A FAKE Gibson Les Paul Standard Guitar (Chibson)
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- Опубліковано 19 чер 2024
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At www.crimsonguitars.com we often see some very nice guitars for repair or restoration but when our client opened up this case I knew we were in for something a bit different. A genuine fake Gibson Les Paul custom made in China. Does that make this a 'Chibson'?
This was in fact made by one of the workers in the Chinese Epiphone factory, so how good is it? How can we spot the fact that it is a fake Gibson guitar? What do you think?
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
1:36 The case
1:54 First impressions
5:57 But - off with the truss rod cover
7:04 And off with the strings and Ben checks the wood and the pickup
9:06 Off with the backplate and check the electronics
10:41 The neck not quite flat- frets unlevelled -
work needs to be done to make the instrument playable
12:38 Conclusion
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In 2010 I bought a Gibson Les Paul Studio Faded Worn Cherry, made in U.S.A.. 750€ (about 900$ of that time). It was the biggest piece of shit of a guitar I've ever owned. Horrible set-up, badly cutted nut, faulty tuning machines, 5 (FIVE) unleveled frets. I had to spend 300$ to make that guitar playable and to make it stay in tune.
Three months ago a friend of mine bought a "Chibson" from Aliexpress, carefully choosing the most regarded builder. For 200$ he got a single piece body, single piece neck, ebony fretboard Les Paul copy with maple top (not veneer), astonishingly looking, good (fake) tuners, all frets leveled but some of them not crowned properly. Long story short, with 2 hours of work and another 150$ spent in GFS pickups and pots and electronics, he has a better playing and sounding guitar than MOST american Gibsons. And I mean 3000-4000$ Gibsons too.
So, I still don't advocate for fake guitars, but Gibson, I send a big giant FUCK YOU from me to you.
It happened more or less to a friend of mine too. Except, it was a 2500$ Standard. Not joking.
Man I went to my local shop and tried some expensive gibsons....they didn't sound half as good as I thought they would. They really were actually lame. I ended up buying a used special edition epiphone and it sounds fantastic.
+Urbex Johnny Sadly I don't think you're joking nor am I really surprised, just saddened :(
Well said my friend. Well fucking said!
can you give me the link of the guitar
So basically change the truss rod cover, cavity covers, the nut, and the electronics and you have a nice Gibson guitar not made by Gibson. You can do all of that for much less than the cost of a "real" Gibson. It's interesting to see how far these "fakes" have come along. Who cares who made it if it has 6 strings, feels good in your hands and works properly. People are too brand crazy. If it works, feels and looks right then rock on.
I think the point is more that you're not getting what you expect to purchase. If you know it's a fake and buy it anyway, I don't see it as much of a problem but if you think you're getting something that you're not it is.
Like I said that is deceitful but if your looking to buy a Gibson and you see one advertised new at a quarter of the price of all the others, don't some red flags pop up?
Yeah absolutely, I always go to my local guitar shop even if something's cheaper online anyway. I prefer knowing exactly what I'm going to get and see it properly before I buy anyway., it's just sometimes people buy online and get conned, even when it costs almost the same, just a little bit cheaper.
Daley now if a shop is selling fakes as real ones then you do have a problem
I own a PRS Santana replica and a LesPaul replica. Both Ordered from China. I replaced the harness/Pots and pickups on both guitars. (the chinese pups sounded great at bedroom levels but uncontrollable feedback at gig volumes). The chinese LP worked extremely well out of the box, just tune and go. the Santana had intonation issues and the nut needed adjustment so I replaced that too. Both guitars have incredible tone & sustain and play extremely well. I have not checked the truss rod. I know its there, but have not made adjustments. both guitars were just under $300 including upgrades. it was just an experiment, but I don't think I will ever spend on a real Gibson again. I normally wear out the frets in 2-3 years and instead of having to refret an expensive guitar, I would just keep replacing my chibson every so often. thats just how i feel about it.
If I had a dollar for every time he said "rubbish" I could buy a Les Paul
good luck finding one XD
if i had a pound every time an American said freedom id buy a crimson guitar, its all colloquialisms
I think they cost more than 43 quid though
Niall Miller i was saying freedom than i realised im not american
Or a Chibson for less than a Crimson neck.
I have been a guitar tech for about 15 years. I have a couple of customers who bought a few of the fake guitars. Now my job was to get them playing right. I pretty much did the same thing to all 5 of them that he bought. New bridge, nut, electronics, pickups, and a fret level and crown. Alot of work but as you said they all were a very good base to build a pretty nice guitar. Pretty nice bodies and necks and paint. After I did all that work they all were pretty nice guitars that played nice and sounded nice because I put in real Gibson pickups. He was very happy. I have mixed feelings about working on them but I did what my customer wanted.
Have a great day and please keep putting up your awesome vidoe's.
Gary
Oakton Va
United States.
Just FYI for fellow Gibson fans, the guitar Slash used on Appetite and his main recording guitar is a Les Paul replica made by a local luthier. If a guitar is good. It's good. It doesn't matter who's hands made it. Its that hands that play it and the heart behind those hands that really matters.
I didn't know that, I do agree though.. A good guitar is a good guitar. The issue here is more the morality than the quality.. Though as I said in the video I was surprised by how good the instrument actually is.
I agree with you, a good guitar is a good guitar by any name...well...I agree with a dear friend of mine who's name I will leave out of this since his name is synonymous in the Luthier world and is still making high end acoustic guitars for a living. Anyway...the two of us were having a discussion on counterfeiting one day and I was surprised to hear him say that in his experience...the best and most gifted makers he's ever seen are counterfeiters. At least the ones who can pull off making a copy that's so good no one can tell....which means by all accounts....they're as good ( or better sometimes ) as the originals
R Jensen
As I was reading your post (as well as watching this video ) what was going through my mind is this; so you buy a really good platform with all the positive things you mentioned ie: good wood and material selection + labor to inlay and finish + all materials...how much is that worth in your time and energy to source everything and get to that place yourself even if you have the skills? Now you take that guitar to someone (or do it yourself ) and take that platform and turn into something really nice in every respect for you're own use and enjoyment. Are you worse or better off paying full price for an original Gibson that as he stated in the video....at times/ depending on the instrument.....can still leave a lot to be desired these days in the product that is being put out there compared to the past? Also considering the fact that any guitar you buy new or old is going to need to be set up properly to some degree anyway regardless? Are good knockoffs really such a bad deal all things considered leaving ethics out of this picture for the sake of argument?
I know this is getting off topic a bit from the intention of the video ( how to spot a fake ) but it raises a good question anyway while we're at it I think.
all good points. And by the way....I'm not in favor of this market at all......and to finish my train of thought with what you said. You'd be better off taking an Epiphone and upgrading it for your own use if you were only looking to save a buck since you know what you are getting up front at the very least and not supporting the shit copies that's coming out of China at the same time.
There's a absolutley massive difference between a chibson and a ghost built gibson guitar FYI
You have a very tough looking demeanor and yet you have a remarkably pleasant voice
I read that in his voice.
