Is This a Chibson?

[Karldoog]

It's not just "Chibsons": they're ripping off everyone and anyone that they can these days. My wife's been looking for a Green Tiger-striped Jackson Kelly for years. I recently saw one on eBay--for a mere $399, an impossible price. It was actually listed as a "Firehawk" brand, yet the photos showed an actual "Jackson" headstock. So I contacted the seller and asked them what was the actual brand--would the guitar have a "Firehawk" or a "Jackson" headstock decal? The guy actually responded "What would you like?". So not only was he misrepresenting the guitar in photos, but blatantly offering to sell a fraud. He has at least six or seven other guitars and basses for sale on eBay that clearly show "original" manufacturer's logos on the headstocks: Gibsons, Corts, etc...eBay says they're investigating, but a week later, the guitars are still up for sale. Outrageous.

 

[PierM]

I hate the Chinese copies, they make buying a used guitar, confidently, impossible. This drives some folk to the dealers to buy new genuine articles, if they can afford it, and this may do Gibson a bit of good in a roundabout way.
But - say you do buy a genuine Gibson, which has sneaked through the notoriously poor Gibson QC, you may have a real problem achieving any sort of decent sale price if you decide to part with it, as the many Chibson experts on here may condemn it as a fake............

Sorry but QC problems on a genuine Gibson are not really making it looking like a fake, ROFL! A chibson doesn't look garbage because of QC, does look garbage because it is made out of garbage. Pretty different story.

 

[rockstar232007]

I don't know about the price, it's a local private seller near here (I'm from Italy). I'm really surprised it's a Chibson... do they really make knockoffs that are so good nowadays? I can spot some weird stuff only now that you mention it to me...

Edit: now that I think about it... isn't that rosweood a bit too dark?

If that looks "good" to you, it may be time to schedual an eye-exam?

 

[bum]

It's not just "Chibsons": they're ripping off everyone and anyone that they can these days. My wife's been looking for a Green Tiger-striped Jackson Kelly for years. I recently saw one on eBay--for a mere $399, an impossible price. It was actually listed as a "Firehawk" brand, yet the photos showed an actual "Jackson" headstock. So I contacted the seller and asked them what was the actual brand--would the guitar have a "Firehawk" or a "Jackson" headstock decal? The guy actually responded "What would you like?". So not only was he misrepresenting the guitar in photos, but blatantly offering to sell a fraud. He has at least six or seven other guitars and basses for sale on eBay that clearly show "original" manufacturer's logos on the headstocks: Gibsons, Corts, etc...eBay says they're investigating, but a week later, the guitars are still up for sale. Outrageous.

A great example of the business practices people are supporting while telling themselves it's cool because they got their surname on the headstock instead of a brand name

 

[Macaz]

I would walk far away.
If you’ve got a genuine Gibson LP or you handle them often then you can see many variations in this guitar that just don’t seem right.
I would list many observations but like some have said previous why add too the forgers knowledge.
I will say that the book matching join is horrendous and for that I wouldn’t buy it whoever made it!

 

[bluesondoor]

If that looks "good" to you, it may be time to schedual an eye-exam?

I would say it's not good, it's just good for a fake. The issue is that a good fake can look good with selective angles to those not aware of how big this problem is. This one had some aspects that were only about 80% off compared to the usual 95%.

 

[nasticanasta]

A friend of mine is interested in buying a used Les Paul but he suspects it actually is a Chibson. He couldn't see the guitar in real life yet, but he has these photos:

I really can't see anything wrong with this guitar, it looks every bit as good as my 2016 Standard. I could only notice it has some kind of Grover Rotomatics tuning keys with taller posts.

Any opinion?

Agreed the knobs are too high, I am looking at pics of real ones and this, also the headstock looks funky and the 'o' in Gibson looks too thick

 

[Bigfoot410]

Kolabrunnen sanded down a Chibby -- not a bandsaw austopsy, but got this shot:

... and that's only the top.

If that was a real Gibson, I'd buy it in a second. Freakin' LOVE that!!

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Even with the filler it'd need?

 

[GibsonKramer]

FAF

 

[filtersweep]

From what I understand, they stole the CAD programs through economic espionage. I agree with you: people who buy these blatant fakes are absolutely committing fraud and need an ethical kick in the head.

Who needs the CAD programs? It isn't rocket surgery to reverse engineer a piece of wood. There is no way they are using Gibson templates when everything is so visibly off.

 

[Karldoog]

Who needs the CAD programs? It isn't rocket surgery to reverse engineer a piece of wood. There is no way they are using Gibson templates when everything is so visibly off.

That's a great point. Someone opined that on another forum but now that you bring the flaws up, you're probably right.

 

[moreles]

Yes, it appears way off just on the face of it, even in tiny picture form. It's hard to believe anyone would fall for this one in the flesh. These deliberate deceptions are contemptible, but ripping off others' ideas is pretty much SOP in the guitar world. From "cloned" (= flat-out copied) pedals to boutique Teles, or even PRS composites of Gibson and Fender features, it's what manufacturers do, widely, and what buyers consume -- willingly. Stuff like Trevor Wilkinson's rejiggering (and improving) classic designs created by others used to tick me off until I gots flamed for the trillionth time by players posting "get over it" messages, so now I just take a Wild Kingdom view in which everyone is free to do whatever will play in the marketplace. I figure the Chinese are about 2 years away from being able to copy a vintage Tele perfectly for about 1/5 the price of a Fender Custom Shop relic.

 

[filtersweep]

Yes, it appears way off just on the face of it, even in tiny picture form. It's hard to believe anyone would fall for this one in the flesh. These deliberate deceptions are contemptible, but ripping off others' ideas is pretty much SOP in the guitar world. From "cloned" (= flat-out copied) pedals to boutique Teles, or even PRS composites of Gibson and Fender features, it's what manufacturers do, widely, and what buyers consume -- willingly. Stuff like Trevor Wilkinson's rejiggering (and improving) classic designs created by others used to tick me off until I gots flamed for the trillionth time by players posting "get over it" messages, so now I just take a Wild Kingdom view in which everyone is free to do whatever will play in the marketplace. I figure the Chinese are about 2 years away from being able to copy a vintage Tele perfectly for about 1/5 the price of a Fender Custom Shop relic.

The point of a Chibson goes well beyond 'ripping off an idea.' It rips off the brand itself with fake logos. If these companies were like Ibanez in the 70s, it would be a different story. I have a Tokai that isn't available in the US. It says Tokai on it. Chibson is something else- and it has nothing to do with intellectual property, or China's ability to execute quality. It is about fraud.