Dilemma Solved & NGDish

Voxman

Scratchplate always on.
1.For me LPs look naked without one
2. I rest my pinky on guitars when I play and the raised LP plate is very comfy for me
3. Bit of a revelation I know, but a scratch plate protects from plectrum scratches on the body.
4. It was what Gibson intended

cm01

I was scratchplate off for a long time on my Les Paul, but I put it back on a month or so ago and it's staying... for now!

Neil

On!

boogieman

Off! ……..unless it’s a decent colour. Some of the hearing aid pinky-beige efforts that Gibson use are vile. 

boogieman

ICBM said:

boogieman said:

When you said blemish i was expecting a ding in the wood, not a minor finish mark. Presumably it’s not under the finish? If so I’d try a very mild abrasive like metal polish and it’ll possibly come out anyway.

The problem with these types of marks is that they're not usually on the surface - as WezV said you can occasionally be lucky, especially if it's caught early, but normally the stain has penetrated through the full depth of the finish. It's caused by the plasticiser and black dye in the rubber pad of a guitar stand migrating into the nitro finish, which contains similar solvents and never fully 'sets' in the way a chemically-curing finish like polyester does. (Even some types of polyurethane can be damaged like this.)

If you're really unlucky the mark can also feel rubbery, which is a more serious problem if it's in the middle of the back of the neck, as they often are from a 'lean back' stand rather than a 'side on' one.

Other materials can also do it - the plasticisers and dyes in vinyl guitar strap ends, or even in some leathers, and in cables... it used to be fairly common to see marks from curly cables if they've been left in contact with the guitar on a stand or in a case, but hardly anyone uses them now.

Nitro is basically a really bad choice of material to finish a guitar in, regardless of how nice it looks or feels to a lot of people.

All fair points. I was thinking it was a surface mark rather than something that might have gone through the finish. 

But you forgot …. nitro smells lovely too  

fretmeister

Scratchplate off.

Always.

guitars4you

Meguiars X20 is worth a try to minimise the strain - A rubbing compound that I prefer to Tcut - It won’t harm any of the existing finish/ blemish but it might polish some of it out  - Should be available from Halfords and most Hardware stores 

Jonathangus

Off.

StuartMac290

Fuck it, dibs.

RaymondLin

Take it off.

Nikc

Oh my eyes the big ugly mark is awful the guitar is a crappy colour and it is way to light to sound like a real Les Paul - good news for you I'd consider taking of your hands for a sensible price as I keep thinking I should grace Gibson with me owning one of there overpriced pieces  - anything to help out and all that

Fifty9

I think the plate is going back on. For now at least 

Thanks @guitars4you ;& all who’ve given the good advice to help sort it out. Am happy with it as is now. No longer a big ugly dark mess but a light brown beauty spot. Am pretty chuffed with this beauty.

 

Dave_Mc

I've had similar things happen to me in the past (not with as big purchases), and it can leave a bad taste in the mouth- very annoying and kind of counter-productive, as often you'd have been happy enough to buy it anyway had the seller been more upfront! It's the shock of thinking someone tried to pull a fast one on you, and also the feeling that you don'tthink they should get away with it (and is this a habit they'll try on other people too?).

But being more philosophical, I more or less agree with everyone else here- if it's a great guitar, if the problems aren't serious and don't annoy you too much, and the price was good even considering the problems- i.e. you'd have bought it at that price had the problems been disclosed- then you probably should keep it. I can still remember the guitars/basses where something like this has happened to me, but at the same time, with the benefit of time and hindsight, I'm probably less annoyed now than I was then, and am glad I ended up with a great instrument at a great price, even considering the slightly economical-with-the-truth descriptions from the sellers...

EDIT: Scratchplate on, at least for me. I used to always prefer off, but a while ago (ditto for covered humbuckers on Gibson-style guitars) I did a complete 180 and now always prefer it on. It looks more "the way it's meant to be" (ditto humbuckers), as @Voxman said.

