,
But they don't take any steps to fix it !!!
Don't Worry !!!
We fix these so you cannot see the break and it will not break again
!!!!
Hi Ed
I just wanted to share a quick story with you...
I bought my son a B.C. Rich Warlock as an end of
the school year present. He had it for less than
6 months when we were in a collision. We were
hit by another vehicle that was traveling in
excess of 90 MPH. Of course his Warlock AND his
Strat were in the back of the van. The Fender
case looked like it had exploded. There were
very few pieces bigger than 6 inches left
intact, but aside from a couple of scuffs, it
was unscathed. The Warlock took the brunt of the
impact. It was actually bowed around where the
vehicle struck us. The trooper said that the
guitar protected my son and daughter from the
vehicle when it hit us. We had to pry it out
with a tire tool to remove it from the vehicle.
It snapped back straight but had a 3 inch crack
in the base of the neck. He was broken hearted,
and I thought it was totally destroyed so I hung
it from his wall as decoration.
I got a wild hair and took it down to see if I
could fix it (no big deal, right?) Well, long
story short, It plays like it did the day we
bought it, and that was as a result of an
amateur’s repair. It holds its tune tenaciously
and still has an amazing sound. It is now named
Lazarus and is revered by all of my son’s
friends as the un-killable guitar. So I have in
my house a B.C. Rich and a Fender that were
slammed by a 35000 pound SUV and survived.
Why Can’t
Gibson Make A Neck That Will Stand Up To Minor
Accidents?
As a collector I have seen tons of Les Paul’s
with broken necks for sale. I have seen people
begging for repairs or replacement necks all
over the internet. There are piles of luthier
project (AKA Broken) necks that came from the
Gibson factory for sale, so they can't even get
them out of the building without them breaking.
For goodness sakes, my first guitar was a First
Act Tele copy that was bought on clearance at
Wal-Mart (Mom didn’t know what she was
starting). It was dropped head first by my
oldest son and the only damage was a small chip
in the edge of the headstock finish. I don’t
know why, but on a whim, I just purchased a LP
with a broken neck at a steal of a price (the
only way I will buy a Gibson).
First thing that is going to happen is a custom
neck WITHOUT Gibson
on the headstock.
I appreciate the heads up about the neck quality
on the Gibsons. I was going to buy my son an SG
for a beat around guitar, but I think I am going
to hold off on that. I saw a few things on your
site that intrigued me.
Rob Adkins
Hello Rob
Thanks For your letter... the good news is
more & more people are starting to see just what
Gibson really is all about.
The SG was originally designed by Les Paul to
be a Neck Thru Guitar. Gibson in their
infinite wisdom made it a set neck and that is
the reason SG's don't hold tune, Never Did
& Never Will !! In Fact Les Paul told them
to take his name off the guitar because he did
not want his name associated with the guitar.
It would have been very cool as a Neck Thru
Guitar. Too expensive for Gibson to
produce.. Set necks are the cheapest to
produce, I would rather have a bolt on
neck than a set neck !!!!!!!!!
Ed |
Ed
Finally, someone with real knowledge…The Gibson
neck has never ever been a stable component, aside
from the breaking problem.
I’m 62, been living guitars for over 40 of those
years, and I have NEVER come across a Gibson (LP or SG
in particular) that had a neck I could actually trust:
Both new or vintage, 5 piece of not, in makes NO
difference, the design / shape / dimensions materials
/ geometry / engineering are just ALL wrong. So wrong
that tuning stability was absent, and simply moving
the guitar while playing it is enough to
flatten/sharpen the whole guitar…frightening… Like a
bolt on with some bolts missing..
It was as if the weight of the headstock was enough of
a mass to actually bend the neck, under even moderate
movement. I realized the guitar had to be kept
perfectly STILL to avoid de-tuning problems while on
stage.
I really thought it was just me. Why is everyone nuts
about a Les Paul?? I could never find one (and I
looked for many years) that didn’t have this neck
weakness problem (not to mention the “bump” where the
neck joins the body, another really common and really
bad thing).. Fact is they are fraught with problems,
any one of which make the guitar unreliable at best,
or totally unplayable.
It was many years ago that I stopped looking for a
“stable Gibson” and gave up the chase, I’ll never own
another one, and I can’t help but feel that, Anyone
that does own them either don’t play them, or can’t
hear the pitch shifting, or stands perfectly still
while playing them.
