Chinese Gibson guitars getting better or worse?
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2018
- Please don't ask me about specific vendors or who I bought them from. I hope you will understand that I do not want to recommend any vendor or site (Aliexpess, Alibaba, DH Gate etc.) should you experience any issues with a seller. It's a gamble and you are dealing with a personal situation that concerns your money not mine. See my video on buying from Aliexpess and you'll understand more. • ALIEXPRESS. Is it safe... Since I have several Chibson guitars I made this video hoping to show the good, the bad and the ugly of buying a Chibson Chinese guitar. Are they worth buying or are they garbage? You decide.
Since most of these guitars have had extensive hardware changes I did not do any audio comparisons. See my earlier videos on the guitars that I made when I first bought each one. My opinions have changed over the years about these. - เพลง
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I say Gibson should heed the words of Field of Dreams, "Build it and they will come". Build a guitar worth $3000 and I will buy one. I saved gig money through 2018 and decided to buy a new Gibson Les Paul Standard. Every Les Paul I ever owned over 40 years time was used and I just wanted a brand new one. So last December I decided it was time. I had the money and was eager to get my new Gibson. I took a day and visited three major music stores in North Jersey (2 different Guitar Center's and a Sam Ash). I played many new Gibson Les Paul Standards but each one had some issue, some small some not so small. I just couldn't pull the trigger on the Gibson because it wasn't a huge difference to what I already had 5 Epiphone LP's, an Agile LP and my Chibson's). I wanted a Gibson Les Paul that knocked the other LP type guitars I have out of the park. I didn't find it. A few weeks later I found a 2013 Gibson Gary Moore Les Paul in another smaller store. It was in mint condition and only $1600 so it satisfied my itch. It sounds great and plays great. Based on the price alone Is it 6 times better than my best Chibson or 3 times better than my Epiphone LP 1960 Tributes? No. It is a little better (maybe)
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Gibson should stop suing people and concentrate on making a great guitar like they did in the past. Stop reinventing the wheel and give guitar players the Les Paul they want not just the one you want to make. P.S. And for god's sake, set them up before they leave the factory!!
Rickholly74 that’s a Bad ass testimony and bingo ! About Gibson. A brand should take action . But which ones are taking action giving back ?
hello Rick, are selling any of your chibsons??the one at min 9:00... that flame top caught my eye!!!..let me know I'm very interested ..thank u!
omar_sawaya777@hotmail.com
@@omarnaimsawaya4297 I wish I could sell at least two Chibson's since I have so many guitars but I can't take the chance. In the US it is a Federal offense to import and sell counterfeit products. Once you buy a Chibson it's yours forever. That one you are referring to is nearly perfect in sound, feel and looks and plays great. It stands right up to my Gibson Standard Les Paul's. I can only suggest you take a chance and buy one on AliExpress just remember as I said in the video, in my experience they need a really good set up when you get them.
Rickholly74 copy that and thank u for ur advice ..last thing I don’t want to get u in trouble .. I gotta roll a dice on this .. I started to get more inclined on a Harley Benton ..those seem to less work ,plus I’m far to be a guitar tech ..Thankx for the advice gladly appreciate it !!
@@omarnaimsawaya4297 I bought a Harley Benton CST24 (PRS clone). It's an excellent guitar. I have never owned a PRS so I can't compare them but the CST24 is very impressive.They are making some great stuff. Thanks.
Anecdotes: first fake seen was in Venice, Italy 1966/67 in a main street shop - a Bigson (!) with a logo same style as a real ES-335. The shop was into shopping records and players, radio, TVs and needed something showy to further raise the ante. A record company sales rep got them one - apparently via the Eko music instrument distributor. Along with my musician friends I figured out that the source was probably in the Recanati area of Italy where many electric music instrument companies have been based.
Still in the Venice area 1971, I went to see a concert with a local band. The guitar player was wearing a Les Paul Custom, black and 2 pickups. Plugged into a Vox AC30, he sounded awesome! I went backstage to congratulate but was surprised by the absence of a logo. Origin? He said Japan and that the factory was Ibanez. Weird, never heard about that company and I would have thought that a brand name such as Ibanez would be dealing with nylon-string guitars LOL! Next up and a couple of years later, I went to see the successful Italian Prog-Rock band Premiata Forneria Marconi and a beautiful LP Standard on a Marshall stack. Except that it wasn't a Gibson... Instead, a Stanzani e Tomassone custom shop did the job. And what a job!
The last guitar is very well built and most likely sounds fantastic! Thank you for this original topic!
GREAT video. I thought I would be disappointed at a 12 minute video with no playing, but this was educational. I am going to look to see if you did a 2019 and 2020 Chibson !
The last one that you were holding up looks so beautiful Rick !!, and the Lemon Drop looks perty also......yea i said perty.........T.y Rick
And the managers at the Chinese factory watch TH-cam experts and refine their copies, haha.
lol
You mean The Gibson factory in China.
Just so you know the CNC mapping for producing Gibson's has been in their hands for a while.
Very interesting indeed! I've often wondered about the Chibsons level of quality. I'm curious if you had to specify about the binding over the fret ends, one piece body, scarf joint, etc. I'm not a LP guy so I'd never order one, but I have checked out the SG models and telecaster types. As you noted, one needs to probably do a bunch of work to get one of these to play and sound good. I'm actually too lazy to do much more than change tuners, and strings of course. Thanks for posting a very good video.
Hi Rick! I'll be buying my first before year end..thanks for your videos!
Don't be afraid to ask the seller for exactly what you want. I found that they will do it. They may charge you another $10-20 for something custom but they will do it. In the case of this guitar I wanted the binding over the frets and they charged another $10. Well worth it. That's a real pain in the ass job.
Hi Rick, thanks for the video. I am a fender player and always loved the look of a Les Paul but you don't spend 4000 dollar on a spare because it looks good so I decided to try Ali because they offered me that option for under 300 dollar. I bought the Randy Rhoads and found the original pick ups (second hand) a week before the guitar came so I installed them and it sounds great. I ordered a second one (lp standard) and just had to adjust the action, that was all. Sounds great, feels good and looks good. They solved that binding issue so they must have seen your video. Note one for the comments below; The fenders I own are top notch custom shop stuff and they sound great, even without amplifier which the Ali doesn't. But as soon as you plug it in that problem is gone. Tonewood is great when you have no amplifier.. ;-) Note two; my friend ordered a strat copy and it's garbage. A floating bridge..
Congrats on buying an ILLEGAL COUNTERFEIT and contributing to the hundreds of millions China steals from the US every single year! Dirtbag.
@@Vichedges Oh stfu clown, I own a real one and a fake one. After i did a bit of fret work and pups wiring, Its the same fucking guitar. And when im at a show if the fake one gets stolen Im not out a months salary.
How did that guitar hold up? I'm thinking of ordering an ibanez iceman copy but I'm a little apprehensive because I don't know the quality.
@@mr.giggles4995 still going strong!
The 2nd guitar is not a total loss. Since it looks good, hang it on the wall as decoration. Personally, I'm waiting for the COVID-19 model.
Kurt cobain I thought you was dead
L Smith lol. Kurt kobein got a real fender mustang for 200 bucks. The good ole pawn shop days
You can bet the stimulous checks will be a godsend for helping guitar players get real deal Gibsons soon.
How do you buy a Chibson?
JOEL COHEN you go to ebay or Ali express and shoot the dice. But I wouldn’t. Besides from not being the best moral or legal decision you’re taking a crap shoot losing your money getting past customs. There are better quality alternatives that are just as affordable and legal . Besides you might be setting yourself up for angry Replies from the Gibson company chief of police if you wait for an answer.
Hey Rick, I own a Chibson and was shocked at how well it plays. I already changed the bridge , nut and put some locking tuners on it. It sounds great now and stays in tune but I'm changing the pickups and all electronics in it. My question is which pots did you buy, long shaft or short?
As a guitar player/enthusiast thats nearing 50, I am very happy to have found your channel. Great education on these Les Paul guitars. My favorite ax. THE BEST GUITAR design ever(in my opinion). Since I was about 11 or 12 i've always tinkered with my guitars. Burned, poked, and pricked every finger on both hands taking them apart and putting them back together. Your video was quite eye-opening actually. You probably are indirectly saving some people from losing money and having a negative experience. I've been thinking it over: Buy a Chibson, or make a down/layaway payment on the "real deal" Gibson. Thanks. God bless you and yours.😀👍
Thanks. I think we share the same point of view. If you want to learn something about guitars you can buy a new Les Paul for a few thousand dollars or pay $200-250 for a Chibson to tear apart and change hardware, learn to fret dress, change frets if necessary (or even if it's not), change pickups and pots or whatever. You may just end up with a really decent and comparable guitar. If it doesn't work out you are only out a few hundred and you gained some great and valuable experience in working with a Les Paul and you didn't do it to a $3000 Gibson LP Standard. If you are just buying one to play right out of the box you may be pleasantly surprised at the quality or disappointed but that largely depends on your experience, level of playing ability and personal expectations. I had very low expectation when I bought my first one so I was not disappointed. I took it apart and changed everything. Each Chibson I ordered, I did with same intentions but each year the quality got better and there was so much less to do. When I ordered my latest (June 2018) I also went online and ordered a new set of pickups the same day from Guitar Fetish. When the Chibson arrived it ended up sounding and playing very good and now I'm sitting here trying to decide which other guitar I own that I can use these pickups on. Each of these guitars has paid for itself over and over (except that black one) because I use them when I gig in clubs and bars. For the most part my two "real" Les Paul's stay home.
