www.carlcorway.cc

You could compare a Gibson guitar to that of a Rolls Royce classic car, basically it is the crem dela crem of all guitars, most probably the best make of guitar ever built, and one of the finest. But with that kind of comparison it should not come as a shock to find these guitars going up for sale for as little as £1,000 upwards or even maybe four times that amount for some of the very rare classics which are no longer built these days.

Many budding or professional players may find this price tag a little too dear for their pockets, or many might even frown upon spending that sort of money on a "guitar". Gibson genuine guitars are really only there for those who are very serious about what they do as a guitar player, in that most of us are looking for a quality instrument which is detramental to the business we perform in. It is also the name we would like to be attached to, but also feel proud to go out their and perform with a spectacular taste of smitten as Gibson.Through it's quality of pick up's as well as expert construction it adds flavour as well as fire to yet another nail biting heart wrenching beautiful solo.

There are a number of choices open to other's who feel they cannot afford to buy a Genuine Gibson. There are manufacturers who are providing some real good copies of most of the Gibson range including Les Paul, SG's, Flying V's, Gold tops etc. But none of them will come no closer than the Epiphone (Epi). The name comes from a Greek man who set out to build his fortune on the finest musical instruments. Epimanondas Stathopoulo together with his brothers Orphie, Frixo, and sister, Minnie the early foundations of Epiphone were layed in 1915. However it was to be at least eight more years before the second part was added to Epi's name. Phone taken from the Greek word for sound. Epiphone now became a brand name for their line of banjo's. Epiphone continued to grow it's business with its own brand of instruments but unfortunately Epi dies of leukemia sometime in 1943. The business sometime after fell into crisis for what ever reason. It is believed that Epi's brother's Orphie, and Frixo had fell out with each other and Frixo later sold his part of the business. The company continues on until the 1950's when Gibson's parent company Chicago Musical Instrument buys Epiphone for an estimated $20,000. Around 1958 came a new line of Guitars as well as accoustics, although the only reason Epiphone was bought out  was for it's Bass production equiptment. Although many of the instruments were produced in Kalamazzo Michigan USA in 1970 through competition from the Japanese production of the Epiphone, the business was moved to Japan and then onto its base now in South Korea. Epiphone also produces it's own line of guitars as well as the ones styled on the Gibson originals.There also is not much difference to the parts used on the Epiphones & Gibsons as the woods used for body and neck, the metal hardware is more or less the same. As with the electrics these were approved and built by Gibson. The quality  between the Gibson and the Epiphone varies greatly in detail as it does in price. Epiphone is not to be frowned upon. It is a Gibson company so any guitar associated with Gibson can be treasured.Look at some of the names who have used this make of Guitar. Well firstly there is me  ha, ha. The Beatles recorded Paper back writer, Ticket To Ride. The most recorded song ever, Yesterday was played on an Epiphone guitar, mastering all of the guitar sections. Then there is the Blues legend John Lee Hooker, Noel Gallagher, Lenny Kravitz who have continued the tradition.

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Unfortunately as with everything in this world you are going to have your original's and you are going to have those who will try their level best to emulate everything you do or have done. Now although within the world we have some very good copies of Gibson Guitars, they do not however call their products Gibson. But there is a division that most of you the buying public must be very wary of when it comes to buying a professional Gibson Guitar.

Gibson guitars are not manufactured in China, Gibson have no factories any where inside China.  So how come we have these Gibson guitars flooding the market fom China? The answer is pure and simple "They Are Not Gibson Guitars"     They are not endorsed or licensed by Gibson and further do not have the permission for the use of the Gibson name they are being manufactured with.

