All Gibson guitars are subjected to rigorous QC and warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship before they leave our Nashville and Bozeman craftories. When they arrive at Sweetwater's massive Distribution Center-capable of holding over 30,000 guitars!-every Gibson guitar is checked over again, set up, and repacked before it gets to you.
Mine too, and like hundreds of others every year. What a joke. Gibson, please for the love of God, fix your tuning stability on all of your Les Pauls instead of claiming your nut is somehow self lubricating or that it should be that way because it’s always been that way. It’s insane that I bought an expensive guitar (wish I had done the slightest research) that cannot stay in tune because of a design flaw that is not necessary by any means. Not to mention the neck joint cracks or the frets that were popping out so bad they cut me. But I guess it’s authentic right?
@@Sox68 I saw a couple at Guitar Center that looked like they were broken b-stock but weren’t. One Explorer had a busted strap button and instead had a wood screw sticking out instead. The other SG had it’s cable input hanging out. I asked the guitar rep and he shrugged his shoulders and said that’s just how they are. Made me loose a ton of respect for both companies.
The double-boxing is one of the things that makes Sweetwater the best. Getting my last guitar from Sweetwater is hands-down the best experience I've ever had buying an axe. Also, special shout-out to my rep Greg O'Keefe, who is AWESOME.
Yup, I just bought the Epi inspired by Gibson CS Custom Les Paul, and it came in the original box, was packed around the box, and then another box layered over it. Left super safe when I was unboxing it. Not a single scratch or dent! Shout out to my rep STEVE MILLER!
My $3K Les Paul Standard AAA Exclusive showed up with wonky body binding that wasn't flush on the bottom edge of the body (extends over) and also had a couple of raised dimples (also in the binding). It was obviously not wrapped properly during install or scraped completely afterwards (they do both by hand). I find it hard to believe it went unnoticed during the "inspection". You can't even put it in the case without feeling it. I would have returned it if it hadn't arrived a day before X-Mas and wasn't such a great looking top as well as my rep telling me when I ordered it that I was lucky to get one and that it could take months for more to arrive. I should have at least asked for a discount but stupidly I didn't. Buying it to begin with was a pain because of the approaching holiday and the damage isn't easy to see (you feel it, not see it) My advice to others is do NOT rely on the 55 point "inspection" and if you receive something damaged, don't convince yourself to keep it like I did.
Did you not talk to your sales rep about your problem with the guitar? Even if you couldn't get it replaced in a timely manner, I'd bet their workshop has the tools to deal with it.
@@fretsy3216 Read it again. I already explained it. BTW... If they had "the tools to deal with it" they should have dealt with it before listing it for sale as new or at least identified the problems and listed it as such. Bottom line... it should never have shipped that way.
@@Darth.Shredder No, it probably shouldn't have. It either just got missed or someone caught it and decided it wasn't bad enough to kick it out then passed it. Either way, here's what you do (or should have done). Tell your rep every signature and initial on the inspection card so that they know who was responsible for it. That way there's at least a decent chance that those techs will be informed of what they missed and improvements can be made to the process as a whole. Remember that these are handmade luxury items made from wood by humans and they take a lot of time and skill to make, and with a sample size of 1, you got pretty unlucky.
I guess the same standards don't apply to PRS. I received a "brand new" DGT that had fret damage from hard contact against some of the strings. This guitar also had a lot of pick scratches across the pick guard from being played. It had the 55 pt checklist in the box so I guess I was seeing things 😂.
I have had nothing but great service from sweetwater. I’ve bought many things and have returned a couple items as well. Always easy to deal with Sweetwater for all my musical needs!
Dude kept interrupting her. Next time let the person you're talking to finish their statement. The constant "oh!, ok. Nice!" added nothing of value here
I sent back a November Burst because there were scratches all over the neck and the frets had so many issues. I sent it back real quick. 55 point inspection is kinda of a joke
I buy all my Gibsons from Zzounds...when it arrives at my house it still has the Gibson factory seal on it which I like. I don't need some sweetwater person putting they fingers all up on my Nashville fresh Guit-fiddle...playability is subjective, I'll do my own setup.
To each their own, but I bought from sweetwater years ago and now I won’t buy from anyone else. If anything is remotely wrong they take care of it. You cannot beat their customer service. You’re missing out.
