I have no dog in this fight.
All of my instruments are either Gibson Fender, or Jackson.
All of my instruments are either Gibson Fender, or Jackson.
The Law gets a boat load of Chibsons
- Thread starter JohnnyGoo
- Start date
Well there is this threads twin, in that other place that shall not be named, that has devolved into what I had originally feared this on would. But hey…nobody got really ugly here…so let’s hope it stays that way.
Col Mustard
Ambassador of Perseverance
I wasn't going to wade in either... it's muddy water.It's even more interesting marketing at a time when Les Paul copies are being seized by the law...The law applies to almost everybody....
Which leads me to ask the question: don't you think this questions / undermines the authenticity of ALL guitars that we have been collecting?
And don't you think that this devalues ALL guitars overall real or phony?
But I have a few thoughts on the Chibson thing as well as the chump guitars.
Gibson aggressively goes after makers and sellers of FAKE Gibsons, which means copies of their guitars which include their brand name and Logo.
Most of what was on display in L.A. were in this category. Total fake, intended to be sold as Gibsons or whatever other brands they had.
So those are totally illegal, and would end up swindling someone either soon or later down the line. Maybe repeated swindles.
Here's the best solution:
Running over these with a tank is right and proper. We all (on this site) know good guitars from poor ones.
And if these instruments had their maker's name on them instead of a false name, I wouldn't insist they be destroyed.
I've bought cheap guitars myself, and am a steadfast promotor of professional setup, which I believe can make a
cheap guitar play great. (to quote Dan Erlewine). Caledonia (below) plays beautifully, stays in tune and her Ken Rose
P-90s sound excellent. The Gibson ES-339 cost eight times more than want I paid for Caledonia.
This guitar is a knock-off of a Gibson ES series guitar, but it says Epiphone on it so it's not a lie.
Gibson owns Epiphone, so this is the working man's version of Gibson greatness. I've owned this
Epi for almost ten years now and am still very fond of it. I personally performed a series of upgrades
on it and got it professionally set up by Dave Collins of Ann Arbor Guitars, and it's given great service
for all this time, and it's given no trouble. Can a fake guitar do that? Can a chump guitar do it?
What I haven't seen is a discussion of whether the chump series has any "real guitar" qualities...
Can the chump series of guitars even be set up? Do the acoustics have any tone? Do the electrics
have good frets, and good pickups, and proper electronic parts? What are they made of, is it real
wood or is it tacky tacky? There was zero discussion of these instruments as instruments, except that
Guitar Max did look quickly at the features they offered. He commented that he couldn't see anyone
actually playing one of the chump series on a stage, so he figured they were being bought by
(hapless) collectors and would end up as wall art. Dubious wall art, but time will tell that story.
The four years of chump 1 was such a fiasco, it's unbelievable to me that people would vote for more
of it. But they did. Millions of them. And that's the way our nation works. So we have to make the best
of it. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and expect the unexpected.
"Hold on," she said... "It's going to be a bumpy night."
Run over fake guitars with a tank. Don't let anyone sell them to ignorant buyers.
I believe that the chump guitars labeled "sold out" were simply removed from the offering because
Gibson issued a cease and desist order and threatened legal action. I don't know this as fact.
But personally I don't believe any real musician would pay even $1500 for a Les Paul knock-off of
unknown origin, made by gawd knows who, and made of gawd knows what.
If we want a Les Paul, we have lots of choices available to us. Since I'm fond of my blonde Epiphone
bombshell, I imagine an Epi Les Paul could be set up to play well, and I believe that Epiphone quality
has been getting better and better. So we can buy the real thing from Gibson and pay $$$$$$$
and then own the real thing and be proud of it...
Or we can buy an Epiphone Les Paul and pay less but know that Mr Les Paul himself was a friend
of old Epaminondas ('Epi') Stathopoulo himself, and Epi allowed Lester to use the workshops at the
Epiphone factory in New York after hours. The Les Paul "log" was built there I think... and so the
Les Paul guitar was originally designed there. Gibson of course refined the design to create the
Les Paul guitar we all know today, but there you have it.
I told you it was muddy water.
For me, the fact that the chump guitars have no return policy, no customer service, no parts service...
...all of that indicates a fly by night operation not intended to actually produce anything except some novelties
for quick profit. I would never buy a guitar that didn't sound good, or if I did I would get rid of it.
Lots of us care about the music we make, only a few are obsessed about the decorations.
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Yup, I agree.
Keysdweller
Active Member
It would be interesting to know how many fake Gibsons have infiltrated this country in the last decade and how many people don't know they are in possession of a fake.
OP
Ya it would be interesting to know.Id never even heard about Chibsons till i got on this forum.Id no clue.Looks like Gretsch,Fender are gettin hosed to not just Gibby. I bought my new Epi Lester from Sweetwater so hopefully its a real Epiphone but who knows
Amp Mad Scientist
Ambassador of Heresy
Because
if the phony guitars are passed off as Gibson, Gretsch, PRS,
how do we know that any guitar we buy is actually a real one?
Any guitar we bought off Craig's List / Kijiji might be a high class counterfeit; a good forgery....
I "think" I know enough about Gibson to spot a fake.
But not a really good fake.
If somebody can counterfeit $100 bills, that look absolutely real... (and they have)
then somebody could counterfeit guitars that look absolutely real too.
67plexi
Ambassador of Amps
Max was a counterfeiter I turned down a few of his guitars they were exact copy's or real close
maxguitars.com
MAX Guitars
Welcome to Max Guitars the official website of Max Baranet. Peter Max Baranet was a world renowned guitar builder and expert. Learn more.
maxguitars.com
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
Max was a counterfeiter I turned down a few of his guitars they were exact copy's or real close
MAX Guitars
Welcome to Max Guitars the official website of Max Baranet. Peter Max Baranet was a world renowned guitar builder and expert. Learn more.
Yeah, really, if they were so great they should have been great enought to stand on their own instead of masquerading as something they weren't.
Thank you. That makes sense.
Yeah, as you know, I've been checking that place out a fair bit lately - sort of for old times sake, but I kinda got annoyed at the recent lobs thrown against @Col Mustard over there.
I offered my opinion supporting the good colonel and decided to show myself out. I may pop in from time to time, but I don't appreciate personal barbs being thrown at other members.
Yeah, some “out of line” stuff there, for certain.
Yes, Sir. that's the truth.
Mr. @Col Mustard , I would never try to influence you away from any forum.
But, be assured, your years of live performance and experience are valued here.
Agreed, wholeheartedly.
I see him here occasionally. I am thankful for it too. He posts some epic stuff (imo), from time to time.