Gibson ES-139 Binding Wear

[mr quick]

@LTG:
I have 3 poodles, none of which are ever allowed or let into the room in which this guitar is kept at all times.

-

@Joe D:
Yes, the nibs have been cracked since I first saw it in the shop.
I did buy it new, but what can Gibson do? I really, really don't want a different one. They had two at the shop... what can I say, I HAD to have this one

[Jehu]

I have 3 poodles

Well that's your problem right there.

Now, what were you saying about a guitar?

[Little Jay]

I wouldn't worry about it. I think the lacquer is just wearing off the binding and the case lining is giving off on the binding. The guitar is not falling apart. You could carefully sand those spots and apply new nitro, but what for?

[mr quick]

I wouldn't worry about it. I think the lacquer is just wearing off the binding and the case lining is giving off on the binding. The guitar is not falling apart. You could carefully sand those spots and apply new nitro, but what for?

Again, it did not come with a case nor do I keep it in one.

[Greentone]

Marwin,

Going back to your original post--any guitar that you play for several hours/day is a winner. I used to play a Gretsch and a Stratocaster that were both particularly well made for hours each day. Now, I have owned other Gretsches and other Fender Stratocasters. Those two, however, were irresistible. When you get an instrument like that, it doesn't matter if someone has glued shag carpeting to the top (hmm? well, maybe it does)--you are going to keep and play such an instrument for years and years.

Enjoy the 139 and don't fret (sorry) over-much about the wear on the finish. Finishes get worn. Heck, you have to pay extra these days to get a relic'd finish from Fender, Gibson, and others.

[Little Jay]

Sorry, I missed out on the case part.... My bad, I should read more carefully. Then it is kind of weird indeed. Is it only in that specific place or everywhere on the binding? If it's one specific spot could it be contact with, say, a colored pair of jeans? They can act like sanding-paper.....

[John A.]

Could it be the purple sludge oozing from your pores? You might want to get that checked out, for the sake of the guitars :-)

If you just showed me the pictures and asked "what's this?" without saying you thought the binding and finish were changing color and falling apart, I'd have said "it looks like a bunch of schmutz, did you try cleaning it?" Other than that, if it really is the binding turning purple and the nitro falling apart, I have no real insight except that I think it has to be something in your environment reacting with the nitro and binding. What do you mean by "100 % cotton satins"? Is this something the guitar ever sits on, or something that touches you before you play? If so, cotton often bleeds dye (and dyes can have solvent properties), and your skin or clothing could be transferring it. I recommend taking it to a shop and letting a luthier look at it to see if the discoloration can be sanded/buffed out and the nitro repaired.

John

[Little Jay]

The inlays working themselves out of the fretboard is totally unacceptable though!

[GNAPPI]

Could it be the purple sludge oozing from your pores? You might want to get that checked out, for the sake of the guitars :-)
I'd have said "it looks like a bunch of schmutz, did you try cleaning it?"John

I haven't heard words like schmutz since I left New York in the 70's. Thanks you brought back some good memories :-)

[John A.]

I haven't heard words like schmutz since I left New York in the 70's. Thanks you brought back some good memories :-)

What? Yiddish is not widely spoken in other burgs? Who new?

John

[Archie]

The inlays working themselves out of the fretboard is totally unacceptable though!

I'm sure Gibson could successfully argue in court that people have accepted their poor QC for so long, that it is indeed perfectly acceptable

Sorry couldn't help it. Broke a new years resolution after 2 weeks

[Longways to Go]

Please forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I'm wondering if you can't pop the fretboard inlay back into it's proper place with your fingers? That would be my first thing to try -- and if it doesn't work, one has to wonder why . . .

[fumblefingers]

well i would keep it in a case and would get a hygrometer and watch the humidity in your "guitar room". around 50% is what you want. and because that is not entirely within your control naturally, you may have to take other measures to deal with it.

[pubylakeg]

If you google this, it seems to be pretty common, AFAIK pink finish bleed into the binding is considered "historically accurate" due to the nitro finishing process, as is the lacquer chipping away on the body binding,

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/ind...torics.763029/

bleeding into the binding - MyLesPaul.com

re;Lifting inlays, it seems solvent based cleaners, and the old lemon oil, can cause problems.

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/ind...s-paul.680804/

I haven't bought a new Gibson since they re-organised their European distribution (circa 2008? or so), but prior to that, UK Gibsons used to come with a disclaimer advising that the warranty did not apply to the finish or hardware.

[Jabberwocky]

"Historical Accuracy" is a double-edged sword. Gibsonophiles will have it no other way except the traditional way. Yet when Gibson goes back to traditional formulae, Gibson gets brickbats and stuff.

Funny to read MyLesPaul sometimes. Some bloke goes to buy a Gibson Historic R9 and later screams that the pink dye is bleeding on the neck binding, the nitrocellulose lacquer is checking, the sunburst is fading, and the ABR-1 bridge posts are leaning...

Those are all HISTORICALLY ACCURATE...faults and that is what buying a historically accurate guitar built to 1959 standards is all about. You get the bad along with the good.

[Hammertone]

There's nothing historically accurate about a Gibson ES-139.