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HOW TO BUY AN ELECTRIC . Common sense rules to an informed purchase. © 2008 Guitar Corp. WE CONGRATULATE YOU FOR BEING A CONSCIENTIOUS CONSUMER. By requesting the Buyer’s Guide, you’ve shown that you carefully research important purchase decisions.

The 15 easy rules you’ll find in the following pages were formulated from interviews with professional players and Gibson who are recognized authorities on guitarmaking. We covered the subjects of playability and dependability with players, and materials and manufacturing with the luthiers.

Apply the following rules to each guitar or bass you consider, and you’re sure to find lasting satisfaction in the instrument you finally select. THE BASICS RULE 1 Pay for Quality 3 RULE 2 Verify Warranty and Service 3 RULE 3 Research the Manufacturer 4 RULE 4 Consider Appreciation 4

MATERIALS ARE IMPORTANT RULE 5 Demand Good Tone Wood 5 RULE 6 Insist on Quiet Electronics 7

MANUFACTURING IS AN ART RULE 7 Balance Craftsmanship with Production 8 RULE 8 Evaluate the Neck Joint 9 RULE 9 Check Appointments for Functionality 10 RULE 10 Pay Attention to Details 10 RULE 11 Look for Innovation 11

HANDS-ON EXAMINATION RULE 12 Check the Neck 11 RULE 13 Test for Sustain 13 RULE 14 Listen for Electronic Noise 13 RULE 15 Inspect the Finish 14

OWNER ADJUSTMENTS The 14 The 15

THE LAST NOTE 16 Strap Stopbar ABR Three-way Strap Button Binding Bridge Body Toggle Switch Button Neck

THE COMPONENTS OF THE SOLIDBODY ELECTRIC GUITAR Featuring a 2008 Std

Volume / Pickups Single 12th Fret Truss Rod Machine Tuning Tone Controls Marker / Cover Heads Keys Strap Stopbar Tune-o-matic Machine Button Tailpiece F-holes Bridge Body Binding Neck Fingerboard Fret Nut Heads Headstock

THE COMPONENTS OF THE SEMI-HOLLOWBODY ELECTRIC GUITAR Featuring a Gibson ES-335

Three-way Volume / Pickups Double 12th Fret Truss Rod Tuning Toggle Switch Tone Controls Cutaway Marker / Inlay Cover Keys 3

