Gibson Warranty Service

[vinnyv1k]

As you all know I bought a new black L-5 last year.
Well Gibson over pleked the frets to under .030 and the walnut strips on the back of the neck shrunk and cracked.
I sent it back to Gibson. New bone nut, new frets, and lacquer repair on the back of the neck. Total cost to me - $0. It was done in 1 month counting shipping both ways. Hats off to Gibson. Great communication throughout the process also.

[John A.]

I noticed that it doesn't have binding nibs (a good thing, IMO, but unusual). Was that a consequence of the re-fret, or did it come that way originally?

[vinnyv1k]

I noticed that it doesn't have binding nibs (a good thing, IMO, but unusual). Was that a consequence of the re-fret, or did it come that way originally?

No sadly Gibson said they would need to plane them off.
I am not a fan of pleked frets. Gibson over pleks.
Yes a re-fret with no nibs devalues a Gibson but it must play right first.
Would have been nice if I didn’t need warranty work.
This is the 3rd Gibson I had to send back because of the neck laminates shrinking and cracking.

[wintermoon]

Came out great V but I wouldn't worry about little plastic nibs devaluing it.
If someone buying a guitar from me passed due to the lack of them I'd immediately show them the door.
If they tried to haggle on the price for the same reason I'd hold the door open for them.
Silly imo, but as usual ymmv....

[John A.]

No sadly Gibson said they would need to plane them off.
I am not a fan of pleked frets. Gibson over pleks.
Yes a re-fret with no nibs devalues a Gibson but it must play right first.
Would have been nice if I didn’t need warranty work.
This is the 3rd Gibson I had to send back because of the neck laminates shrinking and cracking.

I remember you showing the delamination pictures previously. Bummer, but cool that Gibson made it right. I suppose losing the nibs shaves a little re-sale value off, but it also gives a tiny bit more fretboard real estate, plus now that the "damage" is done you don't have to worry about it if you ever re-fret again. I've never had a guitar Plek'ed (though I guess since I've tried some recent Gibsons I've tried factory-Plek'ed guitars). The only person I know who had it done on a guitar was pretty unhappy with the results and wound up having it refretted by someone else, FWIW.

[vinnyv1k]

Came out great V but I wouldn't worry about little plastic nibs devaluing it.
If someone buying a guitar from me passed due to the lack of them I'd immediately show them the door.
If they tried to haggle on the price for the same reason I'd hold the door open for them.
Silly imo, but as usual ymmv....

Agreed buddy. I remember in the 70’s you would buy a new Gibson and the next day you needed a fret job because of those zero frets, and usually the neck needed a bit of planing also if you wanted a great playing neck.

[bluejaybill]

Vinnie, what does "overpleked" mean?

[deacon Mark]

To overplek means they really took off too much of the frets in leveling them. The cardinal principle in any fret dressing is to remove the absolute least amount of metal that you can. This allows for the greatest number of dressing before you need to replace frets. I personally like bigger frets and plenty of fret. Having plenty of fret is good you can always remove metal but you cannot put it back on.

Lots of repair and guitar players swear by the plek but I find I prefer the hands-on approach. With and care and precise work you can do as well, and you avoided spending the tens of thousands of dollars for a plek machine.

[Max405]

That’s great Vin.
The nibs are really no big deal. I remember when Ian refretted my GJS. When I got it back, I was mortified because the nibs were gone. Honestly, that was the last time I actually noticed they were missing!
With this guitar, it’s going to be nice to see you play those hammer-on’s ala George Bensons’ “Danny Boy” for our Jesus.
Enjoy bro. You did it right.
JD

[ThatRhythmMan]

Sad to hear about the QC issues, but the turnaround time for the warranty repairs is pretty impressive.


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[Spook410]

Kind of amazed in modern corporate America that Gibson has set up a responsive customer service organization. Very encouraging. Glad it wasn't more painful for you. And nibs.. who likes nibs anyway?