The bottom horn and the headstock shape are different on the "perfect chibson".
Thanks for this video. I own MANY Chibsons, and am VERY pleased with every one of them! Yes they did need a little work, (pickups, tuners, fret level) BUT afterwards it made all the difference! It is STILL tons cheaper than a real Gibson, which are so over-priced! AND ALL of my guitars are awesome, touch & tone wise....
So what you're saying is you're a dirtbag who has no problem dealing with criminals or buying their ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS.
You know, there always has to be someone who has to voice their opinion, as meaningless as it is. The internet has made it possible for certain idiots to say what they will. WELL, have your banter foolish one. Your opinion means nothing to anyone but you. I feel sorry for the fact that you would rather pay large sums of money for overrated guitars, by a companie that has been screwing over their customers for decades than just buying a low priced instrument to fix up and learn something to use down the road. I don't, and never would sell ANY of my guitars as "REAL" named ones. I have them for MY entertainment, and to use in my studio. I have owned genuine Gibsons & Fenders, still do. So just get off your high-horse and don't judge me!!! You know nothing about this situation. I didn't say, "don't buy Gibson or Fender" I stated clearly that these guitars ARE cheaper & more accessible to most people on a budget. That's it! Read between the lines, move out of your parents house, and by all means get a life!!!
I own many as well my friend and I'm satisfied with my purchase.
I don't own any Chibsons, but I own two bonafide gibsons. A 2016 explorer and a 1997 les paul. Both of them, I've had to replace the pots, the knobs, adjust the neck, and put new pickups on them. Even real deal Gibsons, you have to put in a ton of work if you play anything other than dad-rock in E-Standard. (I play metal in thick string C# standard).
Great review Rick. It's been a while and I'm over it, although it's good to see the improvements. I say I'm over it cause as you may remember, like you, I have the lemon and the 2 p/u black beauty. That's enuff for me lol. My seller isn't around anymore but I'd like to get a 335. Keep up the reviews they're great!
Thanks for this interesting video. To pick up on a previous comment, the second one (look's great but sucks to play) would be fine for a big chunk of Les Paul owners, given that half the ones I know try to play it for a few weeks before retiring it to the living room for all to admire.
True. It looks fantastic and would make a good wall hanger. That's not for me. Too bad. I spent many hours and decent money on new pickups, pots, switches etc. It just sounds dull, weak and just not good. I don't know why it is such a dud but I have given up on it. The only thing to do is strip off the new hardware and move on. The pickups I bought are nice. Stew/Mac Golden Age in the neck and a pair of Dragonfly's in the middle and bridge with new CTS pots and Mallory tone caps. The thing is heavy at almost 11 pounds so that's an issue also. Just not worth any more time or investment. Thanks for the comment.
Wow, that 2018 LP looks great! The placement of the volume/tone knobs are correct also! Nice!
Have you considered doing any set up videos Rick?
Jack - Canada
I thought about it but there are lots of good set up videos already on TH-cam. I learned to do my setups by spending many hours with Tom Doyle who was Les Paul's guitar tech and sound man for 40+ years. I learned so much from him and will always be indebted to him for sharing his knowledge and great stories. I learned that doing a good set up and fret dress etc. requires hands on knowledge and some decent tools for the job. Maybe I could do a short video on just what basic tools you should have to get started. Thanks.
An interesting note from a question below: I have had at least one Gibson Les Paul in my collection since 1973 and currently I own two (2001 Les Paul Standard and a 2013 Gary Moore/Les Paul) so I very familiar with what a Les Paul should be. The break angle of a Les Paul according to The Gibson Les Paul Book detailing all aspects of a Les Paul year by year the headstock angle was changed from the traditional 17 degrees to 14 degrees from 1965 to 1973 but Gibson returned to the 17 degree angle and generally has stayed there so the answer is there wasn't just one angle in the Les Paul history. It's like people who say the logo or the tuners are not placed correctly on the Chibson's. According to Gibson's J.T. Riboloff who who headed the Gibson reissue series starting in 1987 "I looked at 25 different Les Paul Sunbursts from the 1958-60 era. They were all different. The machine heads would be slightly further north or south, the wrist of the neck would start in a different area, the scroll was shorter, and the logo would be different. Every one is different. Really there is no super correct one to re-issue." Gibson's Tim Shaw who was also involved in the re-issues talks about the "old ladies" who did much of the hand work in the factory. "They used to hand sand a little bit different every time. It used to tickle the hell out of me with all these people saying the placement of the Gibson logo has to be "right there". These women who put the decals on , you think they measured?...No!"
Your point? It's a chibson a piece of shit why spending all your time of writing this🤦
Great video Rick, I have been buying Chibsons for the last five years, I have noticed a great improvement recently. Im gonna get another one next year like yours. Looks great.
Thanks. I keep saying that this is my last one..........who am I kidding. I have enjoyed working on these and turning OK guitars into monster guitars that play and sound really very good. .
Very well done vid.. The only two Chibson I have purchased for myself were in 2017/18, one from China and the other from a local dealer, I couldn't be more pleased. I've only changed the thrust rod covers and one set of tuners. I've recorded with both. For the money you cannot beat a good one. I have noticed from several others who wanted the 230.00 price range that I purchased a chibson for, the quality can go down. I stayed in the 360 plus range. Like the old saying, sometimes you get what you paid for. You've been lucky lately, Congrats
Yes. I have seen videos where some people go for the lowest prices like $180-200. I paid between $250 and $325 for each of mine and can see that just by that small increase you get a lot more for just a little more cash. A $300 and up modal must be really decent. Thanks for watching.
I haven't had any serious issues with the five I own except one where I had to pay a $28 import fee to to US Customs and I was able to pay it at the local Post Office. You'll hear people say it is illegal to buy these guitars and that is not exactly true. It's illegal to sell them. The weight of the customs laws are on sellers not buyers. You'll find many different opinions on the legality of buying counterfeit goods on both sides and depending where you live they are different. I am in the US but the general opinion is that as long as you are buying a single item for personal use you are OK. You should never attempt to sell it., that might get you in serious trouble. I have been to China twice (Beijing and Hong Kong) and both times I came back with several fake Rolex watches that that cost like $5 each from street vendors. I declared them on my US Customs form and had them in my carry on bag in case I needed to show them to Customs at JFK Airport in NYC when reentering the US. They looked and passed me through. I had no problems.
From a NY Times article: The Leaglity of Buying Knockoffs
"As to counterfeits, if you buy them for personal use, “almost everywhere in the world, it’s illegal to sell them but legal to buy them,” said Susan Scafidi, a professor at the Law Institute at Fordham University and an academic director there.
The law only apples to the supply side and not the demand side.” But, she said, there are two major places where buying counterfeit goods is illegal: France and Italy. In France, she said, you can face a steep fine and jail term for buying counterfeit goods, while in Italy, she said, you can be fined. In addition, she said, Customs in the United States will allow travelers to bring one counterfeit good per category. Bringing more than that could mean you plan to sell them, and officers may confiscate and charge fees for them."
Excerpt from an article at financialhighway.com
"The Fine Line of Legality
It’s an urban legend that buying fake handbags or knockoff sunglasses - or any other type of counterfeit goods, for that matter - is against the law. Let’s put a stop to that rumor right now: it’s not illegal. The misinformation gained traction in spring of 2011, when a New York City councilwoman proposed making buying fake handbags a misdemeanor, punishable by a $1,000 fine and possibly jail time. The measure, however, failed to pass. You can still get your Guchi and Prado bags along NYC’s Canal Street without fear of legal reprisals."
It's not illegal to sell them as long as you clearly sell them as a replica guitar.
link for that 2018 model?
Pretty informative.
To be honest, even with an American made lp you still gotta adjust the action to personal liking.
I'm curious if the chibson has a steel or plastic nut. Ima sume plastic but easy enough to swap out. Last 2 guitars you showcased looked decent
I really enjoyed your video. I have a Chibson that is on it's way. It is currently at the USPS Distribution Center at San Francisco. I bought it with the plan of installing all Gibson hardware like you have done. Gavin wanted a roller Bridge on it so I have that on the way along with real Gibson tuners and pickups...all in all about a hundred bucks worth of upgrades...that and the $214 I paid for it, well I hope it turns out to be a great sounding guitar...great investment for a 15 year old! (Note: retired, fixed income. not a lot of $$$ in my pocket these days!)
I hope your parts all fit. You may have problems with the bridge ifyou bought a Gibson bridge because Chibson's generally come with parts that are in metric sizes and are just a hair different from American Gibson parts that are in inches. You can go on Stew-Mac and they have metric sized bridges and posts. Look for Epiphone parts which are metric. Things like pickups and pots won't matter and you may need to open the holes a little on the headstock if you buy new tuners but otherwise it's all do-able. Before you remove things give it some time and see if the hardware on it really needs changing. The last Les Paul I got is so good I am not changing anything and I will be using it again tomorrow night on a gig. Good luck. Drop me a note and let me know how it goes or make a video.