Even while fretting the damn thing, one needs to be
careful not to push forward or pull back in the
slightest, especially at the first position, unless
you want an inappropriate vibrato effect, a ½ tone
shift was easily accomplished without even trying.
I’ve seen Les Paul in person I shook his hand & spoke
with him, his hand is the most delicate thing I ever
held, evidently he designed the most delicate
instrument to match his playing style, and no on
warned the general public of the eminent danger of
musical instability and total catastrophic failure of
the neck itself…..
Then there's always the idiot “musicians” who pride
themselves on how many guitars they’ve broken in their
“careers”…
I know you’re busy, I just came across your Gibson
neck weakness article, and wanted to add my own 40+
years of similar disappointment bordering on distain
for the entire Gibson fallacy. Everything you’ve said,
I have experienced.
So at 60 years old, the “bolt on – set neck” battle
rages full tilt in my head, Maybe I’ll try a set neck
Jet??
The Ozone Ranger
Response from Ed Roman
I usually don't print letters from people who don't
sign their names, But I am in total agreement on this
and it was well written and articulate. The
public does need to know this.
I have become tremendously unpopular among many Les
Paul lovers, they bash me on the internet constantly
because I am taking the unpopular stance.
I'm not running for public office so I don't
care!!!! No one ever has challenged the physics
or truthfulness of my articles. They just call me
names. (Sticks and Stones may break my bones but names
will never hurt me.
THE PUBLIC NEEDS TO KNOW
!!!!!!!!) |
See The Nicest Affordable
Gibson Les Pauls Anywhere
Ryan to me
show details Aug 31 (1 day ago) Reply
Hey Ed I was recently on a Les Paul
forum and I noticed this hateful assed post about "why
does Ed Roman hate Les Pauls?"...I hate Les Pauls
too.. matter of fact...my review of a Les Paul could
be summed up in two words: "shit
sandwich"...anyway...they go on and on about how
terrible of a human being you are but not one.. I
repeat NOT ONE could respond, or even bring up, the
facts you state about Les Paul necks, headstock angle,
cheap wood, foreign construction that claims to be
from the U.S. You've deprogrammed me...and
seeing these people bitch and bitch about you and they
like Les Pauls "just because" and "they rock" and "Ace
Frehley plays them" isn't good enough in my book...
I come from Missouri.. the show me state..& I've
been shown your guitars.. I've been in your shop...and
I've also seen Les Paul's.. played them..
Hell my father has an original 52 without a serial
number he bought at a pawn shop in 1964 that's been
sitting in a case and sees the light of day once every
5 years when he gets it out.. Its a 50 something
year old piece of shit...oh it gets a tone, sure...but
hey if I eat at a Mexican restaurant my asshole will
produce a tone too.. big deal !!
peace on the hill brother!!!
Ryan
Missouri.
Thanks for your kind letter and
your support, I appreciate it.
People are people!!!
Forgive them father for they know not what they are
talking about. Ha Ha
What were you doing on that stupid forum anyway ???
I can convert that 52 to a 58 or 59, I can make
it playable anyway !!!!!
Some vintage geek will buy it on Ebay, because he
thinks the mojo will rub off on him.
I've done it before !!!! And I'll do it again,
that should piss off those retards on the forum.
Thanks Again
Ed |
They Always Break Exactly In The Same
Place !!!
Could This Be Planned Obsolescence ??
Hmmm
LETTER FROM A
DIEHARD GIBSON MAN
Hi Ed, I hope you get this.
I just read your opinion on gibson guitars. I agree
and disagree with you and the responses. I personally
own seven gibsons and love them all, but I can see
your point. I have owned good and bad, its a crap
shoot.
Quality control is out the window, but there are
some good ones, here is what I own: '57 Les Paul jr,
63 Melody Maker, 67 SG jr, 73 Les Paul Custom, 77 RD
Artist, 2001 Pete Townsend SG, 2004 '56 Reissue Les
Paul......The worst is the reissue, I agree with all
of your comments.
But on the other hand, the best is the RD because
it is all maple, including the neck...and it has a
volute which "lessens" the chance of breakage. I once
owned a 73 SG custom, worst guitar ever. It had a
horrible skinny neck, and like another gentleman
mentioned, wouldn't hold tune even if you swayed back
and forth.