THE BASICS are no shortcuts. In the highly RULE 2 VERIFY WARRANTY competitive guitar market, the only AND SERVICE way to make a guitar less expensive RULE 1 PAY FOR QUALITY A good guitar is like a good friend. is to use cheaper materials, cheaper It should last a lifetime. I’ve known who went parts and cheaper labor. The result through five or six within is a cheap guitar in every sense of Ask to see the warranty card or a couple of years. They weren’t the word. owner’s manual. Expect to find a satisfied and kept trading up, and lifetime warranty. That tells you by the time they finished, they’d No matter where you’re playing – that the manufacturer has complete spent enough to own the best. onstage, in a studio or at home confidence in its instruments. – you can’t afford to have an The one point of advice echoed instrument let you down because A lifetime warranty on a new guitar by every professional player we you compromised on quality. You’ll is not extraordinary or unusual. interviewed was to buy the very paying for quality. Many of the first electric guitars best quality you can afford the first made by Gibson in the 1930s are time. Playability and dependability still going strong and have long are measures of quality, and there 4 outlived their original owners. A RULE 3 RESEARCH THE RULE 4 CONSIDER APPRECIATION manufacturer who only guarantees MANUFACTURER I think you could buy any of workmanship and materials for five We’re building a lot more guitars, Gibson’s classic models and in a or ten years expects problems to so we have a lot more experience. few years, if you wanted to trade occur after the warranty period. We know what might cause trouble it in, get your money out of it. You Ask about the manufacturer’s later on. can’t do that with many things. reputation for service and parts Experience is the best teacher Your primary reason for buying availability. If you have a problem in guitarmaking. A maker who a guitar is to play it, but you with your instrument, you will want hasn’t been around long enough would also like an instrument it fixed quickly and correctly. to experiment extensively with whose trade-in or resale value is materials and manufacturing likely to increase over time. Few methods still has mistakes to instruments will match a 1959 make. The simple truth is, a guitar sunburst Les Paul Standard, without a past may not have much which listed for $250 originally of a future. and brings over $100,000 in 5 today’s vintage market, but you Junior is worth over ten times more MATERIALS ARE IMPORTANT can reasonably expect that a high- than the original buyer paid for it in quality instrument will soon be the 1950s. RULE 5 DEMAND GOOD TONE worth more than you paid for it. Craftsmanship is important to the WOOD In general, the better-appointed future value of a guitar. Areas that Every guitar begins with a piece of guitars are better investments, require special skills, such as the wood, and if you don’t know what but there are some noteworthy binding, finishing, handshaping and you’re doing with wood, you’re exceptions, such as the 1958-60 inlay work, are ever more costly and finished before you even start. sunburst Les Paul Standard or the will enhance the value of today’s 1958-62 dot-neck ES-335, both guitars in the future. Although the sound of an electric of which bring more on the would seem to come entirely market than the fancier model in from the pickup, the type of wood their respective model groups, the has an important influence on tone Les Paul Custom and ES-355. and sustain. “Tone woods” – woods Even an inexpensive but well-made that have high strength and guitar such as Gibson’s Les Paul stability – are the best for electric 6 guitars as well as acoustic. For less expensive will have the top, $150,000 guitar bodies, and back and sides constructed of are the most common, although laminated maple. ash, alder, korina and various exotic Semi-hollowbody electrics have woods are also popular. Different- $70,000 type electric guitars require different some acoustic output, but they woods and construction methods. have a block of wood underneath the top to dampen the vibrations Hollowbody archtops, like the that can cause pickups to feed earliest electric guitars, are typically back. Laminates are often used $25,000 acoustic instruments to which to increase rigidity. $20,000 pickups have been added. These $7,500 guitars are expected to produce $350 $4,000 some acoustic sound, and to that $265 end the more expensive models 1960 1967 1979 1985 1992 1993 1998 2001 have a solid top and solid maple back and sides, while the Actual offers shown for a 1960 Les Paul Standard in good condition, original hardware, no refinishing and limited flame. Prices are in U.S. dollars. 7

Solidbody guitars minimize the body of a Gibson ES-335 is a good strength and stability of the neck, vibration of the top/body in order example; it’s a three-ply laminate which in turn affect tone. An to maximize sustain and reduce with the grain of the middle section fingerboard, for example, makes feedback. The strength and density running perpendicular to the the neck more rigid than the softer of the wood still makes a subtle outer sections for added strength. fingerboard and results in difference in tone. Mahogany is However, when wood is laminated a sharper, brighter attack. generally considered to produce a or spliced in order to save money warmer tone than maple, which is by using smaller pieces of wood, RULE 6 INSIST ON QUIET stronger and denser and produces quality and value fall dramatically. ELECTRONICS a brighter tone. Similarly, when a thin veneer is used for cosmetic purposes instead It’s the old saying about a chain Laminate is not necessarily a bad of a solid piece of wood, the maker being only as strong as its weakest word in electric guitar construction. is cutting corners and quality falls. link. Cheap electronics will sound If the lamination process is cheap, no matter how good the rest designed to strengthen the wood, Mahogany and maple are also the of the guitar is. then a laminate can be stronger most popular choices for a strong than a single, solid piece. The neck. Fingerboard woods affect the 8

