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Due to the lockdown (and also a flu pretty much limiting practicing periods to like 15 minutes at a time) I stuck my phone inside my hollowbody guitars. First the Gibson ES 330 – my most expensive possession. I was amazed to see the roughness of the pickup cutouts and wood splinters sticking out of the braces.
What a contrast to the very clean Ibanez GB10
and the Ibanez GB200 – just in between with some glue stains.
They all sound great but I'm afraid now I can never unsee this. At least I can show the pics to my Gibson if she complains about sloppy playing. ;-)
Now I'm curious how an L5, ES 175, Eastman or Benedetto look like inside.
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01-31-2021 06:08 AM
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Wow... agreed the (poor) finish work inside the Gibson is very surprising! Especially at their price point!
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One would think they would have a routing template? Was this worked on by someone other than Gibson—looks like routed for a HB?
On a similar note I was surprised at the sloppiness of the factory soldering on the pots of someone else’s guitar. I expect that from ME—should be pristine from the factory.
Doesn’t affect the sound of course!
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No photos to prove it, but my Eastman 7 string has some of the cleanest workmanship inside and out, that I'd expect from an individually hand built guitar. Glue lines are clean, braces carefully sanded, all kerfing is consistent and clean and finish applied very cleanly. It's one of the reasons I was impressed with the instrument even before I even played it. It feels like someone took pride.
Originally Posted by guavajelly
When I'm building, there's the saying "Why bother if nobody will see it? I'll know it's there."
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One should never be surprised at poor quality of finish from Gibson.
Even my L5 went back three times before they cured the lack of spray/overspray on the neck.
But they’re variable and that’s the shame of it. For every person they’ve disappointed there’s plenty who think they’re gods.
I think you see an entirely different work ethic in Asia. I don’t know Eastman but had a Kenny Hill New World Classical made in China. Extraordinary workmanship, finish (French polish), and great sound. The current Ibanez Indonesia builds are I think cleaner than their Chinese were.
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Here's two cellphone pics. Benedetto Bravo is surgically clean and precise. ES-175 1959 VOS not bad either. Kerfed bracing visible. I have an endoscope for examining guitar innards (and suspect points in the old house). No sinister secrets like OP's Gibby so far.
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Here’s the inside of my ‘88 175: not too bad. No spiderwebs fortunately.
The cuts on the 330 above through the block have to have been made with a hand saw, or with a jigsaw. Hard to believe they would have done that at the factory, but who knows? Interesting construction with the block.
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Here's the best I could do thru the f-hole of my 6120... it's a 2005, so it's after Fender bought Gretsch. Can't get a good shot under the pickups because this guitar has trestle braces in the way.
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Rough finish inside my 175.
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I'm not a luthier and, being European, don't have they eye for different NA woods. Yet, it looks like Gibson's been all over the charts with ES bracing: sawn, planed, parallel, transversal, kerfed and different looking woods, or at least sawn differently.
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Now that's an archtop with a flat back as they were back then. Just imagine the price of a faithful reissue! Originally Posted by grahambop
Rough finish inside my 175.
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Originally Posted by grahambop
Rough finish inside my 175.
Hi, G,
Looks like you need a dehumidifier. However, the bracing looks great! Play live . . . Marinero
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It can take a lot of punishment, I’ll say that for it. Originally Posted by Marinero
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thought it felt a little heavy...but had no idea till i took a saw to it!
good thing the family was out shopping!
cheers
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Very clean build inside my Eastman t49d/v, as Jimmy Blue note commented above. Oddly, I took these on Friday before seeing this post. Lockdown minds think alike?
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Originally Posted by XISTH
Very clean build inside my Eastman t49d/v, as Jimmy Blue note commented above. Oddly, I took these on Friday before seeing this post. Lockdown minds think alike?
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Originally Posted by grahambop
Rough finish inside my 175.
Excuse me but that pic's obviously of a chambered body, so not a 175
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Love the idea of this thread. Went and grabbed some pics to join in.
The inside of my Benedetto
The inside of my Trenier. Wish I could read this writing:
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As a luthier, I'd always found that getting inside a guitar to do repair work is one of THE least enjoyable aspects of the job. THIS is the woman of my fantasies. She does amazing work shaving braces and removing excess material, and her rates are TINY.
She's a pirate all right, but she won't let me steal licks. A clean ship for her; smooth braces for smooth sailing for me.
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You're not supposed to look there! Originally Posted by guavajelly
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Maybe it just mean all that tidiness is over-rated. I’ll take that Gibson any day! Originally Posted by guavajelly
Due to the lockdown (and also a flu pretty much limiting practicing periods to like 15 minutes at a time) I stuck my phone inside my hollowbody guitars. First the Gibson ES 330 – my most expensive possession. I was amazed to see the roughness of the pickup cutouts and wood splinters sticking out of the braces.
What a contrast to the very clean Ibanez GB10
and the Ibanez GB200 – just in between with some glue stains.
They all sound great but I'm afraid now I can never unsee this. At least I can show the pics to my Gibson if she complains about sloppy playing. ;-)
Now I'm curious how an L5, ES 175, Eastman or Benedetto look like inside.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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It was a special custom order, they relic’d the inside. Originally Posted by Peter C
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Cool thread, thank you for starting it. Enjoying all your pics and stories and such. Difficult to get my phone up in there for optimal shots, so did the best I could.
Early 1960s Gibson ES-125TD
Mid-1970s Gibson Johnny Smith (Kalamazoo label)
1960s Harmony Rocket H59III
Late 1960s Yamaha AE-11
Recent Ibanez Artcore AKJV95 (Indonesia made)
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Anyone know how to get an iPhone out of a guitar with F holes? Asking for a friend...
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Interesting thread! I just spent 20 minutes finding out that I couldn't get any useful pictures of the inside of my 330L with an iPhone.
It sucks but Apple has well known incompatibility issues with Gibson.
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Ben Webster
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