Absolutely horrible, so I got rid of it. My 67 SG jr
is my main guitar, it has a good thick neck that
doesn't wander. I will make a long story short because
I have a hard time typing. Yes there are some shitty
gibsons, but there are also some good ones, you just
have to look hard.
For my one good 67, I bet there are 20 that are
unplayable by now...."wall art". I respect your
opinion, and understand what you are saying, because
it is the truth. But I am still die hard gibson, its
like a treasure hunt....buy and sell, buy and sell
till you find the right one.
Cheers,
My bands website is www.thefrank.ca and we are headed
down to California in May, so maybe we will stop by
and see you.
Thanks for the great eye opener,
Denver Swainson
This Guy seems to agree with
me but still loves Gibson !!!!
How hard do you have to hit
someone for them to figure out who is hitting them
!!!!! That is true
brainwashing !!!!!!!
Ed |
Broken Headstock
Leslie West's Les Paul
|
|
Before |
After |
This repair is a very common one.
It is absolutely guaranteed not to break
again
04/20/97
Leslie West's Les Paul got broken, Above are before
& after photos. (This repair was performed in our shop) I realize
that the 2 pictures above appear to be 2 different colors. The exposures are
different because of lighting. Anyone who hasn't been in a coma for the past 15 years
knows that Leslie West usually uses an Ed Roman unbreakable LSR guitar.
Occasionally he will still use a Les Paul style guitar. I am collaborating with
Leslie right now to build him a custom variation of his current guitar
along the lines of my PB-1 and EB-1, It will be called the
"WB-1". They will all be personally signed
and numbered by the Great Fatsby himself. Please contact me if you are
interested in procuring one. |
See The Nicest Affordable
Gibson Les Pauls Anywhere
Dear Ed
Thank you VERY much for ripping on Gibson. As a former employee of Gibson I know
first hand at the lack of quality & craftsmanship. There are so many corners cut
at that factory it's disgusting, particularly for a product that costs on the
average about as much as a decent used car. We need to spread the word about
this shady company. And you're right, most people are misinformed about Gibson
and just want the "vanity" of having one. Thanks once again and let's get more
rants about Gibson.
Benjamin Unwin
P.S. they treat their employees like shit too.
Response From Ed
I worked for Gibson as a consultant, artist relations & sales training in 1990 &
1991. They treated me extremely well when I worked there, I could never ever
complain about what they paid me, In fact they gave me six $2,000.00 guitars & 6
weeks extra pay when they were done with me. We parted ways extremely well !!!
Which I have been told many times is very rare)
In fact I went on to sell many hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of
Gibson's at East Coast Music Mall. I thought the future looked pretty bright for
Gibson & Myself doing lots of business.
They even paid me $2,000.00 to clean out the entire Steinberger factory 3 or 4
months after I had left their employ. The factory had all the original
molds, tooling, jigs and potentially over $300.000.00 worth of Steinberger parts
and accessories that they did not want !!! (I guess that makes me
the worlds biggest dumpster diver because I loaded up an 8 car garage with all
that gear)
Today I am the only person in the world that supplies the old parts to the
Steinberger market.
Gibson likes to sue their ex employees, Gibson doesn't like it, when an employee
leaves then uses some of the contacts they made while in their employ to further
his own business enterprise.
Their strategy is very good, Apparently they frivolously and maliciously sue the
ex employee and force him to expend huge sums of money to defend his case in
court. Many of these guys cannot afford to spend $35,000.00 to $1,000.000.00 on
a lawyer who will 9 times out of 10 drag the case on and on to drive up his
fees.
Gibson doesn't care who wins the case, Their plan is to bleed the person they
are suing so much that they will give up and settle. Gibson has the last laugh
when the poor guy is curled up in a little ball with blood streaming from his
backside.
That's why I advise ex Gibson employees to get an insurance policy to cover this
situation, That's what I did, and I saved myself more than most people make in a
lifetime !!!!
Incidentally, many people who get sued already have this type of insurance in
their standard comprehensive business policy. The problem is they just
don't realize they are covered so they don't even bother to check it out. Too
Bad !!!! (Sometimes you actually have to get your
attorney to push the issue with your insurance company because insurance
companies are not known for their forthrightness.)