Rob Halford like
Very genteel, and proper.
Is it bad I think he also looks like he could be jacksepticeyes older brother?
Yeah, the look & the voice don't match.
I once walked in a music store with my fret rocker and I used it on 3 Gibson Les Pauls
at around $3,000 + each and none of them had their frets properly leveled. The fret
rocker was indeed rocking all over them. Be very careful with Gibson,
they have good and bad apples
Lol
...and I took a fret rocker to my Chibson Greenie/Moore. I found one fret that was slightly unhappy. I ignore it, it plays just fine thank you. US$180, including delivery
They will rock. Their is no way you would have the ability to straighten the neck on a new guitar with strings that’s hanging on the wall brand new. Ya, the neck would be straight without strings when it’s new…
I bought one for $250 canadian dollars, love it, played alright out of the box, changed the pickups and levelled the frets and it's great....I put a sticker over the Gibson logo.
Where can I order one from my fellow Cdn?
I am very glad you did that. Must be bad to feel like a loser.
@@grizz1887 dhgate
@@Melkor54 Huh?
@@grizz1887 search on dhgate, its a chinese wholesaler
I know it isn't the same thing since Squier is actually Fender; but, I prefer to buy a Squier and replace a few electronics and have a guitar that most players can't distinguish from the mexican or american fenders (aside from logo) for a quarter of the price. The Chinese are excellent wood workers. Their guitars can look very beautiful. The only issue I would have with your "Chibson" is that it is blatantly pretending to be a Gibson. If it just had it's own brand name then I would be all for it. Every guitar maker has made Les Paul type guitars so it is only the fact that this company has plastered the Gibson logos on their guitar that makes them sleazy.
Exactly, without the logo I would have bought one for myself.. I am still seriously tempted anyway!.. Change the logo, replace the electronics and fix the frets and setup and you still have a great guitar at about a third of the price..
+Crimson Custom Guitars I too was interested in the chibson guitars and then i came across Rondo Music .com.They are Korean made guitars,and they feature LP's.Tele's and Strats.I ordered a douglas Guitar with an hsh pup configuration neck through in a natural finish for $135.00 on sale.I have seen reveiws on these guitars and they seem to be on par with Epiphone and squier,maybe a little better.The brand names are Agile,Douglas,and Sx the build quality is second to none in this price range.I'm pretty sure i will have to do some tinkering with the fret board and change out the strings and maybe the nut.From what i have heard,some of these guitars are playable right out of the box.If somebody wanted a good cheap guitar to mod up check out Rondo Music .com
+Brushcountry Bob My 15YO daughter was gifted a tatty Sx Les Paul - or more accurately, a Les Paul-ish guitar - by her uncle Charlie's bandmate. It is nice enough, far better than the guitars I had access to at her age. Biggest drawback was some pretty rough fretwork. Chances are I'll take it down Denmark Street to my favourite guitar tech and pay for a set up, and it will be a good little player for her. Sure, I'll stick with my high end stuff, but great for a kid, right?
David Osler With a good setup I think she will be happy with it.For a cheap guitar they are pretty decent and worth the 20 or 30 bucks for a setup.My first guitar was a semi hollow teisco electric from k mart and had tinny sounding microphonic pups,lol,but i loved it anyway.my parent's not so much,but it started my love for guitars and now i wish i still had that old teisco.
My first guitar was a Kay, which I *think* is the same as Teisco, just a brand name used here in the UK. I sold it to my school buddy Pete, a guy I still see, to trade up. Don't miss it a bit, action like a cheese grater and puny sound that didn't deliver what I needed as a young punk. But yes, I hope if gives my girl the guitar bug, if only so she'll appreciate her inheritance!
Also I want to add Chinese guitars improved a lot with the years. I bought the first one 3 years ago just to see (plus those website gave me a $50 coupon, so I end up paying $140 for a guitar!!
Guess what? It was a complete disaster, the nut was wider than the neck, the paint had drippin surfaces, the scalloped was catastrophic (2mm to 1mm of distance between the fret), and one fret was cracked.
The issue is, it had an awesome sound, and after testing it for a couple of days, it had an awesome feeling. I just spent $40 to refret it, and fixt the minor issues, and its one of my favourite guitars to play. The tremolo of course completely lost its shine, plus its loosing the paint (ya, it was painted, not chromed), but I punish it as hard as I can, and even those cheap tuners don't change a single inch of a note! It was a 1 in a million of chance, but I got an awesome tremolo and tuners.
So, in resume, the original guitar costs $2500, plus here you pay 85% taxes, you end up paying $4700!!....this guitar I paid $260 + 40 = $300............and after 3 years, it needed only one calibration, and still goes on!
"Mother of toilet seat..." 🤣😅😂 I will definitely be buying one of these.
It seems to me that the first thing to look at with a les paul is; "what vintage are we looking at?" You look into the concave part of the body cutout where the binding is, just before it comes around to the treble side/end of the neck. If the binding is of generally uniform height, as in, the pocket (or rabbet or rebate) for the binding was cut with a laminate trimmer or some cutter that was guided from the surface of the top, there-by following the carve topography, then you are at the very least, looking at an attempt to copy a gibson les paul from the end of the 1950's. Also, the fingerboard material would (unless having been replaced) be an absolutely unbelievably lovely and musical piece of Brazilian Rosewood, just like you'd find on an older martin d-series accoustic.
I helped someone build 2 of these Gibson re-pro's about 25 years ago. We each built our own, side by side and split all the work like research and drawing and jig building, etc. We figured it out together. It took a year and a half as we were building other custom instruments at the same time. It was actually quite an undertaking to do a one-off (or 2-off) of those old gibson specs. Like I said, it was great practice and we got to compare our results after they were completed.
The inlays in the face of the fretboard were actually originally an acetone based mother of toilet seat. (Pretty sure... I could be wrong on this point. But I remember it that way. We actually installed the mother of toilet seat and left it extra high, then melted it down (w/ acetone) right in it's slot, let it re-harden and refinished it in place) Those guitars were very challenging to make and they each were unique in their own detail but we knew that before we started.
Here's the thing: we had to do justice to the 2 brazilian rosewood pieces that we had salvaged from a yardsale.
It was practice and we wanted to be practical with the wood. A Les Paul is difficult to surpass as far as design goes. That was our baby. We were pretty good makers but just wondered how hard it would be to plagiarize the classic Les Paul. That one in the video is not ours. Ours had the real truss pocket and 3/16 rod with the cap nut and also a proper 'bell'-cover with a full clapper.(we never bothered with any print on the cover, however. In our opinion, our "fake" original owner lost that piece befor he left for college in the early sixties. That's our story that we stick to. ;) ) Our screen print was more subtle with a proper layout. (stylish, like faded blue-jeans; it looked scrawled, not stamped, etc) The burst job on that guitar in the video looked pretty impressive also, as were ours. Not bad for a warped piece of crap. lol.
Fake Gibson = Low quality components expertly crafted.
Real Gibson = High end components thrown together with no care.
If only Gibson could send all the components for the guitars to Korea to be built buy some real craftsmen.
