New G-3!

[clankenstein]

phew.hope its a keeper then!

[neepheid]

Received my replacement G-3 today - oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.  Horrible hum at rest (isn't the pickup arrangement supposed to be humbucking?), terrible touch buzz on all the pole pieces (even on ones which are switched out of the circuit in positions 1 and 3), the ribbon which surrounds the coils is untidy and rides up over the edge of the bobbin, wax residue on some pole pieces, and I suspect that the bridge pickup is dodgy - when I touch a pole piece you get the buzz and then it suddenly stops with a click, and it makes noise when I wiggle it.

As a test I plugged in my IV - same amp, same leads, same tuner pedal, sat in exactly the same place and guess what?  Almost silent at rest.

It's going back, and the shop doesn't have any more so it's money back time and to be honest I don't think I'll take a chance on another G-3 from elsewhere.  I'm pretty gutted about this.  I don't know who's at fault here (Gibson/distributor/retailer), but ultimately it's a very poor experience for my first new Gibson. 

Hmph.

[Denis]

That's too bad. Mine had none of those issues.

[uwe]

Received my replacement G-3 today - oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.  Horrible hum at rest (isn't the pickup arrangement supposed to be humbucking?), terrible touch buzz on all the pole pieces (even on ones which are switched out of the circuit in positions 1 and 3), the ribbon which surrounds the coils is untidy and rides up over the edge of the bobbin, wax residue on some pole pieces, and I suspect that the bridge pickup is dodgy - when I touch a pole piece you get the buzz and then it suddenly stops with a click, and it makes noise when I wiggle it.

As a test I plugged in my IV - same amp, same leads, same tuner pedal, sat in exactly the same place and guess what?  Almost silent at rest.

It's going back, and the shop doesn't have any more so it's money back time and to be honest I don't think I'll take a chance on another G-3 from elsewhere.  I'm pretty gutted about this.  I don't know who's at fault here (Gibson/distributor/retailer), but ultimately it's a very poor experience for my first new Gibson. 

Hmph.

To quote Rob Halford: "I am Nostradamus!" Unfortunately in this case.

[Dave W]

That's too bad. Never should have left the factory that way.

Maybe Lucas Electrical (the Prince of Darkness) is branching out and making pickups for Gibson.

[clankenstein]

that completely sucks.the shop need to pull finger and get you one that an adult has tested.

[neepheid]

that completely sucks.the shop need to pull finger and get you one that an adult has tested.

Ach well, I spoke to them this morning and told them of my woes, they're happy to pick it up (again) and just refund me.  The guy did say that they had gone over the one that I had returned previously and fixed the issues with it (in addition to the wonky strap button, an earth wire had come off a pot casing - WTF, on a brand new bass?  What the hell is going on in Nashville?  Or are the couriers playing football with the instruments?) and would I like it, but I refused - the whole incident has left a bad taste in my mouth and I'd rather spend my money on something else now.  And because I'm in a big massive cream puff with Gibson right now, it will definitely not be a (new) Gibson.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Henry spent all his QC budget on the PR firm that lobbied Fox News for him.

[uwe]

  No, Obama and Big Government sabotaged those basses.

[neepheid]

No, Obama and Big Government sabotaged those basses.

So much for the "special relationship" between the USA and UK - sabotaging basses bound for the UK?  This means war!

[Denis]

I was lucky enough to try my G-3 out in the store before I bought it so I knew what I was getting as far as sound and tone goes. If it had a damaged or poorly installed strap button I would have simply had them knock off $$ or fix it. The feel and sound of the bass sold me right away and a fault that small would not have dissuaded me from taking it.

[neepheid]

I was lucky enough to try my G-3 out in the store before I bought it so I knew what I was getting as far as sound and tone goes. If it had a damaged or poorly installed strap button I would have simply had them knock off $$ or fix it. The feel and sound of the bass sold me right away and a fault that small would not have dissuaded me from taking it.

Well, you had the advantage.  I do not have that advantage when buying anything that isn't a Fender or a Yamaha, that's just how the shops are up here.  I have to order blind and with the blind faith that what I see on the webpage is what I get.  This is why the Distance Selling Regulations are utterly invaluable (although they don't apply if it's actually faulty).  Because I am at distance, I don't feel comfortable with haggling (cue the accusations that I damaged it myself and am trying to screw some money out of the shop - there's no proof that I didn't after all).  It would be different if I was there in person, I could see the damage there, point it out at the time and see what they can offer me.

I didn't really want to have to say this and I'm really glad that you are happy with yours but while I though the sound was pretty good (and meatier/bassier than the original G-3 - understandable given the change in pickup positioning) I found the satin finish to be rather "cheap" feeling/looking and for me neither of the G-3 Tributes I tried oozed, reeked or even had a faint odour of having many (any?) careful man hours being spent on them.  The second one was particularly poor with many little annoying problems that simply should not be present at this price point.  I don't think I'm being unreasonable.  I'm not averse to fixing things if it won't cause me a problem with warranties/customer service later on.  I recently picked up a brand new G&L Tribute M-2000 and the only thing that was a bit off was that someone had been a little heavy handed with the glue when glueing in the nut and it had squished up over the face of the nut.  I just carefully scraped that away.  No problem.  Apart from that it had a flawless finish and had no operational issues.

Perhaps it is unfair to put the new G-3 up against a Victory Artist, an RD Artist and an IV, but that's the benchmark in my collection and it fell way short of that in terms of fit and finish.  However, I think it's completely fair to expect it to be at least as good as a G&L Tribute, considering the G-3 is the best part of twice the price.  In any case, when I drop a significant sum of money on anything new (never mind a bass) I expect it to be pristine, or else there will be trouble.  I don't want to haggle, I don't want hassle.  I want the instrument I paid for and I want it to be right and of a quality commensurate with the price point at which it is placed.  These two basses fell well short of that and as such has made me very wary of buying any new Gibsons in the near future.

[amptech]

I have never bought a new gibson, but i came close once - i think it was in ´98 and the guitar shop just got in the usual gibsons of that time, but one instrument i just had to try - it was an explorer in a beautiful bronze sparkling finish and mini humbuckers. I picked it up just for the looks (at the time it matched my dark green leather pants just great) but it played so perfect I must have been in the shop for 2 hours, such a delight.. And great sounding. This shop never set up their guitars (or basses) good - or they just didn´t do it. It felt like an old guitar, really - but I´ve never had this experience with 
a new gibson before or since. I´ve only seen Thunderbird basses from gibson in this shop, but they are not my cup of T.

When it comes to quality control, I agree - you should get what you pay for - and a brand new gibson should be perfect.
But how was the Grabber recieved when it first came out? The cheap approach, bolt on, crappy bridge etc. must have put off many of those used to gibsons of the sixties. My first bass was a 1975 Grabber, and I do love it - but the whole feel of it is far away from my sixties EB´s. And the oldest (1963) seems to me the best of them.

I always ignored my Grabber´s flaws - but perhaps it really shouldn´t have left the factory either...

[uwe]

I've had one Gibson that was abysmal new: a midnight blue Money, where the fret job had obviously never been completed. But I've also had a new Ric where the bridge pup didn't work (faulty wiring) and a new Fender Jazz where the truss rod wouldn't turn.

[neepheid]

Well, that's the pickup finally arranged for Monday.  Hopefully followed by a hassle free refund and then a tantalising (probably brief) period of having some bass fund slush