Hi Rick...thanks for your reply. Yup. I'll let you know how things go with it. I'm very nervous about it. I hope it's a good one. I'm sure I will need to change the inserts for the new roller bridge.
Follow up: We received the Guitar in 21 days. This exceeded my expectations. The Guitar we received was absolutely fantastic. Not a single flaw anywhere on the guitar. I immediately took it to Colorado Guitar and had the gentleman go to work on it. Tuners, pickups, tailpiece, roller bridge and nut. The pots were fantastic along with the wiring. We will change those also but wait for another day. The guitar played beautifully right out of the box with the pickups being at 78 when tested. The neck was adjusted and the frets were polished. Gavin is really enjoying the guitar and it is a great addition to his Mexican Fender Strat. The guitar is allowing him to stretch his skill. I would highly recommend one to anyone on a tight budget. (I forgot to mention...one piece body and no scarf joints in the neck as requested)
So would you like to plug which seller you bought the newest one from?
In answer to many of the comments and questions below, I sold my 1973 Gibson Les Paul a couple of years ago just after buying and upgrading my first Chibson. I own way too many guitars and I wanted to buy a high end laptop for video editing and recording and I wasn't playing my Gibson on gigs anymore. Gibson Les Paul's to me have always been the Rolls Royce of guitars and I still think they are. I went to Guitar Center about three weeks ago with the intention of buying a real used Gibson Les Paul. I didn't need it but I wanted one again and I had put aside a little gig money over the past year just with that in mind. They only had two used. One with the E-Tune. (Don't want it, didn't even try it.) The other was a really nice 2017 LP Standard that was still in excellent condition. it was $1,750 and since it was in near mint condition I thought I might get it. It played well and sounded good but as I sat there playing it for a good 15 minutes till I decided it didn't sound significantly better that my Epiphone 1960 Tributes (I have two) or my latest Chibson. You would think that would have made me happy but it made me a little sad. A real Les Paul shouldn't be just a little better than a Chinese knock off it should be significantly better and it just wasn't. Maybe in time they won't hold up as well as as a 50 year old Gibson (who knows). In the meantime they play well, sound good (with some work if necessary) and get the job done nicely. What more can you expect from a $200-300 guitar.
Rickholly74 I really love the etune. You have to read the manual and learn it. Once you understand them they really work nice. You should try them out. In seconds I can tune to open g, drop down to full step down, and back to regular tuning.
I know what you mean - just went to a big retailer here in UK with intention of buying a Fender classic 60s or 50s. What a disappointment - the wow factor just wasn't there - in fact they were just like an Indonesian Hiram Bullock I've been working on. However back in 1963 when I bought my first good guitar and looked at Telecasters 335s and Rickenbacker's they were all the equivalent of $ 3500. So maybe us older guys are harping back to a time when all guitars were like custom shop ones?
@@ChristopherDowningYes. I bought a new Les Paul in 1969. I had been saving up for quite a long time. I remember that a new Les Paul in 1969 cost between $500-600 dollars which is what I paid. $500 today is equivalent to $2,839 today. I guess it is just me but with modern technology the price should be lower than $3000. A Les Paul is no longer "hand-made" and most of the cutting shaping and sanding is done by machine. I have seen the automatic sanding and cutting CNC machines at the Martin factory in Nazareth, PA and while they still do a lot of hands on stuff the main work is done on machines. Gibson can't come down on their prices because they invested poorly and still continue to operate on a poor business modal. That's just my opinion.
@@Rickholly74 I have an 2012 SG with P90's that cost 900.00 with a case brand new at a retail store. I have a 2018 SG that cost me 1400.00 from a big box online music outlet. This came with a beautiful brushed aluminum case and the G-Force tuner. I just checked Gibson's website and the ranges you are talking are for Custom Shops or New Vintage releases. Not everyday Gibsons. The most expensive Epiphone I have is a black deluxe with gold hardware that I got at Guitar center for 375.00 with a hard shell case! Here's my point. Why cheat Gibson by buying junk, and then have to spend time and money to upgrade to that standard?? It doesn't make sense. I say pay and play. Time reworking takes away from the time actually playing. Beyond that Gibson was also subjegated to an very unfair EPA lawsuit regarding rare woods acquired. That started the decline of the company if you read back. The Chinese don't even have to play fair on those terms. So it's not just trade infringement. It's supporting a whole variety of bad business practices the Chibson companies partake in to get the price edge.
@@MrJerryrigged1 Well that's funny that you should say that because I went to Sweetwater Sound last week and a NEW GIBSON LES PAUL model guitar at full factory price JUST for the standard Les Paul was a whopping $3,800!!! You're off by a thousand dollars. With all the problems that Gibson has had with their guitars, and the lack of true quality lately I can say that you couldn't GIVE me one ! I've OWNED Gibson garbage and after the way that they mistreated me and blew me off I told to them go fuck themselves if this is all that they think about the people that buy their junk! If I was Eddie Van Halen, or Eric Clapton they'd shitting themselves to help me and crawling all over each other to be the first! What absolute hypocrasy. I sold that Gibson Les Paul that I bought and never so much as bought a pick with their name on it. I have a Gibson shirt but I'll never wear it again! Fuck Gibson and their shitty guitars and their shitty mistreatment of their customers. FUCKING DIE GIBSON - DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!
Did they all have a functionable truss rod? If yes, I wanna have a 2018 one like yours.
Hi Rick Great video I've just discovered these guitars online. I'm curious when you purchased your guitars, did you purchase a case (extra) for safe shipping, or did you just order the guitar? Thanks
Paul
I only ordered a case with one of my orders and it was not that great a case. The handle came off of it within a year. The interior was nice but the handle was pop riveted to the case and rivets pulled out. I think the styrofoam shipping case they use with bubble wrap is better than shipping it in a case where it gets bounced around. Almost every damaged one I have seen in videos were ordered and shipped in a case.
You can have 20 pc body, it wouldn't make a dent in the sound
That's true. I guess one piece is nice but I know if glued properly it doesn't effect the sound much on any guitar, especially one with a maple cap. . I'm surprised that nobody hasn't mentioned yet that top level luthiers have made ' Chessboard' style strats etc. They sound great!!
Spot on!... If your using "Potted Pickups" No Diff. Unpotted PUPS will interact with tone woods a bit.
Which seller do you buy from, or how do you decide which seller you feel is the best?
yeah Rick , that was my question . who do you buy from. Id like to buy and try one. I have a 1976 Ibanez lawsuit Les Paul and it is awesome. A friend that plays real Les Paul's said that other than the name and weight he couldn't tell the difference .
Just go on AliExpress and search for whatever guitar model you're looking for then just be vigilant from there. Only consider models that first off, look correct, and secondly have positive reviews. Preferably 5 stars. ALWAYS read the reviews. It's really all just about being smart and doing your research. Most importantly, try to only purchase a guitar that has reviews that contain photos uploaded with them as well. You can read the review from people that have purchased it and look at the photo they uploaded of the actual guitar they got and see if it's something you would be happy with.
@@scottrider8445 I love when reading stories of people getting screwed over by Chibson dealers or when Chibsons get confiscated by customs. How about you guys just buy LEGAL guitars from REPUTABLE dealers? Then you wouldn't have to worry about getting ripped off. If you're buying counterfeit guitars you're a scumbag and deserve to get ripped off.
@Donald Trump's Liberal Tears Stew You're full of shit. You idiots keep using the "Gibson charges too much" excuse. You don't have to buy a Gibson....if you think Gibsons aren't worth buying......buy something else. IF Gibson's QC was so fucking terrible why would you want "Gibson" on your headstock? But you lying hypocrites sure as fuck do Buy a fucking LEGAL guitar if you think Gibson charges too much.
@Donald Trump's Liberal Tears Stew And "trust worthy product" lol? Yeah, tell me how "trust worthy" ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS and the criminals that make them are. When you order a Chibson if the counterfeiters don't rip you off and they actually send the guitar if US Customs finds out you bought a counterfeit it won't even make it past customs.
maybe the location of the pots? and the logo of corse.im surprised at the bridge with the thumb screw adjusters,holy cow.
Great video rick & yes that recent one's very nice !!
The last one is Really nice instrument. Pls send me the aliexpress link where you bought that. Thank you so much
I don't normally recommend any sellers because you still take a chance buying these but I did get the newest one from www.aliexpress.com/store/2961136 Thanks for watching.
Thank you soo much. I've been waiting for your sound test video for a long time with this new LP R9.
@@Rickholly74 Scumbag.