Seriously rofl! :)
You misunderstood me, I'm laughing because it was the best, most succint, expression of what I feel has happened to Gibson. I agree with you wholeheartedly and that makes me sad, it is, however, hilarious that the Chinese Guitars are now better made but lack the quality parts.
Crimson Custom Guitars I must admit i thought you where disagreeing too.
buy a used samick. great guitars.
a hyde I have a Samick Tobacco Strat that is a fine, well crafted guitar. The only thing I don't like is that shape of the headstock.
This dude looks like Bam Bam Bigelow from WWF in the 90s.
"I feel dirty after touching this thing. ' Man I'm glad he never released the end of shooting after party.
Watching this video and comparing the Les Paul seen here with the one I own I learned two things...
1.- I own a Chibson.....
amd 2.- I should avoid that guitar shop i bought it from like a plague
Shit man, I'm sorry! Can you return it? Take them to court maybe?
I don't think so, this guitar has been with me for almost 2 years so, no refunds! and about the court thing... My country's legal and copyright systems are a hot mess so I think I'll pass on that so I'll better make the best of this and give my chibson a nice improvement
Anyway, thanks man!
+Lars Lombardo
Please write out the name of the company!
+ChoirWalker Mexico-based.... anything else........
Oh...
I love how everybody warns people to be careful about what they buy. I find myself being the exact opposite of that. I would buy at least a couple of these if I could find them where I live, even if it was just the wood (With the finish obviously), because most of the times they're well constructed and I always end up installing new tuners, bridges, pickups, electronics, etc. So Gibson or Chibson, it doesn't really matter, it will eventually sound good and be playable if you work on it a little.
sean toner I couldn't care less if it's a fake or an original. Also, even if I got a real Gibson, I would still get new hardware because I don't like having factory stock instruments. So instead of 900 dollars or lbs it would be at least 1500 just for the guitar plus new pickups and bridge/tuners if needed. I only pay for parts, because everything else (Like fret levelling) I do it myself.
My Chinese Les Paul Custom was about $250, the Kluson tuners and tune-o-matic bridge with stop tail costed me only about $70 for everything. The only expensive thing were the EMGs which were about $200. So that equals $520 dollars for a perfectly playable guitar that you wouldn't be able to distinguish from a Gibson if it wasn't for the headstock.
Oscar Sánchez TG I'm pretty damn sure any one who has ever owned or played a real one could tell the difference!
sean toner Read above: *I couldn't care less*
I'm sure you couldn't, and your the reason why there are so many of these shit copies knocking around!!
sean toner So what? I'm not gonna spend my whole bank account in a real Gibson just because I like their models. As long as it has the same shape as an original one and it's well constructed, I don't give two shits if it's real or not. Also, believe me when I say that I'm not hurting Gibson by not buying their shit. They have enough money.
I agree that there are great Les Paul models made in China but what I do not agree with is the notion of counterfeiting Gibson or any other guitar models. Selling a guitar is one thing, but selling a guitar with a copied brand logo and fake serial number is flat out wrong. If a company wants to sell "Gibson Les Paul" inspired guitar models, then they should use their own logo and add proper serial numbers so their customers can be guaranteed that it came from their company. There are people here who say that "I want to buy a Chinese Gibson because it is cheaper and Gibson's price tag is based off its name." If they truly believe in this rationality, then why do they buy knock off Gibson models that still have the "Gibson" logo? Why not settle for a Chinese made guitar that does not have a "Gibson" logo? It is because they want to pretend that they own a Gibson. They want the name, they want the image but they are too financially insecure and embarrassed to settle for a Chinese guitar and thus they opt to buy one with a Gibson logo. Hypocrites. Shame on guitar manufactures who sell counterfeit Gibson guitars. They should make their own guitars and slap their own logos on their guitar products in order not to fool people into thinking they are buying a Gibson guitar.
@@garymitchell5899 I have a Chibson 59 LP Standard and even with mods it cost me nowhere near the price of rip off Gibsons. Gibsons are overrated I've had loads over the years and currently have two.
Actually I disagree with your whole hypocrite statement. There are plenty of reasons why someone could buy one of these and not be a hypocrite. If I was a kid and didn't know any better and saw one of these sell for $200 where as real ones sold for $1500, I would buy one straight from china in a heartbeat. That's just one example. The main issue with these guitars is they are pretty much illegal, since they don't have the rights to the name or model and ethically gibson owns that. However, look at the clothing industry. Fancy new products get a huge markup and counterfeits are essentially allowed by law because it keeps the industry moving in a creative aspect. Guitars are art, and a lot of the same ideals seem to have applied to them too.
Of course though they replicated the design well, but cheaped out wherever possible and because of that, the quality gibsons will stay and do just fine.
Fuck idk what I'm talking about. Just buy an epiphone.
i agree what your saying ,id be proud to hold this on stage,though
They should call them,Chibson and say,Made in China on the back of the headstock.
@@colinmcnab6145 Whether you like Gibson or not doesn't make it right. Not very good logic to go by.
Crimson guitars has my word unless I buy a guitar straight from Crimson Guitars or an authorized dealer for Crimson.....I will never buy a fake Crimson Guitar for any reason, I would never condone theft of your companies products EVER!!!
Great video. Always love your luthier tips, but this one shows your heart for the craft. Keep up the great work!
Ben, if you do go ahead and decide to do any work on that atrocity, if you haven't found out yet, the TonePros bridge will not fit over the posts in the body. You will have to dowel up the holes and redrill them for the correct spacing. A huge pain for a guitar worth less than the labour involved in making it even remotely playable. Funny he paid like 50 pounds for that genuine ABR-1 that wont fit (not to be mean or anything).
That's about what a modern les paul is. Gibson is all about technology and gimics now. they know they can make a cheap guitar and slap their name on it and sell it for thousands. No I do not want a tuning mechanism on my lp custom, I can tune my own damn guitar.
You are my favorite 'misc' luthier! Thank you for the good quality! I finally ordered a Chinder and a Chibson...basic as possible, hoping necks are serviceable. I can do things to the Chibs that I can't do with my regular guitars. :)
Thanks for posting this video. It's great to see someone - who knows what he's talking about - giving a fair and balanced critique of an instrument, and also discussing the ethics of undertaking remedial work on what is clearly a fake guitar...
Absolutely would not have questioned it. Looks totally legit at first glance, but I'm a Fender guy.
Andrew Elias I'm a Fender guy too.
Great video!! I have made an entire channel trying to warn people off of these guitars. You are spot on - quite aside from the terrible ethical issues they are poorly finished and set up and some poor kid will no doubt part with a lot of money and get ripped off. In fact I suspect many already have. I've been a subscriber of yours for some considerable time now and was delighted to see your take on these fakes. :o)
Great video. I have two fake chinese LPs and would never pass them off as real. In fact I take a perverse pleasure in showing them to guitar snobs and then telling them that they are fakes. I have a PRS type guitar made in China but I had my own logo put on it.
well... I've never seen fakes sold as real, but you are correct to point the ethical issue. but it is also undeniable that once you change the hardware those fakes play and sound just like the real ones. So there are finishing flaws, but to Chinaguitarsceptic I would argue that Gibson needs to change their strategy. I putout $1,200 on a lespaul back in 2010 that by this summer already needed refreting. instead of putting out $200 to refret it, I spent a total of 270 (including new harness/pots and humbuckers) and got a great gig setup. I love showing it off and pointing out that it cost me about a fifth of its real counterpart. so Gibson is exposed and needs to re-think what they are selling.
