Federal authorities seize 3,000 fake Gibson guitars in California worth over $18M

[craigb]

On 11/29/2024 at 7:08 AM, Shane_B. said:

They are probably made at the Epiphone factory there in Chi-nah.

I don't know what to think about it. I can understand why Gibson doesn't want their name on unapproved products. And I get why it's being done. It's a lot easier to sell if it says Gibson. 

It's a given with them that the electronics suck and the finish isn't perfect, but that's what you expect from a $300 guitar.

Only a dirtbag would try to resell it as a real Gibson. And there is the other problem. They should at least stamp them or mark them somehow so there's no doubt they are copies. That would probably take the heat off them a little.

This is an Epiphone that someone put a Gibson name on...  I wasn't impressed when I bought it thinking it was a real Gibson...

[paulo]

13 hours ago, craigb said:

 I wasn't impressed when I bought it thinking it was a real Gibson...

That's why you can't be trusted with having money.😀

[Starship Krupa]

It's nice to think that they'd just sand the offending logo off and do something useful with them, but I don't think that's how it works.

Unless there's some mechanism for Customs and Border Protection to be an agency that sells things, and I doubt that there is, it's going to be disposal for these musical instruments.

I'm with those who say these no doubt playable instruments shouldn't have Gibson's trademarked logo on them at all.

First off, and I know that as an aficionado of oddball guitars I am probably not neurotypical regarding these matters, I would not wish to own or play a guitar with Gibson's or Fender's logo on the headstock that wasn't made and sold by Gibson or Fender. I don't understand the appeal.

I have a defiant punk attitude toward brand worship. And I've never wanted to play the same kind of guitar that everyone else is using. Give me something that's shaped like a 335 or a Strat but says Aria or Behringer on the headstock and I'm fine. Better still, give me something that's not shaped like a common guitar but plays and sounds great and I'm even happier. I felt this way almost from the start of my desire to play guitar back in the mid 70's. The axe I wanted was an Ovation Viper (which I eventually did own) or Fender Musicmaster (ditto). My first good instrument was a Hofner Club Bass like Tina Weymouth played in Talking Heads. The second was a (maligned at the time) non-reverse Gibson Firebird with (maligned at the time) P-90's. When I had to sell these instruments to get cash, I refrained from selling the Firebird to a guy who wanted to rip the P-90's out and put in humbuckers, as was the custom at the time.

Nobody cares about the logo on the headstock but some musicians and guitar aficionados. If I'm playing in front of people and get a good sound with my plywood Behringer, anyone who knows anything about guitars is going to think "wow, he's getting such a good sound from that cheapo Behringer." If I'm getting a just okay sound out of a copy guitar with a Gibson logo on it, is anyone going to look at it and think "sounds okay, but wowee a GIBSON?"

Moreover, the existence of counterfeit major brand guitars actually leads to guitar heads wondering if maybe you're playing a fake. Nobody is going to suspect that my beloved Peavey Foundation Bass is a fake because nobody would fake a Peavey. But they might squint at a sunburst Les Paul wondering if I'm actually playing a real one.

The only context I can think of where it might be appropriate would be in a tribute band where you don't want to risk taking your real sunburst Les Paul out of the house.

[Gswitz]

My logo sounds awesome. 

[Amberwolf]

2 hours ago, Starship Krupa said:

I have a defiant punk attitude toward brand worship. And I've never wanted to play the same kind of guitar that everyone else is using. Give me something that's shaped like a 335 or a Strat but says Aria or Behringer on the headstock and I'm fine. Better still, give me something that's not shaped like a common guitar but plays and sounds great and I'm even happier.

 

i like to hack things, and to repurpose things never meant for the purpose to do somethng for me.  it started out as a necessity, possibly learned while i lived as a really poor kid in a little pink house in texas farm country, where you have to make do with what's already there if you want to play, and there were two dumping areas nearby in flood/wash gulleys....  after a while it became more fun to do things that way than to be normal, though nowadays i have so little time and energy for anything that i tend to go for the premade solutions wherever they will more or less do what i want. 

anyway, my first electric guitar was a crappy first act thing from goodwill, and while it physically worked, and to me, not knowing how to play****, it was still pretty nice despite the many flaws--the worst of which is taht it doesn't stay tuned even just sitting there for an hour :lol:   the pickups weren't adjustable and didn't evenly pick up all the strings, etc.  

since then i've removed the original pickup unit and replaced it with a slightly less crappy multi-pickup / pickboard combo; had to dremel out pits for those, plus the switch to choose which one is being used, and the tone and volume knobs for the kit.   i also demeled out a pit in the back and parts in front for a cheap string-bending setup, though that didn't work out as well as i'd intended; the actual bar itself snapped off at the start of the threading at the base of the bar, and the springs suck so it never returns correctly to neutral, making the tuning problem much worse.       

i've got a list somewhere of other tuneups and tweaks and mods to try on it, since i cant' really hurt it :lol: but i don't know that i'll ever get to them.  i'm not worth spending the money on for a real guitar, so i doubt i'd ever replace it with one.   mostly it's just fun to noodle around with them as a different way to input sound into the computer; sometimes i use jamorigin's midiguitar program to get that in as midi notes as well as the original audio recording.  