@@StanzeIf I were to buy a BRAND NEW Ford Mustang @ 60kUSD I would want it to arrive fresh from the factory...I don't want some kid at the dealership taking her out for a 25 mile joyride know what I mean?
This is no different than any other 55 point guitar. Perhaps spend less time making sure that the cards match and more time rejecting the finish flaws.
I just purchased an Explorer last week and it was discounted 500$ due to a chip in the finish that I probably would not have found on my own. So, as far as your comment goes, you are wrong! Thank you Sweetwater for being transparent and doing your job!!!
@@donaldfox6976 It's not about the ones they discount after finding a flaw... it's all the ones that get sent out that aren't caught. Mistakes happen, but don't brag about a 55 point "inspection" that is used as a selling point to distinguish you from other retailers. BTW, their "demo" discounts are 10% off. You got $500 off? What explorer did you buy that was $5,000? A custom shop?
Sweetwater's 55 point inspection is a joke. My guitar came from Sweetwater with a string at wouldn't tune up. As I tuned it to pitch the ball end fell off. 😢 How could the inspector miss this if they tuned it up to pitch twice? Also, same guitar had a set screw in the volume knob that was loose and the knob just spun around. Tell me how Sweetwater's 55 point inspection missed this?
Yes, the 55 point inspection is definitely a joke. My bridge pickup at the high E string was flush with the body and the low E was as high as it could go. How could they miss that? Because it was never done.
Those are both things that could pretty easily happen in shipping, vibration loosens screws, and strings break, it just happens sometimes. Still not fun, but nothing is perfect
I wonder if it would be possible to get rid of the nashville bridge, plug the holes and put a traditional mounted ABR-1 on it. And change the tuners to double ring Klusons, since the holes in the headstock have to a bit smalller
Tone Pros has locking ABR1 conversion bridges that fit existing Nashville routes. I've used them flawlessly. There are other brands too but the Tone Pros are easy to get. I think Amazon even had them.
@@Darth.Shredder Yeah, but with conversion studs, you won't get rid of the anchors, to mount it the traditional way. I had a '61 Reissue SG and brought it to a luthier, who plugged the holes in the body which were caused by the anchors for the Nashville bridge. He drilles new holes for the studs of the ABR-1, mounted directly into the wood
@@Guitarjosii If you want the studs to go directly into the body then buy a custom shop reissue. If you want to replace the Nashville bridge with an ABR-1 without plugging holes in your guitar and potentially ruining it and certainly ruining the resale value, then get the Tone Pros. Anchors were added for stability. It was an improvement at the time. You're not improving anything by plugging the holes and direct mounting the bridge. If you're a purist, then buy a reissue.
@@Darth.Shredder If it's done correctly, I consider this mod as a massive upgrade - it's not ruined in my opinion. Absolutely not. I think, it is ruined at the moment, as they put in the anchors for the Nashville bridge in the factory
I had high hopes for Sweetwater's Inspection process but I have found that they are not quite as strict as I would have hoped. Besides the couple defective guitars I received, I can see guitars in their pictures that are already defective before they even go out. Blemishes, uneven string spacing, bad fretboard work. Etc.
Ordered two guitars from Sweetwater. A Squire Tele. Ordered a specific serial # and got a different one. I ordered a Fender Acoustasonic strat which arrived with sharp frets sticking out of the side of the fingerboard. Bought a Marshall Origin 20. Arrived DOA. Hmmmm........
I totally appreciate the level of care and attention that SW gives their products, but I also think so much of this could, and should, be done before it actually leaves Gibson. Especially given huge price increases from Gibson the past few years.
Lily, where is my Les Paul special tribute that I purchased June 2022. My tech keeps reassuring me that they are still coming but I'm beginning to lose hope.
This is BS, I purchased a Gibson Les Paul HP in 2016 and what I received was a total mess. There were deep gouges in the binding on the neck, and body. There was a dent in the finish under the pick guard, and the controls did not work, the push pull knobs did not even work. I sent that thing back along with that candy the same day. I then went to Wildwoods Guitars and purchased my guitar from them, they were in constant contact with me on what I wanted, string gauge, set up high or low action. Then a follow up when I received my guitar to make sure everything was the way I asked.