You didn't point out that it has an Epiphone bridge.
Mick Griffin I dont know about that. my bridge is no labeled. it doesn't "feel" heavy when I hold it in my hands Must be some type of plastic, but once you mount it and string the guitar, the sustain and tone are there so I didn't change it. the intonation is perfect after replacing the nut.
The bridge has slotted screws for height adjustment. Gibson have never used this system. They always use thumb wheels.
Every time I watch this I feel like I'm watching a Malcolm McDowell movie. So entertaining. And the voice just mellows you out lol.
For an everyday self taught guitarist I found this to be a very educational clip...thank you. I like the fact that you took the time to explain it in relatively basic terms and that you have morals about working on this fake and a true love for the 'real' Gibson.
As an owner of numerous Epiphone guitars (mainly because they suit my budget) I dream of one day owning a Gibson and will be very clued up before making my purchase....once again thanks.
That was a great review, good detail thank you. Quick question did you find the wood resonance?
'Mother of toilet seat' HA!
Shitus' Maximus!
I wish I knew where I first heard that do I could correctly attribute it.. So, one of my favorite descriptions :)
Thant's an old one... my guitar shop guy used to say that in the 80's anyway.
The phrase "Mother of Toilet Seat" was first used to describe Gretsch drums of the 60's/70's who were using plastic renditions in bizarre colors to imitate pearl. The exact same material plastic was being used to make honest to god toilet seats!
Back in the '70s, there was a guitar in one of the shops on 48th Street in Manhattan that really was made out of a toilet seat and a Tele neck. Damn thing weighed a ton, but actually didn't sound bad (it had two Humbuckers on it). It definitely wasn't in Sam Ash, it could have been in Alex's, but I believe it was actually in Manny's.
Thank you for putting out some great videos. I do not play guitar. I would love to learn someday but at the age of 49 my fingers do not stretch that far lol. I just love the craftsmanship I see on your channel.
I love this Guys videos. He shoots from the hip and tells it like it is. Brutal honesty.
holly crap, i live in Argentina, and i´ve seen those cheap crimson guitars wondering if they were original, now I know I should keep my eyes away from them
he's like a young bald bill bailey : O
Thank you for making this video. Years ago I bought a chibson 175 to mess around with, I rewired it using 50s wiring and some old 57 Gibson pickups /pots I had etc. When I received this guitar it had problems with the neck, a local Luthier was happy to rectify the problem on the condition that he could keep the instrument for a while and show and warn other customers what was being brought into the country. This custom 175 is a very good copy.
The guitar sounds impressive and plays really well. I used Russian oil in paper capacitors and actually got a very nice jazz sound from it however even though it has the fake Gibson label I don't kid myself or any one else, it's a fake. People would ask about the guitar and I always told them that it feels no better than a cheap copy. The guitar doesn't feel like a Gibson and it doesn't fit in a Gibson case. You also have the moral problem that you can't sell it.
this guy has the greatest voice of all time... could easily be a voice actor... documentary narrator, cartoon character, regular actor, radio announcer... awesome awesome voice.
Great video.
Going to have to look at my Gibson SG now..
Got it over 10 years ago, and the original one I received from Guitar Center was a bashed up, used, and was missing the pickups..
After a seriously irritating dispute, they provided the CORRECT, new guitar I originally purchased.
Somewhat worried if what I got was a fake after watching this.
well guitar center sound like assholes (we dont have them in Ireland) How did the guitar check out?
time to check out crimson guitars for me!
I would love to get some of these to use as project guitars - I would be ripping them all apart and customizing for fun but the headstock and the flame would be nice building blocks to play with
Thanks for posting; a lesson to all! Having said that, I have just returned an end-of-line genuine Gibson ES 195 (nice Gretsch-esque P94 equipped semi) to the Dealer. Apart from dents and dings which I didn't expect in a 'new' guitar (the fault of the shop and not Gibson), the neck pick up was the wrong way around (meaning that the poles pointed to the bridge and not up to the strings!). But the worst was, wait for it... the ID number on the headstock was different to that on the label inside the guitar and on the Authenticity certificate! The dealer said that they had picked this up upon delivery from Gibson but Gibson had just shrugged their shoulders! The guitar was also very badly set up (most Gibsons nowadays are delivered in very playable condition). Because this was to be my second 195, I had something to compare it to. So, despite these goofs, I knew it was the real deal. And, of course, when I plugged it in: oh, the tone! The point being, that without having something to compare it to, being quite an unknown model, I would have said that this genuine Gibson 195 was actually a fake! I was really gutted to have to send it back since it was generally such a nice guitar but, unfortunately, there were just too may things which were wrong and the Dealer was not prepared to adjust the price to compensate.
I would be really pissed off if someone had stolen my name and was make shitty guitars in China ,buy the real thing people
It's just one of those things, I can't really do anything about it so don't let myself get too worked up.. I do wish I had the means to fight them though!
Crimson Custom Guitars Maybe you can hire some ninjas to go sabbotage the factory. Nobody will know it's your doing.
***** I think the west should start faking chickens feet and smuggle them into china and selling them...
***** it would be nice if Gibson would start making the real thing again
William Bierce Gibson probably owns the Chinese factory that makes the fake Gibsons...
I'd buy it and switch out the electronics
Yes sir! As long as the body and neck are good, you have a perfect platform to start from. I have a squier strat, bought it for $80 new. I replaced all the electronics with a loaded pickguard from fender then level'd the frets, got the action perfect and what a nice strat I have now. For less than half of the price of an american strat.
Yep for those who have skills(playing and modding ones) there are no shitty guitars.Me and my pal moddified a bullet strat for a friend who wanted a custom guitar and was ready to drop a fortune....we convinced him to have a go at his.."POS" instrument instead.
We stripped all the finish off and stained it with a rosewood stain(we went for an all rosewood looking guitar (since it had a rosewood fingerboard already).The whole body, headstock, back of the neck..... all ..rosewoody looking...threw on wilkinson tuners and bridge....both good quality but still very affordable and a set of tonerider pickups.Taken care of the frets along with a brass nice shinny nut to replace the plastic crap sanded any identifications that it was ever a squier bullet and presto......the birth of a killer looking and sounding custom guitar.......
That guitar made everyone salivate...he took it to a gig and everyone was asking about it.....where did he get it....when he told them it was a bullet the look on their faces was priceless...of course after that(and only after)they started finding flaws...lol.
