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How to spot a fake: Gibson warns of counterfeit guitars sold in USA
Submitted by GSite_Editor on Tue, 07/05/2011 - 05:15.
Gibson Guitar continues to protect its intellectual property rights and provide consumer protection against the growing problem of counterfeit instruments being shipped from and sold by outlets and individuals in China.
This is a 're-print' of a popular article - there are still many people asking questions about how to tell if a Gibson guitar is genuine.
Originally published in April 2009, this article continues to get a lot of readers and people posting comments and questions below. We hope you find this useful if you're wondering about a second hand Gibson you're looking at buying, or even one that is being sold as new if it's not from a regular Gibson dealer.
Several complaints from consumers who were sold fake instruments has prompted an aggressive move on Gibson Guitar's part to work with government officials and other instrument marketers in an effort to curtail the growing problem. Gibson Guitar advises all consumers to purchase Gibson instruments only from their network of authorized dealers.
Authorized Gibson dealers can be found on the company's website at www.gibson.com and should be referred to by consumers when purchasing their choice of Gibson instrument. A consumer is warned against purchasing any Gibson brand instrument outside of the authorized dealer network and the inevitable risk of purchasing what can turn out to be a fake.
The growing problem, originating out of China, has been reviewed by the U.S. Trade Commission and currently has the attention of Washington. China regularly defends its record in fighting piracy and counterfeit production of merchandise, however many pirated consumer products continue to be sold in various Chinese cities which affect a multitude of international manufacturers across many categories.
"We will continue to do everything in our power to protect our consumers and the integrity of our family of brands," said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. "We hope that by issuing this warning our consumers will be armed with the right information to protect themselves and understand what they need to do to insure that what they are purchasing is, indeed, an authentic Gibson instrument."
Consumers can check any of the references below when examining a Gibson guitar in an effort to insure its authenticity:
- Make sure the size is not undersized
- The headstock and headstock logo should match those of authentic Gibson guitars
- Pearl should always be inlaid
- Les Paul Model script is always in cursive
- If the guitar has a 3 screw truss rod it is not authentic
- Check the control and pick up cavities for sloppy routing or wiring
- Real Gibson guitars use one piece necks
- Many fake Gibsons have their pickup cavities painted black inside
- If purchasing a Gibson always ask for the Gibson's Owner Manual and Gibson/Warranty Inspection Card
- Check the wiring, if it is plastic it isn't a true Gibson
In a recent case in North Carolina, a man was charged with trying to sell counterfeit guitars after a 15 year old discovered the instrument he bought from the suspect was a fake. The man was arrested on two felony counts of criminal use of a counterfeit trademark, following an investigation by the North Carolina Secretary of State's Trademark Enforcement Section. The investigation was initiated by a complaint to the Secretary of State's Office from a victim who allegedly bought what appeared to be a Les Paul model Gibson brand electric guitar from the man. The man had advertised the guitars for sale in the local paper.
Auction websites currently have hundreds of instruments which resemble Gibson Guitars and other brands. Some even feature trademarked headstocks and logos. Many of these items carry a very low sale price but exorbitant shipping costs. Upon close inspection the guitars will not feel or sound like a true Gibson and most are not of good standard of quality overall. If a guitar is up for an auction for a straight price or a fraction of what one would cost typically, the consumer is taking a great chance in purchasing it. Gibson Guitar warns against such action. Consumers should be wary of such sales that also offer shipping prices that are more than the guitar.
Illegal merchandise entering the country offer great damages on many levels; and counterfeiting in the United States is a serious crime punishable in a court of law. By Federal statutes, selling and also owning counterfeit merchandise is a felony. By issuing this warning, Gibson Guitar hopes to educate its loyal consumers about such wrongdoings and protect them.
This is a Press Release
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Gibson guitars are way
Gibson guitars are way overpriced, like anything made in USA by union protected lazy asses.
When they will stop selling plain boring 1 ply bounded guitar for 2 grands asking 4 grands and more for anything a Korean Epiphone can give you in finish for 500$ they will stop being knocked off...
My Sheraton with electronic and pickup upgrade for 800$ total own a lot of these overrated boring finished 335...
Scaremongering article actually has incorrect Gibson info!!!
