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is this a fake les paul?


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Hello Sparquelito!

 

The pictured guitar is a genuine Gibson Les Paul Classic. The Classic of that era has very unique features. If a counterfeiter can spot them, and has the ability to reproduce them perfectly, - hats off - and I would take that fake as a real thing.

 

However, they were unable to reproduce even run-of-the-mill instruments good enough, so far...

 

Bence.

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Even Gibson is struggling to reproduce accurately their own vintage guitars.

 

Well, yes and no.

 

The reissues are wonderful. But, I am sure, they never wanted to craft a spot on replica - ever. For a good reason...

 

Bence.

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I'm an engineer. It's my job to take what science has taught us and apply it to the real world.

 

The guitar in the OP's photos has the correct bridge (first thing I personally look for), a two screw truss rod cover (the screws look similar to my 50's Tribute and my Studio), nibs on the fret ends (not common at all to fakes), a Gibson logo that whether real or not has been considered legitimate by several people on this site who I consider experts and they back it up with supporting documentation (taught me something I didn't know because it looked hokey to me too). The wood I can see on the side of the guitar looks like wood Gibson has used, I have two clear coated mahogany body Gibsons and they look just like that.

 

So the practical application of the data would be to tell the OP that the guitar appears to be genuine, because everything shown in the photos provided appear to be genuine. I would warn them that they should play it first and look in the control cavity and check out the serial number, but Even if the guitar is not genuine, it has the appearance of a genuine Gibson, the right hardware already, a good looking finish, so if it plays well and sounds good, as long as the cost is not too high, go for it.

 

If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck as far as people looking at it and listening to it, it's a duck.

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Hey Sparqy - Lighten up. When it comes to the science of spotting Gibson fakes, this board is like NASA. These experts take this stuff seriously. That's why these guys don't take kindly to you just jumping into their discussion and saying a bunch of stuff that shows you're not real knowledgeable about this stuff and then stubbornly fighting with everybody as if you're an expert.

 

Like, for instance, I can tell when a building is going to fall down. I'm an expert. If somebody else says they can't tell if the building's going to fall down unless they go inside and look at it I'll tell them "Go right ahead."

 

[biggrin]

 

I'm plenty lightened-up, but I do appreciate the advice, badbluesplayer.

You have always been a straight shooter, and I value your opinion and counsel.

 

 

I do not recall, to be fair, where I ever claimed to be an expert.

I did list a few elements of my guitar playing/valuating credentials, true.

I have helped many fellows and gals, over the years, with their guitar questions, and I have only been wrong or off base a few times, also true.

And that's not a brag, it just is what it is.

 

Perhaps I just rankled a few people because I spoke in terms of science and objectivity, and I dared to disagree with the majority opinion.

But to be fair, I didn't observe where the foundation for that (their) majority opinion was particularly well-worded, convincing, OR compelling.

 

Look, I wasn't aware we even had qualified, credentialed guitar appraisal experts on these boards.

Perhaps we ought to suggest to the owners/admins of this web forum to place a special icon near the avatar of a given poster, clarifying that this or that person is a bona fide expert.

THAT would go a long way in clearing a way for the true professionals to take care of all this sort of work, and leave those of us with only 40+ years of measly guitar experience to stand by and allow the pros to work.

 

Some perspective;

In my experience, and in the past, whenever (on the boards where I am a moderator) I encountered a poster with a truly (or potentially) valuable instrument, I provide my advice, and then I ALWAYS advise them to go to the nearest guitar appraisal house and get the instrument properly appraised or validated, in writing. Always.

 

And I go further and help them FIND that proper guitar appraiser.

(We are able to see IP Addresses and therefore the geographic location of a given poster, and it doesn't take much work to find a quality, qualified instrument appraisal house.)

Does that sound fair?

There is a fair expectation that I will be slagged and denigrated for that as well.

 

Don't get me wrong, it wouldn't cause me to lose any sleep.

I don't have a lot of skin in this game, (regarding this particular counterfeit guitar) and I certainly don't attach much ego to this endeavor.

 

Truth be told, my ex-wife pretty much got my ego in the divorce.

She tried to get my balls too, but I stood fast on that one point.

 

[scared]

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... a Gibson logo that whether real or not has been considered legitimate by several people on this site who I consider experts and they back it up with supporting documentation (taught me something I didn't know because it looked hokey to me too). ....

 

There's actually been quite a few posts on these forums about this over the years.

 

Just a few examples - All genuine Gibsons, all from posts here on the Gibson forums, all from inquiries about the workmanship or repair of the "ghosting"/"delamination" of headstock inlays, all linked to their threads which readers might find interesting -

 

1998-

2809589663_41a3d287d9_o.jpg

 

1999-

HeadstockDelam_zpshygmjbqa.jpg

 

2001-

logo.jpg

 

2005-

HeadstockDelam2_zpsuibuapa4.jpg

 

HeadstockDelam3_zpsantwrtni.jpg

 

.

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Some more examples from the web:

 

1999 Les Paul Elegant:

1999-Gibson-Custom-Shop-Les-Paul-Elegant-Headstock.jpg

 

1971 Les Paul Custom, Left-Handed:

01594_hs.jpg

 

1997 Les Paul Elegant:

doc_images-1303200616612.jpg

 

another 1997 Les Paul Elegant:

Gi9999d.jpg

 

1969/1970 Les Paul Professional:

77283F07-3FF5-4968-8484-63A284AFCB86.jpg

 

2004 Les Paul Classic:

Headstock-1.jpg

 

1915 Les Paul Original:

lespauldiesat94o8y8pex-z3fm.jpg?w=580

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Beautiful photos, all.

Thanks for posting those.

 

We still remain at an impasse regarding the guitar in question, don't get me wrong, but I do admire quality guitar photography.

 

Here's a gorgeous photo of another Gibson guitar. I have had this very poster hanging in my music room for many years, right above my keyboard stand.

:)

 

guitars-art-small-72055.jpg

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Beautiful photos, all.

Thanks for posting those.

 

We still remain at an impasse regarding the guitar in question, don't get me wrong, but I do admire quality guitar photography.

 

 

OK, but can we at least agree that what was observed on the OP's logo is a normal Gibson thing?

 

You have been presented with evidence of similar looking logos from a wide variety of years.

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I'm plenty lightened-up, but I do appreciate the advice, badbluesplayer.

You have always been a straight shooter, and I value your opinion and counsel.

 

 

I do not recall, to be fair, where I ever claimed to be an expert.

I did list a few elements of my guitar playing/valuating credentials, true.

I have helped many fellows and gals, over the years, with their guitar questions, and I have only been wrong or off base a few times, also true.

And that's not a brag, it just is what it is.

 

 

Wrong like when you told somebody in another thread that their R9 was weight relieved?

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Hello!

 

10 pages of pointless debate. Isn't it time to let this thread go?

 

The OP received a whole bunch of opinions, all of them confirming the authenticity of the instrument except for one. So?

 

Have a nice weekend!

 

Bence.

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Hello!

 

10 pages of pointless debate. Isn't it time to let this thread go?

 

The OP received a whole bunch of opinions, all of them confirming the authenticity of the instrument except for one. So?

 

Have a nice weekend!

 

Bence.

 

But we're closing in on solving this ! I bet we can get to page 11. Lol.

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