 

****still can't, have to lay them in my lap and fret strings from the top; i can't wrap my hand / fingers around from underneath and still manipulate them to push the strings down.   even so i can't control my fingers well enough to do more than two strings at a time, so i have to record parts of chords into the computer and stack them to do much with it.   since i picked one up cheap used, i usually use an ibanez 6string bass to play everything in instead of the firstact monstrosity because the bass has much more space between the strings so i make far less mistakes trying to fret strings, and it "never" loses it's tuning.  it also has a much fuller sound than the fa.  

 

 

Edited December 2 by Amberwolf

[Sock Monkey]

Wasn’t it Gibson that screwed us over in 2017?  

I owned a music store once (90’s) and Yorkville was the Gibson distributor. I brought in a few US made Les Pauls and SG’s as well as a bunch of the Korean? Made Epiphones. The Epiphones played better out of the box. People would come in and always walked out with the Epiphones. I got stuck with the Gibsons and ended up selling them at cost. 

Last year I went shopping for a new acoustic. The Epiphones won out for me over all. I bought a L-00  for $600. The Taylor’s were ok but at $3000 for what played and sounded about the same??? 
It is the nicest acoustic I’ve ever owned. 
I’m not a real USA Gibson fan. But I do miss my old EB0 bass. What a fool I was It was from the 60’s and I traded it for a POS Takimine acoustic . 
Any how we should not talk about Gibson around here . It brings back bad memories for some. 
 

Edited December 3 by Sock Monkey

[Terry Kelley]

It's been almost a week and no one has posted about cheap tone wood.

[Shane_B.]

On 12/2/2024 at 9:02 PM, Sock Monkey said:

Wasn’t it Gibson that screwed us over in 2017?  

I owned a music store once (90’s) and Yorkville was the Gibson distributor. I brought in a few US made Les Pauls and SG’s as well as a bunch of the Korean? Made Epiphones. The Epiphones played better out of the box. People would come in and always walked out with the Epiphones. I got stuck with the Gibsons and ended up selling them at cost. 

Last year I went shopping for a new acoustic. The Epiphones won out for me over all. I bought a L-00  for $600. The Taylor’s were ok but at $3000 for what played and sounded about the same??? 
It is the nicest acoustic I’ve ever owned. 
I’m not a real USA Gibson fan. But I do miss my old EB0 bass. What a fool I was It was from the 60’s and I traded it for a POS Takimine acoustic . 
Any how we should not talk about Gibson around here . It brings back bad memories for some. 
 

I owned a USA Gibson Custom Black Beauty (I think their called?) and an Epi Sheraton II Made In Korea.

I could never get the Custom to sound right and I eventually sold it. To someone on the old forum through a music stores online listing.

The SII needed a setup so I went on their website and did the factory recommended setup to the T. It plays like a dream.

My favorite acoustic in an inexpensive Fender cutaway I've had for over 30 years. I have no idea where it was made, but definitely not US. Paid $249 for it. Plays better than my Martin. Doesn't sound the same, but I don't expect it to.

I also have a MIJ Tele and Strat. They were dirt cheap back in the 80's when I got them. I still have them and they still better than any US Tele or Strat I've ever tried.

For me it's the feel of a guitar and how well it will set up. I really don't care what the name is or where it was made.

[Terry Kelley]

Like a vintage “90s” Les Paul. 

[craigb]

The Feds will be going after amps and pedals next...

[Shane_B.]

11 hours ago, craigb said:

The Feds will be going after amps and pedals next...

Apparently they are sending drones for them. Did you read about that? I counted 26 just tonight.

Edit: Forgot to say this is a major thing here in NJ right now. Every night there's more and more drones in the sky and nobody (cough cough) knows where they are coming from.

Edited December 9 by Shane_B.

[Terry Kelley]

Are they leaving chem-trails? Asking for a friend.

[Shane_B.]

10 hours ago, Terry Kelley said:

Are they leaving chem-trails? Asking for a friend.

I don't know, but a friend of mine said he saw a Chibson logo on one of them. Maybe they are drop shipping by drone now and that's how they are getting around the ports.