Guitar and bass pickups should be and other sources of electronic MANUFACTURING IS AN ART shielded from extraneous electronic interference. In the process, they sources that can cause humming also put out a more powerful RULE 7 BALANCE CRAFTSMANSHIP and buzzing. And they should be for a “fatter” tone. WITH PRODUCTION encapsulated in wax or epoxy to prevent microphonic feedback. Single-coil pickups have a brighter Some jobs are more accurately sound than but can be done by a machine, and some can The quietest pickups are more prone to hum and feedback. only be done by hand. I’d put our humbuckers, invented at Gibson All Gibson humbuckers and semi-production guitars up against by in the 1950s. single-coil pickups (except for the anybody’s handmade guitars for BurstBucker, an exact replica of a lack of flaws. We don’t allow flaws. Humbuckers are double-coil ’50s-style ) are shielded pickups, wired so that they cancel and dipped in wax. Manufacturing processes requiring out extraneous noise. They were repeatable precision, such as named because they literally “buck sawing and routing, are more the hum” caused by rheostats cost-efficient when performed by (dimmers), fluorescent lights automated machinery. However, 9 the elements that set a high quality RULE 8 EVALUATE THE NECK JOINT Many electric guitars and basses instrument apart from the run-of- are built with bolt-on necks because I like a glued-in neck because it the-mill can only be performed by the process is easier and faster, keeps the angle accurate. I’ve seen skilled craftsmen. The final sanding but a traditional, fitted, glued-in other players wedge a and shaping of the carved top of neck is more solid. A Gibson neck or a matchbook cover in a bolt-on a Les Paul or the artistic blending is fitted for “pitch” or angle and neck joint to try to get the neck of colors in a sunburst finish are then centered side-to-side with the angle right. examples of craftsmanship that use of gauges. It is then glued in machines can’t perform. A “semi- The neck joint should be tight to maintain the neck’s axis to the production” guitar – combining and rigid so that none of the body forever. Minor adjustments, automated production and hand vibration is transferred to the to accommodate changes in craftsmanship – offers the best neck. If the neck joint is loose, string gauge or in climate, can be value and quality. the strings lose vibrational energy accomplished with an adjustable to the neck and the guitar loses truss rod – a Gibson invention – or sustain and tone. an adjustable bridge. (See Owner Adjustments at the end.)

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RULE 9 CHECK APPOINTMENTS top from pick damage without RULE 10 PAY ATTENTION TO FOR FUNCTIONALITY getting in the way of the pick. The DETAILS electronic controls should be easily It sounds obvious, but it’s surprising accessible and arranged in a logical Attention to the smallest details is how many guitars are sold that don’t way. Adjustable features, such as how you build value into a guitar. work right. the truss rod or the bridge, should You can hear the difference. be easily adjustable and not require You can feel it, too. Sometimes The nut and headstock should be any degree of disassembly. it doesn’t even take that much designed so that there is enough more time to get it exactly right. downward pressure to keep the Traditional designs, such as Gibson’s Another thirty minutes or an hour string from rattling around in the Tune-o-matic bridge, represent more at a certain point, and it’s a much nut. The same is true for the bridge than tradition. They are still widely better guitar. and tailpiece. The cutaway and used because they have stood the neck heel should not only look good test of time. When manufacturers start cutting but also allow easy reach into the corners to save money, the evidence upper areas of the fingerboard. is in the details. Cosmetically, there The pickguard should protect the may be flaws in the wood, sloppy 11 binding work or uneven buffing. Which guitarmakers follow the has a wide-ranging knowledge More serious problems may be instructions and assemble an of guitars. Companies that evident in rough fret ends or loose adequate product, and which know the guitar inside-out, that strings in the nut slots. Any obvious, ones truly make a better guitar? maintain their own research and visible problems suggest that the The answer can be found in the development departments, are manufacturer is not serious about maker’s track record for innovation. more likely to have found the best quality control and that the guitar A long history of innovations combination of materials and may have hidden problems, too. – such as Gibson’s arched top design elements. design, adjustable truss rod and RULE 11 LOOK FOR INNOVATIONS humbucking pickup – indicates that a manufacturer is constantly HANDS-ON EXAMINATION Lots of people can make a good trying to improve its guitars. Also, RULE 12 CHECK THE NECK guitar. I want a guitar from a a manufacturer whose instruments company that’s trying to make a are recognized as standard-bearers The neck is great on my ES-335. better guitar. in several different styles – such It’s connected perfectly. The as solidbody, semi-hollow and intonation is so true, it sings like hollowbody electrics – obviously a bird. I can tune it and put it 12 back in the case, and then, take it Once the guitar is tuned, it should some string buzzing. If you’re out a week later, even two weeks play in tune anywhere on the neck. used to a heavier gauge of strings, sometimes, and it’s perfect. This is called intonation, and there’s expect your heavier grip to create a simple test for it, even if the bad intonation.) Electric guitars typically have guitar is not in perfect tune. Touch lower action than acoustics. The your left hand to the string at the A guitar with bad intonation or strings should be close enough to 12th fret (without pushing the string action that’s too high or too low the fingerboard that they’re easy to the fret) and pluck it to create can often be “fixed” with a few to play, yet high enough that there a “harmonic” note. Now press the easy adjustments, but it’s a sign is no buzzing around the . Fret string to the fret and pluck it. If the of indifference on the part of the buzz could also be caused by frets intonation is correct, the harmonic manufacturer to offer an instrument that are too high – an indication of note will be identical to the fretted for sale that is not set up properly. bad quality control and a real cause note. (Note: Manufacturers typically for concern. set up their instruments for the average playing style. If your playing style is heavier than normal, expect 13