(More Corporate Scum)
The only minor complaint I ever had when I was at Gibson, was that I had too
small an expense account, It was near impossible to function because I could never
get a check to pay even the smallest bill to further my research or make a
contact, set up a demo etc etc.
I actually spent several thousand dollars of my own money to pay photographers
for publicity shots & transport costs that by rights should have been paid by
Gibson. I didn't really mind that one bit though, They paid me very well !!!
I was able to write most of it off and as I said they paid me extremely well.
I met a lot of very high powered people in the music business in my capacity as
Domestic Sales Manager & Artist Relations. Plus I learned a lot from Henry
Juszkiewicz, I had occasion to work with him one on one several times. I
personally would never have called him a jerk or a moron or even a psychotic
loony megalomaniac with an ego the size of Texas.
I had been warned about him, but I never saw any thing that I thought was
psychotic or megalomaniacal in my relationship with him. He was a bit of a "puddin
head" but I actually liked his energy and tremendous drive to be the best.
Many of my celebrity customers are today my customers because of my initial
dealings I had with them when I worked for them. I owe much of my success to
Gibson for exposing me to the high end of the market. I don't think they like
that very much. Oh Well !!!!
When I started independently reviewing guitars in 1992 I had my first ugly
encounter with them!! I always call them as I see them, I published
a comparison shootout between PRS & Gibson. PRS won hands down and my
review was strictly on the up and up. I just printed information directly from
their brochures, This way there can be no accidents or repercussions.
I became the worlds largest PRS dealer a title I held for at least 3 maybe 4 years, I
was selling 32 guitars a month from one location in a town of 52.000 population.
Mostly mailorder, The entire Sam Ash Chain, I think they had 9 stores back
then was only selling 15 a month for the entire chain, NYC, Long Island
New Jersey etc etc
I attribute my initial success with PRS to my straight to point no nonsense, no
bullshit review of the PRS VS Gibson,
People would call and want to speak to the Guru.... It was easy to sell
them, because I believed in them!! The margins were also pretty decent.
Remember this is before the internet so mailorder was a completely different
animal. |
Gibson guitars after Ed Roman has retopped them
See many more at this link
See The Nicest Affordable
Gibson Les Pauls Anywhere
Even
One More Unhappy Gibson Guy
Hello Ed..;);)
Greetings from Norway..
been looking at your website for a few hours now and I am
impressed, especially the rants section
as I have some bad experience myself with gibson guitars.
First I owned a Les Paul studio that had several glips
between the fretboard and neck, think they tried to paint
over it or something, didn't work..;);)cost me 12000
kr.(1800 dollars) some 16 years ago ..a lot of money when
you are 14..
now the reason for buying my Les Paul was of course Slash of
Guns n Roses, my hero.. (See
Ghostbuilders, Ed)
and your section on brand loyalty is also very interesting
and very true, as I have been there myself, buying all of
Gibsons B.S. about their "hand crafted" instruments.. I have
found no such thing in my Gibsons..;);)
My second guitar was an Explorer, brand new 2007 model,
and the same damn thing was wrong with the
neck on this one as well. Only the glips was bigger, it
looked like they hadn't even tried to fit the fretboard
right.. it stood out a couple of millimeters from the neck
all the way from 5.fret up to the 12.fret..
poor craftsmanship at best.. I mean even the cheapest of
models from brands like Ibanez etc. you will not find
major flaws like this..
How the Hell can they go on making their crappy
instr..??and people are still buying..??
I have now gotten rid of both my gibsons and be sure: there
will never be one in my house again...ever!!!
I am now a proud owner of an Ibanez universe 7 string.. and
it works and sounds better than I could ever imagine..
will not trade that one for any other guitar, the build is
excellent and so far beyond gibson`s sad attempts..
By the way.. any views up`s or down`s regarding Ibanez
guitars..??just curious..;);)
oh and I have to mention the Les Paul slash signature model,
here in Norway the list price is 65.000 kroner.
that should be about $9.500 !!!!!...what does Gibson do that
can justify that kind of prices..??ghost build like you have
mentioned..?? Slash probably gets his share I reckon..;);)
Well that's all from me, Use this if you can/want to on your
website, be sure I will do my bit to convert people into
thinking for and by themselves, not believing all the
commercial stuff they read from major corps. like gibson..