A well known site Ebay on the internet is host to many sellers who are selling these Pirated Gibson Guitars who are not situated in the UK or the USA but are being sold by sellers in China. Now some of the sellers i have spoken to are honest in the fact that they have stated these are copies, and not genuine. However there are some buyers all over the world who are attempting to buy these fakes and sell them off as genuine Gibson models.This is very important as many would be buyers could get ripped off? Not so much by the Chinese as it must be obvious that you are not going to purchase a Gibson for a couple of hundred pounds or Dollars. It is those who could seize upon this chance gold mine to make some real bucks and rip of some poor unsuspecting buyer. Some sellers are not actually stating these are Gibson copies but are selling them as Electric guitars.Showing photographs of what appears to be the genuine item, this way they capture you but also they can escape being removed from Ebay as they are not actually stating these are Gibson guitars?

So i set about to buy one of these models to see just how good they were, as i had read some horror stories of what people actually received.Very much different to what the ad stated and what the picture showed. I have provided pictures so you can see for yourself what i have documented here.

I made contact with a seller on Ebay and asked the usual typical questions most of us would ask being suspicious of the price this Guitar was being sold for. The advert stated White Electric Guitar, The picture showed what seemed to be a White & Gold Gibson guitar. The price tag of this guitar if memory serves me correct was £168.00 with postage the total was £190.00 or there abouts. I put my order in and got on with my life anticipating just what i was going to receive. Will it be like the picture showed? Will it arrive damaged? Will i ever see my money or the Guitar?

Two weeks passed by and then one morning out of the blue there it was. Carefully packaged the guitar had been sent from China, it was packaged inside of a Polystyrene case. Took me a while to break all the brown tape away from it. I carefully lifted the lid and was almost knocked out by the fumes still circulating inside the packaging. I could smell the resins as well as the laquer which was very strong. I stared down at the guitar after the fumed fog had cleared and peered into the box for just a moment trying to take in what i was staring down at.

Wow it was out of this world. The quality took my breath away. Now i am going to call her a Miss I don't know why but it seems appropriate to call her a madam because of Something about her. Anyway i took her from the case and ran my hand from her neck all the way down her body to feel her soft smooth skin. She was flawless there was not a mark or a spot of paint where it should not be. I carefully plugged her in to my Marshall to see her light up like a christmas tree and to hear her beautiful voice. The guitar was dreadful Certainly no Miss. Some strings are were not attached to the correct tuning posts and the action was dreadful. I set about resetting the action after changing the strings for a new set as also two of the same sized strings had been used. The guitar sounded much better but when the guitar was over driven the feedback was awfull no matter where i stood or how far away from the amp i stood or what i did to the guitar the feedback was stil there. I removed the covers to check the cables as well as the connections. All cables were shielded and i could find no reason for the feedback being due to faulty wiring. I had to suspect that it was the Pick ups which were at fault. On removing both pick ups i noticed that etched into the rear of the pick up was Gibson USA, on one pick up the scribed name had been etched wrongly and an attempt had been made to correct it but had been messed up. The other pick up the Gibson USA scribe could clearly be seen.

I searched the net looking for a standard set of pick ups and purchased a set of Wilkinson's which came with carriers and adjusters as standard. I then fitted these quite easily and restrung the guitar, again setting up the action.On plugging this into the amp and overdriving, the guitar came accross very beautiful indeed not a hint of feedback was present. The lady was now singing her heart out.

I also noticed that the gold hardware especially the machine heads which you tend to touch more than any other part when setting up your instrument.The gold was starting to rub off revealing this blue coloured metal. The pick ups that had originally been fitted, the gold was rubbing away from these anyway. Now ok i paid for a fake what did i get for my money, value? Well no and yes is the reply If i was not mechanically minded and had to take this guitar to a repair shop then no it would have not been worth the money. I had to replace the pick ups, this was the only real major problem. The neck of the guitar is perfect although the strings in the way they were arranged were bizzare to say the least but maybe that is the way they string up in China.(I'm Only joking) To view the guitar in question click on the URL's below to see the guitar in question.You will also see that the pick ups are also being replaced. Sorry for the quality of some pictures.

An update concerning the machine heads which were stamped with Grover. These machine heads slowly lost their gold colour so i have since replaced them with a very stylish new set. I will post pictures of these machine heads as well as the ones i removed so you can see what i mean.