+Ben Dover did the exact same. used it as a good platform to start with. upgraded the equipment and i actually like mine better than some of the fenders out there
Dreamdancer11 As long as it sounds good man. Stevie Ray Vaughn played squires a lot and nobody even noticed lol
Why not buy an Epiphone and mod that. You'd get a far nicer guitar for your money. No-one cares if it says Epiphone or Gibson on the headstock unless they're a gear snob in which case their opinion counts for nothing.
Excellent vid - just found this channel! Thanks man you're very watchable. Have learned a lot thanks again :)
Being that this video is a little over 4 years old I just bought a Gibson guitar and this one is much better work on it than the one that I bought eight years ago the Frets on this are impeccable, what was more strange was the technician wired the pickups up backwards, I basically pulled the plugs out and put the wires from the pickup straight to the pot which did say Gibson on them. After which the guitar sounds great.
dude cracks me up "mother of toilet seat"
lol needed a chuckle
Is that a fake head??
It's a commonly used term in the trade. I've been using it for years too. I even stayed at an air bnb that had a guitar on the wall with a mother of toilet seat fretboard! I did a little sick in my mouth and carried on with my holiday.
Thats all you get with Gibson anyway. Inlays made from Grandmas old toilet seats. I have 2.
Gibson has always used MOTS for les pauls. They never had mother of pearl. This is a big thing for the guys making les pauls, you have to get the italian plastic. I know someone who bought an italian accordian from the 50's and stole the mots off the keys for his les paul build. This guy also didn't check to see if this guitar had a long tenon, much more important than the top wood. With a little setup, this is probably a great guitar.
A few things I noticed which depart from a real Gibson (some have been highlighted in other videos on Chibsons):
The headstock lacks the "wings" which Gibson uses when forming the raw headstock prior to shaping.
The center of the scroll on top of the headstock is ill-defined; real Gibson has a sharper "part" in the center.
There's odd finish damage on all the stamped info on the back of the headstock (heat damage?); as someone else posted, Gibson stamps that stuff before the finish is applied.
Gibson usually uses inked serial numbers on "skinny headstock" models like the LP Classic and historic reissues (though there was a period with stamped serial #'s on LP Classics with the headstock face silk-screened "Les Paul Classic"); however, I'm not intimately-familiar with all models made since 2000...
The tuners appear to have rounded tops to the posts; the real Klusons have flat-topped tuning posts.
The plastic keys are subtly wrong-shaped; all surfaces are a little too rounded over.
The ring at the base of the plastic keys is smaller than it is on real Klusons.
The bushings for the tuners have large round-over tops; real bushings are flat on top with a machined step in that surface.
The nut is just appalling; no real Gibson has a nut that crappy unless someone popped off the original nut and put a hunk of crap on it.
The tailpiece is too far back; a real Gibson has tailpiece mounting posts centered forward of the Rhythm pickup volume control.
There are no "finger-cutters" (knob pointers) below the knobs (though I know people often take those off).
Some knobs are all the way down to the top's surface; normally, a Gibson's pots are typically mounted such that you can't do that without splitting the knob.
The bridge has too-wide mounting posts with a slot for adjustment; a real Gibson has thinner posts with thumbwheels.
The cutaway looks a little "lazy" (too wide) in the video, though it's hard to see for sure.
The pickup select switch has the wrong type of nut, as this type goes on Asian hardware; the Gibson switch & nut have different proportions.
The pickup mounting rings are too-wide on the sides which hold the height adjustment screws; this is easiest to see by holding a real Gibson ring over the existing ring (and the real rings may not cover the routes in this guitar).
There is a wild amount of finish slop (or is it glue for the top?) in the control cavity; I've never seen a Gibson which looks like that.
Gibson never used that particular kind of quick-connect for control wiring; some Gibsons have a p.c. board with very-different quick connects for the wiring.
Hard to see but the output jack looks recessed on a metal plate; real Gibson reissue/Classic-type model would have a non-recessed plastic jack plate.
As noted, screws appear to be the wrong size & shape everywhere.
Hardware & pickup coves appear chrome plated, and pitted/bubbling in places; Gibson typically uses nickel plating on vintage-style instruments.
Epiphone-stamped pickups are hilarious; no one would ever take out any Gibson pickup to use any Epi model pickup.
As mentioned, I'm not completely familiar with newer Gibson models, but I worked in the Epiphone and Gibson USA plants in the late-90's up to 2000. Hardware, plastic, screws, electronics and overall finish quality smack of an Asian instrument. That said, Epiphone used many different Asian plants as suppliers , with highly variable quality between plants. Some I would just smash if you gave them to me, while there was one plant whose guitars I'd consider actually paying money to own. That said, gripes regarding Gibson's prices, odd design choices (especially recently), etc are acknowledged.
My bottom line is if I held the guitar and the neck felt good and fret placement was okay (meaning a realistic fret job could make it a great player), then I'd consider buying the guitar in the video and swapping electronics to get a good sounding guitar. But the forged names are just crazy (China forges Martin guitars as well, along with every expensive fashion item out there, and anything else which will yield a profit).
I also noticed the pick up selector switch isn't recessed as it should be. The bridge is metric instead of the usual style (don't remember what it's called, but I know you can't use just a regular screw driver to adjust). And the truss rod cover stands out to me - I'm by no means an expert and haven't paid attention to Les Pauls for long, but every time I see them, they usually just have the model type (Standard, Deluxe, Classic) written on the cover, not Les Paul and the model type. I could be wrong, but that also seems like a red flag to me.
You sir are not just a luthier. You are an artist. Great informative video.
Just a few words about the wood. The top may be plain maple or some other light wood with a flame maple veneer on the face. You can tell by scraping a little of the finish off the inside edge of a pickup cavity where you might see the veneer layer join, or by looking inside the control cavity where you might see where the mahogany (if that's what it is) has been routed away to reveal the maple. If there's a flame there, it's solid. I had a Japanese made Shiro LP copy with a flame veneer top. Similarly the back may be veneered too, as it appears to be one piece. You can tell by looking at the back end of the guitar to see if it's two or more pieces, the join line will be obvious and it's a giveaway if they don't coincide with any join lines on the back. looking closely a veneer layer will be fairly easy to spot. I've seen a fair few of these.
good to see that ethically you made the decision. There aren't a lot of people who would even care.
Would anyone recommend getting one of these, ripping it apart down to just the body and neck and then rewiring it and reworking it with custom parts?
can get them because of custom uk
No
Buy a high end Epiphone. I just bought a 2020 Epiphone Les Paul 1959 Standard reissue. Has a long neck tenon, Gibson pickups, CTS pots, mallory capacitors & Switchcraft USA pickup selector switch & output jack. With a vintage style brown Epiphone case with pink fur inside for $799 U.S. Can't beat that.
