It's not exactly true. They know perfectly how to make good fakes, as we had very splendid well made fakes coming it at the border. But it's simply too much of a bother. The point of the fakes is to trow on the market a very cheap guitar and to cash in on this instrument. So they will tend to sell you their 39$ to 90$ usual crappy instrument, made by inexperienced workers grabbed from the street. They can't do better, even if they wanted to.
I don't know if anyone else was enjoying the "Real or Fake" quiz as much as i was but i found myself smiling stupidly to myself as i recognized the points you mentioned.
This is by far THE BEST AND THE GREATEST video comparing 6 basic ways to spot a fake Chinese Les Paul (aka the "Chibson") versus the real Epiphone or Gibson Les Paul! I loved the ending where you test the audiences comprehension by asking us if the guitar presented before us was a real or fake Les Paul. I got em all right but was confused by the last one. Thanks.
Just wanted to thank you for this video. It helped my son and I to identify a fake Gibson Les Paul Custom. You video is the ONLY place I've seen point out the incorrect location of the tail piece. Thank you so much!
I got chibson custom for $300 at a flea market and absolutely love it! I had it completely gutted and replaced everything with Gibson parts I had Seymor Duncan Alnoco II Pros Slash Signature pickups installed it's a real beauty. I replaced the black knobs with the gold Gibsons. The neck and frets are great and no problems whatsoever with the performance. I guess I was lucky whoever put it together took a lot of care into it.
+ecsrvjh Awesome man, sounds like you have a killer axe there now! Well done! I love those Slash pickups. I'm thinking of putting them into a very AFD looking guitar that I have. Why go half fanboy when I can go full on, right? Off to price a used set now. Thanks for popping by man!
Awesome man, glad you enjoyed it. I have another one coming soon. I have a rather substantial amount of Les Pauls or LP copies at the house right now under a bunch of brands. Keep an eye out!
According to all of your points of reference my dear sir I have a real deal, Les Paul Standard. Thank you for the class brother. You are a natural teacher and the proof is that I passed your quiz with a 100%. A long healthy and happy life to you sir.
This was super helpful. I ran into a fake SG a few months back. One of the giveaways I noticed right away was that the inlays were cut really sloppily and the back plastic pickup cover was too thin and didn't seem to fit flush.
It does! Those tributes (and the LPJ/SGJ models) have 1, 2 or 3 piece backs. Even the big "G" knows a thing or two about cost savings! Thanks for checking out the vid!
Thanks for this video. I bought a LP on ebay 10 years ago and never even suspected it could be fake until recently. With your help I'm fairly certain it's the real deal!
The wood of a Chibson headstock is one piece. The Gibson has a solid centre with wood added on each side. Look at the photos and you'll see the different shades of wood.
Great job Nick! I can tell by just looking at a pic if they're fake or not. 2 years ago before I got into this I couldn't. The body shape on Stan Lee is the closest I've ever seen. All of mine have the lazy cutaway and longer top arch. Also, the stamped lettering on the back is different & usually filled with white out. I catch guys selling these on EBay every month. Us Chibson enthusiasts need to stand up & make people realize we are against passing these off as real, & are against people being duped. Gotta watch for fake Rics & Gretsches too! Awesome buddy!
Thanks man. I can tell now as well super quick. It's been hard earned knowledge! Stan Lee does have just a great shape that I didn't appreciate at first how rare it was that way. Hopefully more will show up that accurate after the holiday rush is over. There are quite a few more tells, from the pickup cavities, wiring color and type, the writing like you said, the inlays on the neck routes, etc. But it takes some knowledge to catch these. A lot of people who get stuck with a fake is because they had a quick opportunity to buy a real LP for 800 or 900 bucks. Poor bastards. Hopefully this one help! I agree on Gretsch and Rics as well. Those I can usually spot quick, but your Ric is better than most. You did a really good job pointing out the differences. Hopefully we can help someone!
The one thing I don't understand is, if they can fake the logos and everything else, why are there always subtle differences like the body shape, binding/plastic color & so on? Probably good thing they still have those flaws, otherwise no one would be able to tell!
Squazzoo68 I think its so that they have plausible deniability. Chinese courts do have a small amount of respectability. If they continue to have these small things wrong they can't be sued successfully. That's my current theory but more and more things are adding up to this being true. And you're right, these things definitely keep people from being fooled.
In future setups like this, give us a shot of the back of the headstock when having us do the initial inspection. It doesn't do us any good if we cannot look for ourselves to see if the "wings" are there. Telling us in a way after the fact that there are no wings is good but we never got a chance to look for ourselves and make a decision based on all available information.
Future guy here to tell you that after three years, someone finally showed up to let you know that we've been waiting for three years for your video....
Great video. After your excellent description of the differences , I was able to spot the fake les Paul's . This is invaluable info if you don't Have the real thing to compare with. 👍
another good way to spot a fake is to look at the binding where the neck and body meet as some of the chibsons have a small gap between where the bindings should meet
Thats how I decided that the last one was fake. everything else looked pretty decent, but you where moving it really fast, actually had to pause to get a good look, haha
+Scott Robson Well done Scott! You can't actually see what I refer to here as wings from the front. They are more accurately called ears by Gibson. On the back of the headstock of a Gibson with a transparent finish you can see that the headstock is made up of 3 pieces of wood. The main piece continues down through the neck. smaller pieces are glued to this to define the edges of the headstock, hence the term ears.
