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Fake Guitars


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Saw on the news the other day about some guy getting busted somewhere in N.Y.C. for selling counterfeit Gibson guitars. Wondering if anybody had any info on these. :g:

I got one a few (3 or 4?) years ago. Paid $350US for it shipped EMS from China. I wired the guy the money and the next day he was "no longer a registered user". I crapped myself. "Should have known better" I thought. My emails were bouncing and I had no clue how I was to get my money back. Three days later (I [censored] you not) I received a guitar. I'd compare it to the fake Heuers of a decade ago, but then I'm guessing Gibson copies were in their infancy. I'm told that they're a lot more accurate now, but I'll let you see for yourself. However inaccurate, it is very playable. The neck is straight, action extremely low, body is solid with a decent timbre, the pickups are very bright and have a lot of gain (almost useless without distortion, but I play death metal/rhythm). The Chinese are pretty good with Ibanez I hear (though I think Ibanez does make guitars in China, so they very well may be authentic, rebranded as better models)

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I'm not a guitar player, but a musician, and I can't imagine they'd play close to the same as a real Gibson.

You'd be correct in that assumption, but assuming that the guitar's made of solid mahogany, you change the pickups (most people trash the stock pickups and rock EMG's, Duncans, etc), and have the thing set up by a pro, change the plastic nut to bone, maybe put in an OEM bridge, there's no reason it wouldn't be close. Add to that the amount of post-processing that goes in (distortion, wah, [censored], EQ, chorus, phase) and you'd have to be really good to tell them apart. These are actual guitars, not toys. It would be like saying a rep Breitling couldn't come close to the real thing - it might not be exact, but close? Probably. The purists will argue with me, but dropping EMG's into a rep Gibson, would be like dropping a swiss 7750 into a rep BCE.

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Guest carlsbadrolex

Amazingly enough, I would have to both agree and disagree with the above statements. I can get you a link for a website that sells the entire line of Gibson and Fender products (as replicas). The new ones are much better quality than what you would expect from a guitar made in China. Then again, I earn most of my living from peddling inexpensive musical instruments made in China.

A coworker has 4 of these replica Gibsons. 2 LP Customs an ES 335 and an ES350. They are all VERY playable, and as was said above, a couple new pickups and a new nut and its pretty damn hard to tell from the sound which is real. NOW of course like our reps... fit and finish is considerably different. And they also have little inaccuracies.

The company I work with imports generic unbranded copies of these guitars... We sell LPs for around $125, ES 335s for around $150 and Fenders for under $100. All are mdae in China, and all are extremely playable. IN FACT, they are SO playable that we have three recording artists that have recently written testimonials and taken our guitars on the road with them because they can be bought cheaply and beat to hell on the road.

I have also been witness to the fact that a professional "set up guy" can make a 2x4, 12 nails and a set of strings sound good... There really isnt alot to a guitar after you peal away the cosmetics.

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i thought the recognized fake gibson was epiphone :)

I would love to see the website. in fact i would love to see any other lines that you know of for cheap chinese copies. Would be fun to check out.

my baby is a Hamer. Mmmmm, you can just feel the sustain, especially when i crank it to 11

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My advice would be to buy a non-rep. You buy an instrument for its sound, not its brand. There are enough cheap quality instruments that will sound better than a fake Gibson as it is.

Surely you're not buying a fake guitar for the image as the moment you play it, people will wonder how bad you have to be to make a Gibson sound cheap. :D

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I bought a Gibson Les Paul '68 Custom flametop copy from a chinese dealer about one year ago (can't remember the website though).

Since I gig frequently with my band I planned to use it as a cheap stage guitar (I'm kinda reluctent to put my Gibson Historic Reissues in front of a drunken rock / punk audiance :blink: ).

The transcation was very easy. I emailed the seller with some custom mods, it took about 10 days to finish the guitar.

The price was ridiculously low and they took paypal. They sent a photo of the actual guitar before shipping.

Just be prepared to ask a LOT of questions and demand a actual photo before you buy.

The finish of my guitar is immaculate with great overall workmanship. I think it holds up to any Epiphone.

The hardware is somewhat crappy though (the tuners, tailpiece and bridge lose the gold pretty fast and the pickups are p.o.s) but can be easily replaced.

It makes a great gig guitar but it just can't touch my gen Gibson Historics (which cost about 20 times as much).

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hey sorry for the late response dudes ! :p just got back from florida today .. 2 weeks & i drove ! i feel like sh**t today , but me & my fam had a great time ..

ok now to the fake gibson , that was some dude from long island ny selling rep gibsons :p ..

i still say that if you have a solid body guitar & install good pick ups & are playing thru a good amp you will have a good sound ! oh & if you play well helps too ;) ..

i wish i could find some guitar rep in china to sell me an eddie vanhalen kramer 5150 rep ;) that would be awsome , i cant not afford 3k on a guitar ..

good to be back guys !

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No prob. I hope it works out. I came across it and wanted to try it, but then I found the guitars, and thought "$400 for a new watch, or a new guitar?". Then I got cold feet about sending them my money. If you do go for it, let us know how it goes - they have some watches on there that are out of production (Breitling SeaWolf rep).

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Yes the PRS is real i got it about 8 years ago for around $2400 brand new, its worth about $3,000 last time i checked...Its a custom 24 my bad, i havent picked the thing up in years...You got an EVH guitar??...so do I its awesome, its called a peavey EVH wolfgang, i have it in amber quilt top, - it is a guitar that eddie himself designed for peavey I play it more than my PRS just because it has locking frets so you can go wild with the whammy bar and it stays in tune :) Heres a pic of it that i found on google - its in the shop getting the trust rod adjusted

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Edited by UB7
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nope nothin on you tube....I'm mainly a drummer - been playin drums for 7 years, than picked up the guitar about 6 years ago, and bass for about 4...I have a custom carvin 5 string bass aswel:

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3K for the evh?? i got mine for $1800 4 years ago

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nope nothin on you tube....I'm mainly a drummer - been playin drums for 7 years, than picked up the guitar about 6 years ago, and bass for about 4...I have a custom carvin 5 string bass aswel:

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3K for the evh?? i got mine for $1800 4 years ago

im talkin bout the kramer evh guitar is $3k you have the wolfgang model .

ps heres me jammin to some evh solos on youtube ;)

me on the tube

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Wow, it doesnt look half bad at all...Wonder how it sounds...I got dragon II pickups in my custom 24 i bet if you put some nice pickups the thing wouldnt sound bad at all...Nice riffin in your youtube link - rock on

Edited by UB7
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