Article reads: "Real Gibson guitars use one piece necks"
UM...?
Apart from the thousands and thousands of 3 piece neck guitars Gibson made in the 1970s you mean. Get your facts straight before making generalisations in a public forum and worrying thousands of owners of 70s Gibsons that DID come from the factory with 3 piece necks. You'll be telling me that my 73 LP Custom with sandwich body, 3 piece neck and waffle tuners is a fake now :) Feel free to come round and inspect it, my Rottweiler will assist you with any queries.
own lots of guitars and the best are from china
I have many guitars and have been playing for over 30 years. I recently bought a china LP. I switched out the bridge, saddle , nut and tuners (cost about $143 for all ). also bought some Dye and stained the fretboard to get a deeper ebony color. i then took out the cheap epiphone feedback pickups and bought 2 Gibsons pups as well as all new Pots and caps. I completed all the work but have no luck at soldering so i took it to a shop that has been in business for over 35 years. They had no idea it was from China 2 other sales reps there made comments on how great this thing played . I would have to say out of my 14 plus guitars (a few real Gibsons) this one has a great feel and i cannot seem to put it down. Trust me, all they need is a little bit of work and some upgraded parts and you have a 3k guitar feel for about $400. I will be buying a few more of these china guitars and highly recomind them. as for buying American, I feel I am doing my Part by getting all the upgraded replacment parts from the Good Old USA while saving myslef a good bit of money. I really think that these factories in China need to brand theser guitarts with there own name on the headstock and then and only then will Gibson need to wake up .
One piece neck...maybe not
"Real Gibson guitars use one piece necks"... this is not always true. In virtually all cases the "wings" on the headstock are glued on to save wood. I owned some Gibson guitars, several years ago a 345, two 335s, a LP Custom and a '70 Deluxe and honestly never paid attention to whether or not the neck/headstock was one piece. Back then I probably wouldn't have know the difference. I have seen some in recent years that used a scarf joint to attach the headstock, usually at the line of the 1st and 6th string tuners. If done correctly these joints are not easy to detect and the glued joint is usually stronger than the wood. Additionally, it saves a great deal of expensive and increasingly difficult to obtain wood. Regarding how many pieces of wood are used to make a Les Paul body or neck...why do you think their are "dark back" Les Pauls?
The easiest tip off for one of the Trade Tang or other Chinese Les Pauls copies is the bridge. In most cases they use the "large post" tune-o-matic style bridges like the ones used on Epiphones. Easy to spot. Actually, I prefer this type of bridge...easier to adjust...but it is not a "small post" authentic ABR-1. The other thing you could look for is the pickup rings. On the fakes are they are typically the larger metric sized rings as also used on Epiphones.
I bought one of the copies from Trade Tang for $352.00 including shipping and case. It would not stand close inspection for authenticity and the electrics (pickups, wiring, pots etc.) and tuners sucked. Fixed all that for about $130.00 The fretwork is nice, it plays in tune and sounds pretty good. Inlays may not be MOP but they look good too. The body is five pieces of mahogany...they veneered the back to look like one piece , but you can see the multiple pieces from the sides. Don't know about the top, it could be maple but it's a Goldtop so it's hard to tell. The gold finish is nice. The neck is one piece of mahogany with a scarfed headstock...nice joint though... got to look for it. I would never try to pass it off as real and will probably not gig with it but if I was sixteen and didn't have three grand for a LP...I'd love it.
fake?
I have recently bought an ej200 vs second hand.
The serial no. is GG06030181 and epiphone has no record of the factory GG.
Does this mean that this is a fake? Could somebody shed some light on this please?
(its not like its going to break my heart if it is fake as it plays well and sounds fantastic!)
