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Real or Fake Gibson?


JMusic

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Need some help with checking a couple of Gibsons for authenticity/date

 

Think they might be a 1991 classic and a black beauty but not sure if the serial numbers look correct.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

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Some here may argue the 'back of the headstock' shot is the most important in verifying authenticity [flapper], we will need a few more pictures of the guitar to make an informed decision.

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.

The headstock backs look okay. But as Deeman said - pics of the front of the whole guitar are needed to confirm.

 

From what I can see, as far as I can tell - If the red one is a LP Classic that serial indicates it would be a 2003 - YYRRRR

 

If the black one is a reissue serial it would be a 1957 manufactured in 2009 - M YRRR

 

 

.

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what would help here are some photos of:

 

the back of the neck, (some where from the nut to the 5th fret is key) if you can see the wood grain.

(on the black beauty, that wont help)

 

take off the truss rod cover, take a photo of what the truss rod adjustment fit-up looks like in both.

 

a photo of the entire front of each of the bodies.

 

the front of the head-stocks detailing the logo as best as possible.

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No-one can say whether any guitar is a genuine Gibson from looking at a serial number.

The counterfeiters know how to replicate genuine serial numbers so posting snaps isn't any more conclusive than typing out the numbers would have been.

 

Having said that...

Both headstocks have 'wings' - the extra bits of wood out-riding the central neck-stock - which is not normally seen on fakes.

Both typefaces are correct for their models - the 'Classic' has slightly oversized digits compared to the 'Re-Issue' - and both are in the correct format and colour for their respective models.

The tuners on each would seem to be correct for the respective models.

Lastly; I've never seen (or even heard of) a single example of a faked 1960 Classic. To fake a 'Classic' would take the counterfeiter far more effort and considerably more knowledge than would be needed to fake a Standard which would be worth more money into the bargain.

 

This is just a first-impression viewpoint. Further snaps, as mentioned by others, are needed to say more.

 

Pip.

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Thank you all for the great help so far. The more time I spend with them the more they seem geniune. Have posted some more photos as requested (which should have been in the first post!) Any more help on dating them would be fantastic. Thanks again!

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Yup. No worries whatsoever as to the authenticity about either instrument.

 

As BK mentioned in post #3 the '1960 Classic' dates from 2003. All it's original features also seem to be present which isn't always the case with this model.

 

The R7 isn't quite so straightforward to date as that serial # could indicate either 1999 or 2009.

I can't remember off-hand whether both featured Grovers nor if those instruments from the earlier date were offered with a Bigsby (assuming it's a factory-fitted one).

Perhaps if you contacted Gibson Customer Service they could narrow it down for you? Here's where;

 

http://www.gibson.com/Gibson/Talk-2-Us.aspx

 

Pip.

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Yup. No worries whatsoever as to the authenticity about either instrument.

 

As BK mentioned in post #3 the '1960 Classic' dates from 2003. All it's original features also seem to be present which isn't always the case with this model.

 

The R7 isn't quite so straightforward to date as that serial # could indicate either 1999 or 2009.

I can't remember off-hand whether both featured Grovers nor if those instruments from the earlier date were offered with a Bigsby (assuming it's a factory-fitted one).

Perhaps if you contacted Gibson Customer Service they could narrow it down for you? Here's where;

 

http://www.gibson.com/Gibson/Talk-2-Us.aspx

 

Pip.

 

Thank you so much for the help Pip that's great advice. Much apprectiated!

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  • 2 months later...

Hi Guys. I too would like to run a Les Paul that I've been offered under your knowing eyes. It's a 2006 Les Paul Standard. From the pics, it appears legit to me and to a Gibson fan whom I have run it by, plus it tallies with the 2006 website pictures. However, I'd just like to double check before landing my third Gibbo. In all honesty, a big part of it is that the deal that I've been offered is so sweet that I feel like it just can't be that easy, if you know what I mean. Here are the pics:

 

10r8wuq.jpg

 

4lhzee.jpg

 

14j7q8j.jpg

 

npgimf.jpg

 

246t18j.jpg

 

1qmopk.jpg

 

ncmb28.jpg

 

2euibyo.jpg

 

2ed4gue.jpg

 

Any and all input gratefully accepted. Thanks guys. :)

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^^ Looks real from here, no red flags visible. ^^

 

Could it be that the lens of the camera used needs some cleaning?

 

Thanks Capmaster. :) Looking forward to trying her out in a couple of days. On the camera, I'd say he's probably using a phone camera, so a bit of pocket dirt mixed in with some typically dicey phone cam resolution.

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Hi Guys. I too would like to run a Les Paul that I've been offered under your knowing eyes. It's a 2006 Les Paul Standard. From the pics, it appears legit to me and to a Gibson fan whom I have run it by, plus it tallies with the 2006 website pictures. However, I'd just like to double check before landing my third Gibbo. In all honesty, a big part of it is that the deal that I've been offered is so sweet that I feel like it just can't be that easy, if you know what I mean. Here are the pics:

 

10r8wuq.jpg

 

4lhzee.jpg

 

14j7q8j.jpg

 

npgimf.jpg

 

246t18j.jpg

 

1qmopk.jpg

 

ncmb28.jpg

 

2euibyo.jpg

 

2ed4gue.jpg

 

Any and all input gratefully accepted. Thanks guys. :)

I agree with Cap, looks 100% legit to me and very pretty one at that.

 

Johnny

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Guest Farnsbarns

Got it and it's stunning. Really pleased with it. Thanks for the assistance, guys. :)

 

t9vb7l.jpg

 

That is a pretty kne. Well done! Love the understated top.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I need some help. I was told this was a traditional ProII, there is no 10db knob adjustment on the tone and the volume knobs don't click as I have watched but they do pull up to adjust the coil splits. I have run the serial thru and it states that its a 2011, but what model. I was thinking a traditional LP, the guitar is heavy, black case with diamond cuts, The finish looks to be Sunburst. It was in very nice shape and it plays very well. I would like to just know what I spent my money on. Time was the deal and I did my homework on the traditional ProII, everything just went too fast.

 

Thanks in advance and happy to be part of the LP team.

 

Chris

 

https://1drv.ms/i/s!Ao142fKvxOWijeRPDIxUh0X_zHrcjw

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