Mom's Les Paul Replica:

Inspector #20

Inspector #20

Ambassador of Tone
Fallen Star
Country flag
Since taking this guitar back, I was literally stunned at how good it sounded. I recall raiding a Luthier chum's parts bins for the electronics, mostly Epiphone take outside, but I couldn't recall the specifics.

This was one of his Les Paul replicas that was being built at the same time as Mom's black LPC replica:

received_10208799152400510.jpeg
received_10208799160920723.jpeg
received_10208799161160729.jpeg

received_10208799169880947.jpeg

After breaking a string last night, i opened the LPC replica back up this afternoon:

20190504_115928.jpg
The switch is a Switchcraft Quick Connect from a Gibson, with the other end soldered in place. The pickups are embossed "Epiphone" with no 'CE' or 'Rohs' stickers on them anywhere. They measure 9.20k/8.96k respectively. It also appears that I installed them backwards because the lower output pickup (with blue wire) is in the bridge:

20190504_133408.jpg
The gold plated aluminum tailpiece (I put aluminum on all my guitars) is a Faber:
20190504_135854.jpg

I used large Alpha pots and I noticed that I had soldered in a 275k resistor on the 'hot' side of the bridge pickup - something I learned from Bill Lawrence - and a means of cutting the brightness off the bridge pickup.

Since I plan to use this as a live backup to my 2016 Gibson Les Paul 50's Tribute, I decided to give it a better level and crown.

I made my first pass with #1000 paper on a 12" radius block.20190504_115942.jpg

I then crowned with a 3.5mm inverted file and polished by wrapping #2000 paper around the file. I finished up with jeweler's rouge on micro fiber wrapped around the file.

20190504_154046.jpg

Nice tone from this guitar. Very rich and bell-like...actually...it sounds better clean than my Gibson Les Paul with 498T/496R.

How's your weekend going???
 
These damn Les Paul's sound so good. Through the VS265, low volume and screaming volume sounds the same, whereas my DSL40C only sounds decent at high voume levels.
 
I TOLD YOU ------ didnt I tell you ? --- yes I KNOW I told you ---- you were told ------
 
Nice level & crown job there Robert, really nice. Pity you are not closer, I have a couple of guitars due for that sort of attention. Cheers
 
I don't know who it is that built it for you, but It's really not cool that the guy puts a Gibson logo on them. Him Calling it a "replica" instead of a "forgery" or a "counterfeit" doesn't make it any more OK - there are a lot of people that could potentially be fooled by such a thing.

And the seam on that blue/green guitar in the first post looks to be seriously off center.
 
gball said:
I don't know who it is that built it for you, but It's really not cool that the guy puts a Gibson logo on them. Him Calling it a "replica" instead of a "forgery" or a "counterfeit" doesn't make it any more OK - there are a lot of people that could potentially be fooled by such a thing.

And the seam on that blue/green guitar in the first post looks to be seriously off center.
Click to expand...

The blue guitar - as well as my black one - was literally built out of a hodgepodge of rejected parts. I apprenticed on the black guitar.

The black guitar has at least a dozen visual clues that prove it's not genuine - and this can be determined from 6 feet away. The inscription "Made In Rancho Cucamonga California" on the back of the headstock should be sufficient to decry the black guitar as a forgery, even for those who miss the visual clues.

His forte, however, is Kris Derrig replicas. He builds a 1959 Kris Derrig replica that cannot be distinguished from a genuine Gibson, except by a forensic inspection by a qualified and experienced Historian/Luthier.

Each one has a hidden identifier that reveals it's TRUE identity as a Derrig replica.

Most are built with genuine 1950's Gibson wiring and electronics, which isnt cheap. Even a pair of PAF's from that era cost around $6,000 today.

I'm not involved in the building or distribution of these replicas, but I have seen several of them and they are incredibly well done, regardless of the legality issues.
 
Robert Herndon said:
The black guitar has at least a dozen visual clues that prove it's not genuine - and this can be determined from 6 feet away. The inscription "Made In Rancho Cucamonga California" on the back of the headstock should be sufficient to decry the black guitar as a forgery, even for those who miss the visual clues.
Click to expand...

Well, then why put a Gibson logo on it at all then? It's still subterfuge, and the only reason anyone would ever do that under any circumstances is in an effort to deceive.

Robert Herndon said:
His forte, however, is Kris Derrig replicas. He builds a 1959 Kris Derrig replica that cannot be distinguished from a genuine Gibson, except by a forensic inspection by a qualified and experienced Historian/Luthier.
Click to expand...

Ah, so this guy spends his time creating forgeries of forgeries, so he's not actually ripping off Gibson. How noble.

__

Sorry man, I am never getting on the same page with this insidious business of trading off of someone else's (Gibson's) image and products. It's theft. And there is no way to rationalize it as OK no matter the explanation, and no matter to me if it's coming from a Chinese black market source for small scratch or an independent "artisan" guy in SoCal for real money. Let's be honest here, Derrig was just the best-known of these falsifiers, and the fact that his fakes became notorious/infamous because of the connection to a well-known player doesn't make them any more legit.
 
I can fully appreciate your views and concerns. For me, it's fun having a guitar that looks like a super expensive model that I can throw around my head without worrying about it...I would not represent it as an original though.
 
Robert Herndon said:
.I would not represent it as an original though.
Click to expand...

You don't have to, and that's the problem: It says Gibson on it, so it's wearing its own fraudulence loud and proud. And I hate to point this out, but your comment about having something that looks like what it is not is exactly what perpetuates the counterfeit market. People don't want to pay for the thing they want, so they fake it for the benefit of others, and there are a lot of people that will believe it's real just from seeing that logo on there. Probably even a few less-experienced players could be fooled just from the logo and open-book headstock.
 
StreamImage.aspx

According to luthier Roman Rist, the middle Les Paul replica here is Slash's first from luthier Kris Derrig—the one Rist says Slash used on the tail end of Appetite. The guitar on the right was built by Peter "Max" Baranet. The instrument on the left is purportedly Slash's second Derrig model. Photo courtesy of Roman Rist


Yet these two men still walk the streets------they should be arrested!!!!!
91db1a87-8e02-48ee-b6db-f364fa390882.JPG
 
eSGEe said:
StreamImage.aspx

According to luthier Roman Rist, the middle Les Paul replica here is Slash's first from luthier Kris Derrig—the one Rist says Slash used on the tail end of Appetite. The guitar on the right was built by Peter "Max" Baranet. The instrument on the left is purportedly Slash's second Derrig model. Photo courtesy of Roman Rist


Yet these two men still walk the streets------they should be arrested!!!!!
91db1a87-8e02-48ee-b6db-f364fa390882.JPG
Click to expand...

There are a few famous replicas out there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top