The screws for the tune bridge aren't an indicator either, they can be swapped out. The good indicators are to see the stamp on the headstock and pull a pickup and look inside for the gibson process stamps.
Although they are usually removed during the process of refretting a guitar, a new Gibson Les Paul (that has neck binding) will have fret nibs. The neck binding has a little bump on each end of the fret that blends into the fret ends. It's the first thing I look for when checking out used Gibsons.
I bought a Chinese Gibson Les Paul Replica 1960 RO Heritage Cherry Sunburst from a Seller on Ebay and it is AWESOME! All the details are very accurate from the binding, the headstock shape, the fret inlays, the real flame maple top is 2 piece and nicely matched, the neck shape is right 60's slim taper. All I changed was the Tuning keys to Grover Vintage Deluxe with Keystone aged keys, and I had a complete Epiphone wiring harness installed with Epiphone Alnico Pro Humbuckers and full size pots.( my little secret) and a bone nut. I I could'nt be happier with this guitar. All in at $575 ish dollars. It plays really nice and sounds sweet. I could'nt be happier with this guitar. Very well worth the money I have put into it.
It could also mean it’s set up properly. It’s total BS that Les Pauls don’t stay it tune. It’s easily proven by the millions of people playing them live all night, including me.
I have an Epiphone Custom LP, and I barely ever have to tune it, lol. I've left it in it's case for about a month, and the next time I decided to play it, I think I only had to *slightly* tune the B string.
Kennis, kick ass job. Here is my one comment on these types of videos. They are super helpful to the buyer and help them avoid being ripped off for serious coin. At the same time, we have pointed out the fakes and the fakers have improved the fakes! this is one where the fakers realized the logo problems, fixed one of them but introduced another. What is really stupid is why Gibson is fighting the fakes instead of just saying buy our guitars with a warranty. Gibson is creating their own problem here in a major way.
Good advice EXCEPT for his comment about the bridge on a fake and a authentic Gibson. He failed to mention that the bridge on a authentic Gibson can be easily put on backwards. My friend Carl recently bought a Gibson LP (1980) from a music store, then came across this video and freaked out really bad because everything checked out except for the bridge. He called me because I own several Gibson and Gibson LP's, to check it out. The previous owner had turned the bridge around backwards on the Gibson guitar. Easily fixed but this video needs a little more info added.
@Metal Blues - I've turned a couple of Tune-o-matics around for one of two reasons. One (at least found) was that I couldn't get the intonation right. I could've just turned the saddles I guess, but it's a lot easier to turn the bridge. The other reason was guitars that had their string size and action changed constantly to switch between tunings, slide, a bow, etc. By turning it around I had much easier access to the intonation screws.
Metal Blues exactly. I have a real ES 335 and the screws on the saddles are facing the pickups. unless that is supposed to be a les Paul only feature, it's not indicative of a fake.
You mentioned the binding where the neck joins the body. I have seen real Gibson's with very poor finishing around the neck joint. You should also have mentioned the fret binding, Gibson binding covers the end of the frets, but there was nothing to compare it with. Still a good video, and useful in spotting a fake. Thanks
That is one of the worst headstock jobs, especially the very top, that I have ever had the misfortune of seeing. The curves on the top arent even symmetrical! Best thing to do with that guitar is to throw it in a burn barrel.
No, man ! you are wrong ! Most underwears now that can be found in Walmart and other major department stores like TJ Maxx, Ross, Target, Kohls, JC Penney, and countless others are mostly made in China, Mexico, Pakistan, India, or Haiti...Those are the 5 major countries that these American companies deal with. Shoes of all type like Nike, Adidas, Under Armor, Reebok, etc. are the ones that are made in Indonesia, and actually majority of them are still made in China...When it comes to guitars, ESP, Ephiphone, and Fender are the ones that are mostly made in Indonesia...my point here is, get your facts together !
Cheers for this. I was brought here because of someone selling a Gibson Les Paul Classic 1960s re-issue. His very cheap asking price however, had me doubting whether it was a real gibson or not. Now after watching this, and flicking back and forth between this video and the sellers photos, I can say with some confidence that it is a real gibson that he is selling 👍
That headstock looks like Bart Simpson's hair on Easter Sunday. I hope to God you pointed this out to them, if they sold that to anyone gullible enough they could get in trouble for fraud at those prices. I wouldn't pay $ 200 for that thing.
i would probably give 200 for it, but not over that, the new "chibsons" are getting harder to tell from the real ones and i have played 2 that sounded and played as good or better than one of my real ones.
Yeah..the headstock was the first thing I noticed when the camera first panned onto the guitar. I think a lot of the ppl faking these guitars (especially the bad fakes like this one) are making these guitars from pictures. They probably don't even have a real guitar with the to take measurements. That would explain things like misshapen headstocks and wrong cutaway/horn angles and sizes.
Hey, it isn't so fucking hard: newer "Chibsons" are better because they do a better job at copying the looks of an actual Gibson, but you can still tell the difference and they're shitty guitars. I don't know how you didn't get that, but anyway you can't go around calling people "fucking retards" so lightly, specially when everybody understood that pretty straight-forward comment.
Ayrton Oropeza Never heard of a guitar brand called 'Chibson' you knob! You mean cheap Gibson? There's no such thing as a cheap Gibson but there are fakes! Is that what you mean? Another thing...there's no point wasting my time arguing with you guys as clearly you have a lack of knowledge of 'Real Gibson' guitars and it makes me wonder if any of you have ever owned one. To put this into more context I have 'Old' and 'New' and there are subtle differences and they are neither 'better' or 'as good as' each other. And Voxboy you haven't gotta clue what your rambling on about! Fact!
yeah you're right I didn't see the price its the price of an epiphone, but still if a kid is a fan of Slash and he wants a les paul he can get fucked up by a fake guitar.
A kid that is a Slash Fan and lives the US should go for Epiphone's red Slash signature mode,l or if on a budget the cheap AFR which actually is pretty nice too. Even used Gibson LP's better than the red sig. costs more, and with newer models it should definitely be an HP version, but they will still lack the SD Zebra pickups.
