Jorge Saldivar

The past couple of months have been interesting as I have dealt with Gibson Guitars regarding my warranty claim and found their customer service, in addition to their products, to lack quality and merit.  This is my story.  First, a little history.

Anyway that all came to a close last week when, lo and behold, Gibson finally sent the guitar. It was certainly a beautiful Vintage Burst Epi Les Paul style guitar, that is, until I returned it to Guitar Center for the guitar of my choice.  After that, I didn’t care what it looked like.

Then, I purchased a beautiful and fully functional Fender Stratocaster.  The people at Guitar Center earned my business and helped me regain my confidence in how they do business.  I was so impressed, I sent Guitar Center Corporate a letter of acknowledgement for their McAllen Store.

Me personally, am very happy now that I’ve been jamming away on my Fender Standard Stratocaster.  The neck allows for me to be confident that my guitar wont fall apart on stage, especially during the gig.  I’ll post a review later about the guitar.

Either way, if you’re ever going to purchase a Gibson or Epiphone, check this out first.  It’s a Google search with the key term, “broken headstock” and sure enough, Gibsons are the brands mentioned on the first page of the search results.

Now don’t get me wrong, a broken headstock can happen on any guitar.  So long as that guitar is a Gibson.  Yes, I know, other brands can break, but Gibson is the only one that comes up in my head.  Now let me quickly state that when I’m talking about Gibsons (and Epiphones), I’m referring to their line of solid bodies.

Why is it that such a guitar is even worth as much as it is?  Is there something really special about the guitar?  I personally enjoy the powerful humbuckers and the Spanish style body but isn’t there something to say when the Les Paul was discontinued in 1960?  Personally, I have seen the light.  I don’t need a Gibson.

After the headache of dealing with Gibson Customer Service, I realized that I don’t even want a Gibson.  To me, they kept me from playing my gigs comfortably for well over two months.  Perhaps in the future when I can afford to spend $4,000 on a guitar, I’ll consider it.  Yet, for that amount, I can purchase a couple of American made Fenders and a Fender tube amp…. wait, on second thought…who needs a Gibson?