Here is Why You Are Probably Wrong About Guitar Quality Control 

I work at a small guitar store. I do the bulk of setups, repairs, and installations. Every guitar, new or used, goes on my desk and gets the tlc it needs, even if it’s a $40 first act, it gets put on the wall playable, intonated, and gig ready.

It's crazy that this subject even needs to be talked about. If you buy a $700 guitar, no matter who the manufacturer is, it should come set up, intonated, and ready to play out of the box. That means level frets. Fret ends dressed. Neck relief set. Action set to avg height, Etc... If Monoprice can do it on their $250 guitars, there's zero reason why Epiphone can't do it on a $250+ guitar. Same goes for every other guitar manufacturer out there. Fender should have theirs ready to play too. So should everyone else. Personally, I passed on Epiphone and bought my Indio 66 DLX Plus Goldtop because it was a better guitar on paper than anything Epiphone could offer anywhere close to the same price. It's a better guitar IRL, as well. Just a phenomenal instrument that was PERFECT when I got it. Frets level, ends dressed, rounded, and polished, set up perfectly with action perfect and everything. Intonate. Neck relief was right around 0.008" Truss rod didn't need to be touched. It wasn't anywhere near unplayable, that's for sure. IMO, it couldn't have been set up any better. And this didn't come from a guitar shop. Monoprice hires luthiers themselves to professionally set up all of the DLX Plus line of guitars before they go out to customers. And that, was very evident from the moment I took 8t out of the box. All it needed was to be tuned up and played. 👍

To me, a setup involves turning screws to adjust the truss rod, saddles, pickup up height, etc. Filing nut slots with $120.00 files is in the realm of "repair".

Things like the nut height and individual saddle height should be done properly out of the factory. For a true “quality” product, you shouldn’t have to shave pieces of the guitar to make it playable, just tweak the existing setup

Some guys get mad at the guitar when they can't play. No amount of QC or attention to setup will solve their root problem.

When I was a tech at a local shop, I took the time to check each guitar before it went on the floor for basic setup issues. With anything that required "permanent modification" , such as nut slotting, fret leveling, etc., it got sent back to the manufacturer. Anything else, such as action, intonation, truss rod adjustment, etc., I would take care of that in house to a standard setup. Once the guitar was purchased, I offered a free basic setup with a new set of strings (strings included up to $10 for guitar, and $25 for bass) at player's preference. I had a lot of repeat business from our customers bringing me guitars that they already owned for me to do a similar or same setup. It also brought a lot of people in the shop that were recommended from friends that either bought guitars from us, or brought their own guitars to me. Most of it was making sure that I personalized each setup to the players needs, which no other shop in the area was doing at the time. Most shops would offer a basic setup (full charge at best), with a set of 10-46 (for guitar) or 45-95 (for bass). One of the customers I stole from his previous tech of 10 years came from me asking him what tuning he played in. He played drop D down 1.5 steps. His other tech just did a 10-46 set in standard setup, but I got him to try a 10-60 set (Zakk Wylde GHS) since he liked the super slinky top end with a tighter bottom end, and he almost cried when he got it back. It almost broke my heart that he hadn't had a proper setup before then. He spent $60+ per setup almost twice a year with this joker for over 10 years before coming to me on a recommend. I charged him $35 and he brought me every guitar he owned after that, until I took another job. This is why I cringe when a big box retailer charges full price on a setup for a new guitar, and doesn't personalize it to the player. If it is just action and intonation, don't charge. If it is anything bigger that wasn't deserving of being sent back, at least a discount. Thanks for your business.

This is the secret to PRS: they take the time to meticulously set up all of their guitars, even imports, in their Maryland shop. Whether it's an SE, S2, core, or private stock; if you pick one up, you 100% know it'll play well!

I was at Guitar Center getting ready to pick up a my new Conklin bass. The guy in front of me was returning his Gibson Les Paul Standard? The tech took the cover off and dumped out sawdust and solder pieces out of the body cavity! The guy demanded his money back😱. I was waiting to have them check out my bass, found out it didn't work! The active electronics were dead! Got my money back too and bought a Ken Smith at another shop! Great bass!