Let's see if I can describe it here. So the headstock is actually made up of three pieces of wood. The middle piece is as wide as the neck is at its widest part and continues right down the neck. Gibson then glues on 2 ears (I call them wings in video but they are usually referred to as ears) on the left and right side of the headstock to fill it out. To get an idea of what the headstock looks like without the ears, google 1960 Gibson Melody Maker and look at the headstock. On that model they saved money by not having the ears and just having a narrow headstock.
My question is this. Is it legal to sell someone a fake Gibson as long as they know it's fake and sign a release statement that they understand what they are buying is not an actual Gibson product. If someone could answer this question that would be great.
one reason for changing fret ends is because on some guitars there was a gap between the binding and fret and string benders found the high E would disappear in the gap and thats a real pain in the middle of a killer solo.
Yeah man, I've seen that myself. I do find it funny that Gibson always claimed the fret end dressing was part of a premium offering compared to their competitors. During the roll out of the more typical fret ends they product manager they interviewed said that doing it the new way is actually more time consuming. That's a little weird, right? Either way doesn't make the biggest difference to me either way. As long at they're setup well and don't tear my fingers to shreds I'm pretty happy.
You can also tell a chibson apart from a gibson if you look at the serial markings at the back of the headstock, real gibsons' markings tend to be a shallow cut whereas the chibson ones have a deeper cut to them. It should also be noted that if the indent at the top of the headstock appears crooked or lopsided, it's most likely a fake. Chibson's tross rod cover also sometime come with 3 screws in them.
Thanks You know, I've been searching the TH-cam for a video about how to differentiate between fake and original fender. I wish if you can shoot a video about this cause in my country slot fender from different regions and manufacturers
+LordMoloch What he said! LOL I think they may have called them a Custom Studio or something. They have the Shaw era pickups that all the kids are going crazy about. And by kids I mean graying and thinning hair older men. And by that I mean me. haha
I have a Les Paul that im trying to identify...it has a 5 digit serial like the one in this video, does anyone have any info on LP with this 5 digit number?
2014 gibsons also have frets that sit "on top" of the binding; I have a genuine Gibson LP Classic finished this way. I bought it used, and initially balked on this usually blatant tell, until I did a bit of research. Great video! The more people know these things, the fewer will be ripped off!
the neck binding issue and why they likely stopped having the binding cover the fret end is because when you replace the frets that binding has to be broken which will ruin the guitar's looks and feel if you have to break that binding to replace them. alternately with out covering the fret ends you can replace the frets with out screwing up that binding.
That last one, is the one where discussion begins among the class and the teacher gets pissed cause we saw some of the BS tip offs combined with some legit markers. Cool Video, thanks!
Just wanted to ask if there are exceptions with the ser# being pressed in as a printed used instead I am from Canada and went to two pawn shops Two of the three were fake but the one had paper work and all that, but was a printed ser# for the Gib A Sun
A few other tell-tale signs of a Chibson that I have seen are PUPs, electronic cavity and the maple cap. All of these "giveaways" require you to loosen a few screws, but worth the trouble. Chibson PUPs are stamped Epiphone on the back. Chibson electronics cavity looks like it has been chiseled out rather than precision cut. Chibson maple caps are a very thin veneer, as opposed to a thick cap. You'll notice this when inspecting the back of your PUPs.
One of my GIBSON Les Paul (I believe 59 2022) has tail piece looks like Chibson, Other one (Les Paul Classic Premium Plus 1997?) has closer tail piece.
The stop tail placement has to do with the headstock angle. Gibson's severe 17 degree angle is matched by a severe string angle over the bridge. Back during the Norlin years, Gibson switched to a less-severe 14 degree angle. Those guitars had the tailpiece moved back to lessen that string angle. Epiphones and these fakes have a less-severe angle too.
This makes a lot of sense. They also opened up the cutaway a bit, at least on the Deluxes for a few years. I think the Chibsons may have copied this as well!
I spotted a Gibson Les Paul standard on Craigslist for a great price of 1000.00, I was suspicious.... I was not sure I could identify a fake, I was doing some research and came across your Video and watched taking notes... I went to look at the guitar, before taking it out of the case I found 2 problems, when I took it out of the case I found a 3rd problem. I put it back in the case and told the owner I will have to pass... Thanks so much for making this video....
The wood grain on 2 of the fakes including last one looks like it's printed. Done on furniture and doors more then you think has a 2D look to it but can be very relistic
I almost aced the quiz, but the last one got me. I didn't even take a guess on the last one, I honestly just had no clue. It simultaneously looked real and fake.
Got it today it was nice except closer inspection reviealed the the tail stop and bridge fixing posts pulled straight out of the holes 😟😳 apart from a few other minor issues it played and sounded fantastic, thanks for your reply!
sakamuras s You sound like my wife! So the reason I THINK is that I have some that are investments that I play from time to time but live in their cases safe and sound most of the time. The others (fakes mostly) are out in my family room subject to the risks of my 2 and 4 year old hellions. They're pretty to look at and fun to play but not as much of a risk. The one I built was really just for personal enjoyment (and frustrations!) of going through the process to build a LP with great parts. My seconds Chibson was to spec one out in my favorite finish. The real reason is probably more that I'm a little compulsive with collecting stuff and I've now focused solely on guitars! So different wood combinations, pickups, even colors all seem like MUST HAVE items. Chibsons offer instant-ish gratification while maintaining the ability to pay my mortgage. I'm rapidly approaching 30 total guitars. A little over half are investment pieces to at least tie some money up with while the others are more fun toys. Don't drink, smoke or do drugs any more so this is where the money goes now :)
yeah. lol. scarf joint is correct. You can only see it if you neck has a natural finish. A good guitar is a good guitar, whether or not it's built in china or not. "who" built it matters more than "where" it was built :) just food for thought.
