Originally Posted by: FastAndFluidI've seen several folk complaining on Gibson's own forums about poor quality custom work.

The major mass manufacturer brands, e.g., Gibson, Fender, PRS, Martin, etc., produce thousands of guitars each year. The companies have reps for good quality products and quality control procedures although in an individual company's history the reputation and/or the actual execution can go up or down for periods of time. I believe each and every one of the major brands will take back bad instruments (those that slipped through QC) if the retailer doesn't; however, the guitar in question in this thread is a used instrument, not fresh off the line. We don't know the instrument's provenance.

In any case, bad product coming off the production line is what makes the news and gets the commentary on forums and such...the 'good' guitars not so much. FYI, after playing what was to become my Gibson CS,
Johnny Winter (RIP) pronounced the axe, "...a real soma bitch!" He meant that in a good way. :D I take it as his appreciation of the result that came out of Memphis but I acknowledge that it was just one man's opinion about one guitar.