March 16th, 2010
I have never seen a Custom Shop guitar flaunt it’s credentials so blatantly by displaying it’s origin on the headstock…
This one comes from Ewout in The Netherlands.
“I came accross your website when I googled ‘fake gibson’. The reason I did this was because I spotted a to-good-to-be-true-cheap-ass Gibson (€350) on a dutch classified ads site yesterday. I contacted the seller and asked if I could come around to see and play the guitar. The guy was kind enough to ensure me (over the phone) this guitar is not a real Gibson, but that it sounds and plays really well.”
Judging by the headstock alone, with it’s audacious proclamation of Custom Shopery but dodgy looking Gibson logo, incorrect tuners and truss rod cover, I don’t think we need to be ensured it’s a fake, but still, a bit of honesty from the seller, (when pushed) is a good thing.
Add to that the bad pot placement and Rosewood fingerboard on a Les Paul “Custom” this guitars Gibson authenticity is pretty much on the rocks. Thanks to Ewout for the email and pictures.
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August 9th, 2009
A very nice flame top and gold speed knobs but alas, it is a fake. Unfortunately the fretboard is made of what appears to be rosewood, it should be ebony and the stopbar tailpiece and bridge appear to be slightly misaligned
At a quick glance this could easily pass as genuine. It is not a bad looking guitar, thought to be a Custom Plus and according to the serial number was built in 1996. The serial number is however fake and if you compare the picture of the serial number above to that of a real Gibson you can see that the font, if you like, is different.
The headstock, to those who have been over this site before, is clearly a fake, to the newer visitor it could be hard to distinguish from a genuine Gibson, (see others shown on this site for more examples, or here for the Gibson webpage on fakes). Note the angle that the Gibson logo is at as well as the shape of the headstock. The truss rod cover is also a copy and is only single ply. Both the logo and split diamond inlay should be mother of pearl, a far brighter result than the flat off white shown here.
For those handy with a screwdriver who wish to compare the insides of their Gibson to a fake, Stuart took a picture of the potentiometers, as he said so himself, “Would Gibson ever use such weedy potentiometers…and look at the wiring…doesn’t look like Gibson wiring to me.” It really doesn’t look like Gibson wiring to me either.
“Even the case is non standard…is this a genuine Gibson case with this raised embossed Gibson lettering.” No, no it’s not
The case, as is often, er, the case with these copies is nothing like a genuine Gibson case, (usually during this period made in Canada). Late 80′s and 90′s cases tended to be the brown with pink muppet skin variety based on the 50′s Cal Girl style.
Stuart, thank you for your email and for sharing your pictures with us, I think it’s the first picture of potentiometers we’ve had on fibsons.com.
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