Okay. I will grant that a manufacturer can’t really control changes to an instrument after it leaves the factory. But they could get a lot closer to playable than they do. I should not have to actually cut the instrument or shave pieces off it. I don’t mind doing adjustments like intonation, action height, and pickup height. I don’t think I should have to cut the nut slots deeper or much deeper anyway. I shouldn’t have to move the bridge because it can’t be intonated where it is. And I shouldn’t have to TOUCH the frets. They should be dead level as the neck should be dead straight with no tension on it. These ARE quality control issues. And frankly, why don’t manufacturers make sure these things are perfect? They expect the buyers to spend between 50 and 150 dollars extra for a professional setup.

if ppl would just learn how to do a proper setup. They would be more than happy with 95% of the guitars they buy. It makes a huge difference on every guitar. Know what you like and make it that way and you'll have a guitar you'll love.

As someone with extensive quality and project management training and experience in Lean, Six Sigma, TPS, and the plethora of additional operations and project management systems that contributed to, or borrowed from those frameworks, the definition of "quality" will be different for anyone you ask, which is why it is important to officially document what the agreed up definition of "quality" means in a manufacturing process. For example, some manufacturers might have a quality control check to ensure all the fundamental setup is within their standard criteria. That could range from configuration items, like string action, nut height, bridge settings, etc, to manufacturing requirements, like the standard deviation of intonation across the fretboard can't be more than X cent or something. Every manufacturer, brand, line, etc have different quality standards, but the hallmark of "good quality" is consistency. If I know that 99% of Fenders come intonated and actioned perfectly, and are playable out of the box, that's what I would call great quality. If Gibson's are sometimes the most amazing, best sounding, highest "polish" and attention to detail, but others are sloppy and play poorly (or any other brand) then I would consider that poor quality, because it means either their standards are poor and way too loose, or they're cutting corners and not conforming to their own quality standards. If you know one brand will always be inferior quality and materials, and the price reflects that, then you can simply decide if that level of quality is worth the cost to you. But if you're buying something from a brand with a reputation that you might get an amazing, perfectly setup out of the box, guitar, or something unplayable, that's poor quality, in my opinion, and the price really should reflect that. Although, in some markets, like hand made goods, a level of variability is totally acceptable because we know people hands aren't machines, but the sum of the parts (and quality) is much higher when you evaluate it as a whole guitar, not just the cosmetic stuff, or the fiddly stuff that might not be dialed in perfectly yet. In those cases, you're often spending a ton more, and have a better idea what you're getting into than someone just starting out, looking for a brand that is consistently well built and ready to play out of the box.

I have a cheap old squier bullet strat. It was awful, but I set up the trust rod, I levelled and dressed the frets, I put a two-point Wilkinson trem and new locking tuners. We compared it with a Malmsteen strat at the local store and guess what, it was more comfortable than the Malmsteen strat and the owner of that guitar was playing it for an hour. I didn't change the pickups yet, but the point is guitarists need to risk and not be afraid to set up their guitars. Cheers!

Set up is something every player should learn. Even if they aren't confident in doing it themselves it can help prevent frustration with the instrument or their own playing technique. It is remiss of shops to sell an instrument without informing their customer about setup or offering to do it for them (some aren't equipped to do it). I'm sure that if I hadn't commented on the nut height on my recent purchase that they would have let me go with no advice about setup.

Same procedure in Canada. I bought a "BRAND NEW" Epiphone ES 335 Raspberry on April 30 2023 and thay did the same thing. The guitar was on the wall for 2 weeks and they wanted me to accept it as new. The representative said that he went over it houroughly but when I got it home I noticed a hit on the binding on the bottom front. I returned the guitar and wanted a replacement of a new one in a box. I am still waiting for it. If it has damage on it already, I'm sorry, but I will not accept it as a "new" one.

When you said you drove to another state to go to the guitar store to pick up that Epiphone it struck me you should be doing two additional series. One, is a RV park review. I know there are lots of RV park reviews but people I think will prefer one from someone they know and trust. Another positive feature for living in an RV is you get to go to the guitar store and check out the stock and not wait for them to ship it to you. And two, a series on great little guitar stores that you have visited on your travels. These can be kept in a playlist on your website so people who are going to those areas can check and see if there is a guitar store they should definitely check out.

I was shopping for a guitar as a gift at one of our larger local guitar shops, and ended up buying a the Ibanez equivalent to the guitar you are holding, the AS 93 FM. The specifications would appear identical all round, from the binding, the flame maple, the block inlays... etc. The Ibanez guitar just seemed a better product all round, especially as it also was loaded with Super 58 pickups. This shop had their showroom guitars setup well, it was just in the overall quality (Epiphone Dot, and Sheraton), and value for money I had felt that Ibanez had the edge.