50% in tune 100% of the time. What’s hilarious is they already posted a defense of their quality and as of this moment 3 days later it has 3 whole likes 😂
I sure hope this is all true. I have been considering a new guitar and was researching Guitar Center VS Sweetwater. I was swayed to Sweetwater before this vid because of the 55 point inspection but was wondering if that was a load of Cr@p or not.
Hmmm, after writing this I scrolled through the comments to see many guys saying this "inspection" is a joke. Gonna have to do a bit more research, just as my debit card was starting to vibrate.
Thing is, Gibson should ensure the guitars are set up properly before leaving the plant. Gibson's quality department could just just be removed, as they don't do anything at all.
The Sweetwater 55 point inspection is definitely a joke. My bridge pickup at the high E string was flush with the body and the low E was as high as it could go. How could they miss that? Because it was never done.
I see a lot of unsatisfactory comments, and that's too bad because Sweetwater at least makes an attempt on most of their guitars, but wouldn't Gibson be responsible for the quality and setup before they leave the factory? I've toured one of their factories, and I was appalled, to say the least. I won't even get into the shape of the guitars they had on display in the 'showroom' in front. Seems like more of a Gibson issue than a Sweetwater issue.
Sounds cool, but the only way I buy a guitar from Sweetwater is if I go to their showroom, which I will one day. I buy all of my Gibsons at the Garage, its only a 7 hour drive. Non Gibson’s I’ll get at Casino. I will never buy a guitar online.
This is B.S. I bought a new LP through SW in 2020, it came to me in bad shape, Action so high it was unplayable. I had to do a full setup...took me forever to get intonation. Thanks for nothing Sweetwater. Thankfully I know how to work on my own guitars because it would have cost me $100 or more to have someone else do the work.
That gallery processes literally a thousand guitars per day. Human error will happen regardless of how many layers of QC a guitar may go through, so it isn't fair to discredit an entire department of techs just because some of you got unlucky. It's very rare that any guitar is 100% perfect anyway because they are handmade out of wood. My Les Paul Standard has a couple of chips in the fretboard but I just do not care because I bought the thing for authenticity, character, and playability. Some of you should probably spend less time crying in comment sections and forums and just play... or maybe learn to actually work on guitars on your own.
Says the person who spends their time responding to everyone's comment like a sweetwater fanboy. Nobody is "crying"... some are simply calling out the "55 point inspection" process that a retailer uses as a selling point. Some of these issues are not easily fixed. Maybe you should go play your chipped fretboard Les Paul and stop defending multi million dollar companies.
All Gibson guitars are subjected to rigorous QC and warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship before they leave our Nashville and Bozeman craftories. When they arrive at Sweetwater's massive Distribution Center-capable of holding over 30,000 guitars!-every Gibson guitar is checked over again, set up, and repacked before it gets to you.
Mine sure wasn't.
Mine too, and like hundreds of others every year. What a joke.
Gibson, please for the love of God, fix your tuning stability on all of your Les Pauls instead of claiming your nut is somehow self lubricating or that it should be that way because it’s always been that way. It’s insane that I bought an expensive guitar (wish I had done the slightest research) that cannot stay in tune because of a design flaw that is not necessary by any means. Not to mention the neck joint cracks or the frets that were popping out so bad they cut me. But I guess it’s authentic right?
Sure, then why did my Explorer arrive without the pick up covers? Gibson eventually shipped them to me a month or so after purchase
@@Sox68 I saw a couple at Guitar Center that looked like they were broken b-stock but weren’t. One Explorer had a busted strap button and instead had a wood screw sticking out instead. The other SG had it’s cable input hanging out. I asked the guitar rep and he shrugged his shoulders and said that’s just how they are. Made me loose a ton of respect for both companies.
Her: "serial number on the card matches the guitar".
Him:" WOAH!!!! THATS INSANE!!!"
The double-boxing is one of the things that makes Sweetwater the best. Getting my last guitar from Sweetwater is hands-down the best experience I've ever had buying an axe. Also, special shout-out to my rep Greg O'Keefe, who is AWESOME.
Yup, I just bought the Epi inspired by Gibson CS Custom Les Paul, and it came in the original box, was packed around the box, and then another box layered over it. Left super safe when I was unboxing it. Not a single scratch or dent! Shout out to my rep STEVE MILLER!
