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Gibson Gripes:

Shortie

Shortie

Boom!
Inactive
Nov 15, 2015
1,092
797
Brooklyn USA
#1
I just sent this to Gibson Customer support:

I've got a new SG bass. I love the bass. But:

1) The tool for adjusting the truss rod DOES NOT FIT. The notch that exposes the nut of the truss rod is tapered and it's too narrow at the top to fit the tool in correctly. BAD! I expect quality from a Gibson and that's BS. Please send me a tool that FITS MY BASS - ASAP - FEDEX - I paid for it.

2) The User's Guide included with the bass says NOTHING AT ALL ABOUT the bass. Covers ONLY GUITARS - mostly Les Pauls, acoustics and archtops. If you're making a bass, how about a users guide for A BASS. Duh! This is not hard.

VERY DISAPPOINTED.

__________________________________________________

Did my vendor mess up and put the wrong stuff in the case, or is it really Gibson's fault?
 
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#2
Sad to say - 'cause I like my lefty '13 Thunderbird very, very much - yeah, it's Gibson's fault. They cut the truss rod hole, not the dealer; and IIRC, the Gibson truss rod tool hasn't changed since it was invented. And, re the owners manual; you got the same one I got with my T-Bird - had it out a couple of nights ago, in fact. IIRC, the word "Bass" appears what? 3 or 4 times, in there? Added ammo for those who say that Gibson was never very interested in basses, I guess..:rollno:
 
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#9
Gibson TR tool.jpg

Shortie said:
That doesn't mean anything. Perhaps there is another tool that's supposed to fit, but the dealer mixed them up.
Click to expand...

If this is what you got, in a little plastic bag - NO, the dealer didn't "mix them up". It's the tool that comes with every new Gibson - bass and guitar; and always has. So, if this is the tool you got; yes, it does mean something. It means they cut the hole wrong.. It happens, sometimes, and not just with Gibsons; read the bitching and whining from Rick owners here sometime, about how the Rick tool won't fit in the hole (works fine on all of mine, though...). Find another tool that will work; have the hole opened up; or send it back. Those are your choices - other than never touching the trussrod nut, of course...:whistle:
 
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#10
Cutting the hole wrong indeed is not limited just to Gibson. I've got a Magnatone Hurricane whose truss rod access route is so narrow that NO tool will fit in there to move the hex nut. And the bass is in such fine shape I don't dare mar its resale value by widening the channel. I also have a Hurricane so beat up and abused I could gnaw the channel wider if I needed to, and it wouldn't devalue the bass. But that one does not need the channel tampered with.
 
#11
How many of us have ever checked to see if the truss rod of a new guitar worked before buying it? Gibson should make good on this. Your bass is under warranty for manufacturing defects. It's a pain but I've had QC problems with new Fenders too. No one is immune.
 
#12
40Hz said:
Can't have a Gibson thread without a troll showing up within the first 20 posts. :rollno:
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A strong dislike of Gibsons doesn't make Jazz Ad a troll. I disagree, but I like that "thudding" sound only Gibsons make - seems to fit my lack of "style" - not everyone does.
 
#13
bholder said:
A strong dislike of Gibsons doesn't make Jazz Ad a troll. I disagree, but I like that "thudding" sound only Gibsons make - seems to fit my lack of "style" - not everyone does.
Click to expand...

Expressing strong dislike without including some actual information content in your post - as opposed to just firing off a smartassed remark (and not a particularly original or even funny one) - flips the troll flag on for me.

But that's me.

YMMV. ;)
 
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#16
I hope this doesn't piss off too many Gibson lovers but yeah their QC is lacking and they give the impression they just don't care once their product is paid for (from what I've experienced and read). I have a 2010 Gibson Thunderbird that I LOVE....BUT.....finish issues here and there (not too, too bad) and I went through TWO sets of Gibson Thunderbird humbuckers that buzzed (TWO sets). No truss rod tool came with mine. I pulled the second set of Thunderbuckers out, had the routes routed out to accept EMG 35 sized pickups and put aftermarket passives in there (sounds great and no buzzing) and I'm about the replace those with EMG 35DCs (can't wait to hear it after that). While I still have a soft spot for Gibson, they do need to step it up. Every Gibson bass I've picked up in any music store (mostly thunderbirds) have had finish issues.
 
#18
Jazz Ad said:
this was your first mistake
Click to expand...
It's one thing to let a few basses out the door with a truss rod hole not perfect. Hopefully it can be easily corrected. But even more insane is to SPECIFICALLY design a bass where you have to remove the neck to adjust the truss. What kind of engineering school did Fender designers go to??? But that's ok, the Fender boyz realized their error and eliminated that issue on most (but not all) of their basses. They improved the design by routing a truss rod access slot in the body, then promptly placed a pickguard over it with a truss rod cutout that's too small to fit the tool in without tearing up the pickguard!

At least when Gibson makes mistakes it's just that, a mistake. Apparently Fender specializes in "Designing" mistakes into their basses and then through excellent quality control continues to deliver that flawed design forever (flat headstock ring a bell).

See, isn't it fun to open your eyes and see that the world isn't perfect and that cheap shots can be taken at any brand. The OP has a bass he likes (actually I like it too, along with my Fenders) how about being constructive or just moving on.
 
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#19
GBassNorth said:
It's one thing to let a few basses out the door with a truss rod hole not perfect. Hopefully it can be easily corrected. But even more insane is to SPECIFICALLY design a bass where you have to remove the neck to adjust the truss. What kind of engineering school did Fender designers go to??? But that's ok, the Fender boyz realized their error and eliminated that issue on most (but not all) of their basses. They improved the design by routing a truss rod access slot in the body, then promptly placed a pickguard over it with a truss rod cutout that's too small to fit the tool in without tearing up the pickguard!

At least when Gibson makes mistakes it's just that, a mistake. Apparently Fender specializes in "Designing" mistakes into their basses and then through excellent quality control continues to deliver that flawed design forever (flat headstock ring a bell).

See, isn't it fun to open your eyes and see that the world isn't perfect and that cheap shots can be taken at any brand. The OP has a bass he likes (actually I like it too, along with my Fenders) how about being constructive or just moving on.
Click to expand...

Wow. Now we're on to Fender bashing. Leo Fender designed the truss rod adjustment you speak of, and you don't have to take the neck off to adjust it. It doesn't use a phillips head screw driver either. It's made for a flat head, and you can use a really narrow one to adjust the rod with the guard and neck still on the bass.
 
#20
Lownote38 said:
Wow. Now we're on to Fender bashing. Leo Fender designed the truss rod adjustment you speak of, and you don't have to take the neck off to adjust it. It doesn't use a phillips head screw driver either. It's made for a flat head, and you can use a really narrow one to adjust the rod with the guard and neck still on the bass.
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So you're saying Fender never made a bass that you had to remove the neck on to adjust the truss rod? Show me how you do that on a brand new Fender Rascal.
BTW - my intent wasn't to bash Fenders - I have more of them than I will ever have Gibsons. If you properly read my post you'd realize I was attempting to make a point that no brand is flawless on every bass or every design. The person I replied to need's to get past the Gibson bash and on to constructive help for the OP or just move on if he doesn't have something constructive to say.
 
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