The guitar has been gigged and is an absolute knock out the sustain as well as the sound from this guitar is  brilliant, Many people have fell in love with this guitar but when they are told it is not a genuine Gibson i get looks of total shock. I am very happy with this guitar and i would buy another.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/g2.jpg   Guitar Up right. Notice that you will see the truss rod cover has 3 screws instead of the usual 2 screws seen on all genuine Gibson guitars.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/g5.jpg  Fake serial number. This serial number puts the guitar as a 1996 model. Not so as on opening the case the smell of laquer and paint were still evident, not of a guitar which had been lying around for 10 years!

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/g7.jpg Old pick ups these are very cheaply made, very bad feedback from both pick ups. On changing them i noticed on the back of both there was a stamped Gibson logo (Gibson with USA underneath). One pick up had been etched but a mistake had been made, who ever it was that etched this pick up they had tried to correct their mistake making a mess of the logo.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/picture008.jpg Stamp on rear of pick up badly etched

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/picture013.jpg  Removal of volume/bass/ switch controls cover from rear of guitar

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/g8.jpg Pick up removal

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/picture009.jpg Pick up bay. The body of the Guitar is in fact Laminated Plywood

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/picture033.jpg New front pick up before fitting.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/picture014.jpg Switching layout all cables and wires tidy all wires soldered to the correct pots all no damaged cables. Cables were checked out and were perfectly ok.

 http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/picture022.jpg Unsoldered front pick up wire then removed out of harms way.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/p1.jpg New Pick ups to be fitted in place of the Naff ones. All was tested after fitting pick ups, soldering joints as well as sheathing. Each pick up tapped before restringing to make sure they are working.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/picture027.jpg Fitting of strings to the correct posts.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/picture026.jpg Fitting strings.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/picture030.jpg Job done.

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/picture029.jpg  Guitar now fitted with new pick ups. Once the strings were fitted and were in tune and all was set up properley the pick ups were tested through a Marshall Valve state 2000 AVT 275 Amp which was miked to a large 800watt P.A. The volume was perfect as was the rest of the guitar. Both pick ups performed perfectly without buzz or feedback. The intonation was set up correctly as was the action of the guitar. The second and third fret wires where the E, and the A strings were buzzing was now gone.

On the back of every Genuine Gibson guitar you will find a licence number, there are ways to tell what model it is, and what year it was constructed. I have given you an easy route to this although you will need Adobe acrobat reader installed to read it. Get the upto date version here http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html  To get the information on how to decipher the licence code down load the information from here. www.gibson.com/Files/downloads/bluebook/GibsonSERIALNUMBERS.pdf .

Now i have also noticed that sellers of these pirated Gibson guitars are even trying to sell Authenticity registration cards with these guitars to prove that they are indeed genuine Gibsons, I have even seen some Gibsons with fancy pick ups but believe you me these guitars are fakes. You will also notice that most sellers have made their feedback comments private as they do not wish you to see the complaints that they have received, Or that the unknowing buyer has been told his Genuine Gibson is a fake. Realise this people You are not going to get a Genuine Gibson guitar for £250.00 or less. And if you do then either the person selling it does not realise what he or she had or there must be something clearly amiss with them.

IF YOU DO DECIDE TO BUY ONE OF THESE GUITARS UNDERSTAND THIS, ONCE IT TURNS UP YOU ARE MOST LIKELY GOING TO FIND YOURSELF WITH A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS TO PUT RIGHT. I WOULD SUGGEST IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD TO BUY A GENUINE GIBSON THEN GO TO A REPUTABLE GUITAR SHOP AND BUY AN EPIPHONE. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY UNLESS YOU ARE PREPARED TO SPEND SOME MORE, REPAIRING THE PROBLEMS. IF YOU CANNOT DO THIS YOURSELF THEN DO NOT BE TEMPTED. PROFESSIONAL GUITAR REPAIRS COULD BE VERY EXPENSIVE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Those of you who have purchased one of these guitars, you maybe able to fool certain people, but there will be someone one day who will spot this as a fake. But even so when ever you take this guitar out to play it you will always be constantly reminded it is not a genuine Gibson.