My $3K Les Paul Standard AAA Exclusive showed up with wonky body binding that wasn't flush on the bottom edge of the body (extends over) and also had a couple of raised dimples (also in the binding). It was obviously not wrapped properly during install or scraped completely afterwards (they do both by hand).
I find it hard to believe it went unnoticed during the "inspection". You can't even put it in the case without feeling it. I would have returned it if it hadn't arrived a day before X-Mas and wasn't such a great looking top as well as my rep telling me when I ordered it that I was lucky to get one and that it could take months for more to arrive.
I should have at least asked for a discount but stupidly I didn't. Buying it to begin with was a pain because of the approaching holiday and the damage isn't easy to see (you feel it, not see it) My advice to others is do NOT rely on the 55 point "inspection" and if you receive something damaged, don't convince yourself to keep it like I did.
Shop at a local shop, maybe.
@@1000mg. It was an exclusive finish. Only they had it. I always shop local when I can.
Did you not talk to your sales rep about your problem with the guitar? Even if you couldn't get it replaced in a timely manner, I'd bet their workshop has the tools to deal with it.
@@fretsy3216 Read it again. I already explained it. BTW... If they had "the tools to deal with it" they should have dealt with it before listing it for sale as new or at least identified the problems and listed it as such. Bottom line... it should never have shipped that way.
@@Darth.Shredder No, it probably shouldn't have. It either just got missed or someone caught it and decided it wasn't bad enough to kick it out then passed it. Either way, here's what you do (or should have done). Tell your rep every signature and initial on the inspection card so that they know who was responsible for it. That way there's at least a decent chance that those techs will be informed of what they missed and improvements can be made to the process as a whole. Remember that these are handmade luxury items made from wood by humans and they take a lot of time and skill to make, and with a sample size of 1, you got pretty unlucky.
In a nutshell: "We have terrible quality assurance so we rely on our retailers to do it for us"
Wonderful! To be honest, for a price we are paying today for a nice Gibson, this is what a part of the great buying experience should be! ❤
A great buying experience is what we all strive for!
The more i see and hear about sweetwater the more i want to buy from my local shop with an innhouse luthier.
I guess the same standards don't apply to PRS. I received a "brand new" DGT that had fret damage from hard contact against some of the strings. This guitar also had a lot of pick scratches across the pick guard from being played. It had the 55 pt checklist in the box so I guess I was seeing things 😂.
I have had nothing but great service from sweetwater. I’ve bought many things and have returned a couple items as well. Always easy to deal with Sweetwater for all my musical needs!
I'd like to have a shop like Sweetwater in Europe. They're absolutely the best in the entire galaxy
Check out that big place in Germany. Thomann
@@MrMike-fm8bp Thomann is nowhere to what Sweetwater does.
Dude kept interrupting her. Next time let the person you're talking to finish their statement. The constant "oh!, ok. Nice!" added nothing of value here
😂
He just wanted to ensure he got enough coverage of his Samurai Cop ladies wig 😂
I sent back a November Burst because there were scratches all over the neck and the frets had so many issues. I sent it back real quick. 55 point inspection is kinda of a joke
I buy all my Gibsons from Zzounds...when it arrives at my house it still has the Gibson factory seal on it which I like. I don't need some sweetwater person putting they fingers all up on my Nashville fresh Guit-fiddle...playability is subjective, I'll do my own setup.
To each their own, but I bought from sweetwater years ago and now I won’t buy from anyone else. If anything is remotely wrong they take care of it. You cannot beat their customer service. You’re missing out.
Zzounds still weighs and photographs the Standards and Custom Shop Les Pauls. Flame shows up better in Zzounds pics to my eyes.
@@Stanze well as long as you don’t buy from guitar center.
100% disagree. But, you do you.
@@StanzeIf I were to buy a BRAND NEW Ford Mustang @ 60kUSD I would want it to arrive fresh from the factory...I don't want some kid at the dealership taking her out for a 25 mile joyride know what I mean?
Hey ! That guy used to work for Mesa Boogie Hollywood….
I thought pleking was to make sure the frets were all perfect. What does changing the strings have to do with that?
This is no different than any other 55 point guitar. Perhaps spend less time making sure that the cards match and more time rejecting the finish flaws.
