Gibson Gold Warranty

Gibson Guitar Corp.

PO Box 100087
Nashville, TN 37210-0087

The Gibson Gold Warranty reads;

"Your new Gibson instrument is warranted to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for the life of the original retail purchaser, subject to the limitations contained in this warranty."

"THIS WARRANTY IS EXTENDED TO THE ORIGINAL RETAIL PURCHASER ONLY AND MAY NOT BE TRANSFERRED OR ASSIGNED TO SUBSEQUENT OWNERS. IN ORDER TO VALIDATE YOUR WARRANTY, AND AS A CONDITION PRECEDENT TO WARRANTY COVERAGE HEREUNDER, YOU MUST RETURN YOUR WARRANTY REGISTRATION CARD WITHIN FIFTEEN (15) DAYS FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL DATE OF PURCHASE. YOUR PROOF OF PURCHASE OR SALES RECEIPT MUST ACCOMPANY ALL REQUESTS FOR WARRANTY COVERAGE."

I purchased a brand new Custom 68' Gibson Les Paul for $3250 about a year ago. It doesn't stay in tune at all and the finish on the backside of the guitar actually bubbled and chipped off leaving a large portion of the wood exposed. I have two other guitars, a Schecter C-1 A/E and an Ibanez SZ720FM, that were a fraction of the cost and have never had any of these problems. I knew this was a lifetime warranty but I didn't realize I needed to send it in within 15 days of purchase nor should it matter. Bottom line, this guitar is defective, the paint shouldn't bubble and its unplayable unless it will hold its tuning. I took the guitar to an authorized Gibson repair shop that Gibson directed me to and they still refuse to honor the warranty thus costing me several hundred dollars to have the guitar repaired.

Even if I had sent the warranty in on time it goes on to list what it will not cover;

"THIS WARRANTY DOES NOT COVER:

Any instrument that has been altered or modified in any way or upon which the serial number has been tampered with or altered.
Any instrument whose warranty card has been altered or upon which false information has been given.
Any instrument that has been damaged due to misuse, negligence, accident, or improper operation.
The subjective issue of tonal characteristics.
Shipping damages of any kind.
Any instrument that has been subjected to extremes of humidity or temperature
Normal wear and tear (i.e., worn frets, worn machine heads, worn plating, string replacement, scratched pickguards, or damages to or discoloration of the instrument finish for any reason).
Any instrument that has been purchased from an unauthorized dealer, or upon which unauthorized repair or service has been performed.
Any factory installed electronics after a period of one (I) year following the original date of purchase.
Cracking, discoloration or damage of any sort to the finish or plating for any reason.
Gibson does not warranty the playability of a instrument whose "action" is lower than the standard "action" as defined in the owners manual."

What does it cover then? This warranty is bogus, Ill never purchase another Gibson guitar again.

Sincerely,

Ian Whitcomb