those chinese gibsons....

[kirky]

thinking about getting an sg and fixing it up....anybody have one?

[mawso]

I played one not long ago.. it was basically worthless.. the frets weren't properly dressed, half assed job on the finish.. there was something wrong with the electronics so that the signal kept cutting out.. and it was just sonically dead despite weighing a ton

oh wait, you said chinese Gibson.  Carry on.

[Fuhgawz]

Don't buy fake stuff man. The market is flooded with fakes already and you really don't want to encourage those assholes. Also, you wouldn't be able to sell it for a decent price if you ever have the money for an actual Gibson and you can't test it so you really don't know what quality it will be untill it arrives. You'd be better off just going to a store and buying the best playing Epiphone you can find there. You can always upgrade the tuners, nut, pickups, electronics on the Epiphone and you'd have a way better guitar than any fake Chinese Gibsun ever could be. Also, you look like a douchebag on stage if you have a fake Gibson. Lots of guitar players will be able to tell the difference and people that don't play guitar really don't care if it says Gibson on your headstock or not.

EDIT: there seems to be some misunderstanding. This post is about knock-off guitars that say "Gibson" on the headstock and look like SGs or LPs, but are actually cheaply fabricated peaces of shit that are made in China. This post is NOT about Burny, Edwards, Tokai, etc.

[kirky]

I played one not long ago.. it was basically worthless.. the frets weren't properly dressed, half assed job on the finish.. there was something wrong with the electronics so that the signal kept cutting out.. and it was just sonically dead despite weighing a ton

oh wait, you said chinese Gibson.  Carry on.

exactly 

[EddieMullet]

The Epiphones are made in China now and are crappy now too.

But if you find one of the older Korean made Epiphone SGs those are pretty decent, you may have to change the machine heads to make it stay in tune but other that that they can be found for a reasonable price rather easily.

[VOLVO)))]

They're hit or miss. I've refurbed some kickass ones, and couldn't save a few. Get one from one of the "bigger" sellers, and the quality control is pretty decent. I'm probably gonna buy one of the creme SG's with three pickupzz...


or buy one of these bastards, and take that fucking headstock the a band saw to make it less ugly as fuck.

http://www.guitarfetish.com/XV-300-Double-Cutaway-Guitar-Solid-Mahogany-Arctic-White_p_2214.html

[Burdt]

My mate ordered a les paul standard (with seymour duncans) from edwards (who i believe actually got sued for using the exact same parts and specs) and man, it was an absolute beauty. Every edwards review i've seen seems to agree that the quality control is as good (if not better) than gibson's. Now, that may ruffle a few feathers but i've played some stock gibsons that have been a little bit shoddy, and i've only played the one edwards but it's still one of the finest guitars i've played (which isn't a great number, admittedly)

Aside from being japanese, rather than chinese, i'd say this is what you're looking for. They're not cheap, but they're certainly not gibson prices.

And about "encouraging" the manufacturers, have you seen the price of a gibson jimmy page signature guitar? Fuck encouraging that, ha ha.

[VOLVO)))]

Ruffling feathers because you're downing GIBSON? Fuck that, buddy. Gibson is a giant money/cum guzzling corporation that stopped putting out guitars for players LONG ago. I can't tell you how many stock Gibsons I've upgraded for my friends, and customers. "OH these tuners!" It's like the stopped rolling the frets at the factory YEARS ago. The finishes eat dick, the quality eats dick, everything fucking SUCKS. FUCK Gibson, more power to the Chinese for not having their heads in their asses when it comes to pricing.

I can buy the 3200 LP from Gibson, and do the same upgrades and work I'd be doing to the 286 dollar Chinese made guitar. Fuck that. I'd piss on a Gibson if it were on fire, but only after it burned for a while, because it'd be an improvement on the finishes they're putting out now.

[VOLVO)))]

Don't buy fake stuff man. The market is flooded with fakes already and you really don't want to encourage those assholes. Also, you wouldn't be able to sell it for a decent price if you ever have the money for an actual Gibson and you can't test it so you really don't know what quality it will be untill it arrives. You'd be better off just going to a store and buying the best playing Epiphone you can find there. You can always upgrade the tuners, nut, pickups, electronics on the Epiphone and you'd have a way better guitar than any fake Chinese Gibsun ever could be. Also, you look like a douchebag on stage if you have a fake Gibson. Lots of guitar players will be able to tell the difference and people that don't play guitar really don't care if it says Gibson on your headstock or not.

