Fibsons.com – the fake Gibson guitar blog.

Yet another fake Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom finds it’s way briefly onto eBay, (and then quickly off it). This could be the best one yet, I can see why the seller believed the person who “gave” him this guitar wasn’t tricking him, as he said in his reply to the question about it’s authenticity, “I have been assured that it is genuine”. Riiight, no possibility it could be fake? You wouldn’t be fibbing would you mr seller with no feedback whatsoever.

G’day to Jay from WA, (that’s Western Australia, not Washington State, USA). Jay sent an email to fibsons.com regarding this guitar and his thoughts as to why it could be a fake; “…incorrect knobs, different pickup selector, rosewood fret board, a Gibson custom logo under the zakk silhouette where the seal should be, the serial number is painted on not stamped, and the gold plated truss rod cover looks a bit dodge, as does the custom headstock.” Well Jay is quite right, it’s a fake, the issue with the truss rod cover is the fakes seem to have Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom pressed into them, the real ones, (which are engraved) simply say Les Paul Custom.

Also note that the Gibson logo and split diamond inlay are not quite right, the neck should be of the three piece maple variety and the binding should go over the frets. Thanks for the email Jay, I think I’ll add a Zakk Wylde category to the site.

I am pleased to announce that fibsons.com has helped in supplying the information that helped Jamie from South Carolina obtain a full refund for one of the better fake Zakk Wylde Les Paul Customs in circulation. Here is Jamie’s email as well as the pictures he attached to it.

“       Dear sir,
I want to personally thank you for your web site. I almost became a victim of a scammer. I saw what I believed to be a real Zakk Wylde Gibson custom shop Les Paul in a pawn shop for $600.00. I could not buy it fast enough! I got it home and well, my gut feeling said to check the serial numbers on the head stock against the published numbers at Gibson.com . Low and behold the stamped on numbers on the back of my so-called Zakk Wylde guitar did not exist. I started to panic! So, I went back to my computer and stumbled across your web site and your information put me at ease. With your information I had enough evidence to convince Visa to back me up just in case the pawn shop owner refused the return of this P.O.S!! Your pictures were exact pictures of the guitar I just purchased! It was an overwhelming case of fraud. After viewing the evidence, the pawnshop owner fell over backwards to take the guitar back and give me a full refund! Again sir, thank you. Please look at the photos I’ve sent you if you don’t believe me.
Jamie
Irmo, S.C.      ”

The Gibson inlay on the headstock is very good, in fact the whole headstock is a very good copy but if you look at the back of it you will see the fake serial number stamped into the headstock, a real Zakk Wylde Les Paul Custom has the serial number inked on. Another thing to note is the pot knobs, on Jamie’s we see the Top Hats with silver inserts, on a real Zakk Wylde you should find Speed Knobs. I am also willing to guess that this guitar has a single piece maple, (or maple effect) neck, the real ones have a three piece unfinished maple neck.

A special thank you to Jamie for his kind email and for the use of his pictures.