Nick in the States I Have 69 guitars..been stuck on 69 for awhile now. Most of my guitars are under 1000.00..but all are stage ready..some I don't play live because of collectability..(64 Fender Music Master) for example . But my one rule is..if I can't play it on stage , I don't buy it. I plan to stop at 70. Then if I want something else, I'd have to trade or sell one of the herd. I love guitars period. I do love rotating them around. I get inspired all over again everytime I open a case. I do have my workhorses , since I still tour in the Summer and locally on weekends during the off season. I have GAS but I don't care.
Guys can u guys look back on the quiz thing and tell me is it just me it does the round part by the pickup selection are different. Real one is more rounded then the chibson
Greetings Nick, I have a question for you? first off nice video .. but here it is.. you say you can spot a fake Gibson.. well I have one that is a limited edition one of a kind Les Paul since I have had it I have did many modifications.. First locking Grover gold plated tuners, next a tusq nut, I had the frets replaced in which they took off the fret nibs I changed the bridge to a Graphtech custom bridge and it came with the screw styled posts. I put a custom truss rod cover on it that they made a bit longer. the pickup guard is made a bit different, I replaced all the electronics in it as well as custom gold plated Dean Pickups that the rings are taller.. I changed the switch and jack and jack plate.. I used mojo tone pots vitamin T caps and its solder-less wiring.. Now how can you say that any guitar can be fake... This Guitar has been estimated by my insurance company worth over $6,000 easy. it has a raspberry color and cream binding so as i ask again how can you say any guitar is fake? what would you say if one came in and the neck had been replaced? Thank you for your time.... Natasha
Hello,, watching approximately 5 years later. My 2016 LP Trad has the fret nubs on it. This particular model was fashioned(sort of)after a 1958 standard. This is the year they went back to basics. I bought it in 2015 and never looked back. Gotta be the best Gibson Les Paul I've ever owned in a lot of years, that includes anything from the beginning. I've had 3 of them...a 1068 Deluxe gold top...1971 triple pick up(turned it into a Pater Frampton clone)and a 1976 Deluxe with the mini buckers in it. The '16 blows them all out of the water.
Good video. ALSO I've noticed when I bought my "Chibson" Les Paul Standard and somebody pointed this out that the angle of the headstock is slightly tilted back further than an American Gibson Les Paul. I bought a Chibson SG as well and noticed that the headstock looks a little longer at the top as well.
This is such a good video! I came upon it after looking at a guitar on Ebay here in the UK purporting to be a Gibson.After watching this video I can see that it fails on just about every single aspect that you've mentioned and is a complete fake.Thanks for posting !
Hi There: I'm looking to buy my first electric guitar and could seriously use some guidance. In the process of narrowing down my choices and listening to plenty of youtube demos, I stumbled across your video and have a few quick amateur questions for you: 1. Are the Chibson/Fibson's typically newer models, or are there a lot of "vintage" Chibson's hanging around haunts like eBay and Craigslist? 2. Do you find as many fake Lefties as Righties? I'm a lefty and currently looking for a vintage Gibson Les Paul Custom. My choices are so very limited and pricey that I would really really like to avoid a major purchasing fuck up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hey there Wendy! To answer your questions they have been around for quite a few years. The occasional one does pop up on CL or eBay. Often times they get taken down as listing them does violate the terms of service. There are 2 on eBay right now that I know of (righties) one for cheap money and the other for a way to high price. As to righties vs lefties, I've definitely seen a bunch of lefties out there. Depending on the seller they'll custom build one. Which is pretty sweet! Ok here's where I get on my soap box though... these things take a bit of work to make right. My advice would be to buy an Agile (if you like LP styles) or a Squier Classic or Vintage modified series (if you like Fender). Both are well put together guitars that sound quite nice out of the box. Chibsons are like old Italian cars... they can be gorgeous and fun, but they're best enjoyed with a suitable, more reliable car in reserve for a backup. Epiphones are great too! They just bore me personally.
Nick in the States Thanks for your response, Nick and I appreciate all of the advice. I've come to a similar decision over the past few days and decided to buy new and not from Evilbay; rather from a large retailer not far from my locale. They have an extensive range sound and budget wise. I'm confident I can find something to please me: I have a really acute ear for sound, so I'm picky as hell... It won't be an Epiphone and I have nothing against them, just not my vibe either. Thanks again.
Hi there nick..thanks for the video, i can be extra careful when buying gibson..but i dont understand about the wing you showing at the headstock..can you explain a bit?. :)
Very informative video on the subject. I knew most, but not all of those. On the other hand, my 78 Greco (Japan) meets all 6 of the criteria for a real Les Paul, except that the Headstock (pre-lawsuit) says Greco. It even has the wings. If not for the "Greco", you'd have to pull out the pickups to see the laminated top. Now the Chibson I just ordered has the slotted bridge poles, but it does have the correct tailpiece position.
Man those late 70s Grecos are awesome. I just missed out on one a couple of weeks ago. Kicking myself for not buying it sooner! The Chibsons are getting better but they're actually making the shape play little off on purpose to save from lawsuits in China proper. Good to hear they've fixed the tailpiece location. Helps if you ever put a Vibramate and Bigsby on it. Let me know how your Chibson comes out!