I own 6 Epiphone Les Paul's and have modded and worked on several of them. I also own the 5 Chibson's in this video. I know the difference between an Epiphone and a Chibson in the most thorough way having taken them apart from top to bottom and I can tell you these Chibson's are not made by Epiphone. There is a serious quality difference in the way they are made. Try replacing any of the rear panels (3 way switch), controls cavity or the pickguard with an Epiphone or Gibson cover or pickguard. They don't fit. Not even close. On the other hand I can by a Gibson pickguard or control cover and put it on my Epiphone. Epiphone and Gibson cover are interchangeable. Also if you buy standard tuners to replace the fake Grovers or fake Gibson deluxe tuners on a Chibson the holes have to drilled out because the real Grover/Kluson/Gibson tuners need a wider shaft. The pots on a Chibson are small cheap pots and the wiring is sloppy and often a jumbled mess, the ones in an Epiphone are large pots with clean wiring and wire ties to keep it all neat. I could go on with the many differences. These Chibson's are made in factories not affiliated with Epiphone or Gibson. (See the link below to see what kind of factory makes Chibson's).
th-cam.com/video/JiZQ2Egcxz8/w-d-xo.html
On the 2018 you can see that the line down the front of the maple top runs off center almost 1 strings length towards the low "E" at the bridge ( 1/4 inch off center )
Good info Rick, Thanks!!
My question is: Has anyone as of yet approached any of these manufacturers with the true marketing question? It seems they are being purchased for these discounted prices with the intentions of replacing and upgrading to quality components to make them a very reasonable alternative to the True Failing quality Gibson equivalent. So Why not approach the best manufacturer with the better idea of selling these body husks ready for Assembly at an even more discounted price, and SELL them even faster? Wouldn't you think that by reducing the price by removing the cost of replacement crap would sell even more?
Most of the people I know that buy this crap don't even play them they just hang them on the wall of their office to try and look like a big shot.
www.stratosphereparts.com buys new Gibsons, breaks them down, and parts them out. Here's the Gibson page directly: stratosphereparts.com/brands/gibson.html . The problem is that the posers that buy these Chibsons can't even afford a Gibson body and neck combo. They have to pay their trailer payment and lot rent.
Seriously? Chibbies are made in China. If you want to speak to the manufacturer, you'll need to go through the Chinese government. Good luck with that.
Rick - is there a difference between DHGate and Aliexpress, as far as quality is concerned? I own 3 real Gibson Les Paul guitars, 1 Traditional and 2 Standards; I also bought a "Standard" about 2 years ago from China, and I was actually quite surprised with the quality, considering it was only $220. By the way, that last "R9" is stunning.
I never bought anything from DH Gate so I can't say. When I bought my first one in early 2013 the shipping was free on Aliexpress and there was a fee on DH Gate at that time. I bought mine from Aliexpress and my experience was very good. No shipping problems, no extra fees etc. so I continued to use Aliexpress. I see DH Gate has free shipping also but I haven't bought from them.
One thing I didn't mention in my video (for times sake) was the experience I had with my fourth Chibson the tiger stripe 2017 in the video. I ordered that guitar which was advertised as a one piece body. When it arrived I found it was a three piece body. Now the way payment works is Aliexpress won't release the money untill the buyer tells them that they accept the item. I filed a dispute and went back and forth with the seller and Aliexpress. I had paid about $260 for that guitar and sent the seller and Aliexpress pictures of the three piece body. Aliexpress told the seller either make a deal with me or arrange to get the guitar back. Eventually the seller offered me $92 back on my purchase so that guitar making it $168. I took it and I must say I really am very happy with that guitar and have played many gigs with it so it paid for itself many times over. I don't know how DH Gate policy works but I am happy with Aliexpress.
Those are just 2 different websites and both of them have basically the same sellers on them.
No, they're both cheap dogshit made for poor-ass trailer park trash. Quality doesn't matter, you're buying shit.
When I look at the latest one not only the yellow binding but how tight the maple veneer top comes together in the middle always gives them away for me.
Hello can you tell me what guitar store you got your 2018 chibson from it looks great . I've been meaning to order one for a while .... Larry in Sydney Aus .
I agree. It's a crap shoot. You just don't know if you'll get a pearl or a lump of coal. I got two decent ones, two very good ones and the one turkey. That's fairly good odds but I know I was just lucky and the two that were just OK got a lot of work from me and are very good now. If anyone wants to buy one they should consider the approximately $250 a total gamble.
Screw that, it's a crap shoot buying one of those. I'd rather have an LTD EC1000 that's ready to play and cost about as much as modding one of those.
Or an Epiphone or a Vintage or an Agile or a used Yamaha Studio Lord etc etc etc. These scumbags are only buying Chibsons because they want a guitar that says "Gibson" on the headstock. I hope they all get ripped off by Chibson sellers. They deserve it.
LTDs are badass.
@@Vichedges Or a MIJ. Some of them are real good.
@@bflo1000 yeah but MIJ isn't much less than an MIUSA.
@@Vichedges I'm not sure if you're referring to actual Gibson LP's or copies, which is what I'm referring to. The same friend who bought the satin finished Gibby a few years ago had an Ibanez LP quite a few years ago. It said it was phenomenal; the next best thing to the real thing. He said it was much better than the Epi LP's. When he bought it, it wasn't that much. But now they are pricier even though they are used. Still cheaper than Gibbies but more than Chibsons, etc. BTW, I've heard some good things about Agile, which you mentioned; which are cheap.
can u link the seller that u bought the guitar from at timestamp 11:56 and what was the name of the guitar thanks
Where does one buy these guitars? In my town there are only two music stores (major chains) and of course they sell nothing like that. I bought a Jay Turser LP and it plays well, but I find the idea of buying these Chibsons and upgrading parts to be quite intriguing
Thanks, really good and informative video! I'm a player and luther, 40 years. With the money Gibson has robbed us for over the years, f__k their trademark and anything else for that matter. It's great to see you can get a les Paul type axe without selling your kidneys,( both of them). Great video, thanks!
You right, but chibson ain't gibson for sure man
@@areacazzodiclan Gibson aint Gibson anymore too
If you don´t hear or feel the difference; good luck!
Say again lol
Joe Steffe below ask a good question. Is an Epiphone a Chibson. No. I own five Epiphone Les Paul's (various modals) and I don't consider them Chibson's. Epiphone's are excellent guitars made in a dedicated Epiphone factory to Gibson standards and oversight and generally have good quality control. Chibson's are made in various factories of varying size and quality with very little final quality control sold by hundreds of individual vendors on sites like Aliexpress, Alibaba and DH Gate. These vendors have no direct affiliation with the factory other than being a purchaser. With an Epiphone you have a direct line of contact between the seller and an Epiphone authorized dealer. If something goes wrong with a Chibson.......good luck. There is not much you can do except fix it yourself or pay someone else do it. Also Chibson's are not standardized in their hardware or anywhere else for that matter. That's why you often see people comment that the shape of the body or headstock is a little off or some of the inlays on the neck or headstock logos are often crooked or sized wrong. The hardware Chibson uses varies in quality also, most of it is cheap and sometimes not interchangeable. I learned that working on these guitars. As an example you can order a bridge from a vendor like Stu/Mac and the threads on the bridge studs will be wildly different metric sizes from one Chibson to another.
When I first heard about Chibson's back in 2012 I read people speculating that these were rejects from the Epiphone factory. After working on the five I own from different vendors I can say with 100% certainty that these are not and probably never came from an Epiphone factory.
Given the craptastic QA Gibson has had for the past several years, it seems that the best Epiphones are actually better than the average Gibson.
@@Novalarke Can't argue with that. I looked at buying a new Gibson Les Paul or at least a good used Les Paul in December. I visited four different music stores including Guitar Center and Sam Ash and was not happy with any of the "new" Les Paul's they had. I did end up buying a used Gibson 2013 Gary Moore Les Paul from a local "Mom and Pop" store that was on consignment. It needed a major fret dress and set up but was otherwise in mint condition. I strongly suspect that whoever bought it new tried to do their own setup because it wasn't done before it left Gibson. Unfortunately the previous owner didn't know what they were doing and made it unplayable with a bow in the neck and the bridge almost to the top of the threads. I spent a few hours doing a through set up and it's great. Almost all the new Les Paul's I played in the stores needed setting up. The action was bad on them and a few were almost unplayable. Chibson's come set up better than a new $3000-4000 Gibson.
@@Rickholly74 - my personal odyssey is that I am left handed. That is why I am interested in in instruments from China - they have a much healthier sense of chirality than western nations. If you look on aliexpress for left handed (fill in the blank) there is always some there to accommodate me. I even found a place that will make a copy of a Rickenbacker 480 LEFT HANDED, which Rickenbacker never did - because (IMHO) they suck. But in China - they'll do that. Will the bridge / pickups / nut / tuning pegs be all that great? Probably not - BUT: Ricky NEVER built a lefty 480... So I could but a lefty 480 for what? $300? And then when I get it swap out the pivckups / nut and tuners for a relatively small amount of money, and (this is important) achieve most of the playability and 90% of the sound quality of the a lefty Ricky 480 WHICH NEVER EXISTED.
The TLDR is that Rickenbacker, as a company sucks ass. Big Time. And China's industrial might has finally figured out the "corner" on how to build ***Passable*** quality guitars. Will they be able to punch out the equivalent of a 1968 les paul? Probably not. Will they be able to match a 1972 Ricky 4003 bass? Nope. BUT, and I should re-write that as BUTT - it doesn't matter. The Chibson / Chinese guitar factory system etc. is GOOD ENOUGH. Like your computer - are you running the fastest XEON processor? No. Does your computer do what you need it to do? Yup. THAT'S FINE.
