#1
|
|||
|
|||
I saw a counterfeit Les Paul, yesterday
I was in at my guitar shop yesterday and the owner (Ken) said, 'Got something you'll be interested in.' He took me over and a couple of the guys that worked there were playing a Les Paul Supreme. Ken asked me if I saw anything unusual about it. The only thing that really jumped out at me was that the truss rod cover was brass and was shaped funny.
Ken said, "It's counterfeit." I asked him how he could tell. He started showing me that the back was flat, rather than carved. The Gibson logo was straight rather than at an angle. The access ports were wrong for a Supreme. The pots were import pots. Lots of minor differences that were clues. Now, what is interesting is, the guys that were playing it said that it played really well, as good as a real Gibson. The builders had the mechanics of building a good guitar down, but they couldn't get the details of making it look right. Jack
__________________
The Princess looked at her more closely. "Tell me," she resumed, "are you of royal blood?" "Better than that, ma'am," said Dorothy. "I came from Kansas." --Ozma of Oz, by Frank L. Baum, 1907 1975 Mossman Great 1995 Taylor LKSM-12 2008 Taylor Fall Ltd GC 2008 Applegate C Nylon Crossover Fender Stratocaster - Eric Johnson Model Nyberg Cittern 2011 Eastman AC508M 2012 Epiphone ES339 |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
The good counterfeiters build good instruments. They have to to be able to pass them off as the real thing without obvious tip offs to the buyers. If you look at some of the Lloyd Loar F5 mandolin counterfeits, they are excellent instruments, they are just not the $300K collectors item they purport to be. These builders are not unskilled, just unethical.
|
#3
|
|||
|
|||
I keep seeing links (Ads) to these guitars on Facebook and actually went and looked them over. The Les Pauls were the first thing that drew my attention and the Fender Strats were next. Prices for these guitars were just a fraction of a real guitar and they tout that these guitars are all brand new.
Im really surprised that they are able to get through Customs, but maybe Customs doesnt know they are fake since they are imported one at a time Vs a whole truck load??
__________________
Regards, Ken Hodges |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
I've got a few real Gibson LP's and a cheap "replica" I picked up at a pawn shop a couple of of years ago. I'm guessing it's Chinese, but it could be from any of the usual Asian factories. The copy is very well built and the fit/finish is better than my Gibson Studio. The pickups/pots and wiring were utter garbage, but that was easily fixed in less than 30 minutes with a soldering iron. I installed a couple of Gibson 490/498 pickups that I had removed from another Les Paul and it sounds just as good as any of my Gibsons at about 1/10 the price.
The Gibson logo is sloppy, the headstock shape is wrong and the pots aren't aligned quite right, but otherwise it's a perfectly good guitar. I keep it as my "loaner/RV" electric and drag it around to places where I wouldn't want to take my Gibsons or Agiles. It's much easier for these factories to pump out decent solid-body electrics than acoustics and they are getting quite good at it. I'm sure it keeps the lawyers in Nashville busy.
__________________
How I wish...how I wish you were here. A few Canadian and American Guitars |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
I have an old Japanese Tokai Les Paul copy that I prefer than any Gibson LP I ever tried. When you look at the pickup routing etc, the woods are all solid and cleanly routed, the neck tenon extends into the pickup cavity (unlike alot of Les Pauls), and the binding is flawless.
The pots etc were inferior, but have been replaced, and I have bareknuckle pickups in it.
__________________
Rick Yamaha MIJ CJX32 Avalon L32 Avalon A32 Legacy Lowden 022 Gibson J-185 Takamine TNV360sc Cole Clark Fat Lady 3 |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
I saw the same Les Paul at Ken's shop
...and he walked me through the differences, too. I am not a huge LP fan, and have never owned one (too heavy, and not really my style), but notably:
The playability was actually pretty good. The top was very beautiful! The headstock looked a little odd, due to the logo, the cut of the "V" at the top (too sharp). The binding on the fretboard was not correct. And the original poster's comments as well. The most striking aspect of the guitar was the relief stamp on the headstock - "Made in USA". If it were stamped "Replica", it might have left a better impression, but legitimizing an illegal copy of a Les Paul with this stamp made the whole guitar seem kinda creepy. It made me question every other aspect of the guitar...what other corners were cut that I couldn't detect? CAVEAT EMPTOR just got kicked up a notch. |