should be illegal to buy just like a knock off watch or hand bag ,, they make them to real looking anymore some place on the guitar it should tell u its a copy or have a Chibson logo not Gibson to many assholes trying to sell them as real someone will spend $3-4k on that and get ripped off''d ,, it will probably be some kid who just doesn't no any better trying to buy his first nice guitar ,, cant support even buying them even if u no what your buying just creates a market that shouldn't exist ,, sorry but as a collector and a guy who buys guitars this is a tragic
If Gibson wasn’t seriously overpricing their guitars, this “problem” wouldn’t exist. Quality control from them over the last decade has been terrible. As far as selling mine to an unsuspecting kid, I don’t sell mine. I’m sure it happens and I certainly don’t condone it. How long have fake Rolexes been around? I see both sides of the argument.
Gibson priced themselves out of the player/hobbyist market. Sure, someone can buy an Epiphone, which are Chinese made now. Most of us who have bought them, usually also own the real deal-I bought a 2009 Gibson custom shop VOS R9 Murphy aged, and it cost $11,000. I play it from time to time-but NEVER take it out of the house in fear of theft or damage. I bought my first Chibson, an aged R9 about a year ago. Basic price was $258. I got to choose the mahogany back-which was 1 piece. I got to choose the AAA flame maple bookmatched top, with a rosewood fingerboard and a one piece neck, and a bone nut. They sprayed the tobacco burst with nitrocellulose. That brought the price up to $300. When I received the guitar, about 3 months after I ordered it, I gutted the guitar. I installed Seymour Duncan '59 PAFs ( SD bought the winding machine that the originals were wound on) , Caparelli ( Canada) long post push/pull pots with PIO bumblebee caps. I installed aged Grover tuners and Gibson ABR1 bridge and plate. I wound up with a fantastic guitar that rivals the feel, sound looks and playability of my Gibson R9-all for about $750 total. The Chibsons of today are NOT the cheap stuff of just 5 years ago. They use modern machining to make the wood parts of the guitar. If you know where to look, you can see tiny things that are not like a Gibson, but they are very minute. The frets were very nice, the neck didnt need any adjustment, and the guitar stays in tune. A simple intonation and setup was all that I needed to do. I live 20min from Nashville. You can find Chibsons on EBay. Gibson doesnt seem to care. Why? perhaps because they offer the Epiphone, By Gibson name now-with the classic Gibson headstock. But I didnt want an Epiphone, by Gibson or otherwise. If I was going to buy a chinese guitar, I was going to buy the best one I myself could create. BTW, my headstock has no name. Just classic rod cover. Cheers.
I hate to see anyone get ripped off, especially a youngster (Im 63). We live in a "buyer beware" world today. I dont know of anyone-especially a young man or teen thats going to lay down $2-3-4-5 grand on an instrument without checking it out first-certainly playing it. But yeah, the world is full of ripoffs, I agree.
@@KillerKev1961 Well stated Kevin. The Gibson version of the guitar I wanted was $7k. Would I rather have that one? Absolutely. Do I see it ever happening? Never, and that's why I went this route. Let's face it, a guitar isn't a mystery to make. Wood, wiring, paint, etc. After a few hundred dollars, most of what you are paying for is name. I have nothing against Gibson, per se, just wish they were more affordable.
