modoc_333 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 ok, i am sorry if this offends anyone. if the owner of the site i'm about to mention is a member here..... then i apologize twice for any resulting insult. that being said, i think for the good of the group, and the safety of the members, i have to make this post. quite often we have posts asking us to ID a guitar as real or fake. that's great and the right way for people to do things. be sure before you buy! however, it is too often that someone gives a serial number and people point to this site: http://www.guitardaterproject.org/gibson.aspx if they don't point to the site directly, then they run it through their database and give the results. sometimes they just figure it out in their head and post the answer. NONE OF THESE OPTIONS WORK THOUGH! all that site does is decode the numbers based off of the number scheme that Gibson uses. it tells you nothing about whether or not it is a valid number. it's easy to make up a number that fits that scheme. for example: 10211025. could you ID a guitar as real based off of that? of course not. i just made it up. that serial COULD be legit though. the guitar would have been the 25th guitar made on Friday, January 21, 2011. but what's to say the guitar you are holding baring that number is legit? nothing. i could have made a fake and just put that number on it. Calling Gibson to verify that the REAL guitar assigned that number is the same model as the one you are looking at is a great first step, but not the last one. a forger could simply have an example and then put the same serial on several fakes of the same model. we need pictures. good ones. that helps a lot. of course, an in hand inspection is better, but pictures can cover most things these days. (the forgers haven't gotten quite good enough yet to stop us! LOL) again, i am sorry if i ruffled feathers here. that is NOT my intent. i simply want to dispell this myth. if you are SURE the guitar is real then that site is a great way to decode the number and tell you what you have. it CAN NOT be the first step to ID though. i post this ONLY b/c i fear someone getting burned. none of us want that. please. PLEASE! get the word out and let's not quote that site when checking real vs fake. heck, that site even decodes numbers saying Bozeman is in "MA" really? decoding the serial in your head and posting it is the same thing BTW. it's just knowing the method Gibson uses. ANYONE can do that.... especially the guys making fakes. as a matter of fact, if i were making fakes, it would be a genius idea to create that site. tons of people would go to it and verify my guitars as real! THANKS! and if this keeps just one person from getting burned then it was worth it! PLEASE let's stop this right here and never quote that site again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhanners623 Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Having a reputable dealer physically inspect the guitar is probably the best and quickest route to answering the Is It Real/Is It Fake question. That said, how prevalent are fake Gibson acoustics? In all the years I've been playing, I can only recall seeing one fake Gibson, and it was a hollow-body electric. I just can't imagine fake Gibson acoustics is a pressing issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 The site is a great tool. It must be understood that it is a Wiki. As such it needs user input to keep it current. No matter what information you use to determine the genuine-ness of a valued article, There are those out there with nefarious intentions who will use anything at their disposal to defraud you. I mean, if I wanted to defraud someone on a guitar deal, I'd find a similar guitar posted here or on Ebay with a serial number listed. Then get a set of metal stamps and stamp that number into the back of the guitar Headstock. Valid, number, no disputing it. In all things, caveat emptor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rar Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 That said, how prevalent are fake Gibson acoustics? Quite, judging from eBay. They're usually Epiphones with forged Gibson labels and headstock decals being sold as J-50s. Easily recognizable, but they sold nonetheless. The good news is that eBay has made it pretty easy to report these, and they do follow up and remove the listings. The bad news is the guitars are still out there. -- Bob R Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Some good websites: NOTE.....I would contact Gibson about EVERY guitar I was considering buying, unless a real vintage guitar. ALL EBAY NEW GIBSONS, I would check serial numbers with Gibson as (Gibson customer service suggests) with pics and serial numbers for help with verification BEFORE buying.....it is a pity we have to do this, but buyer beware, is the mantra here... http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/counterfeit-guitar-bust-708/ http://www.myguitarguide.com/fake-gibson-guitars/ http://fibsons.com/category/acoustic/ http://reviews.ebay.com/Fake-Gibson-Guitars-on-the-market-buyers-beware-apos_W0QQugidZ10000000019698440 http://www.guitarsite.com/news/other/gibson_warns_of_counterfeit_instruments_sold_in_usa/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 thank you for pointing this out. to sum it up it should be stressed that a seriel# can NEVER tell you that a guitar is genuine, and can only be able to tell you something is wrong if that is what you are using it for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 thank you