Any questions or further information Email me at axis953@hotmail.com

ROGUES GALLERY NEXT

  Was this info useful to you? If so please donate to the sites upkeep this will then allow me to add more information on other subjects If you have donated I thank you.

Here are a number of Non Genuine Gibson Guitars for you to take a look at!

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/ee_12.jpg GENUINE GIBSON

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/45_1.jpg GENUINE GIBSON

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/26_12.jpg GENUINE GIBSON

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/82_12.jpg GENUINE GIBSON

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/19_12.jpg GENUINE GIBSON

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/a7_1.jpg GENUINE GIBSON

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/2b_1.jpg GENUINE GIBSON

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/94_1_sbl.jpg FAKE GIBSON MADE IN CHINA

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/FAKE1OF2JPG.jpg FAKE GIBSON MADE IN CHINA

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/F1.jpg FAKE GIBSON MADE IN CHINA

http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n59/yawroc/2.jpg FAKE GIBSON MADE IN CHINA

I hope this site was helpful to you. If you have anything you wish to add to it why not email me at axis953@hotmail.com Also if you are a manufacturer of these fake Gibson guitars or you are a seller of such items and wish to comment you can also give your comments.

 IF THIS SITE WAS HELPFULL PLEASE MAKE A DONATION TOWARDS ITS RUNNING COSTS. THIS WILL ALLOW ME TO ADD MORE ITEMS OF INTEREST. IF YOU MADE A DONATION I WISH TO THANK YOU.

R.Leon
Hi, i just read your say on the fake gibson guitar you bought. I understand perfectly what you said,,,, but haha - something incredible, I also decided to take a risk and try these fakes out. I had contacted the seller and also asked many question. the said they manufacture them in many places in china, and get there hardware from Korea. So anyways i decided to by a fake les pauls custom with "gold hardware". after 1 week, i also received it in exactly the same way you described, haha who knows if it maybe was the same person you had bought yours.
 
Anyways, after 10 minutes trying to take that brown tape off i saw the sexy black GIBSON USA case, with the sticker even says CASE MADE IN CANADA. awesome! i opened the case and YES, the fumes were strong, but hell it was gorgeous. VERY HIGH DETAIL, 2 screws on the truss rod with written les paul custom. WHY?????
 
I had told the seller exactly how i want it, i could even had my own name as inlays. anything i wanted they can do it, and accurate. if i want an ebony fret board, EASY!
 
THE PICKUPS ALSO say GIBSON USA, except it was perfect. i decided open them further, and to my surprise, AWESOME! even better. really really accurate. I plugged her in, wow awesome sounds, HUGE SUSTAIN. perfect sound, no need to do much re stringing, just a slight bridge adjustment as you would with any new guitar. In fact i am prepared to say it sounds better than a gibson, lol. I got to even choose what serial i wanted which is alarming!!!! so buyers out there - really be careful, i really think they have now mastered the method of making them. from what i can gather it cost them about 50 US to make totally. They enjoy ripping off people with EMS shipping. Thats how they make their profits.
 
This guitar plays like a dream, AND I DONT SEE IT DIEING ANYTIME SOON. They now have all the signature models, all perfect also... what's more crazy at least 7 sellers i know get them from the same place, so now everyone is selling near perfect or perfect copies. The problems with pickups really has been solved,,, i can see that some sellers have told me that other people have sent them pictures and even told them exactly how to fake them better... so bad! but good for the person buying it. I did not have to spend a cent since i got it. the gold hardware,,,,,, stays gold! which is also alarming as i expected it will do as you say, but i made sure that they do it better.
 
so ya,,, just commenting that they can now make 100% perfect copies... is that good or bad??? lol

Webmaster Reply
Thank you for the email? I might add this one to the site when I have collected all the info I need?
Firstly where did you purchase your (FAKE) Gibson from or should I say Gibsun as some guitars I have seen have been wrongly named.
I obviously am happy for you that you have such an ideal model although as an email I could be told anything, without actually seeing this guitar in the flesh that you purchased I can make no judgments on what you claim.