I work at a pawnshop and I can say that for many high end guitars, we usually recommend them to a professional unless they have the original receipt, since we're not trained in authenticating a guitar most of the time. That being said whoever took in the one in the video is an idiot since something like the tuning pegs is a dead giveaway that it's a fake or had heavy mod work done on it.
That Epiphone Custom is a better guitar than that Gibson. Oh, and a little side note, the Chinese are notorious for stealing the serial numbers from real guitars in videos just like this to use on their Chibsons, so blurring out serial numbers, or at least a part of them, is a kindness to the manufacturers that they're ripping off. Good video, sir, subscribed.
it could be better,sometimes it is but occasionally it isn't,i own an epi custom and love it. ordering a Gibson however is not a good idea as they usually send the absolute shittiest guitars possible to purge crap inventory.it happened to me and others i know.
I agree with all of your comments with the exception of the bridge. In some cases, people flip the bridge if the US made guitars have intonation problems and run out of screw travel. Also, take a look the fret ends. The binding should cover the fret ends. The biggest blunder on the one is the logo. It looks as if it was made on a copy machine.
+Kennis Russell No I just play at the house. My neighbor plays bass so we are thinking about starting to jam together. I have been going to that shop for at least 15yrs when it used to be done the road in the same strip center as Circle A. I recently bought a guitar from there that was called RAD but in small letters under that it says Custom Guitars from Sonnys Music in Austin Tx. But since it was a no name they sold it to me $125 and it has a Wilkinson bridge, big steel block, fender noiseless pickups and Kluson deluxe tuners. I haven't taken the pick guard off to check the pots but it plays nice and sounds great. I always stop in there to look for hidden gems.
+Kennis Russell I saw that one and played on it. I almost picked up the white Squier Start but didn't feel the price was justified with the condition all the hardware was in.
Most of these examples are obvious, but the neck binding not meeting the body binding I've seen on lots of Gibsons surprisingly. In the last few years every time I've checked, the Gibsons I've tried with binding have had some kind of weirdness whether it be not meeting at all or meeting at the very end. These were all from 2013-2016 models though (I only checked for a short while after I noticed my Epiphone did it perfectly) and I haven't had the luxury of trying a vintage Les Paul nor have I checked on the newest ones.
When I lived in Houston, I used to have an Epiphone LP Custom that really, really looked like that one on the video. All the same scratches and oxidation on the gold pieces. It would be funny if it was the same one! Good video.
I got it on ebay back in early 2001 and sold it to a guitar shop at West Rd and Hwy 6 back in late 2006. I bought it as a project and never did anything with it.
A lot of folks will flip the bridges so they can access the adjustment screws to their preference. Of course this requires that the intonation be re-calibrated. So, that may not be the sure sign of a fake in and of itself. Thanks for the video.
If I am not mistaken, a Les Paul "Custom" has block inlays (like the Epiphone in the video) and also the large decorative inlay (also like the Epiphone.) The fake Les Paul in the video was a copy of a Les Paul Standard with a truss rod cover that says custom.
i have bought several real les puals new, 2 had the screws on the bridge pointing towards the pickups, 1 was facing away, and all 3 were the real deal and fresh from gibson. that is 100% not a way to tell if it was a fake. also, most owners switch the bridge so the screws are facing away from the pickups when they change strings for the first time.....cause it makes sense to have it that way.
Wrong. While their are many Custom Les Pauls, there is only one Les Paul Custom. www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-Custom/Les-Paul-Custom.aspx
Les Paul customs don't have trapezoidal fret markers either, they're square. And unless it was refretted the plastic binding covers the fret ends. I never saw an LPC in gold top either.
OneTrickNick scroll up to the name Gibson Les Paul "CLASSIC" Custom. Two totally different guitars. The "Classic" being just another money grabbing imitation of the original. You know, because Henry J need$ to make 200 different variation$ of the $ame fucking guitar that did fine with only 3 or 4 model$ for it$ 64 year$ in exi$tence.
Quickest way to tell is that the binding on the edges of the fretboard overlays the fret wire ends. This is on all Les Paul models except the cheaper models. The binding is put on over sized then filed down to the fret leaving a little nib on the end of the fret wire.
Thanks for informing everyone, I hate to see people get beat out of their money,if it's fake they should lower the price and sell it as fake,some people would be OK with the fact that it's not real.
I liked the video! Thanks man. I noticed the inlays were off in terms of shape as well as the gaps between materials. Very helpful. Keep on rocking man -subscribed!
I think the easiest way to tell is the pickup ring screws. Even Epiphone has regular pickguard screws that you would find on a fender on the pickup rigns. The gibson ones are most of the time black, and the head of the screw is flat. I think thats the fastest way to tell and it is often overlooked.
I recall that a genuine Gibson Les Paul’s neck binding covers the fret ends. The exception to this would be the Studio model or the unusual models, e.g., the BFG Les Paul from about 10 years ago, with no binding on the guitar body or neck. Since Curle and company rescued Gibson from the Mad King Henry J., that binding over the fret ends may have changed. I mention this as I’ve been told that not all sub models of the Les Paul cover the fret ends with the neck binding, however I’ve not seen any where the fret end was on top of the neck binding.
I have a 2009 Les Paul standard, the twin of No.2, proper factory fitted Grovers which were an option, no pick guard, I hate ‘em on LP’s. I spotted the fake straightaway. For me the binding was all wrong, I’ve never seen an LP like that. Don’t forget the binding colour as well. The original binding and pick-up surrounds of Gibsons were slightly pink in colour due to the fact that at the time that was the only colour plastic you could get as it was a new thing. Since then Gibson have faithfully recreated that colour, why I don’t know, other colours would look good too. The inlays were bad I dunno, it just didn’t look right to me. If I saw it in a shop I’d either walk right past it or ask why they stuck £1000 on the price of a £300 guitar.