Does your left handed Rickenbacker 480 (which NEVER existed in the first place) play well? does it stay in tune? Yup and yup. It cost you a few hundred dollars - an order of magnitude LESS than what Ricky charges for a right handed version, and INFINITELY less than a lefty.
So, overall, I'm fine with Chinese copies. Ricky et all painted themselves into a corner. They want to play? Fine: Drop your proces by a 60% or more,and make ALL models avaialble in left handed mode. Until then? Fuck off.
That's not a good question. A Chibson is an ILLEGAL COUNTERFEIT, not a guitar that's made in China. These guys are like children, they don't even understand the difference between legal and illegal.
@@Novalarke Why do you guys always say that? It's just dumb. Here's my Epiphone anecdote (since we all love anecdotes when it comes to Gibson's QC, right?). I traveled for work a few years back and I wanted a cheap guitar to haul around so I bought an Epiphone LP junior. It literally wouldn't stay in tune for more than a strum or two. It was completely useless as a guitar. Could not be played. I ended up just giving it to a buddy when I left. That's my experience with Epiphone "quality".
It looks like the central bookend is out of line or the hardware or neck is on the latest guitar at 9.59
Hey nice video...where can I get one of those Les Trem.?..looks cool...
You may be right in some cases. who knows? I own six Epiphone Les Paul's (Standard, Ultra II, Custom, two 1960 Tribute's, Peter Frampton signature), two Gibson Les Paul's, an Agile LP style and my original 1976 Ibanez LP . Needless to say, I love Les Paul style guitars. I have owned Les Paul's since I bought my first Gibson in 1975 so I know what you are saying is not correct about looking for short-cuts after 40+ plus years of playing. Many long time Gibson owners like me buy Chibson guitar's strictly to mod and take up the challenge of trying to get a $250 (or less) Chibson to look sound like a Gibson LP. Can it be done? The answer is yes if you work with them. To assume that any Chibson owner is less of a musician because they are not spending $3000 on a Gibson is just not correct. It's important to remember that Slash's AFD guitar is a Gibson counterfeit and millions of guitarist around the world keep trying to get the "Slash" sound of his LP copy. It is also amusing when Gibson makes a "Slash" modal Les Paul using Slash's Kris Derrig counterfeit as the modal. Play authentic? Gibson copied a counterfeit.
It`s not as much the "not spending the money" part, it`s that it makes people look like posers. Nothing wrong with cheap guitars at all, but you can get better guitars for the money that don't violate copyrights. Or you can ask them to put a different name on it, they often will do that for free. But no, it has to have a big brand name on the headstock just so people can pretend they own the real deal. That's just sad, is all.
I didn't know Ron Jeremy learned how to repair guitars :-P
He loves playing "Hair on a G-string".
I have a few Chibsons and all mine have the 4MM truss rod screw,have they changed that to a nut style like Gibson has ?
No. It's still a hex wrench.
Thanks for this review, I'm currently waiting for a Bad Cat 335 and Les Paul...anyone had any experience with them?
I didn’t buy my chibson because it said Gibson or les Paul on it but because it is the style of guitar I like and wasn’t very expensive
I don't have an answer, but this is not just about guitars. It's everything, with a limited income like I have, I have to buy the cheapest stuff. And 99% of it is made in China. I have to admit, some stuff went straight to the trash. Because it broke, or tore up so fast. I'm glad their products are getting better! We all have to eat and I would rather have them as friends over enemies any day.
Junior Arnold “Yeah they’re stealing intellectual properties and running up house prices in expensive area. Yeah their government incentivizes unfair trading and lack of ethics. At least I get my cheap plastic goodies though!”
Your "friends" are stealing hundreds of millions in IP and tech from the US every year. Call me crazy but I don't consider counterfeiters my friends.
@@Vichedges - you do realise that America's industrial might was founded on the theft of European Intellectual Property?
@@Novalarke Sure thing "comrade".
It's cool that you're trying to justify China stealing hundreds of billions in IP every year though. I get it.
@@Vichedges - just facts. Deny all you want, but America's power is based on stolen IP. Pure and simple. Even the centrist Foreign Policy magazine admits as much:
foreignpolicy.com/2012/12/06/we-were-pirates-too/
Does this justify China's activity? No, but it does cast chest thumping American nationalism in a very different light by revealing its inherent hypocrisy. And when Rickenbacker makes a lefty 480 (which will happen on an afternoon sometime between eternity and never), I'll cheerfully not spend the $3000 they will likely charge for it.
Can you please tell me who you bought the 2018 guitar from because I love the look of the vaneer top and the one piece body and the bridge
You don't think he's really going to tell you do you
Was the last one from AliExpress if so what seller did you use?
I would have no problem with these guitars IF they didn't pretend to be something they're not!
Paul Stutt, sometimes these guitars are better than a modern day Gibson or Fender. what do you gotta say about that? hell, most of these Fender's and Gibson's are not even American made anymore.....
@@puertecitos6888 If that is the case, then why don't they market their instruments as their own brand?
You seem to have missed my point completely. My problem does not lay with the guitars themselves. I have no doubt there are some good instruments among them. My problem is that these manufacturers have to rely on a brand name that is well known to be able to sell their guitars. In the 1970's a plethora of (then) new brands came out of Japan, some of which are now hugely respected manufacturers. This respect would never have happened if they only tried to sell their instruiments under someone else's name.
Could it be that these manufacturers do not have the confidence in their own products to market them under their own name?
"what do you got to say about that?"
@@stutty1400 , Fender, Gibson and so many more "American" guitars are mostly made in CHINA anyways.... Taiwan, Korea anyways. Chinese arent going to come up with their own brand of guitar, hell no! you buy something like a bike or tv or radio made in CHINA....what usually happens to that CHINESE item? IT DONT LAST LONG...ITS MOST LIKELY A PIECE OF SHIT. this is true 99% of the time. Chinese know this, so they stick with making clones of guitars we can buy for cheap and fix up ourselves ,to make that guitar as close to the 'American" overpriced guitar that most of us cant afford. Dont compare Japan to CHINA ok? big big difference between those 2 countries lol! audio equipment cars, guitars coming out of Japan.....big difference compared to audio equipment, cars , guitars coming out of CHINA LOL! keep Japan out of this lol!! "what you say about that"?
There's different level of quality from China.
@@puertecitos6888 Even if that were true....what the fuck does it have to do with Chibsons being ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS? You guys are such hypocrites, you bash American brands but ....despite there being a million cheap Chinese made non-counterfeit guitars to choose from.....you all buy Chibsons because of what the headstock says. That's literally why you idiots buy these POS....the fact that they appear to be Gibsons. If you buy one of these guitars you're a scumbag. Not only are you knowingly buying counterfeits but you're introducing another one of these ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS into the market. People are getting screwed over by people selling Chibsons as Gibsons. CL, Ebay, Reverb are full of Chibsons being passed off as Gibsons and the reason is you idiots keep buying them. Really, if you think Gibsons are so terrible....why the fuck are you buying guitars that say "Gibson" on the headstock? Why not just buy a LEGAL Chinese made LP copy? You're complete hypocrites.
Don't understand why the Gibson logo on the guitar.
To play pretend.
Because they are thieves
Ron Belanger, because the guitar is basically the same as far as dimensions, wood and hardware at a fraction of the cost. so since you get a Chibson and fix it up...you want the logo on it too, if you can get it, because its your guitar to do with however you want( except sell it to somebody at Gibson's price range) and a big fuck you to Gibson for over charging in the first place.
Because these dummies want a Gibson but can't afford one. If these guitars didn't say "Gibson" on the headstock they wouldn't buy one. Dirtbags gonna dirtbag in other words.
@@puertecitos6888 You're a scumbag dude. If you think Gibson charges too much how does that give you the right to steal their IP or buy ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS? Owning a Gibson isn't a right. You're just another dirtbag trying to justify fraud. You can get a Vintage or an Agile or something if you just wanted a cheap guitar....but no, you buy ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS. You idiots do nothing but talk trash about Gibson but you want one so bad.
What do the truss rods look like? Are they adjusted with allen wrench or the (Gibson style) socket?
Seeing fret nibs is a new one for me. Usually the (lack of) fret nibs, the incorrect Epiphone bridge, incorrect bridge location, and truss rod/truss rod cover (3 screw vs gibson 2 screw) and overall craftsmanship (or lack of) are primary giveaway for a Chibson vs an authentic gibson les paul.
It's still an Allen wrench truss rod. They haven't got that right yet but I hope they leave it that way so it's one of the last tell tale issues that let you know it's a Chibson. Outside of that and the fact that the bridge post are metric (unless you tried changing them you wouldn't know), they got most things right. To most players unless they have a lot of detailed knowledge about a Gibson Les Paul they wouldn't know about these small differences. People say things like the logos are often out of place by a few millimeters or the pots aren't aligned perfectly could be but I doubt the average player would know that without a direct side by side comparison. Now as far as sound...that's another story and subject to wide opinions and any mods done on a Chibson. People will also criticize people who buy a Chibson and mod it changing pickups, pots etc. but some of these same people will go out and buy a brand new Gibson, Fender, PRS or whatever and within weeks buy a set of Seymour Duncan or other pups to put in a perfectly good guitar that they just played thousands of dollars for. Whose crazier?