“How to spot a fake: Gibson”
I have been reading with great interest the comments posted on your web-site above. About Chinese fake les Paul guitars!. I myself have purchased 3 of these fake les Paul guitars over the last 2 years. My first les Paul which I bought back in 2009 was a les Paul Custom Alpine white model, which came with a fitted Crocodile dial skin type leather case. It cost me about $365 USD or £ 230 English pounds. I must admit at the time when i did this I was very sceptical and nervous about what I would get for my money. Because I had read and herd a lot of very negative feedback from other people’s comments on the web. Most of the comments where saying that Chinese guitars where rubbish, cheap copy's, and plastic imitations of real Gibson’s les Paul guitars that you buy from your local deal/music shop. How wrong they are!. The guitar arrived via the suppliers FREE SHIPPING option to the UK, which is a bonus I think as you don’t have to pay extra costs. When I received the guitar and opened the case, I was blow away by the quality, craftsmanship of the guitar.Although the pick-ups, tuners, tailpiece, are not real gold they look stunning. The Head and the Gibson Logo on the front look right!, and the nut cover has “2”screws on it. I believe that the “Fake guitar” has 3 screws on it. I didn’t know that till I looked on the web.Ok you might be saying. It’s still a fake!. Well yes, but it PLAYS AND SOUNDS AND LOOKS LIKE A GIBSON. When I went down to my local guitar shop they where asking over
£2,500 or $ 3,939 USD for the same identical guitar. I must point out that I am not a beginner or learner guitar player, in fact I’ve been playing guitar for the past 30years or so since the 1970’s.So I know how to play guitar and know about gibsons. I would dearly love to own a “Gibson” guitar but they are just to expensive here in the UK.Anny way I now own 3 les Pauls. My 2 other les Pauls are a “Jimmy Page Number 1” looks and sounds great, came with fitted leather case. Cost me about $310 USD or £ 196 and my most recent guitar is a
“Frampton les Paul Custom 57 Black Beauty, with a fitted case. Cost me about
$305 USD or £ 193 plays and looks great. All I can say is that I am absolutely delighted with my 3 Chinese guitars. But I am a bit puzzled though by the following. Each of the guitars has the “MADE IN THE USA” stamped on the back with there individual serial numbers .So I was a little bit curious about the serial number on my Frampton guitar,so i entered it on to the guitar data base for Gibson guitars.
Lo and behold this is what came out.
Frampton Les Paul Custom
Guitar Info
Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
June 20th, 2006
Production Number: 399
Gibson: Nashville
Gibson’s Nashville plant was opened in Tennessee 1974. All electric models and some acoustic models currently made at this factory. This facility has an average production rate of 220 guitars a day. Each guitar is built by hand and takes about 4 to 6 weeks to complete. Note: Most hollow and semi-hallow body guitars are made at a separate plant in Memphis Tennessee. This facility has an average production rate of 40 guitars a day.
Gibson
(Ver. 1.4)
The Gibson Serial Number Decoder currently supports 5 formats from 4 Factories. From a programers perspective all serial number formats preceding the current format are regarded as vintage. In the case of Gibson that would be apply to guitars made prior to 1977. Please post any comments, particularly bugs in the user feedback section.
Note: Custom shop guitars are not supported; instead consult this thread for information on dating custom shop guitars.
Serial Number : 017160699
So this is my question! Is this fake guitar or not a Gibson? And if it is not a Gibson then why does the Gibson guitar data base say it is a “Gibson”? And why does it say it was made in the Nashville TN, PLANT USA?. I am just wondering has any body else checked there serial numbers on the Gibson data base. Have you had the same result as me? If the above is correct then my guitar is genuine and is a “Gibson” guitar made by them. In which case I would be over the moon about it.
to the above: very simple
to the above: very simple answer. the manufacture of your guitar is on the database website snagging information just like everyone else. they pop in a serial number & the info comes up & bang, that number goes on a guitar. very clever but easy to see how they do it. its public information for all to view. cool your happy with your guitars...
How to spot a fake Gibson
The serial numbers on the fake Chinese Gibson les Pauls are also stolen, „copied". You can get real Gibson serial numbers anywhere off the net and re-use them very easily. A serial number is not a reliable way of checking for authenticity.