You and I both. I bought a lot of good guitars off eBay such as my rickenbacker, my Gibson jumbo, and also a very rare squier Venus ! After seeing this I was like, should I take abetter look at my Gibson real quick? Lol
Great information and interesting subject, would only ask for a less shaky camera movement so details can be more readily appreciated. Thank you Mr. Russell.
This guy reminds me a little bit of a certain Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) No bad thing cos Glenn is a British legend, great song writer and underrated guitarist.
Ziggy Freecloud Thing is they would just say ... well we thought it was a real one , "it looked alright to us" even if they knew it was fake they would just play dumb and act like they got took as well ..
Here is my ? ......Is the pawn shop selling it as a Gibson or a replica as it a fake? If they are still selling it as actual then they are breaking the law.
Dr2Rock2 how do you report the pawn shop and to who. There are a couple of pawn shops near me that are selling fake fenders and one has a fake les Paul for sale. All are priced as if they are usa made. I have mentioned it to them and they were like... oh well.
Fret edge binding is another thing to look for as well, though Gibson are doing some models recently that haven't had the nibs on the fret ends. That headstock though, at least somebody didn't get stung by paying the price that was on it before you noticed this.
All GIbson truss rods have a nut on them, not a allen key. That is the fastest way to tell. remove one truss rod cover screw and take a look swinging the cover to one side. If it has an allen key, it's a fake!
Gibson 'Nashville' T-o-M bridges have the screws facing rearward but Gibson ABR-1 T-o-M bridges - which is the type copied for the counterfeits - have the saddle adjustment screws facing forward.
Great info, but the orientation of the bridge has nothing to do with if it's fake or not. Traditionally, ABR-1 Bridges point upward and the Nashville bridges point down.
The direction of the intonation screws on a Tune-o-matic bridge isn't necessarily a sign a guitar is fake. They come from the factory with the screws facing the neck and are sometimes flipped during a setup to give the saddles more travel space.
I happen to own one... only got it cos of how ugly it is lol. it is a studio.. I just havent seen any good reviews of it on youtube... Would be coul to have one by you.
I know a place that sells fake gibsons which is not the main problem. The main problem is that they claim that they are real gibsons. Where can I report that ?
Gangina 4K Call your state attorney general. That is a federal crime. Also, US customs might be interested. A company like Gibson, still producing items in the USA, needs to be protected from this abuse.
I just went to the Guitar Center website. Every Les Paul has trapezoids that look like this fake. The smaller ones near the body have perfect angles but the larger ones curve near the top of the trapezoid just like this one.
I have a 70$ knockoff Les Paul jr. and I have upgraded with a Seymour Duncan new tuners and strap locks it plays great and has been upgraded and is a different guitar in general
Went to a pawn shop in my town this morning. Didn't know to look for the things that you listed here but what I was suspicious of was, though, the SG says made in USA, but it was VERY, VERY LIGHT in weight. I've never picked up an SG before. Are they supposed to be light?
Great video! Definitely came in handy when I ordered my LP custom! The quickest way I've noticed for spotting a fake is the bridge screws, the real LP are flat and the fakes have flat head screws in them. Did you tell the owner it was a fake? If so I bet he was PISSED!
It's illegal to sell anything that is counterfeit, purses, guitars watches etc. BUT it is not illegal to own something that is, it's hard to charge someone who buys something that is counterfeit with committing a crime since all they have to do is say that they didn't know it was fake when they bought it. So, if you buy one of these, you are stuck with it forever, unless you can get the Gibson name off the headstock permanently.
Epiphone Les Pauls are quite good. Obviously not as good as Gibson but I own one and looks gorgeous (Mahogany/AAA Flame Maple vaneer/Rosewood) and plays really well. If You can't afford a Gibson, take a look at an Epi Les Paul
Better : buy a used Les Paul. That's what I did (twice). Most of Epiphones have photo flame tops… (that is, except the vintage ones and Elitist series)
4:04- 4:18 Absolutely spot on. On my black Les Paul you really have to struggle to even read the number, i have to hold it up the light to read it almost. Fakes make me totally sick, because the real thing is an absolute thing of beauty. Love Pauls, just love the proper thing. PS that gold top is horrid, really awful
Don’t all Les Paul Custom models have block inlays starting on the first fret as opposed to the trapezoid starting on the third? That caught my eye right away.
GREAT VIDEO!! Thumb way up for all the information! What's worse, the Chibson Counterfeit Market or the Ever Decreasing Quality of the U.S Gibson Guitar Line? I played a brand new, $1800 Gibson LP Studio recently, and it played like a $200 knock off.
It depends on the settings. No guitar is a good one with bad settings. And 1800 $ looks expensive for a Studio. I have an '93 one and believe me it doesn't sound as a knock-off, but it required a bit of work to get it right. It was done once for all as soon as I bought it and since it really kicks arse.
julosx I play a Les Paul, and it is a stellar instrument. Good point regarding the setup, but the Gibson's I've played at my local Guitar Center are Way over priced, and the quality is Not there.
Thank u with this video I was able to tell that a les Paul at my local pawn shop was fake, and it honestly looked like a piece of plywood with strings, and they were asking a whopping $4000 for this supposed “authentic 1957 les Paul standard” i didn’t tell them tho since they were the kind of pawn shop owners to kick me out if I said anything bad about there stuff
The biggest screw up, if they were to claim it's a Les Paul Custom, is that nothing checks out for a custom. No multilayered binding on the body or fingerboard, no diamond-inlay on the headstock and no square fretmarkers. A lot of times you will find the Gibson logo being placed too far down on the headstock, an expensive-looking guitar with a offset-printed logo and the serial number stamped into the back of the head after it was clear coated. Gibsons never have sharp edges on their serial numbers.