Rickholly74 Gotcha. I agree, and glad to see they haven’t gotten everything totally right, to make it that much easier for some who try to pass it off as a real Gibson on used market. In my experience I still see more of the older Chibsons, have yet to see on with fret nibs even. But I’m in the guitar repair/sales business so am pretty up to date on spotting the differences between real and Chibsons. Never seen a Chibson with wiring and electrical components like Gibson, either the standard wiring and especially not seen any with the PCB system newer Gibsons have. They’ve all still using plastic coated wires and mini pots usually. Ones I see in my shop have all needed fret work. Sharp frets end/fret sprout most all the time, but quite a few with un level frets. I don’t work on them unless the customer allows me to either paint or remove the Gibson logo, and I’m considering they let me put a stamp or brand on back of headstock, near the serial that says “Replica”. I really don’t like the idea of them flooding onto the used market, either by scammers, or by people 10,20,30 years from now who inherited a relative’s guitar after they passed, and are unknowingly trying to sell it as legit Gibson.
What is a reasonable price for a professional setup on my Gibson Les Paul Guitar ? I would want the action and Intonation accomplished and Rod adjustment if needed.
I have been doing my own for many years but I would think $50-70 would be about right. Les Paul's are pretty easy to setup (and fun). What you get for that should be adjusting the truss rod, cleaning and oiling the fret board, adjusting the bridge, setting correct string height for good action (with no buzz), setting the intonation, hopefully polishing the frets and a few other minor things. It's more time consuming than most people think and you are really just paying the tech's time and knowledge. As long as you don't need a full fret dress (frets needing leveling and crowning) I think that $50-70 is reasonable. A good tech will take an hour or two to do it. It's been many years since I had someone else do it so I am somewhat guessing on the price.
Someone asked why I keep buying them if I am happy with the ones I have. The answer is that I enjoy the challenge of working on these guitars and making them play and sound good. Also every time I hear a news report about the US government trying to get China to enforce intellectual property rights (trademarks) I quick buy another one thinking it might be my last one. I measure all these Chibson's I own against my treasured 1973 Gibson LP Standard that I have owned since 1975. In 1975 I paid $400 for it used but in mint condition, that's about $1,422 today. That guitar doesn't do any gigs these days. If I need a Les Paul sound for a gig I take a Chibson.
You can see that on the headstock of the Chibson Lemon Burst in this video there is a big ding on the headstock (there are a few smaller ones on the body). That happened when my drummers hi hat fell over at a gig and hit the headstock. If that had been my Gibson or one of my other guitars I would have been upset and although I certainly didn't like what happened I didn't get too concerned about the Chibson getting an unintended "road scar".
Rickholly74 did you buy from the same seller , or did you buy from different sellers.
Can you recommend a seller?
Rickholly74 I think the real answer the question is if you get a cheap bastard it will take time to support American workers or take the time to save you money to buy a really good guitar.
Rickholly74, good for you and keep up what you're doing. i have a couple of Chibsons myself and fixing them up resulting in a guitar that sounds and feels like a Gibson at less than half the price is quite a rewarding experience.
So basically they are your stunt Les Pauls.
I wish there was one person on youtube who would say where they got their good Chibson from.
Pickups,pots, wiring and tuners don't scare me.
Frets in the wrong place, bridges mounted in the wrong place concern me.
If the top looks nice and the neck is good I really dont care how many boards the body is made from.
www.ebay.com/usr/t24-polaris
Me too, so Gibson can sue the f*** out of them.
@@MickeFamily Gibson can't sue a chinese manufacturer, China doesn't give a shit about a lawsuit filed against them in the U.S. You know if they could sue em, they'd already be doing it, maybe they are too busy suing Dean for making a guitar that says Dean on the headstock and had a completely different shape.
@@MickeFamily You realize most of these Chibson's are made in the epiphone factories using epiphone parts, some even speculate that Gibson allows them to be made there.
@@Spittin_Bars .. I think they are made by current or former Epiphone employees using Epiphone parts, but more likely in a separate factory or workshop. The bodies, necks, bridges, even the knobs are very similar to Epis.
great rewie , could you say from were did you buy that 2018 chibson tha you say it's a good choice?
Thanks!
Sorry, I don't know the individual sellers names on any of my Chibson's. They all came from Aliexpress but I don't have any memory of the individuals that I bought from.
Good video, my man...very informative. Thanks !
I understand some of the negative comments. It's OK. It's an opinion. I think most come from people who have never actually played an upgraded Chibson. And their comments to me are less relevant than those who object to a Chibson strictly because it's uses the Gibson name and the matter of trademark infringement. That's an opinion I highly respect but in the back of my mind I also know that the Gibson name itself is a commodity that has been sold several times since 1969 by the original Gibson family. The first buyer was a South American conglomerate. Here is quote on Wikipedia; "Gibson was bought by Chicago Musical Instruments (CMI), which was acquired in 1969 by Panama-based conglomerate Ecuadorian Company Limited (ECL), that changed its name in the same year to Norlin Corporation. Gibson was owned by Norlin Corporation from 1969 to 1986. In 1986, the company was acquired by a group led by Henry Juszkiewicz and David H. Berryman." It is a name sold to highest bidder. It has little to do with the rich Gibson history. As for quality of the workmanship I think a CNC machine cutting bodies and necks in China will cut as well as one in Nashville. Hell, the Chinese probably made the one in Nashville. So for me it comes down to quality control. The Chibson's don't have much but I don't expect it. I know what I am buying. For A few hundred dollars I can accept that I have to do work, replace parts etc. on these guitars and I look forward to it. When you buy a $3000+ Gibson you expect a high level of quality control but it's been a few years since that was a guarantee when buying a new Gibson.
I personally own two Gibson Les Paul Standards so I feel qualified to make a valid comparison. Are the Chibson's I upgraded as good as my actual Gibson's? No, but that's a matter of opinion. I would say in a few (not all) cases they are very good and they are certainly good enough to take out on gigs to those late night clubs and bars where anything can (and often does) happen. The bottom line is do what you want to do. Buy or don't buy.
Rick Holly ,Exactly! Thank you. It's pretty clear who the ' dirtbags are on here from their ' brilliant comments'. . Your video wasn't about preaching [ I believe it was honest 'and' informative ]. But it sure brought out some wanna be preachers.
Rickholly74 what difference does it make if a company has been sold? Do you just not understand what “IP” is?
How would you feel about someone stealing your name? What do you do for a living? Do you own a company?
You’re a dirtbag if you’re buying ILLEGAL COUnTERFEITS.
You’re a dirtbag if you promote ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS. There are practically limitless Chinese. Add LP style guitars to choose from today....so why a Chibson? We all know WHY.....
Because they say “Gibson” on the headstock. Nobody would give a shit about them otherwise.
So quit making excuses and trying to justify ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS, just own that you don’t care about IP rights, own that you don’t care about the legality of the guitars.
All you idiots care about is the name on the headstock.
Bruce Diamond yeah, it’s clear people who buy ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS are dirtbags, I totally agree.
Why dont you play it and let us hear if what you are saying is the truth or not
He can't fucking play. If he could play he'd want a decent guitar instead of some second-hand plywood with a printed paper veneer on it.
@@stankfanger1366 Yeah, more play less yak is what we want here.
Anyone know the law about buying from the UK?
Ive heard stories about some rare woods being confiscated at UK customs
🤔
can you tell me where you bought the last 2018 one?
Buying a chibson and fixing it up is still cheaper than buying a Gibson
And still you have a piece of crap
@@mindcrazer yeah like Gibson's aren't crap for the money
@@jamesanderson6905 Well i have 4 and they all are great.
@@mindcrazer You are ignorant and a fool if you think they are crap, you have no experience with them, so shut up internet loser. You make the net crap!
They aren't crap, but they are a lot of money for what they are (save a few things like the nighthawks from the 2010s).
A lot of guitars including high end guitars are made with 3 piece wood
Angelo J Richetti but they’re book joined with an effort to match grain, not just glued together in any way, shape or form to make it work. That’s the difference.
@@hnduil doesn't make it sound different. if looks is what you care about give Gibson $4000 and they will make grain match just for you. lol
James Rogers well, sound isn’t the only factor for most people. Appearance and taking time to match materials and take pride in the construction is also important to most. About the original post, if there is “high end guitars” made with 3 pieces of wood. I’m sure pride is taken putting them together so they’re joined to look nice... not like this POS chibson that’s out together like a kids jigsaw puzzle.
And it doesn’t take $4000 to get a Gibson with proper grain match lol
@@hnduil it is not true
Hello Rick we exchanged messages awhile back on the great Firefly Es 335s I have three now.I also own a 1979 Tobacco Sunburst Les Paul Standard. I bought it new in that year for $600.00 with case.Was curious on the prices of those guitars you showed mostly the last and best one with the one piece body. Which buyer did you get the last one from thanks...Glenn in N.Y.
