Need help identifying 2 LPs

[bhak1]

Hello all, I'm new here. My uncle recently passed away and left behind a large collection of guitars. As the next most guitar knowledgeable member of the family it's fallen on me to sort through them as far as what they are. That being said I'm not the most knowledgeable on fancy Les Pauls as I'm generally more of an Epiphone/Squier/Mexican Fender level guy and there are two that I'm having trouble identifying. If anyone can give me some idea of what model these are that would be really helpful. Due to covid and the guitars being out of state I don't have in person access to them but a family friend sent me photos and attempted to get the serial numbers. EDIT: Put up slightly clearer pictures and added a third guitar that I thought I'd IDed correctly after hearing that the one looks like a "Chibson". These are them below:

This one has a serial number of 90837485 which my research says makes it a 1997. The closest model I could find would be a Les Paul Classic but this doesn't look to have the binding that those seem to have but it's hard for me to tell for sure since I don't have the guitar with me in person.

This is the second one. Serial number I was given is 001706439 which would make it a 2000, Beyond that I really have no clue on this one. I think the color is "honeyburst" but I'm guessing you guys will know better than I.

And this one I had thought was a Les Paul Custom, serial number dates it as a 2005. Just want to check and see if it looks authentic.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Rob the Photog]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. Sorry about your uncle's passing.

The first one you posted, 90837485, appears to be a Gibson Les Paul Studio of some flavor. As you noted, it's difficult to tell without additional photos. I think most Studio models of that era had solid/single-color finishes (ebony or wine red, for example), but perhaps they made some sunburst ones too? I'm sure there are others here who are more knowledgeable who can tell you more. You're right, Les Paul Classics would have neck and body binding, and this one appears to have neither.

I'm sorry to have to tell you, the second one is not a Gibson. It's a counterfeit, and most of these seem to come from China. My reasoning is that, even though I'm finding your photos to be quite pixelated, I can see that the fretboard inlays are the wrong size, the overall body shape is wrong, the cutaway horn in particular is too wide and sticks out too far, the tailpiece is spaced too far from the bridge and looks like it might be crooked, and the knob placement is simply not correct (more of a square shape than a parallelogram). All of the proportions and details of the first guitar look right, so I'm confident in saying that the first one is a legit Gibson, and that makes it easy to see that the second one is a fake, especially since these 2 photos were pretty much taken from the same position and angle. The second guitar will most certainly not compare to the first in terms of quality of materials and construction; in fact, most Epiphones will be of better quality than fake Chinese Gibsons (commonly referred to as Chibsons). You should also know that it's illegal to sell a counterfeit item - which is not to say that it doesn't happen, unfortunately.

I hope that info helps. Best of luck to you!

 

[bhak1]

Hey thanks for the response and good to know. I wouldn't have put it past my uncle to take the Chibson if it had been really cheap... knowing him I'm guessing he would have known as I remember him telling me about Chibsons. For all I know he may have even told me this was one and I've forgotten... it's been many years and I can't ask him anymore unfortunately.

I did put up better photos and added a third guitar that I thought I'd IDed properly just to see what people think of that one.

 

[Thunder Dump]

The second and third guitars are both 100% fakes. The first one could be a Studio with aftermarket pickups and tuners but hard to tell from that one photo.

 

[mudface]

The last two are Fakes.......they have absolutely no value. (toxic firewood maybe)

The first one seems to be a studio with swapped tuners and pick-ups.

 

[jaycoyoyo]

I agree with those above... 2nd and 3rd guitars are fake

 

[bhak1]

Oh man, thanks for the responses. A bit surprised but my less guitar literate mom now tells me that he had told her "the gold Les Paul was a Chinese fake" he got for $300 a few years back and it sounds familiar to me now too. The red one I'm more surprised by because I remember him being quite proud of that guitar and talking about the cherry wine red color. I know he bought most things off of facebook and ebay so maybe he got faked by that one?

 

[dcurran87]

Sorry to hear about your uncle. As others have said the 2nd and 3rd are not real Gibson's. Hope your uncle didn't spend to much on the red custom copy.

You said that you play so give them a go, they might be ok to jam on, who knows he may have put some better pickups etc into them. Just don't refer to them as legit Gibson guitars

 

[Mike I]

You said your Uncle had a large collection of guitars.

Any pics of what else is in the collection?

We love

 

[bhak1]

You said your Uncle had a large collection of guitars.

Any pics of what else is in the collection?

We love

Yeah there's over 30 guitars altogether, only one other one is a Gibson electric though (at least I hope it is, maybe it's a Chibson too). It's a DC Les Paul Special. There is also a MIK Epiphone Casino and an out of commission Gibson acoustic that he hung on the wall as a decoration if that's of interest. Other than those it's a lot of Rickenbackers and Fenders, a few Gretches and a handful of other oddball stuff like a Hofner Bass and a Brian Jones type tear drop guitar. I'm posting the Gibson products below. If you're interested in seeing any of the other stuff let me know.

 

[judson]

whats up with the acoustic?

 

[bhak1]

whats up with the acoustic?

I don't remember the whoie story but I'm thinking he got it on the cheap/free as part of some deal or trade he made because there was a major problem with it (don't recall what) and that he was using it as wall decor. Family friend that checked it out says it is a Gibson Dove though as I said that person knows significantly less about guitars than I do, I'll put up the original pic I have below as it's better quality. Truss rod cover does look to say Dove.

 

[Rob the Photog]

I'm starting to get into Gretsch guitars, I wouldn't mind seeing those.

 

[judson]

like to see more pics of the Dove....

any cracks, do the strings set high off the fretboard around the 12th fret

that might be a winner but im not real familiar with acoustics

but i am pretty sure that note on it says ..."send it to Judson".....