+Nick in the States There is a seller from Japan who has a few 70's through 80's Grecos on Ebay. Seems to me however, that the language barrier is even thicker there, compared to many Chinese sellers, unfortunately. I actually found mine here locally while I was looking for an Orville by Gibson.
I believe the seller you're speaking of is the one I was watching. Always around $600 shipped. I was hunting for a 3 pickup black beauty and they had one with some nice honest wear on it. Should have grabbed it but funds were tight at that time. So instead I bought a real 70's Gibson for way too much money because I obviously have issues lol.
+Nick in the States Well, the shipping was actually pretty fast, but unfortunately they delivered my Les Paul Supreme to somebody in Visalia California. I was ecstatic to see that it had cleared customs in only one day....only to be shipped to the wrong address, which is 2000 miles away from me! Dispute in progress....
Thanks for the knowledge... also, the dot of the "i" in the gibson logo can be off at times (not in the right place) . Another thing to note is the angle of the headstock ; a real gibson tends to be angled more whilst a fake will not be. Visually it's acutally a big difference. Another note is i've seen a lot of fakes with 3 screws in the truss rod cover, instead of 2 , as well as the wrong truss rod cover / engraving for that model guitar. By the way, nice collection of gibbies man!!
one of the best videos showing the differences between a fake and the real thing.
jack g u
What difference does it make at this point.
They're watching this video right now, to figure out where they have to make changes to fool us next time 😳
Of course there is!
Very good Nick in the States. Some of those I never heard of.
@@NickintheStates I can't afford a Gibson so what guitar do you suggest
Video should be called "Guitarists teach Chibson sweatshops to make us better fakes"
It's not exactly true. They know perfectly how to make good fakes, as we had very splendid well made fakes coming it at the border. But it's simply too much of a bother.
The point of the fakes is to trow on the market a very cheap guitar and to cash in on this instrument. So they will tend to sell you their 39$ to 90$ usual crappy instrument, made by inexperienced workers grabbed from the street. They can't do better, even if they wanted to.
I don't know if anyone else was enjoying the "Real or Fake" quiz as much as i was but i found myself smiling stupidly to myself as i recognized the points you mentioned.
+Owen Duffy Hehe, well done! Glad you enjoyed it man.
This is by far THE BEST AND THE GREATEST video comparing 6 basic ways to spot a fake Chinese Les Paul (aka the "Chibson") versus the real Epiphone or Gibson Les Paul! I loved the ending where you test the audiences comprehension by asking us if the guitar presented before us was a real or fake Les Paul. I got em all right but was confused by the last one. Thanks.
Just wanted to thank you for this video. It helped my son and I to identify a fake Gibson Les Paul Custom. You video is the ONLY place I've seen point out the incorrect location of the tail piece. Thank you so much!
Sweet man, I'm happy to have helped!
If it stays in tune, its fake
LOL YES! HAHAHA
If the frets have sharp edges... its real! LOL
If the headstock breaks, it's real ;)
All of the above true. I'm buying a chibsons because they are better. Flat out.
Lol i have two real les paul guitars and none of your comments are true lol .. but hey not saying it couldn't happen...lmao
Best video I’ve seen on YT for spotting fakes. thanks for going the extra mile for the PDF.
I got chibson custom for $300 at a flea market and absolutely love it! I had it completely gutted and replaced everything with Gibson parts I had Seymor Duncan Alnoco II Pros Slash Signature pickups installed it's a real beauty. I replaced the black knobs with the gold Gibsons. The neck and frets are great and no problems whatsoever with the performance. I guess I was lucky whoever put it together took a lot of care into it.
+ecsrvjh Awesome man, sounds like you have a killer axe there now! Well done! I love those Slash pickups. I'm thinking of putting them into a very AFD looking guitar that I have. Why go half fanboy when I can go full on, right? Off to price a used set now. Thanks for popping by man!
The fake ones look so much nicer!!!! I am in love with the first guitar you showed!!!
Nice veneers are an order or magnitude cheaper than a nice full cap.
Love the "Real or Fake"... wish we could do this all day.
Awesome man, glad you enjoyed it. I have another one coming soon. I have a rather substantial amount of Les Pauls or LP copies at the house right now under a bunch of brands. Keep an eye out!
Thanks! One of the best videos on TH-cam about spotting fakes.
According to all of your points of reference my dear sir I have a real deal, Les Paul Standard. Thank you for the class brother. You are a natural teacher and the proof is that I passed your quiz with a 100%. A long healthy and happy life to you sir.
This was super helpful. I ran into a fake SG a few months back. One of the giveaways I noticed right away was that the inlays were cut really sloppily and the back plastic pickup cover was too thin and didn't seem to fit flush.
This is great learning tool and video, I will show my co workers this, got 5 out of 6'👏 Missed the last one!
nice video nick .... btw funny that at the 11:42 mark the genuine 60's trib goldtop actualy has/shows a multi piece back !!! lol
It does! Those tributes (and the LPJ/SGJ models) have 1, 2 or 3 piece backs. Even the big "G" knows a thing or two about cost savings! Thanks for checking out the vid!
Can someone explain to me the “if it stays tuned it’s fake” thing going on
Thanks for this video. I bought a LP on ebay 10 years ago and never even suspected it could be fake until recently. With your help I'm fairly certain it's the real deal!
marcgerb That's good news man! Now play the hell out of it :)
i really didnt understand these wings hes talking about
can someone explain it to me?