I just checked my order on Aliexpress. The last one I bought was $252.60. I guess the odd amount is based on the coversion from Yen to US dollars. www.aliexpress.com/item/2017-New-Wholesale-Custom-shop-1959-R9-Tiger-Flame-electric-guitar-Standard-LP-59-electric-guitar/32803815279.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.7feb4c4disYIcw
Can you tell me if your Chinese Gibson's have a Gibson like truss rod, or are they all the alan key type. Thanks
Allen key.
U. S costumes is starting to grab them up so now Day's you might or might not receive the item
$200 is $200 if costumes got it I'd be pissed
No sure it's worth the risk of losing $200 great video's Thanks for Sharing but people need to know it's getting harder and harder to get one any more they also clone Fender ESP PRS not just Gibson
Mine got through last week..plays perfectly right out of the box
@@richardlawson6787 happy it made it Bro
Just add a note to the order to have "no logo" - or buy one from the many Chinese "brands" that are essentially selling the same guitars with their own logo. Remember that a "Gibson"-logo doesn't make the guitar sound any better... And if you really want to have an expensive logo on your guitar you should really buy an original (but honestly, I don't think it's worth it).
I got mine 4 months ago and it didn’t play perfect out of the box. The pups squealed like a banshee and the neck needed some work. I did it myself, as he stated in the vid, and now it’s ok, but be prepared, you might get lucky, you may not.
@@SaschaLeib Even better, design your own logo and have the seller put it in with the material of your choice (MOP, Abalone, lacquer, etc.) Usually not much more for the custom look.
Why not just buy a Epiphone? I guess it says something if you must have the name and logo on the head stock. I don't get buying a Chibson and supporting an illegal copyright infringement. I have both Gibson and Epiphone and have always been happy to play either. You can get a great Epiphone for about the same price of a Chibson without upgrading. Especially on the used market.
I own five Epiphone Les Paul's (Ultra II, Standard, Custom and two Tributes). They are excellent guitars. I have paid $200-250 for my Chibson's. You can't buy a good Epiphone LP (Standard or higher modal) for $200-250. I can appreciate your opinion on trademark infringement.
@@Rickholly74 me too bro! Besides my 2 Gibson SGs I have 2 EPI SGs and 2 Les Paul's! Most expensive being $350.00! Love them!
Amen Gerard! You're essentially selling out other Americans when you buy this crap...
@@Rickholly74 Yes you can, just buy used. If you're buying counterfeit guitars you're a scumbag. There's a million LEGAL Chinese made LP style guitars that you can buy for the same price as Chibsons. You idiots just want the headstock to say "Gibson" and you're why the market is being flooded by ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS. And you all have a million excuses for why it's fine for you to buy ILLEGAL COUNTEFEITS when the truth is you're just dirtbags who want a guitar that says "Gibson".
@@Guitaural. They're not just screwing Gibson, every time one of these dirtbags buy an ILLEGAL COUNTERFEIT guitar it's one more on the market. The number of Chibsons being passed off as real Gibsons on CL or Ebay or Reverb just keeps growing. Ebay won't even take down ads for fakes if you report them! If you see a fake you have to report it to Gibson and then Gibson has to report it to Ebay. And Ebay states in their rules that you can't sell counterfeits.....yet there's a million ILLEGAL COUNTERFEIT guitars openly for sale.
Where did you buy the guitar from?
Are they almost 100% compared to an Epiphone Les Paul or an American Les Paul? Which are they closer to?
I say dear old chap, one is purchasing many of these Gibsons so to deduce from that, I concur these instruments are very good for the price.
Peace ✌️ out people
Having bought 3 Chibsons of varying quality, my honest advice is to go Epiphone:
1. Still a fraction of the cost of a Gibson (even once modified).
2. You can be assured of the quality you are getting (if anything, the quality control is better than Gibson's).
3. You can on-sell it much more easily than a Chibson (and without the legal ramifications).
4. Chuck in some Seymour Duncan pickups and you have yourself 95% of the Gibson tone.
Jimmy Tee Rex, i just hate the Epiphone's headstock.
I used to have a Gibson Les Paul a long time ago, which I ended selling for college money. Years later, I own an Epiphone Nighthawk, a 339,and a G400 Pro, along with a Godin. I also used to own a Tremonti PRS SE. All really good and nice guitars. I kind of get what people say about the finish, but it's a durable finish and I don't buy it has anything to do with tone. A good setup and (possibly, not necessarily ) a change of pickups will give you a great guitar. I also understand if someone doesn't like the headstock... But realize that's kind of what's keeping you from some very nice and affordable instruments.
How about just the fact that Epiphones are LEGAL while Chibsons are ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS? I've never seen so many people try to downplay or defend COUNTERFEITING.
@@puertecitos6888 So buy one of the million other LEGAL LP copy guitars, dirtbag. You have every excuse in the book for why it's OK for you to buy an ILLEGAL COUNTERFEIT.
@@Vichedges that's a different argument. But it makes you wonder that sub 600 dollar guitars rival Gibsons. And it is legal to buy them, but not sell them, AFAIK.
On the custom shop chipsons are they getting the diamond logo correct they have always been smaller than the real Gibsons
I have two Gibson Les Paul Standard's and it looks correct but when it comes to a standard it really only works for later Gibson Les Paul's. The historic or "R" reissue modals may be different. In a book I have detailing the history of the Gibson Les Paul line in detail, the guy who headed the historic and reissue series said his team collected 25 mid to late 50's Les Paul's to use as modals for the series. They found that the one thing that was different on many of these 50's Les Paul's from various years was the logo, especially where it was placed and how straight it was (or wasn't. These logos were put in place by hand and they had no standard. One person would place one higher with almost no slant and another would be lower with a slant. He called the group of women who did a lot of the later stage detail work as "The Old Ladies". It wasn't an exacting process and they did it by eye, not by measurement. The book is called "The Gibson Les Paul Book" by Tony Bacon. It's a great book. I got mine (hardcover) on Amazon for about $12.
Hello @Rickholly74 can you share the store inside Alliexpress that you use to buy your most recent one? as Alli is conformed from several small stores, I guess each one can be different quality.
Yes you are right. Here is the store I bought my last one from: www.aliexpress.com/store/2961136
Thank you! and keep the good work with your videos!
*Don't be overly bothered or be distracted by the name. Just treat it for what it is. A guitar by any name is just that, a guitar. Go buy an original if you can afford it. But it is good to know that you can have a non-original for a fraction of the price that can sound good whether with or without tweaking. I think all this China bashing is very unfortunate. Many people who otherwise could not afford to buy a guitar now has an option to own one. Sure, like everthing else, you may end up with a lemon, but hey, you have to realise that you pay for what you get. The Chinese have an interest to improve their products and over time the quality just get better, lemons excepted. Happing strumming!*
Perfect. Short, sweet and correct.
@@Rickholly74 And loud. Very, very loud.
STOP SCREAMING WE ARE MUSICIANS, WE OWN EARS!
Some of the China bashing has to do with the growing trade deficit (US) and the proven fact that China manipulates their currency they way they do, leading to the deficit, steals our technology....
@@vincewhirlwind574 I think you are correct.
Rickholly74 No, it’s not “correct”. Why there is that Gibson logo, for people who otherwise could not “afford” a guitar? Try to at least be honest.
I think its great you can get Chibsons. Seriously fuk Gibson and their crazy prices.
One great thing it will do is that eventually Chinese replicas will get better and better to the point Gibson will be forced to reduce their prices.
Its not nice to see China ripping off other designs but its far worse getting ripped off for an overpriced guitar. Also I'm hearing Gibson are producing very poor quality guitars the past 5-10 years. Some would say for the past 20 years.
atourdeforce Sorry. Fuck chibsons, I hate seeing them get imported here. You hear the authentic Gibson quality is subpar? How many do you own? Just curious.
I bought a genuine Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plustop PRO (Limited Edition Bourbon Burst) for the price of 2 Chibsons and it is a phenomenal guitar in every way.
I advise people to do that.
ShipBuilding 🙌Exactly! Give me an Epi any day over a chibson. Don’t help China steal and besmirch the name of a great American company!
@@ryanfulldark2775
Also something to consider, we all pass on our possessions when the time comes and these fakes cause big problems when they're inherited by unknowing loved ones. So yes I say Fuck Chibsons. They're like toxic waste in the waterways.
ShipBuilding Exactly, that’s my whole problem in a nutshell. It’s inevitable some kid will think grandpas old Gibson is the real deal until some dealer breaks the news it isn’t. Some things are sacred, like a good old guitar.
do they cover up the logo to get them through customs ?