I just purchased an Explorer last week and it was discounted 500$ due to a chip in the finish that I probably would not have found on my own. So, as far as your comment goes, you are wrong! Thank you Sweetwater for being transparent and doing your job!!!
@@donaldfox6976 It's not about the ones they discount after finding a flaw... it's all the ones that get sent out that aren't caught. Mistakes happen, but don't brag about a 55 point "inspection" that is used as a selling point to distinguish you from other retailers. BTW, their "demo" discounts are 10% off. You got $500 off? What explorer did you buy that was $5,000? A custom shop?
Would you rather get the guitar you ordered with a couple minor finish flaws (if any), or the wrong guitar?
Sweetwater - always had good experiences
Sweetwater's 55 point inspection is a joke.
My guitar came from Sweetwater with a string at wouldn't tune up. As I tuned it to pitch the ball end fell off. 😢
How could the inspector miss this if they tuned it up to pitch twice?
Also, same guitar had a set screw in the volume knob that was loose and the knob just spun around. Tell me how Sweetwater's 55 point inspection missed this?
It’s because you had a 20 something year old texting on their phone , then telling you your wrong cause they found the truth on Google
Yes, the 55 point inspection is definitely a joke. My bridge pickup at the high E string was flush with the body and the low E was as high as it could go. How could they miss that? Because it was never done.
Those are both things that could pretty easily happen in shipping, vibration loosens screws, and strings break, it just happens sometimes. Still not fun, but nothing is perfect
I wonder if it would be possible to get rid of the nashville bridge, plug the holes and put a traditional mounted ABR-1 on it. And change the tuners to double ring Klusons, since the holes in the headstock have to a bit smalller
Tone Pros has locking ABR1 conversion bridges that fit existing Nashville routes. I've used them flawlessly. There are other brands too but the Tone Pros are easy to get. I think Amazon even had them.
@@Darth.Shredder Yeah, but with conversion studs, you won't get rid of the anchors, to mount it the traditional way. I had a '61 Reissue SG and brought it to a luthier, who plugged the holes in the body which were caused by the anchors for the Nashville bridge. He drilles new holes for the studs of the ABR-1, mounted directly into the wood
@@Guitarjosii If you want the studs to go directly into the body then buy a custom shop reissue. If you want to replace the Nashville bridge with an ABR-1 without plugging holes in your guitar and potentially ruining it and certainly ruining the resale value, then get the Tone Pros. Anchors were added for stability. It was an improvement at the time. You're not improving anything by plugging the holes and direct mounting the bridge. If you're a purist, then buy a reissue.
@@Darth.Shredder If it's done correctly, I consider this mod as a massive upgrade - it's not ruined in my opinion. Absolutely not. I think, it is ruined at the moment, as they put in the anchors for the Nashville bridge in the factory
I had high hopes for Sweetwater's Inspection process but I have found that they are not quite as strict as I would have hoped. Besides the couple defective guitars I received, I can see guitars in their pictures that are already defective before they even go out. Blemishes, uneven string spacing, bad fretboard work. Etc.
Ordered two guitars from Sweetwater. A Squire Tele. Ordered a specific serial # and got a different one. I ordered a Fender Acoustasonic strat which arrived with sharp frets sticking out of the side of the fingerboard. Bought a Marshall Origin 20. Arrived DOA.
Hmmmm........
Amazing how much the music industry has changed in the last 40 years 👍😎🎵
The guy behind dropped the box... 2:09 very delicate...
He literally didn't?
Why the crappy background music? It totally ruined the video.
Gibson fectory make epiphone???
I totally appreciate the level of care and attention that SW gives their products, but I also think so much of this could, and should, be done before it actually leaves Gibson. Especially given huge price increases from Gibson the past few years.
Lily, where is my Les Paul special tribute that I purchased June 2022. My tech keeps reassuring me that they are still coming but I'm beginning to lose hope.
This is BS, I purchased a Gibson Les Paul HP in 2016 and what I received was a total mess. There were deep gouges in the binding on the neck, and body. There was a dent in the finish under the pick guard, and the controls did not work, the push pull knobs did not even work. I sent that thing back along with that candy the same day. I then went to Wildwoods Guitars and purchased my guitar from them, they were in constant contact with me on what I wanted, string gauge, set up high or low action. Then a follow up when I received my guitar to make sure everything was the way I asked.
