Saw a new Gibson this weekend. Binding nibs are gone.

Tiltsta

Tiltsta

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I got a chance to play a friend's new SG this long holiday weekend. This is one of the models with the new adjustable nut and robotuners. It was a really nice guitar. The thing that I noticed after a close inspection was that Gibson has stopped wrapping their binding material over the end of the frets. This guitar had no 'nibs' covering the end of the frets. This has been kind of a Gibson signature thing for as long as I can remember, but it seems they have stopped doing it. I guess I don't really care too much, as it is more a cosmetic thing, but I wonder why they changed. Perhaps labor costs savings. Nibs in the binding used to be an easy way to spot fake Gibsons.

Anyway, here is a bit of info on the binding change, which seems to be done on everything but the traditional models, and probably the historic custom shop stuff.

http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Undercut-Fret-Over-Binding.aspx
 
Old style binding....
Fig1_Traditional.jpg


New style binding....

Fig2_Undercut.jpg
 
That sucks. The nibs used to be the only thing keeping you from slicing your palm when playing a Gibson.

Can I sell my nibbed Les Paul for double its true value now?
 
Every now and then, I think of selling my two Epi Les Pauls for a Gibson Les Paul.

Then I read threads like this.
 
I like how taking away something that's been standard is now a new feature.

Next they will put three screws on the truss rod cover for "greater stability"
 
BrammyH said:
I like how taking away something that's been standard is now a new feature.

Next they will put three screws on the truss rod cover for "greater stability"
Click to expand...
And they claim this new feature is more expensive. No wonder a Les Paul Standard costs $3800 now.
 
Getting rid of the nibs was the only way they could keep the retail of a new Lester under four grand. The margins on these are tight enough as it is.
 
Flatspotter said:
And they claim this new feature is more expensive. No wonder a Les Paul Standard costs $3800 now.
Click to expand...

That is crazy money for a LP. I thought they were expensive as hell when I bought mine in 2008. I think street price at the big dealers was 2699, and I got mine for 2400. Hard to imagine how prices went up $1100 in 7 years. :messedup:
 
Tiltsta said:
That is crazy money for a LP. I thought they were expensive as hell when I bought mine in 2008. I think street price at the big dealers was 2699, and I got mine for 2400. Hard to imagine how prices went up $1100 in 7 years. :messedup:
Click to expand...

Henry's always been of the mind that higher prices mean increased profits. And to this point in his ownership of the company, he's been proven right every time.
 
Flatspotter said:
And they claim this new feature is more expensive. No wonder a Les Paul Standard costs $3800 now.
Click to expand...

Hell yeah it was expensive. They had to train all those people to finish fret ends, because they sure as hell didn't do it right on most of the Studio/Special/Tribute guitars I've seen.
 
Tiltsta said:
That is crazy money for a LP. I thought they were expensive as hell when I bought mine in 2008. I think street price at the big dealers was 2699, and I got mine for 2400. Hard to imagine how prices went up $1100 in 7 years. :messedup:
Click to expand...
Mine was $1595 in 2004 :embarrassed:
 
jp_nyc said:
Hell yeah it was expensive. They had to train all those people to finish fret ends, because they sure as hell didn't do it right on most of the Studio/Special/Tribute guitars I've seen.
Click to expand...


I was just perusing the VGuitar forum, and I did not know that Elantric (forum owner and HC long-timer) had worked at the Gibson factory a few years back. He was saying that the entry level guitars you mentioned above were definitely thought of as budget and generally did not get nearly the attentiom to detail that the Studios and up got. He also said that they were churning out several hundreds (thousands?) a day.

FWIW, there are good ones to be found, but not as common as the slop. At least the 2015 models at the "low" end have higher standards that the Tributes/Js of the previous years.
 
Tiltsta said:
I got a chance to play a friend's new SG this long holiday weekend. This is one of the models with the new adjustable nut and robotuners. It was a really nice guitar. The thing that I noticed after a close inspection was that Gibson has stopped wrapping their binding material over the end of the frets. This guitar had no 'nibs' covering the end of the frets. This has been kind of a Gibson signature thing for as long as I can remember, but it seems they have stopped doing it. I guess I don't really care too much, as it is more a cosmetic thing, but I wonder why they changed. Perhaps labor costs savings. Nibs in the binding used to be an easy way to spot fake Gibsons.

Anyway, here is a bit of info on the binding change, which seems to be done on everything but the traditional models, and probably the historic custom shop stuff.

http://www2.gibson.com/News-Lifestyle/Features/en-us/Undercut-Fret-Over-Binding.aspx
Click to expand...

How did you like the wider neck? That's the biggest complaint that I've heard of the newer models.
 
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