Hans E. Beddari
Stjørdal.
Norway.
Thanks Hans for your letter,
Who knows, Maybe it might convince some
other 14 year old not to make the mistake that you and I
both made when we were young.
Could be, it's useless to try and fight the
corporate machine that is Gibson !!!!! I get lot's of
negativity slung at me because I choose to call it the way I
see it...
Occasionally when someone tells me they
didn't fall for the corporate BS, I am elated,
Today in the USA most people are brainwashed
and programmed before they are out of 3rd grade. I
guess we can thank the American Advertising Council for
turning our country into a 3rd world. Of course all the
wonderful American businessmen who only care about making
money for themselves that sends all our wonderful designs to
China so they can put all their employees out of work.
Don't those idiotic morons realize that no
one can afford to buy anything if they don't have a job...
Duh !!!!
Maybe someday our American culture will
mature enough to realize what is actually happening to us
!!!!
I know that my customers in Norway are all
doing quite well because I sell a lot of very expensive
guitars there.
Thanks again for your letter !!!
Ed Roman |
Hi there--I haven't purchased any of your guitars (doh!) but I
found you site incredibly informative, and wanted to send you a heads-up if
someone hadn't already.
You bashed Les Pauls (which I think was deserved--I started playing on a Les
Paul and have owned quite a few) and it reminded me of a "Some Assembly
Required" episode I saw on cable (the Discovery Channel). They show the process
of making this and that, and they had an episode in the Gibson factory where
they followed a Les Paul through the factory.
I've built my own electrics for decades . . . Not that I'm a super expert,
but I know one end from the other. I was AMAZED watching this. Yeah, the host
was building one and he did the usual "I don't know what I'm doing but I'm
trying" job. But, the REAL guys putting them together . . . There was one shot
where a guy was slamming unbent fret wire into the neck with a VERY big hammer
(I suppose the hammer bent the fret to the fingerboard?) from one long piece of
wire (I thought you prebent and precut?) and then nipping it off afterwards. He
slammed them in like he was putting up drywall--fret down, bam bam, nip, fret
down, bam, bam, nip . . . For something that everyone thinks is "the top guitar
there is" it was truly horrible.
In the space of the ten minutes or so they were in the Gibson factory I saw at
least six or eight things I would NEVER do to my own guitar . . . If you haven't
already, you need to watch it for yourself. Amazing.
Anyway, I love your site, and just thought you might like to see this.
Don
Thanks Don
Gibson has been getting with murder for
years. They have a core audience of uninformed close minded people who simply don't
get what is going on in the world today.
I am noticing it more and more that many people are starting to smarten up. I am
encouraged by the amount of letters like yours that I get. I should print
them all but there just isn't room. Someone should start a website "Gibson
Quality Issues .com or something stronger maybe. I have hundreds of
letters on file that I could send them. If you know any one interested in
putting up a site I will subsidize them !!!!
Ed |
Merry
Christmas
Imagine
getting a new guitar for Christmas "Factory
Sealed"
Imagine opening it up and finding out that neck
joint was designed so badly that it broke before
you even got to play it for one second
click this to see
more broken Gibson guitars
If Gibson had
built the guitar correctly like we built the
body blank below.
It would
not have broken!!!
It would
sound better!!!
It would
balance better !!!
it would
have real MOP inlay not plastic !!!
It would have an ebony fingerboard !!!
It would
play better!!!
It would
look better!!!!
You
could reach notes that Gibson didn't think were
important enough to include on the fretboard
Call Ed Roman & Order A Custom Made Guitar
Today.
We Offer this Neck Thru Body
Construction on over 250 bodyshapes
|
Love the site (Especially the
"Rants")I'm surprised not to see any
mention of the intonation problems associated with USA made
Gibson guitars.
On most Gibson electrics the
scale length from the nut to 12th fret is 24.562"
No problem with that...but the
scale length above the 12th fret is 24.75.
At the 22nd fret, the error is
about 0.04".
About half the width of the
fret)
Copies (including Epiphone) don't
have this fault.
What do you think?
Hello Phil...
I'm not much of a Gibson
Fan myself, In fact I could go on about that for a long rant
!!!!
The reason I haven't said
anything about this in my rants is. Basically I didn't know
about it.
