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Les Paul Supreme fake identification


Jack24

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I found a beautiful Gibson Les Paul Supreme to sell in Guitar's Café and was informed by the vendor that fingerboard is in rosewood (quite dark I would say for rosewood). SERIAL NUMBER is 02005514 (I do not know the manufacturing date ...maybe some one could help)

The question is: could some one confirm that Gibson has made Les Paul Supreme with a fingerboard made in dark rosewood ?. If not it may be a fake Les Paul Supreme

Thanks,

Jack24

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I found a beautiful Gibson Les Paul Supreme to sell in Guitar's Café and was informed by the vendor that fingerboard is in rosewood (quite dark I would say for rosewood). SERIAL NUMBER is 02005514 (I do not know the manufacturing date ...maybe some one could help)

The question is: could some one confirm that Gibson has made Les Paul Supreme with a fingerboard made in dark rosewood ?. If not it may be a fake Les Paul Supreme

Thanks,

Jack24

 

 

Hello Jack24! According to the serial number, The guitar was built on 19th of July, 2005. Although I doubt that's a Gibson. Supremes came with ebony fingerboard until recently, when it was changed to richlite. Please post some close-up photos, so we can identify whether it's genuine or not. Cheers... Bence

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Hello Jack24! According to the serial number, The guitar was built on 19th of July, 2005. Although I doubt that's a Gibson. Supremes came with ebony fingerboard until recently, when it was changed to richlite. Please post some close-up photos, so we can identify whether it's genuine or not. Cheers... Bence

Thanks a lot for your input, I will send the photos next week (I asked them to the vendor)

Best regards

Jack

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Unless you can post pictures of the front and back of the headstock, it is difficult to help you with it. Your description is a bit confusing. I will say that 02005514 would indicate a Gibson USA guitar from 2005. That serial number is not in the format of anything from the Custom Shop(CS) at all. The CS used to do somethings on Gibson USA models, but that ended back in the early to mid 1990's. So from what you are describing it sounds fishy. Rather than take the time to post photos, and reply to this and wait for another reply, there is a much easier way to get information. E-mail Gibson at service@gibson.com or better yet call them at 1-800-4-GIBSON. You can call them toll free from anywhere in the world and they are there 365 days a year 24/7. They can tell you what guitar, if any, the serial number pulls up. I would be seriously suspicious of it saying Custom Shop, but having that serial number format. A lot of the Chinese fakes do that. Also, if you are looking for a guitar to invest in, forget it unless it is part of a very limited run, or a one off custom order that is confirmed by Gibson. Any other Les Paul you buy, will never hit the values of the original 1950's guitars in your lifetime, your kids' lifetime, or even your grandkids' lifetime. The reason is because since mid - late 1969 they have been just one of hundreds of thousands, if not millions made. I did a total once using a reference book, and I think between 1970 and 1980 they had made over 100,000 LP Customs alone. The original 1950's LPs are very rare compared to post 1969 models. There was only something like 1700 sunburst finish Les Pauls made between 1958 and 1960. The Custom Shop turns out close to that number (if not more) of most of the reissues each year. This means that a CS 1958 (for example) reissue Les Paul, is probably going to be 1 of 10's of thousands made. So unless you get one from a very limited run, like the first 25 Jimmy Pages, or a one off, you will never see the fantastic appreciation that the originals have seen.

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I'm not sure we even need to see pictures of this one.

 

Just out of curiosity I Googled the serial number.

 

It seems that this particular guitar has been around the internet for quite a while - and each thread was posted by a concerned owner wondering if it was a real Gibson.

 

The earliest mention I found was right here in the Gibson Forum from Jan 2008 when it's then owner was also concerned about it being a fake. He had paid a whopping $650 for it and as the base going rate in the USA for a used Supreme seems to be in the region of $2,500.......

 

I remember there were dozens of these fakes coming into the States at that time. Usually they were labelled (hereabouts) 'Suprome' after the erroneous peghead script inlay.

 

Someone should alert the authorities so that the unfortunate instrument can be converted into firewood.

 

P.

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Hello, I have one les paul supreme 2011, serial number 117 810 664. I buy it in France (Lyon), so I want to know if this guitarre have ebony fingerboard, I know that gibson changed the ebony to richlite in 2012 so i just want to be sure that my guitarre was built with ebony fingerboard, thatk you very much, Gerardo.

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 10 months later...

USA division models had serial numbers changed in July 2005 to 9 digits. The serial numbers we have seen starting with 02005.... with 8 digits were usually fakes.

 

Kind regards,

 

Stijn

 

Hi,

I just bought a Supreme with serial no.: 031250430?? I have an ES 355 from 2006 with an 8 digit??

 

Very confusing, I find it. Does the first 0 and the 5 m not mean, it is from 2005? But do you know why the 0 is there after 5, and why a 9 digit serial number system??

 

BR Peter

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Hi,

I just bought a Supreme with serial no.: 031250430?? I have an ES 355 from 2006 with an 8 digit??

 

Very confusing, I find it. Does the first 0 and the 5 m not mean, it is from 2005? But do you know why the 0 is there after 5, and why a 9 digit serial number system??

 

BR Peter

 

Well your serial is from after july '05 so it would be a 9 digit serial.

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