FAKE FIBSON
OWN A 68 SG CUSTOM, OTHER REAL GIBSONS, LIMITED EDITION MARTIN, FLASHY CHEAPOS ETC. NO CHEAP ACOUSTIC GUITAR COULD EVER COME CLOSE TO THE SOUND OF MY LIMITED EDITION MARTIN BUT IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP. I HAVE A CHEAPO THAT LOOKS UNBELIEVABLY HOT BUT NOT SO MUCH IN THE ACTION OR SOUND DEPARTMENT. HAVE A BEAUTIFUL CUSTOM MADE GUITAR THAT SOUNDS LIKE TOTAL SHIT ! NO CHEAP GUITAR COULD EVEN DREAM OF COMING CLOSE TO THE BUTTER IN YOUR HANDS BRAND NEW LP BLACK BEAUTY I WAS OFFERED TO PURCHASE FOR $1500 AT A REPUTABLE GUITAR SHOP IN SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, CA IN 1996 ( SALES GUY KNEW ME AND BELIEVE HE OFFERED IT TO ME AT THEIR THEN WHOLESALE PRICE / UNFORTUNATELY DIDNT HAVE THE $ ! ). NO CHEAP GUITAR COULD EVER COME CLOSE TO MY FRIENDS INEXPENSIVE MEXICAN FENDER TELECASTERS SUSTAIN NOT EVEN A REAL GIBSON ! ( FRIEND WENT FROM GUITAR CENTERS TO GUITAR SHOPS ALL OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LOOKING FOR THE BEST SOUNDING MEXICAN TELE AND BOY DID HE FIND A TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLY LONG SUSTAINING AND BITCHING SOUNDING MEXICAN TELECASTER ! ) MORAL OF THE STORY SOMETIMES SOME GUITARS REGARDLESS OF PRICE MAY KICK THE CRAP OUT OF OTHER GUITARS IN A CERTAIN CATEGORIES LIKE SOUND, SUSTAIN, ACTION OR LOOKS. GRANTED, MANY NEWER GIBSONS DONT HAVE THE WORKMANSHIP QUALITY THE OLDER GIBSONS DO BUT THEY ARE STILL AHEAD OF THE CHEAPOS IN MOST CATEGORIES AND EVEN IF THEY DIDNT DOES THAT JUSTIFY RIPPING THEIR NAME OFF ?. MOST TIMES YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. SOMETIMES NOT. BUT TAKING A RISK OF WINDING UP IN THE POKEY FOR OWNING A FAKE FIBSON JUST DOESNT SEEM LIKE A GOOD DEAL NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE CHINA SHIT LOOKS, PLAYS ( DOUBT CHINA SHIT WILL EVER MAKE A BUTTER IN YOUR HANDS GUITAR ), SOUNDS ( SERIOUSLY DOUBT CHINA SHIT WOULD EVER EQUAL MY GIBSON HERITAGE OR EVEN CLOSE TO MY LIMITED MARTIN OR ANYWHERE CLOSE TO MY FRIENDS INEXPENSIVE MEXICAN TELE ). SOME FOR LACK OF FUNDS RESORT TO ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES AND THEN TRY TO JUSTIFY IT. FACING CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR OWNING A FAKE FIBSON IS A SURE WAY TO PLAY THE DOWN AND OUT BLUES FROM BEHIND BARS. AFTER ALL IF YOU HAPPEN TO GET A BIG HIT WITH YOUR FAKE FIBSON AND THEN EVERYONE RIPS YOU OFF BY PIRATING YOUR SONG WOULDNT YOU BE PISSED THAT THE ONCE IN A LIFETIME HIT YOU CAME UP WITH WAS FOR NOT IN THE MONEY DEPARTMENT CAUSE CHINA MAN AND THE WORLD DIDNT HONOR YOUR COPY RIGHTS ?
i disagree with everything
i disagree with everything that has been said. les paul was a great man and he played a stratocaster when nobody was looking. i know this because he told me himself. so shut up an play your yours, whatever it is.
China is making guitars for
China is making guitars for everyone. If having the gibson or Martin name on it bothers you ask them to take it off...
Fake Gibson Les Paul
The China Fakes are shit period and people those selling them as Gibsons should be in jail for fraud and have their asses kicked too boot! I don't want to hear anyone saying Epiphones are bad. They are what they are Gibson knock offs but controlled by Gibson. Those shitty Les Paul Fakes sound, feel and play like shit. So if you like shit buy and play shit!
Serial Number
Also watch out the serial number on the Fake Les Paul they match a real Gibson Les Paul!!!!
does anyone know how to tell
does anyone know how to tell a Japanese fake Gibson from a Chinese fake Gibson ?
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