After I read your letter, I
do concur with your findings !!!!
I don't like the short
stubby necks, I don't like the fret size, I don't like rosewood
fretboards with plastic inlays (on supposedly American Guitars)
I never even got in as deep
as the tuning problem !!!
Although I never met an SG that would hold tune without a lot of
neck & fret work.....
Ed
Based in Bolton, near Manchester, in the Northwest of
England, owner Phil Hartley is a well respected guitar repairer
and technician with many years of experience. During this time
the services of Phil Hartley Guitar Repairs have been used by
music shops throughout England.
As a former head of large retail guitar department and
through his many years as a guitar teacher, Phil Hartley has
gained first hand knowledge of the problems encountered by
guitarists of all abilities and budgets.
Whether your beginners’ guitar has developed a tuning
problem or you’ve worn away the frets on your guitar, you can
rest assured that each will receive the same level of care and
attention to make your guitar the best it can be.
All repairs are carried out by Phil Hartley. Work is never
subcontracted out nor is it ever assigned to a trainee or
apprentice.
Phil Hartley is an approved retrofitter of the Buzz Feiten
Tuning System. See the new
Buzz Feiten page for details of this revolutionary
intonation system
|
Ryan to me
show details Aug 31 (1 day ago) Reply
Hey Ed< I was recently on a Les Paul forum and I noticed
this hateful assed post about "why does Ed Roman hate Les
Pauls?"...I hate Les Pauls too.. matter of fact...my review
of a Les Paul could be summed up in two words: "shit
sandwich"...anyway...they go on and on about how terrible of
a human being you are but not one.. I repeat NOT ONE could
respond, or even bring up, the facts you state about Les
Paul necks, headstock angle, cheap wood, foreign
construction that claims to be from the U.S. You've
deprogrammed me...and seeing these people bitch and bitch
about you and they like Les Pauls "just because" and "they
rock" and "Ace Frehley plays them" isn't good enough in my
book... I come from Missouri.. the show me state..&
I've been shown your guitars.. I've been in your shop...and
I've also seen Les Paul's.. played them..
Hell my father has an original 52 without a serial number he
bought at a pawn shop in 1964 that's been sitting in a case
and sees the light of day once every 5 years when he gets it
out.. Its a 50 something year old piece of shit...oh
it gets a tone, sure...but hey if I eat at a Mexican
restaurant my asshole will produce a tone too.. big deal !!
Peace On The Hill Brother!!!
Ryan
Missouri.
Thanks for your kind letter and your
support, I appreciate it. People are
people!!!
Forgive them father for they know not what they are talking
about. Ha Ha
What were you doing on that stupid forum anyway ???
I can convert that 52 to a 58 or 59, I can make it
playable anyway !!!!!
Some vintage geek will buy it on Ebay, because he thinks the
mojo will rub off on him.
I've done it before !!!! And I'll do it again,
that should piss off those retards on the forum.
Thanks Again
Ed
|
Ed,
I have totally bought eight Gibson’s in China
(obviously fakes).
Very well made fakes, I would say you probably
cannot see the difference unless you demount ‘em.
Actually so “well” made that one of them broke the
neck during quiet shipping (by boat) from Hong Kong
(where I worked) to Denmark (where I live). Just
like it was a real Gibson. All the about 10 guitars
I shipped home at that time was very well packed.
It was a Jimmy Page Doubleneck (the 12 string neck
broke, but not entirely, so I could easily glue it
together back in Denmark). I just wonder. Did the
factory by accident send the real thing (the model)?
The wood used in Gibson necks may be wood that is
very sensitive to changes in humidity.
What do you think?
Bent K. Larsen
At the moment working in Armenia
Your comment about Gibson necks: BTW it's damn
near impossible to break a Fender, BC Rich, Jackson,
PRS, Quicksilver, Pearlcaster neck in shipping. You
have to be careful of guitars with heavy bodies and
tilt back headstocks. Hamer's, Baker's Turner's &
Dean's all appear to look like Les Paul necks but I
can't remember ever seeing one break in shipping or
elsewhere. They are all basically the same design
with set neck construction etc etc. Why is it that
only the Gibson's break repeatedly over and over
again. In fact, I have repaired 5 times more Les
Paul headstocks, than all other brands of guitars
put together. |
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