Mattias Söderlund The custom shop does more than just the ornamental designs. When they do reissues of old LP standards, they look like standards. www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LPR7TVAGNH?adpos=1o3&creative=55280457721&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&product_id=LPR7TVAGNH&gclid=CLKQ--28588CFQERaQodQo8H5g
I'm curious if the pawnbroker knew he got got and was selling it for $1800 to try to make up for his mistake or if he knew it was counterfeit and took it anyway to try and rip some poor sap... either way it'd be illegal
Came across a good fake copy of a cherry red Gibson ES-335 at a local pawn shop. They were asking 2,200. Ran the number and that came back as a "2015" with ice T sunburst finish. And the sticker inside the upper F hole said made in Kalamazoo. Gibson left Kalamazoo in 1984. Also trapezoid inlays and specs for that serial number said dot. Owner swore it was real deal until he did his own research. Never took it down just dropped price to 1000. I sent Gibson an email but never heard anything more.
On the headstocks, the Gibson G should be parallel with the nut side imo. Also, the "o" in Gibson of the fakes have an open o that is almost a u sometimes. I noticed the "s" also is tilted on the fake. Another item is the Les Paul signature, on the fake those usually have a uniform thickness all the way around on all letters. Real Gibson Les Pauls don't have uniform font widths. There should be skinny and thicker lines.
This pawnbroker should be reported to the police. He's selling a counterfeit item and probably knows that it is fake and still asks big money for it. This is theft right there.
I work at a pawn shop in Phx,Az and the most common fakes I see are the Gibson gold tops and the Gibson signature slash les Paul guitars. Our so called guitar expert bought a Gibson slash for $1100 on my day off and the next morning when i got to work I looked at it and within 15 seconds of looking at it you could tell it was fake. The very first thing that stood out was the craftsmanship. It's a Gibson not a first act from walmart. The binding was a mess, tuners were just like the one in this video and what stood out the most was the paint job, my 5 year old son could have done a better job. Just a heads up tho, if you're ever on the fence go to aliexpress dot com and if you can find that exact guitar on there then your probably looking at a fake. They sell a ton of custom signature series guitars so if your questioning if the guitar is fake or not and its on aliexpress its most likely fake. But my number one rule is who is selling it to you, if your 99% sure the person selling you the guitar looks like they shouldn't own then most likely its either stolen or its fake as f$ck:)
The direction of the saddle adjustment screws is not an indication of anything. Lots of people turn them around to suit their preference.
Plus on an abr 1 bridge, the adjustment screws are actualy that way around as standard
100%.
The screws for the tune bridge aren't an indicator either, they can be swapped out. The good indicators are to see the stamp on the headstock and pull a pickup and look inside for the gibson process stamps.
Although they are usually removed during the process of refretting a guitar, a new Gibson Les Paul (that has neck binding) will have fret nibs. The neck binding has a little bump on each end of the fret that blends into the fret ends. It's the first thing I look for when checking out used Gibsons.
I bought a Chinese Gibson Les Paul Replica 1960 RO Heritage Cherry Sunburst from a Seller on Ebay and it is AWESOME! All the details are very accurate from the binding, the headstock shape, the fret inlays, the real flame maple top is 2 piece and nicely matched, the neck shape is right 60's slim taper. All I changed was the Tuning keys to Grover Vintage Deluxe with Keystone aged keys, and I had a complete Epiphone wiring harness installed with Epiphone Alnico Pro Humbuckers and full size pots.( my little secret) and a bone nut. I I could'nt be happier with this guitar. All in at $575 ish dollars. It plays really nice and sounds sweet. I could'nt be happier with this guitar. Very well worth the money I have put into it.
It is very easy to know real from fake!
What you do is pick it up and play it, if it stays in tune that means it is fake
LOL
It could also mean it’s set up properly. It’s total BS that Les Pauls don’t stay it tune. It’s easily proven by the millions of people playing them live all night, including me.
Not with those kluson deluxe tuners !!!
It probably stayed in tune - a dead giveaway
lol, Les Paul headstock rant :)
Bugster42 lol
Roflmao
Bugster42. I had an 82 LP deluxe BEAUTIFUL.....YOU could NOT keep it in tune period....last gibson I ever bought!!!....your comment...lol
I have an Epiphone Custom LP, and I barely ever have to tune it, lol. I've left it in it's case for about a month, and the next time I decided to play it, I think I only had to *slightly* tune the B string.
I bet the pawn shop is still asking for 1800
Holy shit 1800 to ~300... imagine the poor people, who fall for that stuff :O
Good human be happy I'm buying a stratocaster at guitar center for like half of 300 (150) so they can do better smh
enjoy your squire bullet
Kennis Russell then they probably knew
Should hace dropped it and been like oops
Kennis, kick ass job. Here is my one comment on these types of videos. They are super helpful to the buyer and help them avoid being ripped off for serious coin. At the same time, we have pointed out the fakes and the fakers have improved the fakes! this is one where the fakers realized the logo problems, fixed one of them but introduced another. What is really stupid is why Gibson is fighting the fakes instead of just saying buy our guitars with a warranty. Gibson is creating their own problem here in a major way.
I lol'd when i saw the headstock
My gibson has 3 screws on the top...... Wait a minute.... Aww crap!
zack cruise might be a custom.
Cyan Magneta no real Gibson ever left the factory with 3 screws. All have 2
@@poseidonband7848 supposedly the Sonex had 3 for whatever reason (at least sometimes), but that was limited and only for a couple years
Take it to a pawn shop..i hear they will give you good money for it
Good advice EXCEPT for his comment about the bridge on a fake and a authentic Gibson. He failed to mention that the bridge on a authentic Gibson can be easily put on backwards. My friend Carl recently bought a Gibson LP (1980) from a music store, then came across this video and freaked out really bad because everything checked out except for the bridge. He called me because I own several Gibson and Gibson LP's, to check it out. The previous owner had turned the bridge around backwards on the Gibson guitar. Easily fixed but this video needs a little more info added.