The wood of a Chibson headstock is one piece. The Gibson has a solid centre with wood added on each side. Look at the photos and you'll see the different shades of wood.
yeah now i see it but its kind of hard to spot
guess its easier if you could touch the headstock
Great job Nick! I can tell by just looking at a pic if they're fake or not. 2 years ago before I got into this I couldn't. The body shape on Stan Lee is the closest I've ever seen. All of mine have the lazy cutaway and longer top arch. Also, the stamped lettering on the back is different & usually filled with white out. I catch guys selling these on EBay every month. Us Chibson enthusiasts need to stand up & make people realize we are against passing these off as real, & are against people being duped. Gotta watch for fake Rics & Gretsches too! Awesome buddy!
Thanks man. I can tell now as well super quick. It's been hard earned knowledge! Stan Lee does have just a great shape that I didn't appreciate at first how rare it was that way. Hopefully more will show up that accurate after the holiday rush is over. There are quite a few more tells, from the pickup cavities, wiring color and type, the writing like you said, the inlays on the neck routes, etc. But it takes some knowledge to catch these. A lot of people who get stuck with a fake is because they had a quick opportunity to buy a real LP for 800 or 900 bucks. Poor bastards. Hopefully this one help! I agree on Gretsch and Rics as well. Those I can usually spot quick, but your Ric is better than most. You did a really good job pointing out the differences. Hopefully we can help someone!
The one thing I don't understand is, if they can fake the logos and everything else, why are there always subtle differences like the body shape, binding/plastic color & so on? Probably good thing they still have those flaws, otherwise no one would be able to tell!
Squazzoo68 I think its so that they have plausible deniability. Chinese courts do have a small amount of respectability. If they continue to have these small things wrong they can't be sued successfully. That's my current theory but more and more things are adding up to this being true. And you're right, these things definitely keep people from being fooled.
In future setups like this, give us a shot of the back of the headstock when having us do the initial inspection. It doesn't do us any good if we cannot look for ourselves to see if the "wings" are there. Telling us in a way after the fact that there are no wings is good but we never got a chance to look for ourselves and make a decision based on all available information.
Future guy here to tell you that after three years, someone finally showed up to let you know that we've been waiting for three years for your video....
Great vid! Shopping for my first LP (I've been a Fender guy) and this was very helpful. You have some great axes.
Thanks for this video. Ive learned a few things that no one else taught me! Going to buy a used studio today!
Great video. After your excellent description of the differences , I was able to spot the fake les Paul's . This is invaluable info if you don't
Have the real thing to compare with. 👍
Thanks man! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Wings on headstock?
I've just been on the Aliexpress site looking at Les Pauls - they have changed the tailpiece position and the headstock wings.
The last Les Paul had thinner binding in the cutaway area, only place on a Gibson body that binding is that wide almost "1/2 inch"
another good way to spot a fake is to look at the binding where the neck and body meet as some of the chibsons have a small gap between where the bindings should meet
Yup, great point!
Thats how I decided that the last one was fake. everything else looked pretty decent, but you where moving it really fast, actually had to pause to get a good look, haha
I know its an old video, I've seen recent ones but I learned quite a bit from this one and had to subscribe.
The quiz is a great idea. Great video, thanks for posting.
I got all of your answers right (with all of your help) but I still don't understand what the wings are and how you can see them from the front.
+Scott Robson Well done Scott! You can't actually see what I refer to here as wings from the front. They are more accurately called ears by Gibson. On the back of the headstock of a Gibson with a transparent finish you can see that the headstock is made up of 3 pieces of wood. The main piece continues down through the neck. smaller pieces are glued to this to define the edges of the headstock, hence the term ears.
Nick in the States Thanks Nick, I can see this on a picture now and it all makes sense.
Any time!
The stop tail is purposely farther back in order to attain a better angle on the strings thus relieving binding in order to stay in tune better.
Epiphone also have less headstock angle and a joint, so they can potentially stay in tune better than a real gibson.
Great vid my friend.. thanks
I'm not seeing what these 'wings' are you keep talking about. Please elaborate on this please.
Thanks again.
Let's see if I can describe it here. So the headstock is actually made up of three pieces of wood. The middle piece is as wide as the neck is at its widest part and continues right down the neck. Gibson then glues on 2 ears (I call them wings in video but they are usually referred to as ears) on the left and right side of the headstock to fill it out. To get an idea of what the headstock looks like without the ears, google 1960 Gibson Melody Maker and look at the headstock. On that model they saved money by not having the ears and just having a narrow headstock.
@@NickintheStates Yes & they look sorta dumb, I almost bought one but didn't like how the Headstock looked like....
There were non fret end bound necks on gibsons before 2015, too
Another thing I was looking at was the nut. The fakes seem to have the strings going deep in the nut; and this is almost always consistent.
+wickedninja8599 You're right on that for sure!
Hank Garland Billy Byrd Gibson named it Byrdland.
Toney Tillery Isaiah.
Wow you can hold one and tell
The part about the bridge being closer to the closest tone knob is fascinating!
My question is this. Is it legal to sell someone a fake Gibson as long as they know it's fake and sign a release statement that they understand what they are buying is not an actual Gibson product. If someone could answer this question that would be great.
one reason for changing fret ends is because on some guitars there was a gap between the binding and fret and string benders found the high E would disappear in the gap and thats a real pain in the middle of a killer solo.