Would you rather encourage Gibson to continually gouge prices for substandard product? If I'm buying a Chinese guitar, and upgrading it, it's for me. I wouldn't be selling the thing for "profit." Since when does anyone here care about resale value? We all play at least one piece of Peavey equipment. I put black electrical tape over every logo on every guitar I've ever owned. Lots of guitar players can suck my balls, if they wanna be butthurt that I joined their "exclusive Gibson club" with a knockoff. Someone call Univox/Burny/Edwards/etc and tell them all of their knockoffs are off the list of "cool guitars," because all the people that play them are douchebags.

[Ranbat]

 The only time I really care about resale value is when I'm buying to resell. I will buy pretty much anything if I can turn it for a profit. As far as personal gear though, I really don't care about resale, but I do care about getting fucked. Gibson falls into that category nowdays. I wish I still had the link, but when Henry Juszkiewicz became CEO, he plainly stated that he thought Gibson was selling their stuff too cheap. He laid out his plan to raise prices to increase the perceived value of Gibson guitars. Meaning he just wanted to sell the brand. Gibson has also earned themselves the honor of worst places to work several times.
  All that said, I still wouldn't buy one of those Chinese copys. The only reason anybody buys those is because they say Gibson on the headstock. You're still promoting the brand. Buy an Agile or Xaviere. No, they're not exact copies, but I think they're probably a better starting point than the Chinese Gibson. They have decent hardware and pickups and you can upgrade as funds become available.

[NoSleepTilSleep]

....or, just throwing it out there, instead of dropping $300 on a Chinese Les Plywood and then another $300 upgrading it etc. save up a bit more cash and get yourself gibson styled "whatever the hell shape you want" custom from one of the literally hundreds of small builders in the States and Canada, in most cases hovering around $1000 (you're 2/3rds there already)

http://www.sombrabella.com/lowelguitars/past.html

From the above link, I've got that red SG, I'd put it toe-to-toe with any CS Gibson, I got it for $800

http://london.kijiji.ca/c-buy-and-sell-musical-instruments-guitars-custom-guitars-for-sale-W0QQAdIdZ220162312

From my hometown... look at that fucking lester... cheap as hell to boot

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j307/ajcoholic/guits/ACguitarcollection.jpg

A buddy of mine, you could definitely get a basic SG-esque guitar for under a grand

Not trying to preach but, if you dig a bit, put it in a bit more coin, you could get yourself a guitar built by an actual human to your specs from somewhere in North America, and the cash won't be going to some fucking corporate conglomerate... I don't even think SunnO))) will argue with me about that one.

[VOLVO)))]

SunnO))) is also a fledgling guitar builder, and cabinet maker.

I just understand not having any money to get the equipment you want, and understand that finding cheaper alternatives is ALWAYS an option.

It's cheap for me to buy anything and upgrade it because I can do all of the work, in my sleep. Plus, I have a pretty extensive parts stash, anymore.

Guitar is supposed to be hands on, in my eyes. Every aspect of it, playing as well as learning the instrument itself. I know that doesn't bode well for me as a businessman, in the guitar repair/building world, but it extends further than making a buck. I'd rather teach kids what to do, and have them never come back to me, but leave with a valuable and lasting lesson.

I'm also a huge proponent of doing shit right the first time. That's why you'll see me getting testy with Hemi, from time to time (about painting, or whatever.) If you want quality work, it takes some time. If you want it done right, you gotta find out the proper ways to do things.

All of that being said, I have a hard time giving a grand to anybody for anything. Typically, for a thousand dollars, I can teach myself how to do something, buy the basic tools, and end up with a pretty damn decent end product. I guess everyone isn't me, though...

[Metal and Beer]

LOL @ Mawso's post, nice work, definitely did a spit-take there!

The counterfeit/forgeries from China are garbage, you'd likely be putting good parts on the absolute cheapest wood available, almost certainly not adequate for a guitar. File these pieces of shit along with the fake "Gucci" handbags made from polyester, bootleg "brand" electronics knockoffs, fake Harley parts, etc. in the scam pile, these things aren't intended to compete with their real counterparts, they're made to rip people off, and the counterfeit goods market from China to US and others rakes in hundreds of millions a year. I'd imagine there are legitimate Chinese guitar manufacturers making stuff to compete in the U.S./western market and those may well be anywhere from bunk to great quality-wise; I'm just referring to the glut o' fakes. Also, I'm not sticking up for Gibson at all, they can fuck straight off with their bullshit and them getting seared a little is funny; Sunn0)) 'splained it pretty good...
   