Metal Blues the height adjustment screws are a dead giveaway
@Metal Blues - I've turned a couple of Tune-o-matics around for one of two reasons. One (at least found) was that I couldn't get the intonation right. I could've just turned the saddles I guess, but it's a lot easier to turn the bridge. The other reason was guitars that had their string size and action changed constantly to switch between tunings, slide, a bow, etc. By turning it around I had much easier access to the intonation screws.
Metal Blues exactly. I have a real ES 335 and the screws on the saddles are facing the pickups. unless that is supposed to be a les Paul only feature, it's not indicative of a fake.
You mentioned the binding where the neck joins the body. I have seen real Gibson's with very poor finishing around the neck joint. You should also have mentioned the fret binding, Gibson binding covers the end of the frets, but there was nothing to compare it with. Still a good video, and useful in spotting a fake. Thanks
while i would normally agree, in 2015 they started to make some without the binding covering the frets, its hit or miss on some models.
The neck binding doesn't cover the fret ends. It merely meets with them.
I have seen horrible paint jobs and smeared bindings on real Gibsons. I even own one.
That is one of the worst headstock jobs, especially the very top, that I have ever had the misfortune of seeing. The curves on the top arent even symmetrical! Best thing to do with that guitar is to throw it in a burn barrel.
Yeah the only thing this guitar will do is keep you warm in December
lmao
resqfireman1 Not in a barrel! Throw it in the chimney so it can at least warm your flat...
No, man ! you are wrong ! Most underwears now that can be found in Walmart and other major department stores like TJ Maxx, Ross, Target, Kohls, JC Penney, and countless others are mostly made in China, Mexico, Pakistan, India, or Haiti...Those are the 5 major countries that these American companies deal with. Shoes of all type like Nike, Adidas, Under Armor, Reebok, etc. are the ones that are made in Indonesia, and actually majority of them are still made in China...When it comes to guitars, ESP, Ephiphone, and Fender are the ones that are mostly made in Indonesia...my point here is, get your facts together !
Bob Roberts
Cheers for this. I was brought here because of someone selling a Gibson Les Paul Classic 1960s re-issue. His very cheap asking price however, had me doubting whether it was a real gibson or not. Now after watching this, and flicking back and forth between this video and the sellers photos, I can say with some confidence that it is a real gibson that he is selling 👍
Inlays are also not traps for the Customs; they are supposed to be full rectangles. Good video.
That headstock looks like Bart Simpson's hair on Easter Sunday. I hope to God you pointed this out to them, if they sold that to anyone gullible enough they could get in trouble for fraud at those prices. I wouldn't pay $ 200 for that thing.
i would probably give 200 for it, but not over that, the new "chibsons" are getting harder to tell from the real ones and i have played 2 that sounded and played as good or better than one of my real ones.
@@brian770 story lying to yourself
@@OrvilleRickenbacker stop*
Yeah..the headstock was the first thing I noticed when the camera first panned onto the guitar. I think a lot of the ppl faking these guitars (especially the bad fakes like this one) are making these guitars from pictures. They probably don't even have a real guitar with the to take measurements. That would explain things like misshapen headstocks and wrong cutaway/horn angles and sizes.
In the last two years the Chibsons got WAY better. With some of them it's almost impossible to tell if they're fake or not.
David RF chibson sucks, chibanez sucks, chacksons sucks, Ch-c rich sucks , cender sucks
David RF 666
@@NeilDjents dont forget chickenbacker!
They look great. Flawless.
Thanks for the tutorial. It may help me from getting stung.
Good stuff, it's fun being able to reference the fake one to a real one i bought new from guitar center
You can flip those bridges and saddles, so that is not a good indicator.
That guitar is a chibson from quite a few years ago. The newer ones are made better but still shit.
What is wrong with what he said?
Hey, it isn't so fucking hard: newer "Chibsons" are better because they do a better job at copying the looks of an actual Gibson, but you can still tell the difference and they're shitty guitars. I don't know how you didn't get that, but anyway you can't go around calling people "fucking retards" so lightly, specially when everybody understood that pretty straight-forward comment.
Ayrton Oropeza Never heard of a guitar brand called 'Chibson' you knob! You mean cheap Gibson? There's no such thing as a cheap Gibson but there are fakes! Is that what you mean? Another thing...there's no point wasting my time arguing with you guys as clearly you have a lack of knowledge of 'Real Gibson' guitars and it makes me wonder if any of you have ever owned one. To put this into more context I have 'Old' and 'New' and there are subtle differences and they are neither 'better' or 'as good as' each other. And Voxboy you haven't gotta clue what your rambling on about! Fact!
Chibson means CHinese gIBSON . I just call all fakes Fibsons myself!
Stacey McGrath LOL.
man that's not cool for people who don't know that fake guitars exist
yeah you're right I didn't see the price its the price of an epiphone, but still if a kid is a fan of Slash and he wants a les paul he can get fucked up by a fake guitar.
A kid that is a Slash Fan and lives the US should go for Epiphone's red Slash signature mode,l or if on a budget the cheap AFR which actually is pretty nice too.
Even used Gibson LP's better than the red sig. costs more, and with newer models it should definitely be an HP version, but they will still lack the SD Zebra pickups.
I work at a pawnshop and I can say that for many high end guitars, we usually recommend them to a professional unless they have the original receipt, since we're not trained in authenticating a guitar most of the time. That being said whoever took in the one in the video is an idiot since something like the tuning pegs is a dead giveaway that it's a fake or had heavy mod work done on it.
Joerg Baermann well slash's first guitar was a fake les paul
Where's the 400$ pricetag? All I see is 1799$.
That Epiphone Custom is a better guitar than that Gibson. Oh, and a little side note, the Chinese are notorious for stealing the serial numbers from real guitars in videos just like this to use on their Chibsons, so blurring out serial numbers, or at least a part of them, is a kindness to the manufacturers that they're ripping off. Good video, sir, subscribed.
it could be better,sometimes it is but occasionally it isn't,i own an epi custom and love it.
ordering a Gibson however is not a good idea as they usually send the absolute
shittiest guitars possible to purge crap inventory.it happened to me and others i know.