I love this guy's reviews and info. I wish that there were more to watch. I definitely learned a few things here to look for, but the obvious sanding around the serial number and "Made in USA", plus the inlays, and back plates were dead giveaways. I've never seen a Standard with a truss rod cover that says "Les Paul Standard." Not saying that they don't exist, but they either say just "Standard" or I've seen the customs have a cover with "Les Paul Custom" on them. Look at how recessed that neck tone pot is. The knob is pretty much scraping the body.
never understood people who say they feel dirty working on a "fake" anything. if the customer wants a part put on their item, as long as they are not paying you with "fake" money, run your business. obviously you have a successful enough business that you are able to turn away customers. that is absolutely fantastic that you are able to do that. as long as the owner of said guitar knows it is fake and is comfortable putting money into it, make the customer happy and be done with it. the morals issue is understandable, but as long as you are not the one selling the counterfeit items, your conscience is clean.
Hey, they were just imitating Gibson's current build quality!
That's the theory! But I think they just provide the right tools for scammers!
Doesn't have a headstock repair so definitely a fake.
@@MegaTerryNutkins lol, you might have given the Chinese an idea there...
Ayy lmao
Guitar artistry aside, your speaking voice is sublime.
Before I watch this video I have to say I did a luthier course about 25 years ago, and made a couple of guitars, it brought back lovely memories just seeing the tools like that behind you, it's an almost replica of where I used to do it :)
The body looks nice, should it be in 2 pieces though ? as you can see the join down the middle, even though it looks like a really nice butt joint :)
£150 squid, that's a nice piece of wood tbh.
Holy fuck £600 quid for a 5 day course, back in the 80's Thatcher paid me £30 a week to attend my course for 2 years 5 days a week rofl, how times have changed, and I came out with a city and guilds. Nice work if you can get it.
Hi Ben, Great video! I have a question for you.
I was given an Epiphone Les Paul Custom by my dad and I’ve recently discovered it is fake. Apart from serial numbers, binding etc. I looked at the body and it’s MDF. I spent quite a lot of time and money trying to get the guitar to sound right, I got the action and setup pretty good and I replaced the pickups and pots etc too. But, it still doesn’t feel right.
My plan is to make a whole new body out of mahogany and possibly an olive top. I want to keep all the hardware I’ve bought too, and the neck! How difficult is it to remove a Les Paul neck from MDF and still keep it in a playable condition?
Any tips you can give me would be grand. Sorry for the long post and keep on rockin’! Robin
Thank you for this video! I feel the same way about counterfeit instruments, it's an ethical shitstorm. Mostly they are terribly built knockoffs that are only passable as wall hangers for one's man cave. I do setup and repair work for a living, and I've encountered quite a few of these that people have bought, not even knowing that they'd paid Gibson money for. Thanks to the slimy people selling these as originals, I now know how a soldier feels when he has to notify his friend's next of kin.
I'm upset by the fact that your instruments are now being counterfeited. I really enjoy watching you work, and really feel your passion for the instruments.
Thank you for all of your efforts.
Kev
I would use the word 'counterfeit' that's exactly what these are. Basically illegal.
Not basically,they are illegal FFS.If a person calls the cops on you,the police can take it-no shit!
They're not illegal to own. They're illegal to sell though. (From what I know anyway)
Bruce Lindsey Correct :-)
***** Not "Mother of Pearl", Mother of Toilet seat. That was very funny :)
Reggae Fan:) My sister in law was name Pearl LOL!
Well done M8, very informative, thanks for taking the time to perhaps save a young lad from getting a rip off. You're doing the Lord's work.
Chibsons are great project guitars I got a great custom copy at a flea market for $300. I had it completely gutted out and replaced everything with Gibson parts except the bridge due to metric differences it won't fit even the Gibson pickup brackets bend a little cause the holes don't match up. I put Alnico II Pros Slash signatures the originals were Epiphones. The neck and frets were great despite hearing some horror stories on them but it turned out to be a really killer guitar.
You didn't test the sound 🙄
+sammy romero at this point we didn't have any way to record quality audio.. From now on though we do so future vids will have demos too.
+Crimson Custom Guitars oh my bad
Those cheap Epi pickups are nothing but out of control feedback,If you chose to buy 1 of these,you must change the pickups,and some orange drop capacitors help too,better than the litte green 'chicklet' caps they come with
So for £150 and some tools off your shop, and maybe some new pickups, then i could have something that look like a £2000 Gibson when people look at it from 2m away, and plays like a gibson if you close your eyes?
And if i messed it up, i only lost the money this guitar cost, but i learned a lot about fretwork etc in the process. If i wanted a Les paul, thats what i would do, since im poor. Sure looks better than my Morgan electric with garbage frets that reminds you of a rollercoaster, and they cost around the same too.
Absolutely, and even I was tempted to do the same..
and may well still.
Crimson Custom Guitars
I've not played for more than a few months, but the guitar i have is pretty bad, but i'm not really looking for the les paul look, i really like the super strat look, and would like to get something like an LTD m/mh/h-1000, but they cost so much, and i cant afford it atm. I was considering buying some tools from you, and fixing up my current guitar, but i dont know if its good enough to be worth it.
+Crimson Custom Guitars please do! i'd love to see that video! or maybe do it to an epiphone to avoid any legal issues
+Crimson Custom Guitars I came across a Hagstrom Ultra Swede today, and the seller lived only 5 min away from me, so i went to look at it, and ended up taking it home with me. The guitar is also chinese made, but the finish was almost flawless, 1 small blemish on it, no scratches or dings, and it's 4 years old. Burgundy burst color www.musikhaus-andresen.de/images/bodyred.jpg www.hagstromguitars.eu/index.php/electric-guitars/ultea-swede-swede-models/item/ultra-swede
But the interesting part is that the neck is a slim D profile, and it was very nice to hold, fair bit thiner than the Gibson standard, and way thinner than the Gibson Vintage i tried. I played the 2016 gibson les paul standard and studio earlier today, so by random luck i had something to compare it to. The standard was obviously a much better looking guitar, and slightly better to hold and play, frets had a bit better shape too. But i dont think it would justify the price difference. I paid £230 (new price is £350) for the Hagstrom, and the seller threw in a free Danelectro Fab Tone pedal and a spare set of unopened Ernie Ball strings too! The gibson standard was on sale for £1400, including the G Force system.
Fretboard is made of something they call Resinator, no idea what it is. But it feels quite good. It also has a 3 way swich with coil tap.
Do you have any experience with these guitars? They are not fake guitars, Hagstrom just produces the Ultra line in China, while the others are made in Sweden i think. Looks much better than many of the chibsons i see here, and the fretboard is straigt since its not wood, frets are almost perfectly leveled and the action is pretty low, but not as low as the gibson standard.
Would be nice to hear what you think. I still want the Standard though, it was so amazing, but no way i can afford that.
exactly!! and what if it happens to play amazingly,..I mean thats all I and a lot of players really give a shit about!!,.fucking hate glass case items!
I've been learning some guitar work.
My brother brought me an old,beat the hell up, plywood bodied strat, ...half the nut gone, missing a couple of the bridge saddles etc. and dared me to make it playable.
I looked it over, did a little engineering in my head. Looked around to see what I had. Nothing. Exactly what I wanted.
The truss rod still worked or I wouldn't have messed with it. So...I cleaned, I glued, straightened, carved the missing pieces out of wood. Yep, I said wood. Saddles are a bit tricky, I just carved some to fit what the string height should be, they weren't adjustable up and down but you could turn a screw to adjust intonation. It was kind of fun.
