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And why I hate Gibsons 17 degree pitch

5K views 46 replies 26 participants last post by  1 
#1 ·
This is what happens when you combine a 17 degree pitch angle and someone that did not loosen the strings or make sure there was padding inside the case and shipped in very cold weather. I wish Gibson would go back to the dreaded 14 degree pitch like on my bastard Norlin guitar.





 
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#10 ·
Like I said to you yesterday, what sort of moron doesn't slack the strings on a one piece mahogany neck guitar? I never ship Gibsons at tension, you're just asking for it. :facepalm:
 
#11 ·
Thanks guys, I got the guitar for a low price, I paid $825 shipped and they normally go for 1k to $1100. With that being said if I can get enough insurance money to pay for the repair and my total out of pocket for this guitar with a repaired neck is $600 I will keep it. But if it is going to cost more then that out of pocket then I will just let the seller keep it



Lowering the tension slightly does help, but his big mistake was not putting anything in the case to stop it from moving around.

Here is what it looked like before the unfortunate shipping accident.







 
#16 ·
Thankfully that's a nice clean break. My JEM had some long, deep cracks that didn't go through all the way. I literally cried when it happened. I worked up some balls and broke it the rest of the way then did a shitty job repairing it myself. Years later it re-split after moving from Fla to Boston, the weather change just fucked it. Brought it to the Guitar Dr...can't remember exactly where he is....East something, just south of Rockland in Mass. He does AMAZING fucking work.

Guitars been great ever since!
 
#17 ·
Wow, that is a beautiful guitar.

I've always thought Gibson's headstock angle was excessive, and just causes way more grain run-out than on a neck with a headstock pitched at a less extreme angle. PRS uses a 10 degree headstock angle, and Carvin uses 8.25 degrees… 17 degrees is just absurd.
 
#26 ·
Funny thing is Gibson tried to fix these issues, but then Gibson purists started complaining so they eventually switched back, but here are the changes by years, notice it started before Norlin Corp even purchased Gibson.

Changes timeline (note: changes don't happen on Jan 1st, there are always variants):

PRE-NORLIN
- 1965 - headstock angle changes, chrome replaces nickel hardware, brazillian is no more.
- 1968 - re-release of the Les Paul, GT with P90s and Black Custom. Long tenon. Wide binding.
- 1969 - wide headstock, wide binding, 3pc neck, pancake body, trans tenon. Deluxe introduced to use up the mini hums left over from sending Epiphone offshore.

NORLIN
- 1970 - volute, Made In USA stamp, confusing serial numbers start.
- 1974 - (?) Standards reintroduced, 'white' Customs, 20th Anniversary Customs (the first anniv issue from a guitar mfg).
- 1975 - necks change to maple, short tenon introduced, Nashville plant starts building LPs in conjunction with Kalamazoo. Serial number changes to decal.
- 1977 - end of pancake body. Decal serials still used, also the start of the modern 8 digit serial numbers.
- 1981 - end of volute
- 1983 - start of weight relief holes
- 1984 - final production at Kalamazoo in June
- 1985 (?) - end of 3 pc neck

I should also mention most 70's rock bands where looking for the heavier guitars as it gave them a deeper/heavier tone and that is why a lot of 70's music was written on Norlin guitars. I have spoken to a many people that worked in guitar stores back in the day and they said people came in looking for the heavier Les Pauls.

However people like Clapton and Walsh and Page loved the older ones because of the more middy less bottom end of the older (1959) ones.
 
#42 ·
Having seen a handful of pics of the damage, I can say that the break on Noodle's Standard looked worse. And that guitar feels and sounds much better than it did originally. The break shouldn't be too much trouble to handle. I'm just hoping that I can (w/ the help of our furniture repair guru) can make it look good too.
Todd, keep me posted. As soon as this weather breaks enough, we'll get together and take care of your new toy.
 
#33 ·
Since the traditionalist a-holes all want LP Standards, maybe Gibson should focus on making those with the vintage features, and add back the volute, 3-piece maple neck, straighter HS angle, etc. to the Customs and the other 'non-asshole-oriented' Gibsons. Almost all LPC fans I know are more interested in sounding like John Sykes than like Eric Clapton...and Sykes' classic LPC has all those evil Norlin features. :lol:

It's funny how people rag on the Norlins, but the Norlins I played or owned back in the day were all better-made than almost any Nashville production Gibson you'll find today...and all of the Norlins I owned were Nashville-made. They must have fired all the people in Nashville who knew how to finish frets, because you have to get a Custom Shop Gibson now to get the same smooth frets that all Gibsons had in the '70s.
 
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