Sounds like you've never played a true Gibson.
The hell with Gibson, they deserve to be ripped off after ripping off their customers for so many years. I'm glad to hear they are going bankrupt!!
fucking cheaters
circle of fat so true, the quality control of gibson is just, wrost than a 1 dollar toy
Informative and fun to watch. Great job, Ken. Thanks!
I agree with all of your comments with the exception of the bridge. In some cases, people flip the bridge if the US made guitars have intonation problems and run out of screw travel. Also, take a look the fret ends. The binding should cover the fret ends. The biggest blunder on the one is the logo. It looks as if it was made on a copy machine.
Not all Gibson's have binding over fret ends, many different models don't have it, Google it,
I go to that pawn shop all the time. Nice. Glad to come across some one that lives to close to me.
+Kennis Russell No I just play at the house. My neighbor plays bass so we are thinking about starting to jam together. I have been going to that shop for at least 15yrs when it used to be done the road in the same strip center as Circle A. I recently bought a guitar from there that was called RAD but in small letters under that it says Custom Guitars from Sonnys Music in Austin Tx. But since it was a no name they sold it to me $125 and it has a Wilkinson bridge, big steel block, fender noiseless pickups and Kluson deluxe tuners. I haven't taken the pick guard off to check the pots but it plays nice and sounds great. I always stop in there to look for hidden gems.
+Kennis Russell was is the sunburst Tele? If so I looked at that one and was going to get it but by the time I went back, it was gone.
+Kennis Russell I saw that one and played on it. I almost picked up the white Squier Start but didn't feel the price was justified with the condition all the hardware was in.
Most of these examples are obvious, but the neck binding not meeting the body binding I've seen on lots of Gibsons surprisingly. In the last few years every time I've checked, the Gibsons I've tried with binding have had some kind of weirdness whether it be not meeting at all or meeting at the very end. These were all from 2013-2016 models though (I only checked for a short while after I noticed my Epiphone did it perfectly) and I haven't had the luxury of trying a vintage Les Paul nor have I checked on the newest ones.
When I lived in Houston, I used to have an Epiphone LP Custom that really, really looked like that one on the video. All the same scratches and oxidation on the gold pieces. It would be funny if it was the same one! Good video.
I got it on ebay back in early 2001 and sold it to a guitar shop at West Rd and Hwy 6 back in late 2006. I bought it as a project and never did anything with it.
Thank you. I learned a lot. I'll keep an eye out for you.
A lot of folks will flip the bridges so they can access the adjustment screws to their preference. Of course this requires that the intonation be re-calibrated. So, that may not be the sure sign of a fake in and of itself. Thanks for the video.
Not only the end users do that, my custom had the bride the other way from the factory. Its that way from the sweetwater pics even.
As a proud owner of a Gibson Les Paul Classic, I could tell just by looking at the headstock logo.
If I am not mistaken, a Les Paul "Custom" has block inlays (like the Epiphone in the video) and also the large decorative inlay (also like the Epiphone.) The fake Les Paul in the video was a copy of a Les Paul Standard with a truss rod cover that says custom.
i have bought several real les puals new, 2 had the screws on the bridge pointing towards the pickups, 1 was facing away, and all 3 were the real deal and fresh from gibson. that is 100% not a way to tell if it was a fake. also, most owners switch the bridge so the screws are facing away from the pickups when they change strings for the first time.....cause it makes sense to have it that way.
What? It makes sense to adjust the bridge where it’s supposed to be and not care what direction the screws face.
First things you should look at are the bridge posts then the position of the control knobs then the truss rod cover...
The biggest giveaway, is that there is no such thing as a Goldtop Les Paul Custom.
ofc there is, many different ones actually, check their website
Wrong. While their are many Custom Les Pauls, there is only one Les Paul Custom.
www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Les-Paul/Gibson-Custom/Les-Paul-Custom.aspx
well.. the more I know. tks
Les Paul customs don't have trapezoidal fret markers either, they're square.
And unless it was refretted the plastic binding covers the fret ends.
I never saw an LPC in gold top either.
OneTrickNick scroll up to the name Gibson Les Paul "CLASSIC" Custom. Two totally different guitars. The "Classic" being just another money grabbing imitation of the original. You know, because Henry J need$ to make 200 different variation$ of the $ame fucking guitar that did fine with only 3 or 4 model$ for it$ 64 year$ in exi$tence.
Quickest way to tell is that the binding on the edges of the fretboard overlays the fret wire ends. This is on all Les Paul models except the cheaper models. The binding is put on over sized then filed down to the fret leaving a little nib on the end of the fret wire.
Also, if no one else mentioned or noticed, a Gibson Les Paul Custom has block neck inlays (see the Epiphone Custom for your example), NOT trapezoid!
Thanks for informing everyone, I hate to see people get beat out of their money,if it's fake they should lower the price and sell it as fake,some people would be OK with the fact that it's not real.
great video, I learnt a lot. Thanks.
Thanks for the tips! I own an older Epiphone SG and it seems to be of higher quality of the knock off and the Epiphone in your video.
Thx Ken for the great info with the Gibson and Fender guitars, alot of things i did not know, and will help me in the future, great vid,
I liked the video! Thanks man. I noticed the inlays were off in terms of shape as well as the gaps between materials. Very helpful. Keep on rocking man -subscribed!
The counterfeiters viewed this video and stepped up their game.
I think the easiest way to tell is the pickup ring screws. Even Epiphone has regular pickguard screws that you would find on a fender on the pickup rigns. The gibson ones are most of the time black, and the head of the screw is flat. I think thats the fastest way to tell and it is often overlooked.
The open book shape on the headstock looks like it was cut by a blind turkey !
I recall that a genuine Gibson Les Paul’s neck binding covers the fret ends. The exception to this would be the Studio model or the unusual models, e.g., the BFG Les Paul from about 10 years ago, with no binding on the guitar body or neck.