I just bought the same guitar. Blueberry bust es 335. After a month I had a set up done. I love this guitar. Killer tone and sustain

There’s an absolute maxim here which is that I/you should always add setup cost to the cost of a new guitar regardless of whether you ask a shop or a tech you know to do it. I recently bought one of the new G&L Comanche Tributes. It’s a fantastic guitar. But yes it needed a file running through the G & A nut slots, a few frets needed a buff up, the truss rod needed a tweak and it needed a new set of strings. But I always expect that with new guitars. Especially at the price point I can afford.

I bought the cheapest available Epiphone and spent some hours on setup. I really like that one and can take that work on such a cheap guitar, but on expensive guitars I think they should have a good setup from start. PRS usually have that but not the Gibson I’ve tried. When I bought my first PRS, a cheap 245 SE it felt wonderful from start. A seller in my local shop also showed med a much more expensive Gibson but it felt just horrible with sharp fret ends and stuff.

I've bought guitars used that played like shit when I first got them. After a setup to my liking. They turned out to be some of the best players in my collection. a proper setup to your liking is so important.

Dylan you're one of the few youtubers who isn't afraid to talk about Epiphone. Thanks for your videos. I'll save some money to buy a Gibson ES 335 in the future.

"A really good guitar shop" will never be named "Guitar Center." There was a time when they hired knowledgeable people and paid them well enough to make it worth their while to work there, and fostered actual customer relationships. That ship sailed a couple of Chapter 11s ago.

Based on the cherry Epi 335 Inspired I got... Frets will need a good polish, including taking care of some mildly sharp ends. My biggest beef however is the neck. It's bumpy when you run your fingers up and down. It even slightly reduces thickness before going into the heel. Setup and parts can all be fixed, but the neck on mine is ridiculous. If Sterling can do it on a $250 bass, why can't Epiphone do it for more than double? Also wish changing pickups wasn't such a pain on these, I'd probably switch them.

I've been pretty vocal about Gibson's issues. I can see both point of views, but I still stand by what I said. If I'm buying a $3-4K guitar, it should be setup - period. Whether that be the factory or the store. While every Epiphone isn't perfect, from what I've seen most are very playable off the shelf (in-fact some I've never had to setup other than a truss rod adjust and check intonation). Now whether the store has already done it previously is always a point of conjecture. I'd always give a pass on action, truss rod adjustments and intonation because it depends where they end up and these settings can be a personal thing too. Nut height and especially a level fretboard should really have already been done on any guitar $700+. Again, if I'm purchasing a cheap guitar (sub $500) I expect to (or even pay for) a setup on it as that's how the manufacturers keep the prices low (and I save money). But I do agree, some stores are markedly better to purchase from for these very reasons. BTW I think showing people how to do a setup and what's expected from a store bought guitar is an excellent idea Dylan

I just split the coils in my Ibanez per your instructions 4 yrs ago I love it thanks brother

I agree. If you can make a new guitar feel good and playable, then bad QC is not at play. If you can't make it play well because the bridge is in the wrong place or the neck is warped, hardware is loose or broken, ok then you have a legit complaint. But if you can make it play how you want by adjusting stuff, then there's nothing wrong with it. That's like being upset with a new car because the seat and mirrors are not where you like them.

Yup, 110% setup a majority of the time. And a positive with Epi. when I go in to a Sam Ash (GC tends to be dickheads so I do not use them unless absolutely necessary) and they have an Epi I want, I show it's shitty setup and can always get the price of what my luthier charges ($70ish) off of the guitar or more (unless it is a cheap one). I got $100 off a DR-400 which was their Masterbilt all solid wood, so I paid $300 for it, it blows the Mini Taylor & the Martin's in that $500 price range out of the water, that's why I went with it. Actually I was down to either it or a $500 Breedlove at the time. When it comes to buying an Epi, man try Sam Ash 1st. Look the guitar over, if it is minor setup issues, you can get them to knock off the price, which I like about them. No kidding but every guitar they sell needs to be setup, same with GC and even CME & Sweetwater :) Good vid!