Soldered a couple of wires, stuck some old strings on it and handed it back to him in a couple or three hours. Said.."here try this".
It wasn't pretty by any means (not the point) but it worked great with zero dollars spent. Found it in a trash can one morning, played it in the afternoon. The "Strato-trashster".
Great video, thanks. I've just bought a Les Paul, so I will be checking it out.
u know I would buy this as a project and fix it's flaws threats,pick ups ect
remind me of Ashens (youtuber)
I have bought a couple. I replaced the tuners with decent locking tuners, replaced the pastic nut w/ a tusq, changed out the bridge for a roller bridge ( so much more comfortable) and I put in Seymours w/ new pots/wiring. I love playing these now.. But over all for the price these are, why not. Mine came with a real quilted top. They're good guitars.. and you can get them to change the headstock logo...For me, I bought my first one cause it was 200 USD. It looked good, and I wanted to get better and upgrades and set ups on my own, without doing costly damage to one of my "real"guitars. It took me a little time to wire and solder correctly etc. but it was fun to do it. and once done, it looked, felt and played great. And I thought well, i have a really great playing and sounding guitar for over all cost of 450 bucks total w/ all upgrades. (150 of that went to the set of Seymours). I bought another cause it again, it looked good and I wanted to try other upgrades etc. I Will never sell these cause in the US selling these is illegal. And when I do see someone trying to sell these, I call them out on it. But they make good guitars for bedroom players and for like me one that travels a lot w/ work and doesn't want to run the risk of costly damage to a "real" guitar. I haven't bought one since 2014, and I have bought a couple Harley Bentons which are great alternatives, and even cheaper than some of the Chibsons.
I visit the local Cash Converters in Australia from time to time just to see if they have something worth buying which is never the case. They have had two guitars for sale which were and are fake. A Fender HSS and a Japanese Ibanez 2012 Joe Satriani. Asking the manager if they have checked if the guitars were fake copies, she said of the Fender that Fender themselves said that the number matched. I asked her if she had checked the internet and if she wanted I could give her a list of things to look for, as there were 12 items I picked on the guitar confirming it was fake. Her reply was that the guitar carried a 3 month warranty and the new owner could bring the guitar back. So much for Duty of Care to the customer.
I've seen quite a few of these Gibson counterfeits with Epiphone pickups now, and I'm really starting to wonder if some employees in Gibson's Chinese Epi factory are pulling double-duty and cranking out some Gibby counterfeits on the side.
That's what my client was told.. He bought this direct from the chap who made it via aliexpress and he said he worked in the Epiphone factory..
***** Making extras and slipping them out the back is a standard business practice if you teach an Asian how to make your product.
Some of these Chibsons are actually good value for money if you know how to do a bit of guitar work. But buying one that says Gibson on the headstock just doesn't seem right to me. Not that I care what the headstock says really, a good guitar is a good guitar. But buying a fake would make it seem that I value the brand more than the guitar, and that's not my thing.
I don't know what's worse, that they are making these fakes or that there are people pretending to own a Gibson. I honestly think it's the latter.
Well said!
As a Les Paul owner , and a few other Gibson's in the collection .. bizarrely enough , as china manufacturing in this "vein " continues to improve, sure.. good value for the money . But so disgustingly bad for business , bad for Gibson, and bad for the economy. For any entrepreneurs out here, or patent owners, business owners with an exclusive product .. someone will always knock you off. That's the nature of the beast.. but go watch your product show up with the same logo and brand name from somebody else flowing counterfeit goods into the marketplace . Tell me how you would feel . Some of them have circulated around and passed off as authentic's.. and that will somewhat continue , but end of day .. the Gibson trashers and trolls.. 80% of which never owned one, and the rest , have been victim of some bad model years and QC issues.. me being one of them.. and then you have a few youtubers that own an original, buy a counterfeit, again.. to collect them and upgrade them... then you have the dudes who buy one after another and at $350 tops .. are critiquing and unboxing scrutinizing the finish, the binding off, the tuners not lined up, necks not fitting as I sat watching with a vein coming out of my neck. What do they say.. " copying , duplication is the best form of flattery"? Not in this case. This is 100% counterfeiting unequivocally .
These usually have a veneer over the top and back surfaces with the inner woods being multipiece plain woods of a similar colour but not actually male and mahogany. I've seen a Chibson Custom where the body was a 5 piece glueup, as seen at the butt body edge where the strap button is, but the back had a veneer that gave it the look of a beautiful ribbon figured one piece mahogany back. Same story with the maple veneer on the carved top.
I worked in guitar shops for almost 2 decades selling Gibson and Epiphone. Even without being able to touch it that is clearly an Epiphone case. The texture of the vinyl gives it away, and the gold screen printed Epi logos used to wear off in exactly the same way. Haven't even seen the guitar yet!
15:36 but true????
If people want a low cost Gibson les Paul, with decent build quality and the backup of Gibson, they need look no further than epiphone!
You look like a mix between Dara O'briain and Bill Bailey! I love it!
very informative,,, I THANK YOU "CRIMSON" GUITARS & DUDE MAN for helping out !!!
I understand your ethical dilemma. It would be a much easier decision if they weren't made with the Gibson brand on them. I suppose you could offer to agree to work on these sorts of clone guitars on the condition you were allowed to sand off the Gibson logo from the headstock. Just an idea.
for US and Canada etc guitars (or wherever Gibson won their lawsuits on body and headstock shape), its more than just the logo on the headstock. they consider the shape of the cutaway horn and the headstock shape as property of Gibson just the same as the logo, so technically everybody should have a problem with those things too, but for some reason nobody ever does..
Brian Mulligan Any patents on the headstock & body shape of the original '50s Les Pauls will have well and truly expired by now. Copying the design isn't the issue here - that has been done since the '70s if not earlier. The issue is clone manufacturers trying to pass off their guitars as real Gibsons, which results in people getting ripped off and tarnishes Gibson's reputation.
Brian Mulligan Incidentally Gibson sued PRS about 10 years ago on the basis that consumers would confuse their Les Paul with PRS's Single Cutaway and basically not know the difference, despite the Gibson logo obviously not being shown anywhere on the PRS. Gibson won the lawsuit but lost on appeal. I think (and so did the appeals court) that the initial win was a mistake by the judge, which was essentially saying guitarists (or collectors) are too dumb to tell the difference even when the logos are prominent.
Interestingly the appeals court did acknowledge Gibson had a trademark (not patent) on the Les Paul shape, but this alone wasn't enough for them to win the lawsuit...
Brian Mulligan I don't think Chinese clone companies care much about US patents or trademarks, but it's interesting that even a lawsuit between two US companies (Gibson & PRS) wasn't enough to permanently stop PRS making guitars of a similar shape to the Les Paul.
All in all then, a great value guitar then.