Since Curle and company rescued Gibson from the Mad King Henry J., that binding over the fret ends may have changed. I mention this as I’ve been told that not all sub models of the Les Paul cover the fret ends with the neck binding, however I’ve not seen any where the fret end was on top of the neck binding.
I have a 2009 Les Paul standard, the twin of No.2, proper factory fitted Grovers which were an option, no pick guard, I hate ‘em on LP’s. I spotted the fake straightaway. For me the binding was all wrong, I’ve never seen an LP like that. Don’t forget the binding colour as well. The original binding and pick-up surrounds of Gibsons were slightly pink in colour due to the fact that at the time that was the only colour plastic you could get as it was a new thing. Since then Gibson have faithfully recreated that colour, why I don’t know, other colours would look good too. The inlays were bad I dunno, it just didn’t look right to me. If I saw it in a shop I’d either walk right past it or ask why they stuck £1000 on the price of a £300 guitar.
I bought my Gibson SG on eBay and I always get paranoid when I see these videos.
You and I both. I bought a lot of good guitars off eBay such as my rickenbacker, my Gibson jumbo, and also a very rare squier Venus ! After seeing this I was like, should I take abetter look at my Gibson real quick? Lol
Yes! This means that my dad's Explorer is indeed authentic! Original 1986 white Gibson Explorer, and it has not been refinished. Worth around $1700.
Forgot to point out that the tip of every fret is suppose to be bounded with the neck binding as well.
Not all Gibson's had binding on fret ends, there are several models that don't,
I used a Broomstick as a Guitar when I was a kid...and now i'm saving for a fender precision!!
Great information and interesting subject, would only ask for a less shaky camera movement so details can be more readily appreciated. Thank you Mr. Russell.
***** Great! I wish you success on your business.
I had no idea thank you for the lesson.ive been dreaming about a Gibson 339. For over 2years.love from Dekalb Co Tennessee
This guy reminds me a little bit of a certain Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) No bad thing cos Glenn is a British legend, great song writer and underrated guitarist.
i wonder if you called the people in the Pawn Shop out on it being fake
Kennis Russell Was he pissed?
Ziggy Freecloud
Thing is they would just say ... well we thought it was a real one , "it looked alright to us" even if they knew it was fake they would just play dumb and act like they got took as well ..
Here is my ? ......Is the pawn shop selling it as a Gibson or a replica as it a fake? If they are still selling it as actual then they are breaking the law.
Dr2Rock2 how do you report the pawn shop and to who. There are a couple of pawn shops near me that are selling fake fenders and one has a fake les Paul for sale. All are priced as if they are usa made. I have mentioned it to them and they were like... oh well.
Good to know! Thank you Kennis Russell!
The Mandalorian's voice... thanks for the valuable information!
The truss rod is a good indicator of real vs fake as well. The pots too.
Also a LP Custom has a pearl inlay at the first fret!
Fret edge binding is another thing to look for as well, though Gibson are doing some models recently that haven't had the nibs on the fret ends.
That headstock though, at least somebody didn't get stung by paying the price that was on it before you noticed this.
One thing that is the dead giveaway is the truss rod. The truss rod on the fakes are always the allen wrench type.
Really enjoyable Kennis, is it too much to ask to cover a few Bass Guitars please?
All GIbson truss rods have a nut on them, not a allen key. That is the fastest way to tell. remove one truss rod cover screw and take a look swinging the cover to one side. If it has an allen key, it's a fake!
Gibson 'Nashville' T-o-M bridges have the screws facing rearward but Gibson ABR-1 T-o-M bridges - which is the type copied for the counterfeits - have the saddle adjustment screws facing forward.
I love hearing the BS sales pitches from a pawn shop lowlife...good work Kennis, cheers!
God bless you! I was looking in the moment about buying one Gibson that by the stuff you told on video, it has almost everything on it.
Great info, but the orientation of the bridge has nothing to do with if it's fake or not. Traditionally, ABR-1 Bridges point upward and the Nashville bridges point down.
The direction of the intonation screws on a Tune-o-matic bridge isn't necessarily a sign a guitar is fake. They come from the factory with the screws facing the neck and are sometimes flipped during a setup to give the saddles more travel space.
The lacquer quality and the amount of it on the head stock is another giveaway
Wish for a review on that Voodoo!!! Thanks for the info
I happen to own one... only got it cos of how ugly it is lol. it is a studio.. I just havent seen any good reviews of it on youtube... Would be coul to have one by you.
I know a place that sells fake gibsons which is not the main problem. The main problem is that they claim that they are real gibsons. Where can I report that ?
Gangina 4K Call your state attorney general. That is a federal crime. Also, US customs might be interested. A company like Gibson, still producing items in the USA, needs to be protected from this abuse.
reviewz it's not on my state I saw it while traveling
I just went to the Guitar Center website. Every Les Paul has trapezoids that look like this fake. The smaller ones near the body have perfect angles but the larger ones curve near the top of the trapezoid just like this one.
I have a 70$ knockoff Les Paul jr. and I have upgraded with a Seymour Duncan new tuners and strap locks it plays great and has been upgraded and is a different guitar in general
Went to a pawn shop in my town this morning. Didn't know to look for the things that you listed here but what I was suspicious of was, though, the SG says made in USA, but it was VERY, VERY LIGHT in weight. I've never picked up an SG before. Are they supposed to be light?
No they're not. That sounds like a cheapy with a Gibson logo.
@@runlarryrun77 Thanks for the info. I went back two days ago and it was gone. I guess someone fell for it.
The Les Paul signature is sharpied on the real ones also
Great video! Definitely came in handy when I ordered my LP custom! The quickest way I've noticed for spotting a fake is the bridge screws, the real LP are flat and the fakes have flat head screws in them. Did you tell the owner it was a fake? If so I bet he was PISSED!
or he was like oh what oh no wow that was fake i didnt do that.
It's illegal to sell anything that is counterfeit, purses, guitars watches etc. BUT it is not illegal to own something that is, it's hard to charge someone who buys something that is counterfeit with committing a crime since all they have to do is say that they didn't know it was fake when they bought it. So, if you buy one of these, you are stuck with it forever, unless you can get the Gibson name off the headstock permanently.