Im looking forward to this. I want to know more about proper set up. As for Guitar Center vs Ma and Pa Shoppes...seems the small shop is going to have more of a premium on instruments. They will want the guitars in a reasonable set up stage before you buy and I'll bet they offer additional aid in order to keep you as a customer. Guitar Center itself is so big that they can offer instruments at a slight discount....and offer set up priced separately. They keep customers by having so many products available. In my area I have two stores with in 10 miles. So getting to one isnt hard to do. These are just my take. I however hope to know more about set up so I appreciate your videos.

Hey Dylan this really is a great vid and it addresses a couple of very debated and different areas of guitar building. First the construction stage when the body and neck wood is chosen, assembled, bound, fretted and coated. My understanding the first stage is usually classed as the main "build quality" area of the guitar so has the wood been chosen to a reasonable standard, has it been cut accurately, is it joined neatly, is the neck straight so both high and low "E" strings have visually the same distance to the edge of the fretboard, are the frets level, is the finish run free without blemishes etc. and then of course the hardware selection, what is the quality of bolt on parts that will be used. Now i suppose this next stage is where opinions divide, and that's what level of care is taken with the accuracy of installation of the hardware to function to its optimal level. This optimal level seems to be different for everyone. I tend to agree with comments below that nut height should have a factory spec and the only thing people should need to do is maybe file down slots for a really low action or for string gauge changes, the bridge/saddle area should always match the fretboard radius, and frets should be level. CheersMic.

I bought that same guitar and had the exact same thing. Action was way high, intonation was off, and pickups needed a slight height adjustment. Now it’s one of my favorite guitars.

Excited to hear about you dropping in one of the Jerseyshore wiring harnesses into your new Epi. I just did the same with their Jimmy Page set into my R8 Les Paul (along with your Centerpunch pickups) and it sounds AMAZING. Going to do a vid on that soon, thanks for making a great set of pickups

The set-up on any guitar is the most important to me. Hell, people spend thousands to have a guitar that's a relic lol. I know if you spend a certain amount you don't want tool marking and binding issues but still, if it plays well that's the most important. You can spend a ton of money and the guitar looks amazingly beautiful, you pick it up and it sounds like a dog too. Set it up nice and if you have to make a few changes do so. If you don't know how, find someone who can. I own a lot of guitars and not all of them were set up properly. It's the luck of the draw and where you buy it. If you spend a certain dollar on one just have it set up as well for your purchase. It should be set up to how you like to play, not all players are alike and that's why most stores just put strings on or don't do anything. Sometimes when you pick one up it has crappy old strings and your fingers turn black. A brand new guitar is not perfect no matter what you spend. Spend the money to make it feel, ring and sing. I have that same guitar in the Raspberry Tea burst finish. Was it perfect out of the box? No, but at $599 it was a steal and leaves plenty of room to make changes.

I agree on the misconception of "Quality Control". The best builder in the world might make the best guitar, but unless he knows about set-up, it might sound and play horrible. Set-up is an art in itself. And if it sucks, people will fault the whole guitar, wrongfully so.

Spot on with the colour love it looking forward to rest of series

Got lucky found a flawless one at Guitar Center. The pickups. Setup. Perfect action. When done properly it is an incredible instrument with amazing tone. Guess just got lucky.

Problem is, you have to buy the guitar to do a proper set up in order to make an accurate judgement as to whether it's a set up issue or a quality control issue. That's backwards. You shouldn't have to buy something to see if it's good or not...even with a refund policy, it's still a waste of time and money for everyone. Companies (and retailers) need to take more responsibility to deliver a guitar to the customer that has a set up that's good enough for the customer to make an accurate judgement. Some companies, like Schecter do this sort of thing by having their guitars "set up to play" FROM the factory. But most companies deliver guitars that are not playable for either quality control or set up issues and leave it to the retailer/customer to figure it out...this is not ethical.

Please, do a sound sample of the guitar before and after setup. So we as an audience can hear the value of proper setup. I'm definitely looking forward to the next part of this video.

I like this kind of video. You teach us how to think properly about guitar quality and why certain thing happen. Most people just buy guitar and praising/condemning certain brand on internet because they have good/bad experience. To me, this is video is a lesson what I should check and do after buying a brand new guitar. After all those done, then I can properly give review to that particular guitar. Special note to Dylan. In the second video, can you explain the reason why a company can make a good but unplayable guitar ? Maybe you can also use PRS as an example because they always advertise their guitar as gig ready out of the box.