I do agree that the Chinese are the best in the world at faking goods in fact they are probably number 1. I have had the pleasure of overlooking a number of their so called Gibson Guitars and on spec I must say the result is awesome! Although I have not come across one as yet which has played just as awesome?
The necks are never twisted these are perfectly set as is the bridge none of the strings buzz, although on every model I have tested the pick ups are absolute trash and so too is the perfect gold hardware.
The Gold rubs off depending how much the guitar is played on a small 10 watt amp the sound is good but I put it through a 1966 Marshall JTM45 and it sounds awful totally poor.
But as I have stated this was not a worry for me as I can change the pickups and the hardware for the real stuff no problem. So each of these guitars now has the correct Pick Ups they also now have original Gibson hardware so they are at least 50% Gibson I suppose.
I will inform you further the guitars I purchased did not come with original or fake Gibson cases the ones I purchased from a number of different sources came in polystyrene cases.

S.C. USA

I have ordered a Les Paul Custom. This was one of the most inexpensive ones. I am pretty sure their all about the same after doing a lot of investigation. If I am I am disappointed at least it was not very much of money. Most were around $450 with shipping. This came in at $337. I believe this is a guitar priced to bring you in. This one has expired. They now have a new L.P. White Custom for $180 plus shipping. The one I ordered should arrive around this weekend.

As you are aware of I do know guitars. I will really go thru this and let you know. Below is an example of a Les Paul Supreme Head Stock and a copy. I think you should be able to tell. Fairly close but no cigar.
Regards -- S.C.


Hi fantastic site, i purchased one of these fake Gibsons from (NOTPERMITTED) China it turned up exactly as you said but i found it needed tuning that was it i changed the strings and i have myself one hell of guitar it feels exactly as you said.
I can't believe how exact you were over your findings but i still have the same pick ups in mine which have been tried through a number of different amps no feedback.
if you ever come to the usa i would buy you a drink buddy brilliant site i am glad i found you.
i am going back to buy two more and a buddy of mine who really took the (notpermitted) is now crying his heart out and guess what he now wants one. I totally endorse everything you say thank's man super super cool guy!

I would still advise anyone thinking of buying one of these guitars to exercise caution as unless you have some technical knowledge how to set up the guitar or repair certain things like pick ups etc avoid buying. Instead if you cannot afford a genuine Gibson go to a reputable trustworthy dealer and buy an Epiphone they are the nearest as well as the only guitar ever likely to take you very close to the real thing. WEBMASTER

I have been contacted by many people, contemplating buying a fake Gibson guitars.I have had to update these pages as currently some of the content here has since changed. These guitars cannot be found so easy now on a well known auction site but with about five minutes of toil surfing the net you will find them providing you use the correct keywords.
I am not permitted to advertise these sites, but i must say that matters have changed somewhat as to the manufacture of these instruments. I am about to purchase another fake guitar which will be a Fender. The Gibson i still currently have is still gigged with and a very impressive bit of kit, However this is only due to the fact that i had to spend a few hours adjusting or replacing certain parts.
What really has to be pointed out is that if you are buying a Gibson over the net that is being passed off as an original, I would certainly if possible try to see the guitar in the flesh before buying it. The unfortunate thing is that there are people out there who are prepared to purchase these forgeries and pass them off as the real deal duping the unsuspecting buyer that they are the real thing. So for you people who might purchase what seems to be an original i have some points to watch out for.

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

If in any doubt at all contact Gibson them selves i am sure they will be more than happy to assist you should you have any concerns. My advice is if you want the real thing go to your music store and buy one. Or if you have to have that guitar on the net ask questions, challenge the seller at every angle, If they feel reluctant to answer honestly or seem to be dithering then don't go through with the sale. I have nothing against the Chinese who are making these guitars as they are not stating they are the real deal, but those who are attempting to dupe the unsuspecting buyer i do have reservations against. Christmas is just around the corner don't get caught out.

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