How Anal Are You About New Guitars?

For something like a Les Paul Studio i probably would replace it. You're replacement guitar will probably eventually get dented or scratched but you might as well have a perfect guitar as long as you can.

I couldn't care less myself. My guitars are chipped and dented all over the body and it doesn't bother me at all. But it's your call, if it annoys you by all means return it.

I've never been one to complain and moan about things like that. If it was a floor model that was discounted, that might be part of the reason it was lowered in price.

I own a MIM Tele that actually had two good chips in it straight out of the box. The local music store had a sale on it and I was able to get more off than that. It plays great, stays in tune and I couldn't ask for more.

Doesn't bother me at all. Chips and dents are nothing more the little pieces of character. Your guitar isn't going to stay perfectly new forever. It'd be like living without bruises, scrapes, and cuts, it just not going to happen.

Paul

Two small nicks and that too in the headstock ?

Cmon man, if your Gibson LP plays well and is sturdy, then enjoy the discounted price.Don't think of returning.Who knows you will be getting a bad tone-immaculate finish guitar in return ?

Tone and playbility is everything.Rest you decide according to your preferences.

a new full price guitar should be flawless.
that said, I try hard to not dent or mar my guitars.
but I do. and I live with those badges of wear and tear.

I have a hwy 1 tele. one day I pulled out all my gear for a photo shoot. while snapping a pic a lap steel tipped off balance and raked the tele. there is a perfect half circle scratch on the back.
oh well. stuff happens.

Fact of Life: Nothing is perfect -- especially Gibson Les Pauls. If anyone thinks they are, then they don't know what they are looking for. Gibby is not the premier quality guitar maker, and there are small imperfections in most of them -- finish flaws, crooked screws, misapplied binding, subtly cracked inlays, misaligned hardware and more. Furthermore, I doubt there are many instruments on display at GC without further scuffs, nicks and chips. Yours was a floor model, so that's to be expected. What is far more important, is the general condition of the guitar, including the overall mechanical integrity, the tone and the feel. If those are good, you are set to go. Wear and tear is part of the life of an instrument. If you keep it pristine, you probably are really using it. Relax and enjoy it.

I am very picky, have an excellent eye for detail, and will note that every new guitar I've bought, no matter the price and manufacturer's rep, has come with flaws -- be it Taylor, G&L, Martin or Burns. And I bought every one of them knowing about most of the flaws, because overall they had the vibe, tone and playability I wanted, and those imperfections were inconsequential.

Personally, if I got if for some less than full price, I'd keep it and forget it.

My Hwy 1 Strat came with a dent in it, but someone else did the bargaining and purchasing for me and it's not a big deal. It was a floor model, too. It's gained a second, smaller one since I've had it.

I look at it this way. If the thing was absolutely flawless when I bought it and I put the first ding in it myself, I'd feel really badly. This way, the first ding is already there and I don't have to dread putting the first one there myself. If that makes any sense.

Margaret

I'm anal about all my gear. But I bought it, paid for it and use it.

If I buy something on display and get a price reduction for it, it's a done deal.

If I buy brand new in a box items I expect them to be flawless. Barring obvious things that are just part of the equation I inspect and scrutinize everything I own/purchase and take baby good care of everything after it's paid for.

In the case of my guitars, since I'm attempting to sell some of them, I'm confident that you as the purchaser will be greatly appreciative of my care and feeding of these animals.

I love and respect all my gear. :D

I'm a bit careless with my guitars, but they are all fairly low-priced axes (ranging from about $99 for the Squier '51 to $489 for the Mustang bass.) My Seagull Folk has the most "character flaws" - dents and scratches on the soundboard - but dang it sounds sweet!

On the other hand, when I get my custom Birdsong bass, I'm going to treat it with great care! :)

If I buy it in a music store, I expect that I'm getting a "lightly used" piece of gear, and slight imperfections are something I expect.

If I ever wanted pristine, I'd order on-line so that I got something that wasn't hanging around for every bored high school kid in the world to play with.

I'd keep the guitar in your case.

When I first got my Les Paul I babied it like crazy. Now, I don't worry so much. I still take great care of my stuff, but pick scratches, little dings, etc. are just a fact of life. To me a perfect looking guitar is a non-played guitar. Any guitar that has some hours on it will have marks. Heck, I use to take my belt and button-up shirts off before playing so they didn't hurt the back of the guitar! I quickly realized that was being just a tad silly and don't do that anymore. Funny thing is, I've not noticed any major scratches due to those items either (granted, I'm not up on stage bouncing around).

To me, it's like anything else. Most people try to keep their cars in good shape but eventually a door ding is going to happen if you drive it regularly. Why get all upset about it?

Jason

I get what some of you guys are saying regarding accepting the flaws as "character". I would probably just keep the thing if it wasn't for the fact that due to the recent price drop on the Les Paul Studio, I can get a brand new one for the same price that I paid for the floor model. If I cause dings to a guitar myself, I'll live with them. I just don't want to have to pay for someone else's mistakes.

If it was sold as a discounted floor model, I'd be happy with it.

If the price dropped on new ones to the price of the discounted floor model, well, that's life. You were happy with the deal when you made it. I don't think it'd be fair to the seller if you sent it back.

You won't get so upset when the thing picks up its first signs of use from you. Guitars are meant to be used, and won't stay pristine if they are.

I just bought a replacement rifle stock that I thought was new, but turned out to be one with a few signs of use. I'm not complaining, since I got it for half the new price. And I knocked it over and gave it some more "character" while photographing it, right after putting it on the rifle. C'est la vie.