The ledge around the binding of a Gibson is there because the color coats of nitro are sprayed over the binding then scraped off. Clear coats go on after. Been done that way for for over a 100 years.

It will be cool to see the set up and any upcoming mods!!

Thx Dylan, waiting on part 2!

Sadly I've bought $3,000 guitars that needed expert setup and fret leveling to play well. A good tech is important. There are some tech guys who overlook big problems then set the action sky high and call it setup. Not saying any names but their initials are Guitar Center.

Every electric guitar I have owned except for one ( Korean made PRS) need a good setup. Anyone that has bought more than a few guitars figures this out. Either learn to do it yourself or find a good luthier and pay the money. You won't regret it.

I hate reviews of guitars straight out of the box. Who plays straight out of the box? Luckily for me I am buddies with a luthier.

I bought a red Epiphone Es 335 Gibson inspired levelled the frets recut the nut reset the neck and pickups ,a new set of strings, it is now a different guitar, considering a lightweight backstop and lightweight bridge with nickel plated brass saddles.

Thanks for the wonderful video Dylan. Looking forward to seeing the setup!

Very useful and informative video. Thank you!

Awesome video! Thanks for sharing your knowledge! Looking forward to watching you setup that guitar!

Great idea Dylan ! Looking forward to this set of videos. Press on!

All good points, but isn't some fault in Gibson/Epiphone for letting the guitar get to the shop without QC for playability? It isn't a secret that some guitar stores don't setup correctly?

man I´m looking forward to see the upgrade on that guitar, a lot of useful info in all your videos, cheers!

If I have to file a saddle, that's a manufacturing issue & therefore QC. Why am I filing a chromed steel saddle ? I might as well be getting the $ 100 guitar if I have to do truss rod adjustments, nut & saddle slot filing, fret dressing. And if the electronics of the pickups & pots are weak, a consumer is a guitar player not a manufacturer. Might as well order a body & neck & build a partscaster if the set up is going to be that labor intensive. For that Epiphone, the truss rod should be straight, the frets should be almost perfectly leveled. Rolled edges are a luxury, but if they took it upon themselves to pull a file out & do that, don't booger up the binding or non-bound neck with the file and most certainly make sure the fret edges are rolled as perfectly as humanly possible. I a world that says you pull the plastic wrap off the parts and it's your guitar, then if the guitar is flawed from the loading dock to GC or whoever else, it will be their guitar until I accept that for the hard earned I purchase it for sight unseen. That's the problem with the new internet sale, manufacturer to distributor may get lazy due to time constraints. And if I have to spend more money to make it right, I want the supply chain to price the guitar for me to take on that effort to make the instrument right. I don't think that is being unreasonable for anything that is being inflated like we are seeing. The $ 100 guitar I expect that, but the $ 599 guitar, that should be a slam dunk at the unboxing. I'm a reasonable consumer, I'll adjust action height to my preference & that's about it. I agree, a setup will make any of them better, but how much setup should be expected out of the box ? I think that Epiphone for it's price point, should really only need to have the stop tail piece & saddle height adjusted for preference of action height. And therefore and intonation check & pickup height adjustment are inherently also a setup effort. I really should be only checking the neck for flatness and frets for level. Nut slots & height should be a given, should be checked only to ensure that the rest of a setup for preference on action height happens. Last guitar I bought, a Monoprice Retro Classic Tele. The neck truss rod was spot on, the frets were leveled, pretty smooth for a sub $ 100 guitar. The only thing I did was lower the saddle screw feet and intonated it as best it was going to intonate, finishing up with the pickup height to accommodate the changes I made to the action preferences. It still has a few issues but very playable, I'm rubbing a $ 100 guitar to PRS perfection. I'm playing the instrument, not sweating the details like a Partscaster for the raw build it is. Because in the end,if I ever sell it, a buyer will be the 1st to tell me it's a Chinese $ 100 guitar. What I do to it will be to get it acceptable for me, the next buyer will then assess & decide where I left it short of $ 3K PRS perfect or actually went the extra yard with it. It'll be the same $ 100 guitar pretty much that day regardless of what I did to it. I'm not Paul Reed Smith, never will be, nor do I intend to become PRS.

That thing is BEAUTIFUL!

I know it's not always possible, but a guitar should not be displayed before new strings and a setup. Some shops move a lot of instrument in a day, making it impossible.

