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Hello all and a latent happy new year.
Since it is the very beginning of 2016, I decided to do a grand setup of all my guitars. I replaced the tuners and strap buttons with locking ones and put high-tension strings on my solid-body nylon-string guitar, I repositioned the bridge, removed the tuners and cleaned up the holes + tuners themself and put TI swings on my Ibanez AF75D(todo: pickup height), am going to clean up and reposition bridge on my acoustic archtop, BUT today I was doing my main guitar; the Gibson ES-139.
The ES-139 is a damned good guitar, and I play it daily for up to several hours. I haven't had it for a year yet, but it's showing noticable wear already. That's no biggie because I play it way more than I've played any other guitar.
I had just cleaned up the some metal bits and was starting on the body.
Shiny!
As I flipped the guitar to its side, I was appalled at what I saw. The binding seemed to have disintegrated slightly, the finish looked "melted", and there was some purple in areas on the binding!
This is very sad
I have no idea what would cause this. The only things that are purple in my room is my 100% cotton satins, the blanket I rest my guitars on when setting up, and there may be some in the jeans I bought YESTERDAY.
Additionally, the ES-139 has its own metal stand which I use so that it WON'T get damage like this. It sits alone in the middle of the room for this very reason!!!
Does anyone have any ideas about this?
Additional grievance about Gibson quality:
As I said earlier, it's not even a year old. Two fret markers(mother of toilet seat) are starting to pop out from the fretboard itself. This is THE guitar for me but I'd like to do something about this!
Any response is welcome..!
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01-12-2016 12:28 PM
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what color is the case lining?
the dye could be bleeding into the binding
as for the position markers lifting, are you maintaining correct humidity where the guitar is being stored/played?
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What a shame. May I ask, where are you located? What are the chances that your issues were caused by humidity or temperature concerns.
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What a shame. Where do you live? What are the chances that the damage was caused by humidity or temperature concerns?
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@wintermoon:
It came with an all black semi-hard bag, but I very rarely use it. Only in my car from house to gig/practice, it is never left in it. The guitar is in my bedroom at all times as I have my entire music setup here. I try to avoid using a heater. Thing is, the AF75 I've had for a couple of years now has no such issue, despite being less delicately handled...
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@soljaime, Klatu:
I live in southwestern Norway. I don't know if it has made any difference given how mild our weather has been.
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it looks like the lacquer over the binding is reacting w/something and it matches the blankets it's laying on.
it also appears the lacquer over the binding is lifting in spots.
I see some wear in the lacquer on the guitar next to the binding, what is causing that?
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That's just the problem, I have no idea! This particular guitar is very rarely on the bench and like I said, it stands alone in the middle of the room on a stand which is just galvanized metal covered with clear rubber on contact points - even so, the mysterious wear is nowhere near the stand itself. I have never seen this wear before. I'm completely baffled.
Originally Posted by wintermoon
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Zowie! I once briefly had a Les Paul (about a '71) that absorbed pink into the binding. I don't know where it came from, since the case lining was blue (as I recall--maybe yellow...long time ago) and I wore nothing pink. The finish on the guitar was cherry, so it could have been some of the finish color bleeding to the binding, I guess.
I have seen Gibson nitro lacquer lift and deteriorate, but not on a guitar a year old. Something aggressive is going on. Do you have particularly sweaty hands?
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Didn't you buy this guitar new? If so, it's under warranty so call your dealer and tell them what's going on. If they are an authorized Gibson dealer then they have to have some arrangement with an authorized warranty repair shop.
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I've seen discoloration in binding before, but usually it was that way from the beginning. I'd say binding wasn't cleaned up that well before final finish applied.
I personally if mine it doesn't effect playing so no big deal, I'd be more concerned of result if someone tried to fix it, that could result in more unevenness in finish than some discoloration.
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It might be from that bedsheet...
I have a red microfiber couch...I noticed the binding on my heritage looking a little "pinkish" right about where it would lean up against the couch if it were out and about and not on a stand.
I never tried to "fix" it, I just keep it on a stand or in a case now.
Do you ever leave the guitar on the bed or leaned up against it for any period of time?
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@Greentone:
No, not while playing at least. If anything, a bit dry.
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@Jim, doc:
I'm afraid of tampering with the guitar, because it is as good as perfect right now...
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@Mr. B.
Sometimes it will be in my multistand right next to it, but the part that is closest to(not actually touching btw) the bed is not the side with the discoloration. 4 days, tops.
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If that part of the guitar rests against your trousers then it migtht be from that. There are marks in the wood that look like they have indented the wood, and then on the binding it looks like the lacquer has been scraped off by whatever caused the marks in the wood. Are there any copper rivets round the pockets of your new jeans.
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No, I haven't played it with those pants I'm afraid
I only play wearing light cotton pants. I also use a strap so it doesn't really touch anything.
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Do you wear dark colored pants? Dark blue or black pants probably have purple dye in it.
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Yeah...interestingly enough, a lot of the dyes in our clothing aren't just the color they appear to be...a fun test is to take strips of paper towel, dip them into petri dishes of dye, and watch the colors "climb up."
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What wax/polish do you use?
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@JT, Mr. B:
Like I said, always light cotton pants. Off-whites usually.
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@boatheelmusic:
Gibson's own.
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The bad thing about nitro finish is that it is easily damaged. The good thing is that nitro is usually easily mended.
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My blonde Gibson L6-S reissue has discoloured on the sides, particularly where it sits on my legs. When I'm gigging I'm usually wearing black suits so I think the dye has seeped into the nitro. I'm not worried about it, but it does make the guitar look a bit dirty, and no amount of polishing seems to help.
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Do you live alone? Heh, heh...
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why does every picture have a purple spot in the center right?
kind of like a flash effect but its not, weird.
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It's a crack in the lens
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is it a trick of the camera, or does that bottom photo show scratches/indentations in the wood next to the binding too? Sure looks like it. Like some scratching has been going on. The first Gibson I bought (an LP junior) had marks like that that came from a guy test driving it in the shop with a big clump of keys in his pocket . . .
Do you live with a cat? Some cause of damage seems more likely to me rather than material failure.
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Yes there is some worming going on the body under the binding.
But that shouldn't make the lacquer de-laminate from the binding.
As for the inlays that are separating on the fretboard, do you also have fret nibs that are cracked? I couldn't tell from the pictures.
Like Jim Soloway said, IF you purchased the new, you should give Gibson the opportunity to rectify the situation.
JD
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