Yeah man, I've seen that myself. I do find it funny that Gibson always claimed the fret end dressing was part of a premium offering compared to their competitors. During the roll out of the more typical fret ends they product manager they interviewed said that doing it the new way is actually more time consuming. That's a little weird, right? Either way doesn't make the biggest difference to me either way. As long at they're setup well and don't tear my fingers to shreds I'm pretty happy.
Thank you man. The quiz was a great idea. You rock
Excellent guide, especially for those of us new to Les Pauls! Awesome!
You can also tell a chibson apart from a gibson if you look at the serial markings at the back of the headstock, real gibsons' markings tend to be a shallow cut whereas the chibson ones have a deeper cut to them.
It should also be noted that if the indent at the top of the headstock appears crooked or lopsided, it's most likely a fake.
Chibson's tross rod cover also sometime come with 3 screws in them.
12:40 why are your D G strings bent like that? Whats the catch?
Oh yes, definitely caught. I hadn't noticed that when I recorded this!
Because Bigsby's have no business being on LP's.
So are these things worth the $1000+ difference?
I got one and yes after a few mods, they sound just as good
Great information that probably saved me from making a costly mistake. Thanks for posting!
Thanks
You know, I've been searching the TH-cam for a video about how to differentiate between fake and original fender. I wish if you can shoot a video about this cause in my country slot fender from different regions and manufacturers
Also if you look at the grey inlays because the companies precut the neck and the frets but turn to be to small so they would feel it with glue.
another great point.
Do you know if Gibson ever made a Les Paul with dot inlays in the neck rather than the trapezoid blocks?
+Roy Rivera Early Les Paul Studios had do inlays on ebony boards.
+LordMoloch What he said! LOL I think they may have called them a Custom Studio or something. They have the Shaw era pickups that all the kids are going crazy about. And by kids I mean graying and thinning hair older men. And by that I mean me. haha
Also note the position of the strap button on the neck end of the body. The Chinese always put it noticeably closer to the neck.
This is a fantastic video! Great and very detailed explanation! Fun game at the end too!
I've been thinking about getting a Les Paul ..this certainly helps Thanks !
I have a Les Paul that im trying to identify...it has a 5 digit serial like the one in this video, does anyone have any info on LP with this 5 digit number?
2014 gibsons also have frets that sit "on top" of the binding; I have a genuine Gibson LP Classic finished this way. I bought it used, and initially balked on this usually blatant tell, until I did a bit of research. Great video! The more people know these things, the fewer will be ripped off!
the neck binding issue and why they likely stopped having the binding cover the fret end is because when you replace the frets that binding has to be broken which will ruin the guitar's looks and feel if you have to break that binding to replace them. alternately with out covering the fret ends you can replace the frets with out screwing up that binding.
That last one, is the one where discussion begins among the class and the teacher gets pissed cause we saw some of the BS tip offs combined with some legit markers. Cool Video, thanks!
+Adrian Massi LOL thanks man!
Great show but the last one fooled me .Thanks for the very useful info.
Just wanted to ask if there are exceptions with the ser# being pressed in as a printed used instead I am from Canada and went to two pawn shops Two of the three were fake but the one had paper work and all that, but was a printed ser# for the Gib A Sun
A few other tell-tale signs of a Chibson that I have seen are PUPs, electronic cavity and the maple cap. All of these "giveaways" require you to loosen a few screws, but worth the trouble.
Chibson PUPs are stamped Epiphone on the back.
Chibson electronics cavity looks like it has been chiseled out rather than precision cut.
Chibson maple caps are a very thin veneer, as opposed to a thick cap. You'll notice this when inspecting the back of your PUPs.
Great additional points as well. Thanks man!
These days you see real caps on the Chibsons.
+EduardoVelezIII I know! It's crazy... although the flame tops seem to be all veneers again.
You just saved me an hour drive and a boat load of cash. The G was tilted wrong, no wings. Thank you!
lol...
A "fake Chibson"?!
Wouldn't _that_ be an *actual* Gibson?
John T. Campbell Nope. A Fibson is a knock off Chibson
John T. Campbell LOL.....
Fineese perhaps?
John T. Campbell
@David Wang Bad analogy.
One of my GIBSON Les Paul (I believe 59 2022) has tail piece looks like Chibson, Other one (Les Paul Classic Premium Plus 1997?) has closer tail piece.
Big thanks for great video~!
does this count with les pauls that are like 30-40 years old?
Probably pretty close... although the 70's ones did a lot of strange things.
Hey Nick. Thanks for sharing. That was a very informative video. I'm looking at 2nd hand GIbsons at the moment and that was very helpful. Cheers.
Thanks Nick! Very informative and helpful. Cheers, TC
The stop tail placement has to do with the headstock angle. Gibson's severe 17 degree angle is matched by a severe string angle over the bridge. Back during the Norlin years, Gibson switched to a less-severe 14 degree angle. Those guitars had the tailpiece moved back to lessen that string angle. Epiphones and these fakes have a less-severe angle too.
This makes a lot of sense. They also opened up the cutaway a bit, at least on the Deluxes for a few years. I think the Chibsons may have copied this as well!
Thank you for this very beautiful demonstration! :)
Any time Francis!
I spotted a Gibson Les Paul standard on Craigslist for a great price of 1000.00, I was suspicious.... I was not sure I could identify a fake, I was doing some research and came across your Video and watched taking notes... I went to look at the guitar, before taking it out of the case I found 2 problems, when I took it out of the case I found a 3rd problem. I put it back in the case and told the owner I will have to pass... Thanks so much for making this video....