Looking forward to this. Hello from Ireland! I don't always agree with everything but you know your stuff!

For a new guitar, I expect from factory is leveled frets with no sharp edges and a properly cut nut, the rest is just normal guitar setup any guitar player should learn probably even before learning how to play. Your gonna pay someone to setup your guitar at every season change? or every gig in a different city ... I don't think so, learn to do it yourself, your life will be easy and much less expensive.

I bought an ES 335 trans black finish custom shop from GC years ago via special order. It was perfectly setup when delivered. GC definitely didn't even open the box. Ended up trading it for a players edition pro line Gretsch that is way better IMO.

Thank you Dylan as always for the video. I've got a 59 or less full tribute Epiphone coming as soon as it gets into the shop. I'll open it in the shop and go over it with the manager because I don't see. I know Gibson is probably one of the only guitar manufacturers that paints the guitar with the binding on and no taping. They don't take off The binding on at least the neck I believe it's probably the whole guitar if you have binding on the body too. And then they go back after it's painted after the guitar is all done in the spray the spray section where they shoot the paint they go ahead with a razor blade and they scrape off all the paint off the binding. This is a really hard job in text a long time for the worker to become experience it's more of a craft. They have their own tools they show up in and make their own ways of ways. They use differentThat was they make their own razor blades sharpen them and use different ones for different parts of the guitar.

Gonna be fun to watch you do the magic on this girl. I fully agree about the setup on a guitar. Learning a few basics goes a long way when owning or buying a guitar.

Basically for the price you see paying it's a great framework to develop on to make it your own.

i bought one of these online, in tea burst color, and i could make a good setup of it myself. I put it in a very low action, perfect intonation to the very last frets. But i had to return it... the frets didn't feel polished.. they looked polished, but they're not... harsh like hell... making a bend just give me the creeps... ok, i could polish it myself... but i felt that i shouldn't do it on a new guitar, it's ridiculous... I also didn't like the shiny finish, feels too plastic in my hands. Hey, but it's a beautiful guitar with a nice sound for the money. I'm hoping to find one with "real" polished frets in a phisical store... i won't buy online again... it's a roulette of quality control.

Every guitar that I have ever bought has had to have some setup work done but once done thats when to judge the guitar for what it is. My best playing and sounding guitar is a Gibson Les paul tribute just phenomenal once set up right, by far not my most expensive.

They started using osb filler and quality went down I even got a dremmel and drilled through it of you build one it's like whoa

You should’ve gotten the Emily Wolfe Sheraton. Then maybe you’d complain less about Epis. I kid, of course. You make excellent points. I recently got a 2021 Les Paul Custom and after I took it to one of the best techs in my area (and $160) it plays REALLY good. I’m not going to say it plays “better than an American [insert brand]” because that, too, is subjective and depends highly on what American guitars have been played in the past. Everything has bias.

Weeeeeeeell... I've come across a Gibson LP Studio with sharp frets. And while I rewire all the guitars and swap the pickups for those that are more up to my taste (Burstbuckers aren't exactly death metal pickups), I've noticed that many of them have issues with electronics off the factory. Some have crackling pots, some don't have grounding done properly, some even just have an overall lazy soldering job where the wires barely hang hang onto the contacts. And as far as the nitro finish goes... In this day and age I see it as simply inferior when it comes to electrics. On the side note, when will Gibson get painting the neck joint in order? It's become a chronic issue for them to have cracked paint where the neck joins the body.

The 3 reasons to buy a Gibson over Epiphone are 1. Better pickups 2. Better hardware 3. Good chance it's made with better wood or less pieces of it. That's about it. Other than that you're paying for a headstock shape, a brand name, and American labor.

I couldn't agree more about the importance of set up! I have always been. On a budget with my instruments, thus leading me to do my own adjusting and fiddling to improve playability. Even a cheapo axe can be tuned up to play relatively good.

My problem with Gibson qc, is less about the issues you mentioned in the video regarding the neck binding and masking marks, but with the amount that they cost those things should not be issues at all and need to be taken care of before they leave the factory. I have zero reason to buy an expensive Gibson when I can go over to esp and buy an e-II that will most likely be immaculate for a much cheaper price. Imo the reason Epiphone get a pass for their qc is simply because of the price, no one expects perfection out of the Epiphone factory because they're priced appropriately for what you get

My biggest pet peeve at guitar shops is when guitars on the wall have awful set ups and dead strings; yes, it would take time to maintain these but I reckon more people would impulse buy a great player they picked up randomly much more often than otherwise

I guess I should buy some nut files as I don't think anything at Gibson will change. Or maybe I should start buying PRS guitars instead. Hmmm

Informative! Thanks.