I have a standard gibson from 1984 and a classic from 1998 and I'm going to buy three of these Chinese ones because I think the finish is really cool...I'll upgrade but hardware and pickups 🤘🏼
Binge watching your vids after finding them, amazing. If only you were more local!. Have you any experience of Washburn wp50's (the law case Les Paul copies). I have one, wondered what you thought of the quality?
Can I hear a slight SA accent?
"In bold capital letters"
Fellow at work has one of these hanging on his wall. From 3 feet away it looks real as could be. The pickups also say Epiphone on them. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if these instruments (or major components) were being made in the exact same factory as Gibson's Epiphone guitars. (on an off shift, weekends etc)
Nick I agree the older epiphones are good quality. There are some tricks to getting some decent sustain out of them. I can stop and play les Paul's at daves he's probably got a 100 out at any given time. Maybe once a year I find one that speaks to me. Sad really how many never realize their full potential.
wow on first looks it looks right whats quite alarming. i own a guitar store and i open every gibson that comes in just to make sure.
but how can theses companys afford to make them and sell them 10 a penny :S
Flaws are now part of the Gibson ethos. They where giving damaged guitars photo shoots recently.
I have one of these that I bought specifically to teach myself how to do guitar work. The truss rod was actually functional on mine, I flattend the fretboard, leveled the frets, replaced the nut with an intonated(?) and slotted brass nut, JPage wiring harness which I built myself with silver plated wire, super dist bridge & pearly gates neck PU, switchcraft toggle & jack, and just for giggles copper taped all the inside cavities. The guitar itself was $260, parts were idk $500 tops, so for around $750 and some hands on, I have a really sweet JP LP#2, with a barely noticeable witness line. And I learned quite a bit about guitar work. It's definitely not a $4,000 Gibson, but at the same time, I will put it up against pretty much any epiphone or even a studio. Most of the time I don't even get my 60 VOS out of the case, I just use the chibson for kicking around.
Next time I will be a little less aggressive on the electronics, because this one sounds like its gone off its meds and just wants to hurt people.
The $750 doesn't count my work, idk what all that would be at a shop. What would an average cost be for neck & fret level, replace entire harness, and setup, including intonation?
To get a quotation for all the above work please email Sam Faloon at customshop@crimsonguitars.com
2 dead give aways for me are the binding is yellow along the neck, but the part at the bottom of the neck next to the neck pickup does not match, it’s white. Gibson binding does not suddenly change colors. Second, Gibson uses tall shaft pots and mounts them on a metal plate and then puts the whole assembly in the cavity. They don’t directly mount the pots into the wood.
is your head fake or real ?
+cayogator how the hell would one fake this!?
Crimson Custom Guitars Lick stick tattoos?
Crimson Custom Guitars Wesley snipes pulled it off in Blade
basically just the build quality of a new gibson lmao
Interesting video. I'm a newb to guitars but I do know something about inlays in wood having worked with a custom pool cue maker in my life. Are you certain the last two "inlays" are actually in the wood? The two closest to the frets nearest the pick ups look like they might be just glued on top of the wood of the neck?
I got one which looks exactly like that one. I got it from a bloke who bought an ibanez 7 string from me who tried to trade it in and said it was worth £500 as a quality lesser known luthier had made it for him but after I said it's more likely your luthier had bought it from china he just said I could buy it for £20 so I took it as I wanted to see if I could get it playing reasonably. Anyway I had a go, levelled the frets, bought 4 pots a switch, a jack and some wire and stripy capacitors and set off. I learned straight away that soldering needs 3 or possibly 4 hands and is harder to do than it looks on UA-cam. Oh and soldering irons burn your fingers. Like that one the wood is great under all the lacquer and it now plays as good as anything I own. Mine even looks nice under the covers. The pickups were only wound on one bobbin so now it has some Wilkinson ones in it and Grover tuners that I collected along the way. I also flatted all the poly finish off so it doesn't dazzle folk like Simon Cowel's teeth. I got some of your feet rubbers too which are great, thanks 👍👍
those guitars should be rounded up and burned, they are a disgrace. Don't get me wrong I love cheap guitars. I grew up playing, modding and loving knockoff guitars. I have also built quite a few copies myself before moving onto building original designed instruments, but as soon as one begins putting another company's name on the head stock it's a whole different story.Keep up the good work, Ben, diggin' you videos
These guitars should be treated like any other guitar, just not being sold as real deal
I love Gibson and its guitars, but if they've cow-towed to the suits and started churning out "rubbish", we may as well go pick up a cheap knock-off, install new guts and save several hundred dollars.
It's a company, not a family member. No matter how much good Gibson has done in the past, there is no reason in maintaining allegiance once the company has been gutted and quality thrown out the window. It's no longer the same company and may as well fully die and leave a great legacy. Exactly like Alvarez. They were small enough to do the right thing and just die after they started mass producing guitars, when previously, their guitars were all hand made. I don't hope for the death of Gibson, but if you're going to put out mediocre guitars, your reputation also deserves to be no better than the other companies out there churning out less-than-the-best instruments. Our loyalty is not for sale, you may only rent it.
I've never owned a great guitar, always pawn shop crap, though some of them were pretty good. I'd be very happy with this level of fake Gibson. Heck, I own two Epiphones currently.
Yeah it seems Gibson is loosing quality each year. Now if people are gonna buy a Gibson it's just gonna be for the name
Love my Gibsons more than my family
+dean mccaskill You`re a sad sad man then.
+Crobular I Not really, I'm actually having a great day:)
Standard practice for many lower priced guitars is a solid PLAIN maple cap, with a flame maple VENEER over it.
They are great for decoration, a friend of mine bought a double neck SG and a Flying V to hang them over the bar in his pub :oD
It's good that you feel dirty. Having moral integrity often causes that.
It's funny to me how you were kind of trying to point out things bad about this guitar, but when it came to the guitar itself: the wood, the finish, the construction, you really didn't have anything bad to say. As far as the flaws; the uneven frets, the trussrod cover, & the electronics, all easily fixable for a luthier like yourself. This is a fake from China! What do you expect? Perfection? Ah...no. For the price, you can't beat it, & with a fret leveling, good setup and a few upgrades, you have something comparable to a real Gibson( in function & astetics) for a fraction of the price, even with parts & labor. I understand the ethical questions, seeing you are a guitar builder, but like you said, Gibson quality control sucks & we all know how ridiculously overpriced they are. We live in such a brand driven superficial society where the middle class is dissapearing, & all the legit companies are outsourcing to Asia anyway, of course people or "struggling musicians" as you said would buy these for such a low price "with bells on" as you also said. I have 4 of these, & yes they needed work, but now they are great. I have several real Gibsons & Epiphones as well, & as for me, I don't have a problem. I will never sell the fakes, & I do report people I encounter who try to sell the fakes as real. I do appreciate your video
This dude is the actual shit! He knows what he's talking about all the time and even helped me make my EVH Frankenstrat with his video on shimming guitar neck! Definitely subbed
My understanding is that you can distinguish photo flame from real veneer by viewing the guitar from different angles. The flame on the real veneer changes at different angles, whereas the photo flame does not. Do you recall whether this was photo flame?