The wood grain on 2 of the fakes including last one looks like it's printed. Done on furniture and doors more then you think has a 2D look to it but can be very relistic
I almost aced the quiz, but the last one got me. I didn't even take a guess on the last one, I honestly just had no clue. It simultaneously looked real and fake.
Got it today it was nice except closer inspection reviealed the the tail stop and bridge fixing posts pulled straight out of the holes 😟😳 apart from a few other minor issues it played and sounded fantastic, thanks for your reply!
Congrats man!
sakamuras s You sound like my wife! So the reason I THINK is that I have some that are investments that I play from time to time but live in their cases safe and sound most of the time. The others (fakes mostly) are out in my family room subject to the risks of my 2 and 4 year old hellions. They're pretty to look at and fun to play but not as much of a risk. The one I built was really just for personal enjoyment (and frustrations!) of going through the process to build a LP with great parts. My seconds Chibson was to spec one out in my favorite finish.
The real reason is probably more that I'm a little compulsive with collecting stuff and I've now focused solely on guitars! So different wood combinations, pickups, even colors all seem like MUST HAVE items. Chibsons offer instant-ish gratification while maintaining the ability to pay my mortgage. I'm rapidly approaching 30 total guitars. A little over half are investment pieces to at least tie some money up with while the others are more fun toys. Don't drink, smoke or do drugs any more so this is where the money goes now :)
You can also look on the back of the neck and see if the headstock is glued to the neck. Not all chi sons have that cut but it's something to look for
BullSpit i
a scarf joint
yeah. lol. scarf joint is correct. You can only see it if you neck has a natural finish. A good guitar is a good guitar, whether or not it's built in china or not. "who" built it matters more than "where" it was built :) just food for thought.
Nick in the States I Have 69 guitars..been stuck on 69 for awhile now. Most of my guitars are under 1000.00..but all are stage ready..some I don't play live because of collectability..(64 Fender Music Master) for example . But my one rule is..if I can't play it on stage , I don't buy it. I plan to stop at 70. Then if I want something else, I'd have to trade or sell one of the herd. I love guitars period. I do love rotating them around. I get inspired all over again everytime I open a case. I do have my workhorses , since I still tour in the Summer and locally on weekends during the off season. I have GAS but I don't care.
Does this apply to SG's ? Perhaps there is a video.
Guys can u guys look back on the quiz thing and tell me is it just me it does the round part by the pickup selection are different. Real one is more rounded then the chibson
Bingo! That's another give away... Although hard to see if it's not right next to a real deal one. The fakes are more square shouldered.
yes. it's kind of like the real one goes straight down and the chibson kind of points down towards the side.
Greetings Nick, I have a question for you? first off nice video .. but here it is.. you say you can spot a fake Gibson.. well I have one that is a limited edition one of a kind Les Paul since I have had it I have did many modifications.. First locking Grover gold plated tuners, next a tusq nut, I had the frets replaced in which they took off the fret nibs I changed the bridge to a Graphtech custom bridge and it came with the screw styled posts. I put a custom truss rod cover on it that they made a bit longer. the pickup guard is made a bit different, I replaced all the electronics in it as well as custom gold plated Dean Pickups that the rings are taller.. I changed the switch and jack and jack plate.. I used mojo tone pots vitamin T caps and its solder-less wiring.. Now how can you say that any guitar can be fake... This Guitar has been estimated by my insurance company worth over $6,000 easy. it has a raspberry color and cream binding so as i ask again how can you say any guitar is fake? what would you say if one came in and the neck had been replaced? Thank you for your time.... Natasha
Hello,, watching approximately 5 years later. My 2016 LP Trad has the fret nubs on it. This particular model was fashioned(sort of)after a 1958 standard. This is the year they went back to basics. I bought it in 2015 and never looked back. Gotta be the best Gibson Les Paul I've ever owned in a lot of years, that includes anything from the beginning. I've had 3 of them...a 1068 Deluxe gold top...1971 triple pick up(turned it into a Pater Frampton clone)and a 1976 Deluxe with the mini buckers in it. The '16 blows them all out of the water.
Very important nowadays, especially after the news few days ago
Very good video, I firmly believe I can spot a fake after this class you've put on. Thanks buddy
Thanks Johnny, happy to be of use!
Authenticity aside, how do those Chibsons sound and perform?
They're ok, but usually need a little bit of love (frets and pickups) to be actually great.
Great video.
The last one nearly got me... but I didn't like those frets or the angle on the 'G'.
I have a 2014 Sudio and it has no binding on the fretboard, so.... I mean according to all of the other info my Les Paul is not a chibson
+Feedback No it means you have a fantastic guitar! I was just focusing on standards here.
Good video. ALSO I've noticed when I bought my "Chibson" Les Paul Standard and somebody pointed this out that the angle of the headstock is slightly tilted back further than an American Gibson Les Paul. I bought a Chibson SG as well and noticed that the headstock looks a little longer at the top as well.
I knew nothing about Gibson or Chibson before watching this video... got them all right so now I'm an expert haha. thanks for the education
This is such a good video! I came upon it after looking at a guitar on Ebay here in the UK purporting to be a Gibson.After watching this video I can see that it fails on just about every single aspect that you've mentioned and is a complete fake.Thanks for posting !