That really sucks, but that was 7 years ago, long before that DC even existed, not to mention completely different brand ownership on Gibson's part.
I wonder if they would be able to put a customized skin on and some inlay work on the neck of a Les Paul
It doesn't matter how much you inspect it, it's unfortunately still a Gibson
50% in tune 100% of the time. What’s hilarious is they already posted a defense of their quality and as of this moment 3 days later it has 3 whole likes 😂
I just bought a doubleneck for $8k and the six string was not set properly.
WOW, so my Epiphone Firebird went through that ? (55 point)
I wish we had a Sweetwater in Australia.......
I sure hope this is all true. I have been considering a new guitar and was researching Guitar Center VS Sweetwater. I was swayed to Sweetwater before this vid because of the 55 point inspection but was wondering if that was a load of Cr@p or not.
Hmmm, after writing this I scrolled through the comments to see many guys saying this "inspection" is a joke. Gonna have to do a bit more research, just as my debit card was starting to vibrate.
Thing is, Gibson should ensure the guitars are set up properly before leaving the plant.
Gibson's quality department could just just be removed, as they don't do anything at all.
Lily!!! We fb fwens!
My sales guy Matt is the bomb ditty. Excellent customer service. But why is a Gibson Liason needed ?
Just ordered a guitar from them, I'll come back after i get it this week and say what i got from them.
sweetwater is the best, but i still like musicians friend too just not as professional but goos service and delivery
I wish they would scratch more guitars so I could buy them as demo models.
It’s overcharged (per Gibson).
the background music just annoying, down the volume next time. now it's just ruin the voice.
The Sweetwater 55 point inspection is definitely a joke. My bridge pickup at the high E string was flush with the body and the low E was as high as it could go. How could they miss that? Because it was never done.
At least their returns are easy. Try returning a guitar from ProAudioStar which has a way better price. But if you get a dud, you’re screwed.
I wonder how much time and money he spent on his hair.
Dude the extra plex and set up is like 400 bucks more
I see a lot of unsatisfactory comments, and that's too bad because Sweetwater at least makes an attempt on most of their guitars, but wouldn't Gibson be responsible for the quality and setup before they leave the factory? I've toured one of their factories, and I was appalled, to say the least. I won't even get into the shape of the guitars they had on display in the 'showroom' in front.
Seems like more of a Gibson issue than a Sweetwater issue.
Greatest shop! Pleasure to deal with this people always
Sounds cool, but the only way I buy a guitar from Sweetwater is if I go to their showroom, which I will one day. I buy all of my Gibsons at the Garage, its only a 7 hour drive. Non Gibson’s I’ll get at Casino. I will never buy a guitar online.
This dude is a trip, don’t think it would be enjoyable to be interviewed by him
Impressive...kudos !
The Music is Annoying.
It’s 2023. You can make a UA-cam video without shitty rock music in the background…
^^^I love you Lilly🌹😅😍🥰😘
I'm so old I've been shopping with Sweetwater since they just threw loose candy in the shipping boxes..........
Ha ! I remember that !!
It is not a setup. Please be accurate.
This is B.S. I bought a new LP through SW in 2020, it came to me in bad shape, Action so high it was unplayable. I had to do a full setup...took me forever to get intonation. Thanks for nothing Sweetwater. Thankfully I know how to work on my own guitars because it would have cost me $100 or more to have someone else do the work.
That gallery processes literally a thousand guitars per day. Human error will happen regardless of how many layers of QC a guitar may go through, so it isn't fair to discredit an entire department of techs just because some of you got unlucky. It's very rare that any guitar is 100% perfect anyway because they are handmade out of wood. My Les Paul Standard has a couple of chips in the fretboard but I just do not care because I bought the thing for authenticity, character, and playability. Some of you should probably spend less time crying in comment sections and forums and just play... or maybe learn to actually work on guitars on your own.
Says the person who spends their time responding to everyone's comment like a sweetwater fanboy. Nobody is "crying"... some are simply calling out the "55 point inspection" process that a retailer uses as a selling point. Some of these issues are not easily fixed. Maybe you should go play your chipped fretboard Les Paul and stop defending multi million dollar companies.
Seriously dude, how much does Sweetwater pay you to White Knight?
It seems like Sweetwater really care about their customers
Nerds. Don't play real guitar....guitar is cool not for nerds...