RULE 13 TEST FOR SUSTAIN the guitar against an instrument extremely close to the strings so of similar style: hollowbody vs. that they sound more powerful, but You can’t “Play a guitar like a- hollowbody, solidbody vs. solidbody. that power will come at the expense ringing a bell,” as Chuck Berry of sustain. Again compare to other would say, if your guitar doesn’t First listen without plugging in, instruments of the same type. have good sustain. playing each string open. If a guitar has a relatively soft sound Different styles of guitar have and relatively short sustain RULE 14 LISTEN FOR ELECTRONIC different sustaining properties, but when compared to other similar NOISE the general rule is: The more string instruments, then there may be a Effects boxes are made for a vibration that is transferred to the problem with the neck joint or the reason. Nobody wants to be guitar, the less it sustains. A guitar string slots in the bridge and nut. surprised by weird sounds coming with greater rigidity and weight, out of a guitar. such as a solidbody, will sustain Then plug in. Pickup longer than one with less rigidity, exert a dampening force on string Plug into an amp, and move the such as a hollowbody archtop. To vibration and sustain. A guitar guitar or bass close to it. That will accurately assess sustain, test may be set up with the pickups bring out hum, buzz and shrieking 14 feedback if the pickups are prone finishers nor the final inspectors refinishing the entire body of the to unwanted noise. Turn the control were meticulous in their work. guitar. knobs and listen for pops that come from dusty . Jiggle Nitrocellulose lacquer is the OWNER ADJUSTMENTS the cord in the jack to check for a traditional material for finishing a guitar, and virtually all tight fit. THE TRUSS ROD have a lacquer finish. It’s a time- consuming process, requiring The truss rod maintains neck RULE 15 INSPECT THE FINISH multiple coats and many days of alignment against the approximately If a guitarmaker can’t pay attention drying time. Urethane is widely 100 pounds of force exerted by to the finish, chances are he hasn’t used because it’s cheaper to apply a set of electric guitar strings on paid attention to anything else in and because spraying nitrocellulose the neck. The optimum shape of the manufacturing process. lacquer is illegal in some areas. the neck is not perfectly straight; Although it is strong and durable, rather, it should have a slight bow Look for sanding scratches and urethane finish cannot be repaired or curvature. Guitar techs call “orange peel” roughness to the or “touched up” like lacquer. Fixing this curvature “relief,” and the finish – signs that neither the a ding in a urethane finish requires amount of relief can change with 15 different string gauges or climatic down the entire length of the neck. String height should be adjusted conditions. If the fingerboard appears flat, the first, raising or lowering the strings truss rod should be loosened by to the desired playing level by An adjustable truss rod can correct turning the nut counterclockwise raising or lowering the bridge. Then any changes in neck curvature. On (no more than one-quarter turn at string length, which determines a Gibson, the truss rod is adjusted a time). If the fingerboard has too intonation, can be adjusted. With by turning a nut that is found under much curvature, the truss rod can Gibson’s Tune-o-matic bridge, a a bell-shaped celluloid piece on the be tightened by turning the nut small screw moves the saddle to headstock. A neck with too little clockwise. lengthen or shorten the string. When or too much relief can cause string performing the intonation check action to be too low or too high, but THE BRIDGE described in Rule 12, if the fretted once the neck is properly adjusted note is higher than the harmonic for relief, adjustments to the action The bridge’s purpose is to maintain note, then the saddle should be should be made at the bridge. intonation and action (string height). moved to increase the length of the Adjusting the truss rod or changing To assess the neck, hold the guitar string. If the fretted note is lower string gauge can change intonation so that you can see from the nut than the harmonic note, then the and/or action. string length should be shortened. 16

THE LAST NOTE Gibson invented the f-hole and the semi-hollowbody electric guitar, and Gibson’s solidbody electrics are familiar icons around the world. When it comes to tradition, quality and innovation, ONLY A GIBSON IS GOOD ENOUGH. Gibson Guitar Corp. 309 Plus Park Boulevard Nashville, Tennessee 37217 USA 1-800-4GIBSON www.gibson.com