for pointing this out. to sum it up it should be stressed that a seriel# can NEVER tell you that a guitar is genuine, and can only be able to tell you something is wrong if that is what you are using it for. exactly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StijnV Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Sending pictures of the guitar and the serial number to us can normally already take away lots of doubts, as it is very difficult to reproduce a guitar precisely, with same serial number and specs. The guitardater project is simply misleading, as they make their site look like an official Gibson supported website, which it is not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartanbeastie Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Having a reputable dealer physically inspect the guitar is probably the best and quickest route to answering the Is It Real/Is It Fake question. That said, how prevalent are fake Gibson acoustics? In all the years I've been playing, I can only recall seeing one fake Gibson, and it was a hollow-body electric. I just can't imagine fake Gibson acoustics is a pressing issue. if you check on ebay there are chinese sellers advertising Acoustics which have gibson labels in the soundhole and look to the untrained eye almost identical to gibson.. i have reported a few of them to ebay and contacted gibson as well as fender regarding various sellers and obvious fakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 BUT....serial number and pics sent to Gibson customer service, can clear up just about all doubts. Gibson is in the fight over clones and knockoffs, so best to use their services....If a seller won't give you the serial number or has fuzzy photos.....just pass.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 The guitardater project is simply misleading, as they make their site look like an official Gibson supported website, which it is not. AMEN! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartanbeastie Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 regarding fakes.. i would rather that the copiers just put their own name on the guitar, regardless of how much it may look like a gibson or other brand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommyK Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 Sending pictures of the guitar and the serial number to us can normally already take away lots of doubts, as it is very difficult to reproduce a guitar precisely, with same serial number and specs. The guitardater project is simply misleading, as they make their site look like an official Gibson supported website, which it is not. AMEN! "Official Gibson Supported" http://www.guitardaterproject.org/ Where? Misleading? How? I think you are reading a whole lot more into what the website does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modoc_333 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 I am not.... but other people do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StijnV Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 "Official Gibson Supported" http://www.guitardaterproject.org/ Where? Misleading? How? I think you are reading a whole lot more into what the website does. Everyone can put on their website "Officially supported by Gibson"'; that's what makes it misleading. If people are checking numbers on that website and it doesn't show, then it makes people worried ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol fred Posted March 14, 2011 Share Posted March 14, 2011 For those of you that have never seen fake acoustics follow the link: http://www.tradetang.com/search/index.jsp?keyword=acoustic%20guitar&catid=220501&splitcount=24&sort=salesT0&currpage=1&type=0&freeshipping=0&trustworthy=0&quality=0&packageselling=0&attr=&maxp=0&minp=0&isg=0 if I had money to throw away I would buy one just to see what you actually get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheba love Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 i've seen two custom shop les pauls with the exact same serial number. i thought they were both fake until i contacted gibson and found "that doesn't mean we stamped 824 guitars in one day, it means that was number 824 in the production sequence." i was really confused about whether one or both were fake until i looked at the bridge. the epiphone flat head mounts don't lie, do they? but seriously, everything else about the fake was really believable, until i plugged it in. "whhhhhhhhhahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" vs "silence". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajay Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 I just buy my axes from Gruhn's. I don't even look at the number because I trust good ol' George to give me the year and condition that I want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meanstreak Posted July 4, 2014 Share Posted July 4, 2014 For those of you that have never seen fake acoustics follow the link: http://www.tradetang.com/search/index.jsp?keyword=acoustic%20guitar&catid=220501&splitcount=24&sort=salesT0&currpage=1&type=0&freeshipping=0&trustworthy=0&quality=0&packageselling=0&attr=&maxp=0&minp=0&isg=0 if I had money to throw away I would buy one just to see what you actually get You know the sad thing is those factories making the fakes could probably make some pretty good guitars and sell them under their own name well. My Chinese made Epi Masterbilts are terrific. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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