Nice one Nick. I saw one the other day in a pawn shop, they thought they had a real Gibson Les Paul.
+TheZooman22 I saw a vintage gibson a few months ago that had a Japanesew body on an american neck. Sad.
Great vid! But I couldn’t really follow or see the headstock “wing” difference. What exactly do we look for there?
thank you so much man; this is now my pawn shop video
Great run down! Thanks!
Thanks a lot that was really informative I'm in the process of getting a chibson more for curiosity than anything else great video !
Good luck and let me know how it goes!
Thank you for posting this. Great information to get out there.
+Craig Fish Any time man!
Hi There: I'm looking to buy my first electric guitar and could seriously use some guidance. In the process of narrowing down my choices and listening to plenty of youtube demos, I stumbled across your video and have a few quick amateur questions for you:
1. Are the Chibson/Fibson's typically newer models, or are there a lot of "vintage" Chibson's hanging around haunts like eBay and Craigslist?
2. Do you find as many fake Lefties as Righties? I'm a lefty and currently looking for a vintage Gibson Les Paul Custom. My choices are so very limited and pricey that I would really really like to avoid a major purchasing fuck up. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Hey there Wendy! To answer your questions they have been around for quite a few years. The occasional one does pop up on CL or eBay. Often times they get taken down as listing them does violate the terms of service. There are 2 on eBay right now that I know of (righties) one for cheap money and the other for a way to high price.
As to righties vs lefties, I've definitely seen a bunch of lefties out there. Depending on the seller they'll custom build one. Which is pretty sweet!
Ok here's where I get on my soap box though... these things take a bit of work to make right. My advice would be to buy an Agile (if you like LP styles) or a Squier Classic or Vintage modified series (if you like Fender). Both are well put together guitars that sound quite nice out of the box. Chibsons are like old Italian cars... they can be gorgeous and fun, but they're best enjoyed with a suitable, more reliable car in reserve for a backup. Epiphones are great too! They just bore me personally.
Nick in the States Thanks for your response, Nick and I appreciate all of the advice. I've come to a similar decision over the past few days and decided to buy new and not from Evilbay; rather from a large retailer not far from my locale. They have an extensive range sound and budget wise. I'm confident I can find something to please me: I have a really acute ear for sound, so I'm picky as hell... It won't be an Epiphone and I have nothing against them, just not my vibe either. Thanks again.
Fantastic! Good luck in your search... or rather I hope it doesn't take too long for your guitar to find you!
I might but a Gibson Les Paul Trad Pro II, and I wanna know if it's real or fake because I can get it for a pretty good price and it seems a bit iffy
Hi there nick..thanks for the video, i can be extra careful when buying gibson..but i dont understand about the wing you showing at the headstock..can you explain a bit?. :)
I like the quz idea but you're not showing us the backs of the guitars?
Nicely done Nick. A good lesson on what to look for.
+Robert L Desrochers Thanks Robert!
thanks for the video, I'm looking into buying a Les Paul and this will really help
fiction is reality Happy to be of assistance! Good luck!
Do yourself a favor and buy a chibson.
Very informative video on the subject. I knew most, but not all of those. On the other hand, my 78 Greco (Japan) meets all 6 of the criteria for a real Les Paul, except that the Headstock (pre-lawsuit) says Greco. It even has the wings. If not for the "Greco", you'd have to pull out the pickups to see the laminated top. Now the Chibson I just ordered has the slotted bridge poles, but it does have the correct tailpiece position.
Man those late 70s Grecos are awesome. I just missed out on one a couple of weeks ago. Kicking myself for not buying it sooner! The Chibsons are getting better but they're actually making the shape play little off on purpose to save from lawsuits in China proper. Good to hear they've fixed the tailpiece location. Helps if you ever put a Vibramate and Bigsby on it. Let me know how your Chibson comes out!
+Nick in the States There is a seller from Japan who has a few 70's through 80's Grecos on Ebay. Seems to me however, that the language barrier is even thicker there, compared to many Chinese sellers, unfortunately. I actually found mine here locally while I was looking for an Orville by Gibson.
I believe the seller you're speaking of is the one I was watching. Always around $600 shipped. I was hunting for a 3 pickup black beauty and they had one with some nice honest wear on it. Should have grabbed it but funds were tight at that time. So instead I bought a real 70's Gibson for way too much money because I obviously have issues lol.
+Nick in the States Well, the shipping was actually pretty fast, but unfortunately they delivered my Les Paul Supreme to somebody in Visalia California. I was ecstatic to see that it had cleared customs in only one day....only to be shipped to the wrong address, which is 2000 miles away from me! Dispute in progress....
Thanks for the knowledge... also, the dot of the "i" in the gibson logo can be off at times (not in the right place) . Another thing to note is the angle of the headstock ; a real gibson tends to be angled more whilst a fake will not be. Visually it's acutally a big difference. Another note is i've seen a lot of fakes with 3 screws in the truss rod cover, instead of 2 , as well as the wrong truss rod cover / engraving for that model guitar. By the way, nice collection of gibbies man!!
All great suggestions. Thanks man!
Do Gibson spray paint there head stocks?
I'm not really seeing the fret end difference in the pics...
Thanks man you saved a lot of folks from being burned 👍🏻💪🏻
Happy to be of service!
great points! Fantastic actually! There first thing i would check is the truss rod ...that's the deal breaker!
Sam Patterson It's one of the fastest ways for sure. Although I did see a knockoff the other day with a Gibson style one. I was surprised!