Hey Dylan, First of all thanks for the video content! Concerning the quality of Epiphone and Gibson. I’m seeing the binding on the necks by both manufacturers not having a flush transition. This is relevant to newer Gibson and Epiphone electric guitars. I’ve been buying Gibsons and Epiphones since the early 90’s and I wasn’t seeing this issue back then. What has changed in the manufacturing process over the years? Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Just bought a Kramer. If Im not mistaken they are made by Epiphone as well. Couldnt be happier with the qc, even right outta the box

I need try a short scale type. Bet they are nice and warm.

A decent baseline setup should be standard on guitars of a certain price point.

That epiphone . . . looks beautiful . . . I was going to get one those epiphones but I hear Gibson is going to release a BB King Lucille epiphone and later BB king gibson so if i was going to get a epiphone or gibson i'd want the bb king ones im learning how to set up my guitars and cant wait to set up .. . . and can't wait for the mod the ES one

Glad your back. Can't wait for the end product.

My most problematic guitar is a PRS S2 Standard 22. It's a good guitar. The vibrato isn't as good as the ones on my American Series and American Standard Stratocasters, and the pots are perpetually scratchy. Also, my entry level Gibsons cost less and are superior instruments.

Great vid - looking forward to the follow ups. I've always scratched my head seeing negative reviews of guitars just because they arrived out of tune or with setup not to the user's liking - I mean, cool if I get it setup to my preference and in tune but, if not, I don't feel it reduces the guitar's quality somehow. Makes me want to make a low ball offer to buy those aweful guitars - lol! I even see popular guitar gear review channels talk first thing, about how wonderful it is that the guitar they are reviewing arrived in tune and setup to their liking, as if this is always the #1 thing that would confirm you got a good one.

Great video mate.

This video makes me never want to buy a guitar again. So much work to set it up!

An important distinction that should be ignored. Great video.

I see various Epiphone reviews with complaints about string height out of the box. I always think the same thing, it needs a set-up.

The fan boys might crucify me, but I have always had the biggest QC issues with Gibson products.

I was disappointed to find a defect on my (true Gibson) SG. I have to keep the action really high because the 9th fret, 2nd string farts out on bends. It's definitely hitting the 10th fret and it doesn't correspond with the fret wear... 😕 I like the blueberry burst too btw!

I never buy any guitar without having a budget of $200.00 to make it play and sound how I like. Sometimes I get lucky and a guitar needs very, very little. A few times I even went over the $200, usually it was PU's. I also wait for the right guitar for the right price. I got a never ever played Gibson SG Std. Ltd. ED in a top of the line case. Even the case was perfect, I mean perfect. It was an estate sale that the guy had passed away. I can only guess he was too ill to play it. b Bottom line it cost me $600.00. You read that right $600.00

GREAT video ! You are spot on with the QC VS setup differences. It drives me bonkers to hear the interweb whiners piss & moan about Gibson QC in particular, and QC issues in general .

For the first time I am noticing that intonation problems don't seem as bad when it's someone else. If I was playing that guitar I'd be angry, but it's not so bad when you play it.

Just learn and enjoy to set up. Basic stuff. You'll save some dough in the future. Do you put oil in your car?

Looking forward to the set up video

Beautiful guitar

I ordered one of the inspired by Gibson Epiphone ES-339 guitars from sweetwater. It is on backorder but should hopefulyl come soon. I heard the setups on these guitars in general were a bit of an issue so I paid for the plek service to get it in perfect shape before it comes to me. Hopefully this will help resolve some of the issues you pointed out.

Guitar Center is the Walmart of music stores. The service...not the prices.

Fantastic as always, Dylan

Totally agree with you ! Looking forward to your set up. A good set up makes a world of difference, if the guitar is of good to fair quality. The plum burst is growing on me:-)

Great video & that guitar looks awesome on video !!

4:32 why this kneejerk preference for the hand over a machine?

Looking forward to part 2

+if you can make that sound like elvin bishop's guitar i"ll be impressed.

2 of my 3 Epiphone inspired by Gibson guitars needed a fret level and dress. One didn’t. QC?