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I love my luthier friend - and he is a dear friend. Danny Dolinger at Fret Boss in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. He used to be the neck, fretboard and fret guy at Huss & Dalton acoustic guitars. (My favorite boutique acoustic.) He's on his own now. His only fault is that he absolutely hates Gibson as a company. If I walk in the door with a brand new 175 sold for thousands of dollars that came from the factory with a mis-cut nut...Good God in heaven, I'll never hear the end of it!
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12-19-2017 01:12 PM
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Originally Posted by TedBPhx
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Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
Thanks Vin. (again)..
(I know, I can hear you now saying, "Oh boy Joe, what do you want me to play it for you too??")
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Originally Posted by Max405
I don’t think that these CME specials are 2nd’s as the 2 I purchased early in the year at full price have the same minor type flaws. I think it is just normal Gibson. Some are great, some good, and some plain bad. Just typical dice roll Gibson as they always have been.
It has been a good year for many of us though getting a nice Gibson at a more than fair price.
CME and Gibson made a lot of dreams come true and put some serious smiles on a lot of faces.
Gibson’s financial woes certainly benefited us. For once the little guy wins.
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Operation "baking soda and super glue complete"! No more slippage of the E string. I'm sure I'll get a new nut at some point, but I've already forgotten about it.
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Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
This deal should make people happy. There is nothing to bitch about here.
Originally Posted by SkipBurz
JD
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Originally Posted by SkipBurz
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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I guess mine is a '17 around march.
The top E string nut issue is a minor annoyance.
Maybe I'll mess with it some day, but I'm still in tonal nirvana.
Can't believe I even own a 175 -- the dream guitar that I mostly thought of as unattainable.
I'm still playing the factory strings. 10s? 11s? Not sure, but sounding good enough for now.
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I'm with you. I have spent so many years trying to get my 335 to sound like a 175 that it's amazing to actually own the "gold standard".
I believe the guitar ships with 10 gauge roundwound strings. You might want to just try a set of flatwounds, if you've never used them. An inexpensive set of D'addario Chrome ECG24 11-50 is a good place to start.
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Originally Posted by SkipBurz
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My serial number works out to July of 2016. 2016 is stamped on the headstock. Apparently mine is the 706th 175 made that year. Or is that the number of all guitars manufactured at the Memphis plant? We’re they cranking out 3 175s a day that year?
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Interesting. I had a little factory card in my case that said the guitar was shipped with 10 gauge PB roundwounds. I had CME put flats on it before they sent it, so I have no way of verifying whether that was, in fact, the case.
Quick bridge question for anyone out there: I haven't done a string change yet on the guitar, but when I had the strings loose to do the nut adjustment yesterday, I noticed that the bridge had pins on the underside of the feet running through the top of the guitar to hold it in place, I assume. Has Gibson been doing that long? The 175s I've borrow and played in the past (from the 70s and 80s) I don't think had these.
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They started the pinned bridge in 2016.
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Interesting. What do you think?....Any drawbacks you can see?
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Originally Posted by Max405
Amazing thread, sure does feel like Christmas. Best of the season to both of you.
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Pinned bridge? As long as it is in the right place, it's fine. I don't see a down side and it can be pretty helpful.
Originally Posted by SkipBurz
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Originally Posted by Marty Grass
Ive been playing this guitar exclusively for a couple of weeks. I am totally SPOILED!! The sweet voice, sustain and playability all in one guitar, make this guitar an all time great for me. Not to mention the sentimental factor..
Joe D
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If you're cutting a new slot and moving the string, the baking soda and CA will hold fine, because there is no force on it. The chemical reaction between the soda and cyanoacrylate produces a very hard substance and a very tight bond. I wouldn't bother to replace the nut unless the filled slot was just too ugly to stand, but in Joe's pic you can't even see where it was, a very neat repair, and IMO it's just not worth worrying about, or the cost of a replacement nut. Joe can do as he likes, but if it were my guitar, I would be done with it.
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Originally Posted by sgosnell
One thing..
There is something about a brand new guitar that is special. The responsibility of keeping it nice is no big deal to. It’s just what I do anyway. A brand new 175 is a luxury indeed. It’s been said before and should be said again. This was an opportunity of a lifetime for a lot of people. Who knows but most likely never to happen again. The folks who were able to get one of these were blessed. I am as critical as anyone and I don’t see anything about these guitars that should classify them as inferior in any way. It’s just as exclusive as a $4,000 175. Some typical Gibson QC issues aside, they didn’t cut a single corner in these 175’s. All being worthy of the “benchmark” moniker.
Joe D
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I still think bone dust is a better fix as does Frank Ford. Frank uses the dentist fix though. After the repair take a Dremel polishing wheel and polish the nut to a high gloss with some light compound. It will shine like lacquer.
Moving 1 string over now means unequal string spacing though. A new $75 nut is still my call as the right thing to do.
Everyone has different priorities. I would rather have perfection and a little less money. Some prefer a thicker wallet and less than stellar. What ever makes you happy.
Just like the guy that buys a new L5 and then plays it through a cheap Blues Jr.
My motto is don’t half step. Poop or get off the pot.
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How about a compromise? When the current nut slot wears down, replace it.
I've done the baking soda/Super Glue thing and have not yet worn through the repair. These were more vulnerable because they were corrections from my overcutting the slots during my first dozen or so attempts.
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Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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I honestly think the string was too far over. In fact it could actually still moved closer to the B string. But I’ll leave it alone. It is very symmetrical right now. Feels good when I’m playing it. Been playing faster stuff now so I don’t have to think about not pulling the string down and off the fretboard.
Originally Posted by vinnyv1k
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My opinions tend to be very black and white. I very much realize that. If it is right for you that is all that matters.
I tend to be overly anal about just about everything not just guitars.
Joe’s repair will most likely last a good while.
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Ideally, you use a set of nut files to cut the slots. But those are very spendy if you only need one or two, or even several, nuts made. There are several choices, depending on what tools you have on hand or are willing to spend for more. One choice is a set of feeler gauges, with teeth filed into the edges. Another is a jeweler's saw, or something similar, or needle files if you're very careful. Probably the cheapest and easiest is the feeler gauges. You can get a set very cheaply, because you don't need the best quality, and the lower quality is probably better for this. It takes time and effort to get some teeth made, but once that's done you're pretty much set, and can select the necessary sizes for each string, a couple of thousandths thicker than the string. And yes, thinner CA glue works better. Gel isn't the best choice, water thin is better.
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