Update: Ok, so this whole thing just gets sillier and sillier by the day....
So I got the new guitar, the second one, because the first one had the cracked neck and stain line running down the fretboard
...and the second one arrived without the "cracked neck/body joint" option!!
<There was much rejoicing>
Well, then I noticed that the fret ends were pretty sharp and that the nut was pretty high, so I talk to my guy at Sweetwater and tell him about that, and (long story short) the service folks there agreed to cover the cost of the repairs at the local Luthier I use which is a Gibson repair/service center. Pretty awesome, huh?!!!
<There was much rejoicing>
I get a call today from the tech who's working on the SG asking me if I ever tried using the neck pickup? I replied that I don't think I really did, I just kept it in bridge pickup mode and jammed that way, since I only had it for a day or so. So he says he'll trace it some more to see what may be up, and (another long story short), it looks like the the neck PU is toast. "Luckily" (and I use that term loosely), they are Gibson authorized, so they're going to get the PU covered and installed under warranty, so it will cost me nothing.
Getting a solid guitar really should *NOT* be this difficult!!! ...But on the flip-side of this, it really does play nicer than any SG I've played before, and I dig the P90 ...at least the bridge P90!