Thank you Kennis! Your video is very helpful. Peace, TC
Another way to spot a fake is to check the scarf joint on the back of the neck. Great video though :)
That real les Paul with the black and red finish is absolutely beautiful.
Epiphone Les Pauls are quite good. Obviously not as good as Gibson but I own one and looks gorgeous (Mahogany/AAA Flame Maple vaneer/Rosewood) and plays really well. If You can't afford a Gibson, take a look at an Epi Les Paul
Better : buy a used Les Paul. That's what I did (twice). Most of Epiphones have photo flame tops… (that is, except the vintage ones and Elitist series)
I have a Epiphone Les Paul. Its a really good guitar! (btw mine is black with a tint of yellow on the front) :3
julosx they have a maple vernier
Good vid bud! Makes me appreciate my original so much more for being so detailled!
4:04- 4:18 Absolutely spot on. On my black Les Paul you really have to struggle to even read the number, i have to hold it up the light to read it almost. Fakes make me totally sick, because the real thing is an absolute thing of beauty. Love Pauls, just love the proper thing.
PS that gold top is horrid, really awful
Forget all the other shit, the nut gives it away from 20 feet away .
always bring your screw driver and look at the pots and wires... HUGE giveaway ! And by the way what an UGLY open book headstock that is !
Don’t all Les Paul Custom models have block inlays starting on the first fret as opposed to the trapezoid starting on the third? That caught my eye right away.
GREAT VIDEO!! Thumb way up for all the information!
What's worse, the Chibson Counterfeit Market or the Ever Decreasing Quality of the U.S Gibson Guitar Line?
I played a brand new, $1800 Gibson LP Studio recently, and it played like a $200 knock off.
It depends on the settings. No guitar is a good one with bad settings. And 1800 $ looks expensive for a Studio. I have an '93 one and believe me it doesn't sound as a knock-off, but it required a bit of work to get it right. It was done once for all as soon as I bought it and since it really kicks arse.
julosx
I play a Les Paul, and it is a stellar instrument. Good point regarding the setup, but the Gibson's I've played at my local Guitar Center are Way over priced, and the quality is Not there.
I wouldn't make to many comments about how the bridge is setup and wouldn't use that as a real factor for identifying a fake Gibson.
Yes your channel is back
I bought a Gibson les paul in 1980! From a reputable shop? Said it was a 1969? Were copies made back then?
Chibson Maker: noted!
Thank u with this video I was able to tell that a les Paul at my local pawn shop was fake, and it honestly looked like a piece of plywood with strings, and they were asking a whopping $4000 for this supposed “authentic 1957 les Paul standard” i didn’t tell them tho since they were the kind of pawn shop owners to kick me out if I said anything bad about there stuff
The biggest screw up, if they were to claim it's a Les Paul Custom, is that nothing checks out for a custom. No multilayered binding on the body or fingerboard, no diamond-inlay on the headstock and no square fretmarkers.
A lot of times you will find the Gibson logo being placed too far down on the headstock, an expensive-looking guitar with a offset-printed logo and the serial number stamped into the back of the head after it was clear coated. Gibsons never have sharp edges on their serial numbers.
Mattias Söderlund The custom shop does more than just the ornamental designs. When they do reissues of old LP standards, they look like standards.
www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/LPR7TVAGNH?adpos=1o3&creative=55280457721&device=m&matchtype=&network=g&product_id=LPR7TVAGNH&gclid=CLKQ--28588CFQERaQodQo8H5g
It looks almost like a modern Gibson with these inconsistency's.. Damm it's really hard to tell nowadays because Gibson quality control is so bad.
I'm curious if the pawnbroker knew he got got and was selling it for $1800 to try to make up for his mistake or if he knew it was counterfeit and took it anyway to try and rip some poor sap... either way it'd be illegal
Came across a good fake copy of a cherry red Gibson ES-335 at a local pawn shop. They were asking 2,200. Ran the number and that came back as a
"2015" with ice T sunburst finish. And the sticker inside the upper F hole said made in Kalamazoo. Gibson left Kalamazoo in 1984.
Also trapezoid inlays and specs for that serial number said dot.
Owner swore it was real deal until he did his own research. Never took it down just dropped price to 1000.
I sent Gibson an email but never heard anything more.
On the headstocks, the Gibson G should be parallel with the nut side imo. Also, the "o" in Gibson of the fakes have an open o that is almost a u sometimes. I noticed the "s" also is tilted on the fake. Another item is the Les Paul signature, on the fake those usually have a uniform thickness all the way around on all letters. Real Gibson Les Pauls don't have uniform font widths. There should be skinny and thicker lines.
Im not a big gibson fan but that black and red gibson lp looks fantastic like a black forest cake with a fret board i would buy it.
Helped a lot, thanks man
So are these differences worth $1000+???
This pawnbroker should be reported to the police. He's selling a counterfeit item and probably knows that it is fake and still asks big money for it. This is theft right there.
I work at a pawn shop in Phx,Az and the most common fakes I see are the Gibson gold tops and the Gibson signature slash les Paul guitars.
Our so called guitar expert bought a Gibson slash for $1100 on my day off and the next morning when i got to work I looked at it and within 15 seconds of looking at it you could tell it was fake. The very first thing that stood out was the craftsmanship. It's a Gibson not a first act from walmart. The binding was a mess, tuners were just like the one in this video and what stood out the most was the paint job, my 5 year old son could have done a better job. Just a heads up tho, if you're ever on the fence go to aliexpress dot com and if you can find that exact guitar on there then your probably looking at a fake. They sell a ton of custom signature series guitars so if your questioning if the guitar is fake or not and its on aliexpress its most likely fake. But my number one rule is who is selling it to you, if your 99% sure the person selling you the guitar looks like they shouldn't own then most likely its either stolen or its fake as f$ck:)