Post
by NeonVomit » Wed Dec 05, 2007 4:01 pm
Fuck Gibson. I've never seen a company so obsessed with gouging its customers on useless "upgrades" and features. The technology isn't even innovative: there have been dedicated tuner-machines before that "automatically" bring strings to pitch...until they zip right past the note it was supposed to be tuned to and break the string.
But okay, let's look at one aspect of the technology that is actually worth noting: there are presets for different tunings. Fantastic, if you regularly switch between DADGAD, Open tunings, Standard, double-drop D, etc. But keep in mind that you're now going to have to use a string gauge that won't cause too much stress on the neck but still stays in tune with slack tunings...I'd LOVE to see the look on the face of someone who uses 9's all of a sudden try to play in Open D or Open G and find their strings intonate like shit because they're now the equivalent of steel rubber bands.
Aside from that, what Gibson is essentially doing is using an "analog" system to solve a "digital" problem. Fender's VG Strat system digitally reproduces various tunings without changing the tension on the strings. What this all means is that Fender used innovative methods to potentially solve a perceived problem, while Gibson comes to the table (late) with their fucked-up, overcomplicated attempt. Ever wonder why vintage Gibson amps are not held in anywhere near as high regard as Fender amps? Because Gibson overcomplicated the circuitry and made stupid design decisions ("Well, 12AX7s are cheap, plentiful, dependable, and therefore the most widely used pre-amp tube in the world...let's use 6EU7s and 6N7s just to fuck with people! And let's add all kinds of unnecessary biasing circuitry!"). [I will admit that vintage Gibson amps are fairly easy to mod to sound very good, but it should be noted that this is done by "de-cluttering" the preamp circuitry and rewiring the heaters to run with 12AX7s].
The quality control at the company is fucking bullshit. My friend's Les Paul has a ring of glue outside the logo on the headstock. He doesn't mind only because he bought the guitar used, and Gibson Musical Instruments does not get his money. If you're going to charge 2,300 euro for an instrument, you better be goddamn sure that there's not simple cosmetic issues like a GIANT RING OF GLUE around the headstock decal.
A plain old LP Junior (I'm talking new here, not vintage models) retails for $1,168USD (streets for $750). The Billie Joe Armstrong Signature model retails for $2,169 (streets for $1470). So what is the upgrade for all of that money? The Signature model has reverse-wound wire around the P-90 pickup (effectively making it hum-canceling) while the regular model is a true single coil pickup. Fine, add like $40 bucks to the cost. Also, the Signature comes with a case. Fine add $250 (for a top of the line case, too). Basically what this means is that you're paying for the name of the guy from Green Day on the receipt rather than for any useful features. Add to this the "shell game" that Gibson plays with naming it's fucking models and you have a company that can more or less get fucked, as far as I'm concerned.
All this, and I'm not even mentioning the electrical engineering problems with this whole system.
Fuck Gibson, fuck their price-gouging, and fuck their disdain for the consumer. The only way I would buy a Gibson is if it were a used instrument.
It's a good thing that he was a great player. 
