Whats the deal with gordon smith?

[Spitfire]

they website is layed out like its a shop... well it has prices for the guitars, then has the prices for the extras.. but no way of ordering.. Do you have to go thru a dealer for this? or ring em? how does it work.

also, they are made near manchester right?? does that mean parts made in china then shipped back and put together in manchester? or actually build 100% in manc?

i was in manchester last sunday with the gf for a mooch about (neither of us like shopping so i dont reli know why we went) but i had the great idea of going to try some gordon smiths at a shop there i know sells em.. bad idea, being sunday it was of course closed.

[Dmoney]

YO!

there is one shop in the centre of manc that sells them. Forsyths Music http://www.forsyths.co.uk/
Thats where i got mine.

AlL the guitars and pickups are hand made just outside manc. Im not sure about the bridge parts. The GS bridges are an in house design, but i don't know where they are machined. probably locally as i doubt they buy in bulk.

all the guitars are hand made and the lead time is 6 months for something specific (you can email and check).

you should call them up and tell them what you want. thats probably the way to order. I got my GS second hand, but from Forsyth's. you can also try a bunch of GS's that they have in stock. you can see what they have on their website. the older GS's have a slightly better finish. the new ones play really really well but arent cosmetically the best. they are build as real real real well playing workhorse guitars. I have one, the other guitarist in my band has one too.

[hamfist]

I own a GS graduate, and used to own a GS 2. Also have played a few in shops.

My experience has been mixed. The GS2 I bought (new from a shop) was faulty and had to be returned. It had a crack at the body/neck joint and really should not have been allowed out of the factory (or shop - depending on when exactly the crack surfaced).  Also played another GS2 in a shop which had appalling fretwork. Really all over the place, you could easily visibly see some frets higher than others - again should have never left the factory in that state.
  However, the GS graduate I now own (bought 2nd hand) is a superb guitar - excellently put together in every way. In fact, the nicest playing guitar I've ever played.
 I have also played another couple, owned privately by friends who have been superb.

They certainly have been a mixed bag in my experience.

My theory (and it is just a theory, I have no real evidence) is that the very best guitars they make, are made from direct orders to the factory.  Maybe the shop dealers get the slight 2nd's. Maybe it is that quality control has slipped a little bit in the last couple of years. Not sure.

WHat I am sure of is that it is well worth seeking out a good one.

[martinw]

What he said.
I've had 2 GS2's.
They play extremely well, but have occasional issues. One thing I found, is that sometimes the frets are perpendicluar to the edge of the fretboard, and sometimes perpendicular to the centreline of the guitar.

I proved this by going round the entire stock at Sounds Great (who don't seem to sell them any more) with an engineers square, with the manager. Some were one way and some the other. Not sure if it affects intonation or anything (perhaps Wes or Jon can comment?) but it looks odd once you've noticed it.

Also both of mine had problems with microphonic pickups. When pressed on the this, John's reply was that it was how they were made, so you have to live with it.

[Philly Q]

They play extremely well, but have occasional issues. One thing I found, is that sometimes the frets are perpendicluar to the edge of the fretboard, and sometimes perpendicular to the centreline of the guitar.

They certainly do seem to have a problem aligning things properly!  My old GS1 has an off-centre headstock, of all things.  To be fair, it doesn't affect playability at all, and it actually took me several years to even notice.

[Twinfan]

My theory (and it is just a theory, I have no real evidence) is that the very best guitars they make, are made from direct orders to the factory.  Maybe the shop dealers get the slight 2nd's. Maybe it is that quality control has slipped a little bit in the last couple of years. Not sure.

Your theory isn't true Alan. A friend of mine custom ordered a GS and it arrived with a 'wonky' neck - too difficult to explain in text!  Basically it had been over sanded/profiled in one place and the rest of the guitar 'botched' to fit.  NOT good.

I've had two GSs personally, one which was really great and the one I still own which is 'OK'.

They're very hit and miss, and I wouldn't buy one without trying first.

[roland_rat]

Got to agree with Twinfan. 

They make some nice guitars but some get through that are very crude.   If I was looking at geting one I would buy from shops so you can try before you buy.  I have two one was a punt off ebay a slimline (graduate).  That a nice guitar.  The 2nd one was a tele I ordered and  the construction not bad but the wood used and finish is very disappointing.   

I would consider buying  another gordon smith but I would try before I buy.  If you go down the ordering direct route I would supply the pickups instead of having there pickups fitted.  There is a huge difference in quality between theirs and BK's.
If you want to order just email them with the bits you want. They can do a bit more than what they say in terms of options just ask.  I think  there prices go up start of april.

[sgmypod]

Most I have played have been great..with no major probs mentioned

[Dmoney]

i heard all this before. i heard getting older second hand versions is a much better idea.
my GS is an 1987 Graduate. It has some features that GS simply wont do any more.
I believe the difference came when one of the owners past away or something, a while after that things seemed to go down hill.

I wont mention sounds great haha, but at forsyths where i got mine, the newer models had little chips in the neck joint on bolt on necks, but i would say that pretty cosmetic, like bad sanding taking little chips out the grain. but then they do say that their guitars are not supposed to be works or art.

Still i didnt realise they were as hit and miss as people suggest.

[Philly Q]

I believe the difference came when one of the owners past away or something, a while after that things seemed to go down hill.

It was originally Gordon Whittam and John Smith, but Whittam left way back in the early 80s and set up Gordy guitars.  I don't know if there have been any other major changes since.

[gwEm]

mixed experiences here also - try first!

[Philly Q]

I'm not trying to start a PRS/Caparison style slag-fest, but I've always felt GS guitars are overrated and even overpriced. 

They don't use particularly great timbers, their pickups and hardware are so-so, their plastic parts are crude and their finishing is pretty poor.  Their starter model is over £400 and you can't usually get them significantly discounted - for that kind of money you can get some very nice import guitars with far more consistent build quality.

OK, I'm comparing apples and oranges - mass produced and hand made - but if "hand made" equals "sloppily made" I don't see it as a benefit worth paying for.

[WezV]

One thing I found, is that sometimes the frets are perpendicluar to the edge of the fretboard, and sometimes perpendicular to the centreline of the guitar

sounds very odd, most likely a mistake but it does sound kind off like the rickenbacker idea of slanted (no, not fanned - thats different and less crazy!! ;) )frets

http://www.rickbeat.com/modelslibrary/481/481.htm

Which edge were they perpendicular to?


anyway... its handmade at a stupidly low price in the UK - something has to give somewhere

[Bob Johnson]

I've always found that the quality has been variable on the ones I've worked on. Just check out the surface of the fingerboard at the upper end and the fact that all of the bridge saddles are on the extreme end of their travel presumably to get the intonation right and this one is on the website http://www.gordonsmithguitars.com/products/category.php?id=6

[Dmoney]

I am gonna say mine is good. i swapped the pups for gibson 490R & 498T. it didnt have a standard cavity for pickups  so the legs had to be ground down to fit.

This is a gemini.

They haven't been made for some time. My GS looks like this but without the fancy binding on the neck or headstock, and with dot inlays rather than blocks. mine also has an older style GS bridge. not like the in the photo but not like the current one either.

This is another gemini.

from what ive read the Gemini is the best guitar they ever made. the serial on mine it 00156 which puts it into the 80's. mine has none of the problems anyone has mentioned in this thread but yeah, it was easy to tell the build quality between mine and current ones.

If i was going to get one, id always look out for something second hand. If i wanted a nice custom build to my own specs id go elsewhere.