Where do you buy those chibsons? Couldn't find them on Aliexpress.
the man has a whole collection for the price of ONE basic Gibson....newsflash!, it's the player not the instrument
Agree 100%. Jimmy Page playing a Chibson or an lower grade Epiphone Jr. LP will still sound like Jimmy Page. Jeff Beck playing a Fender Bullet Strat will still sound like Jeff Beck. Me playing my modded Chibson's isn't that far sound wise from playing one of my Gibson LP's. I still sound like me. If you want to learn to repair and mod a Les Paul you don't want to tear apart and learn on a $3000 Gibson. You buy a $200-250 Chibson. If you make any mistakes in doing your first re-fret or putting on new binding etc. you only lost a few hundred dollars. Not as big a loss good experience. I would be upset with myself if I re-fretted one of my Gibson's and I tore up the fretboard, did a bad rewiring job, or filed the new frets incorrectly or any other issue. I didn't hesitate to really dive into these Chibson's because that's why I bought them. Now that I did what I wanted to do so I'm done with it and have pretty much retired the Chibson's to the closet (except that lemon colored one that was completely modded and plays and sounds great.) The experience was well worth it. No regrets.
HAHA awesome.
My thinking , with all the money you may have to put in one of these, you could buy a decent guitar.
Exactly.
By decent you mean more expensive. I already own a Gibson Les Paul and many other guitars. I got over headstock envy and the idea that if you pay more you are guaranteed a better product years ago. Go ahead and pay more if you want. A couple of these Chibson Les Pauls's are nearly as good as my Gibson that I have owned since 1975.
@@SmalltimR I'm thinking he has a ghetto ILLEGAL COUNTERFEIT. He can't even legally sell that POS.
@@Rickholly74 That's great, they're still ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS. You can buy a new Gibson starting around 800 bucks and you can get used Studios for $600. If that's too "expensive" for you you made some bad life choices. If you're still too broke to afford $800 bucks you could just by a LEGAL LP copy, there's only millions of them to choose from. But no, you idiots want it to say "Gibson" on the headstock.
@@SmalltimR You don't think it matters if the guitars are illegal or not? OK dude. I thought everyone knew right from wrong but I guess it's just me.
Hello Rick, I enjoyed your video. I did something similar. I am contracting in a country where there is little to not much available. And I wanted to purchase the body only and build the rest. But my salesman suggested that I get a whole guitar as the difference was only 35 to 40 dollars. And all the routing, drilling, and such would be complete. Other wise it would be a body blank. And his suggestion was a good one. I am on project number 5 and once I found a reliable builder have been satisfied. I do like you and strip the instrument and replace all hardware, electronics, do a fret job, and complete set up. None of my projects have been Les Pauls because that is not my interest. But only one of the five has been a disappointment. And I gave it away to a beginning player. My goal was to become good at repairs and set up. What better a way to learn than to build. And my due diligence has paid off. I have some unique instruments that I could not have afforded. I do not attempt to compete with the big builders. And I have my builder put my stylized initials on the head stock. And if anyone asks I tell them that it is my own custom build. My best compliment to date has been from my former band mate. I made a custom tele for him with features I knew he would enjoy. (ie 5 way switch, P90 and a humbucker with coil tap ) And he told me that in his opinion if he was to buy comparable from the Fender custom shop it would be 3K. I am very flattered as I had my time, sweat, and 400 $ total invested. And that is why I do this. For the challenge, and just maybe I can make something unique and as good as the custom shop but stay within my budget.
Thank you. You and I are on the same page. I got my first one when I started learning to repair and set up guitars with a really experienced luthier (45+ years of experience with big name players as clients). After I did my first one with his help, I started buying them and doing it by myself. I re-fretted guitars that didn't need re-fretting just to learn, replaced binding on a Chibson to make the binding go over the fret ends like a high end Les Paul and did just about everything I could do except refinishing a guitar (haven't tackled that yet). I wanted to learn and have really enjoyed the experience. I already own too many guitars but I am having a great time doing this work. It's more than a hobby since I play gigs often and use these guitars. In my case, I don't sell them for all the legal reasons but I have been seriously thinking about creating my own headstock and logo and building a few more. Good luck with your projects.
Aside from the binding being noticeably different around the fret end nubs, I would add the flame maple top has a noticeably thick book match line. I only see that on the counterfeits. Overall they look nice.
You are correct. It's funny because I hadn't played that guitar in more than a year and I just recently got it out, put new strings on it and have been playing it lately. That guitar sounds really good. You are correct about the bookmatch. It really doesn't match perfectly so it looks like a small line where the parts meet. I never noticed it before but it's due to the way the way the light hits the seam and the way they split the veneer and tried to match it. Nice catch.
Hey Jason Allen, instead of wasting a day trolling everyone here, and responding with your sarcastic comments, why don’t you get a life! What I do with my money is my business, not yours, do you understand? A little set up and waxpotted my pups, and my guitar sounds excellent, for a few hundred. If you don’t like it, too bad. Epi didn’t have the guitar I wanted, so I got my Chibby. And yes I have a 62 Fender strat, so spare us your opinions.
Laughing at all these people mad about buying a Chibson.
So you're laughing at people against counterfeiting and fraud. Interesting how all you Chibson defenders have zero morals. You scumbags kill me.
@@Vichedges R.I.P Jason Allen.
@@jaketad939 Don't ever let anyone tell you you're not witty.
Of course you think it's funny... you're stupid and you don't understand. Nobody has a problem with you losers buying this Chinese plywood dogshit. What we have a problem with is you insecure posers who have to pretend you can afford a fucking Gibson instead of getting off your fat asses and buying a real one, or not getting the stolen name on the headstock. I swear, it's like you're all either too fucking dumb to comprehend something that simple, or you're so busy acting like real guitarists that you don't have time to stop and think about it.
@@navysealblackwater Dafuq are you talking about? Gibson uses excellent wood for all of their guitars, so calling them plywood makes no sense at all.
What's the color of that last Chibson in the video? It's really beautiful.
What about the serial number? Is it impressed in the wood as Gibson would or engraved as the Chibsons typically do and is an obvious tell-tale sign it's not authentic?
Chris Cline all of them are stamped with SN and made in USA
Guitars are made to play the music. Should be affordable and make people happy.
There are plenty of LEGAL affordable guitars. The only reason to buy these is you're a scumbag who wants "Gibson" on the headstock. These are ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS.
geez, with all the fakes you own, you could proally get 2 gibsons at least!
Or he could have just bought a Vintage or Agile or one of the other cheap LEGAL Chinese LP style guitars . But nope, they buy ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS because they want the headstock to say "Gibson". Then they worry about getting ripped of by the Chibson dealers.....even though they don't care that they're ripping off Gibson.
Why? Lol
@@dkennylee So you woudn't be a dirtbag who buys ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS.
@@Vichedges thats your opinion, fuck you opinion
Which specific Chibson store did you get the last one from, I’m interested?
What is the seller you bought for 2018?
and I've bought legit Gibson SG's that needed severe work or returned out of the box. This is why Gibson is suffering today. Premium price and a shot in the dark as far as quality and consistency.
So don't buy Gibson. Just don't use your anecdotes as an excuse for people buying ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS. If Gibon were half as bad as you idiots claim why is it you all still want "Gibson" on the headstock of your guitar? Why buy a Chibson instead of a LEGAL LP copy?
@@Vichedges Those guitars would be worth more if they didn't carry the Gibson name. They would be another brand that looks similar and plays well. $230 and change is not a high bar. If they got $350 for them, that would not be asking too much for a guitar with decent specs and playability. I'm sure they could get more in today's market.
@@alext9067 Dude....stop defending ILLEGAL COUNTERFEITS.
Nobody would care about these guitars if they didn't say "Gibson" on the headstock. They just be another cheap Chinese guitar in a market flooded by them.
I don't know why you guys keep acting like it's not about the name on the headstock but it's ridiculous.
There are a million LEGAL Chinese guitars that you could buy if you just wanted a cheap guitar. The fact that people will risk dealing with shady dealers, having their guitar impounded by Customs, etc shows how desperate these people are to have a "Gibson".
So just stop with the excuses.
@@Vichedges There are literally plenty of videos and information about Les Paul style guitars that don't have the Gibson logo/open book headstock. But you chose to click on a video specifically about Chibsons, so why are you so triggered to see people talking about Chibsons..?
Colton Does Cars Why do you defend ghetto ILLEGAL COUNTERFEIT guitars? People are getting scammed by people reselling these POS
Buy a LEGAL guitar and quit pretending you’re interested in Chibsons for any other reason than the name on the headstock.
Wouldnt even want a fake as a wall hangar. Just weird. Bicycle guys and guitar players only people I see actively looking for fakes. I play acoustic and electronic drums. Im not looking for fake Ludwigs or Rolands.
Yeah, a whole lot of dirtbags here. They just want their guitar to say "Gibson" but they can't afford a real one. There's a million legal copies they could buy but nope, they buy Chibsons.
@@Vichedges so Gibson gets free advertising when thus guy gigs but het he was not going to buy the real guitar or else he would've Gibson given you cred as a performer ifvuoubcam play well but many guys cant afford a real one. So nobody got screwed
@@Vichedges fslse
@@glennoc8585 Gibson got screwed when their intellectual property was stolen and a third rate piece of shit with their name on it entered the world. Are you stupid?
@@dkennylee He's absolutely right, and no amount of your dumb ass saying "false" is going to prove him wrong, trailer park.
Any advice how to improve my Encore ( very cheap) Strat copy ?
I found a giveaway on your 2018 Chibson right off the bat. The logo on the headstock, which the letters are at an angle.