Also great news about the stain/mark- even if you haven't completely got rid of it, if it's a lot less bad that's a result.  

Kurtis

duotone said:

I vote no scratchplate. Why hide some of that lovely top with a cheap bit of plastic?

I actually think the plate breaks it up a bit tbh.


Looks good either way though.

Fifty9

Dave_Mc said:

I've had similar things happen to me in the past (not with as big purchases), and it can leave a bad taste in the mouth- very annoying and kind of counter-productive, as often you'd have been happy enough to buy it anyway had the seller been more upfront! It's the shock of thinking someone tried to pull a fast one on you, and also the feeling that you don'tthink they should get away with it (and is this a habit they'll try on other people too?).

But being more philosophical, I more or less agree with everyone else here- if it's a great guitar, if the problems aren't serious and don't annoy you too much, and the price was good even considering the problems- i.e. you'd have bought it at that price had the problems been disclosed- then you probably should keep it. I can still remember the guitars/basses where something like this has happened to me, but at the same time, with the benefit of time and hindsight, I'm probably less annoyed now than I was then, and am glad I ended up with a great instrument at a great price, even considering the slightly economical-with-the-truth descriptions from the sellers...

EDIT: Scratchplate on, at least for me. I used to always prefer off, but a while ago (ditto for covered humbuckers on Gibson-style guitars) I did a complete 180 and now always prefer it on. It looks more "the way it's meant to be" (ditto humbuckers), as @Voxman said.

Also great news about the stain/mark- even if you haven't completely got rid of it, if it's a lot less bad that's a result.  

Captured precisely why I was put out initially. Exactly that. Having slept on it and taken this forum’s wise counsel it’s clear that finding anything this close to ‘the one’ can’t be let slip due to a bellend seller. The model, looks, weight, playability and sound are all what I’m after. And I wasn’t ripped off financially so it’s totally fine really.

scratchplate on is an age thing with me. Hated them for years but then I grew up wanting to be slash. Now it’s much more a piece of wall art than a low slung pulling weapon so prefer the classic how it’s meant to be / beauty of the burst look. Can’t forget that “hearing aid beige” now tho so it may stay off for a while after all 

Basher

Scratchers on all the time with LPs no exceptions whatsoever.

(On a side note I think it was @SteveRobinson who we have to thank for the term "hearing aid beige", although I think the original source of irritation was Fender's Desert Sand finish.)

The whole COA thing absolutely boils my piss. It's nonsense. Ditto "case candy". I bought and sold an R6 without one and if it lowered the price a bit both myself and the next buyer got a great deal. 

The blemish seems quite insignificant to me. I understand your frustration with the seller but you've got a great 8lb R9!!!

Chuffola

ICBM said:

Always off.

Always on!

Chuffola

P.S. It's a beaut either way. Enjoy it!

Fifty9

Re the CoA, Gibson just replied with no doubt their standard verbiage:

Regrettably, Gibson currently doesn't offer replacement COAs, and there's no existing process for obtaining one. While there were past programs allowing guitar reauthentication, unfortunately, the program is no longer operational. We remain hopeful that such a program may be reinstated in the future, but currently, we don't have any available options for this.

Gibson takes the authenticity and integrity of its instruments seriously, and the issuance of COAs is a meticulous process tied to the original purchase. As such, they don't offer duplicates or replacements to maintain the accuracy and value associated with the authenticity documentation.

The only exception to this policy is for brand-new guitars purchased from authorized dealers. If a new guitar is missing its COA, the dealer can reach out to their Gibson representative to try to obtain one.

Thank you for your understanding, and I appreciate your continued support of Gibson.

fretfinder

Ignore the misguided ones and leave the pickguard/scratchplate on. As well as looking better, the clue is in the name.  

Also, I don’t know if you’re aware of the book Beauty Of The Burst and associated poster? The latter shows 84 original* Bursts and only one of them has the pickguard removed, which puts the debate to bed imho.   

* I know one or two of them were allegedly ‘replicas’ not originals.