[xander face]

all points about the terrible quality of the chinese copies are accurate

so are the ones about companies like Burny and Tokai being awesome

i duno about all the Gibson hate -- i see about 10 new Gibson guitars a month and most of them are pretty much totally kick-ass.  most of them need a few tweaks here or there, adjust the bridge and tailpiece or whatever, but then they're awesome.   they definitely charge a premium for the headstock logo but i don't begrudge them much for it...everybody in the world knows and recognizes Gibsons as quality guitars so they're in demand.

frankly i don't have time to buy a bunch of lumber, clamps, saws and crap to get started making a guitar...and i don't wana buy the cheap bargain basement import guitars because i don't think they sound or feel any good, even after you put new pickups in them and dial everything in.

i got my SG for like $500 and didn't need to modify a thing once i put the strings I like on it...put aside $20 a month for a year and i bought a Les Paul...had my store's Gibson-certified tech dial it in and it's good one of the best guitars i've ever played.

so i mean i duno.  if you can build guitars better than Gibsons for less then that's awesome and i would love to play one...but i still love my Les Paul haha

[Fuhgawz]

Don't buy fake stuff man. The market is flooded with fakes already and you really don't want to encourage those assholes. Also, you wouldn't be able to sell it for a decent price if you ever have the money for an actual Gibson and you can't test it so you really don't know what quality it will be untill it arrives. You'd be better off just going to a store and buying the best playing Epiphone you can find there. You can always upgrade the tuners, nut, pickups, electronics on the Epiphone and you'd have a way better guitar than any fake Chinese Gibsun ever could be. Also, you look like a douchebag on stage if you have a fake Gibson. Lots of guitar players will be able to tell the difference and people that don't play guitar really don't care if it says Gibson on your headstock or not.

Would you rather encourage Gibson to continually gouge prices for substandard product? If I'm buying a Chinese guitar, and upgrading it, it's for me. I wouldn't be selling the thing for "profit." Since when does anyone here care about resale value? We all play at least one piece of Peavey equipment. I put black electrical tape over every logo on every guitar I've ever owned. Lots of guitar players can suck my balls, if they wanna be butthurt that I joined their "exclusive Gibson club" with a knockoff. Someone call Univox/Burny/Edwards/etc and tell them all of their knockoffs are off the list of "cool guitars," because all the people that play them are douchebags.

I don't think you quite understand. This is not about Burny or Tokai guitars. I have nothing at all against those brands. It is about cheap Chinese made knock-off guitars that say "Gibson" on the headstock, but aren't actually made by Gibson. At least, that is what I think the topic starter means when he says "those chinese gibsons...".

[xander face]

i forgot about the resale value argument:

i didn't intend to sell any of the gear that i've sold...i had to cuz the chips were down and the rent was due.

i sleep a lot easier knowing that if my life slips out of control again, that Les Paul i saved a year to get is still worth the money i saved for that year.  i could easily get what i paid for it and could possibly get a bit more.

if you buy a used Epiphone for $300, put $200 worth of parts on it and spend a few hours putting it all together, you've got a $500 investment.  Ever see a modded Epiphone on Craig's List?  They're lucky if they sell for $250...half of your investment.

same goes for those hand-built awesome guitars by some guy in a shed nobody's ever heard of.  You have it built to your dream specs in your favorite color and everything, then if it doesn't grow on you, or shit fucks up and you're desperate for cash, you're gona sell it at a huge loss.  i built a custom warmoth when i was in high school, $700 project that i barely recovered $250 on when i parted it out and sold it cuz the tone wasn't right.

my SG is a rare color and the last one I saw online sold for $200 more than I paid for mine...my Les Paul is old and the last one from the same year i saw sold for $1000 more than mine...i'm not landing a record deal any time soon but i could make $1000 for playing that guitar in my bedroom and at small jams for a year!

not tryin to start any contention, i just think there are valid reasons to own nice things.  Gibson fills stores with good guitars that you can actually sit down and try out and see if you like before you pay for...that's worth a small premium right there.  You have no idea what your custom-made awesomecaster is gona sound like until the paint is dry and it's strung up and plugged in...and if the tone and feel ain't there, it's a wasted investment.

at least with Gibson you can try a bunch of guitars and decide if they're a wasted investment without dropping a dime.

i duno i'm just ranting.  i see the weird QC issues from them too (the finish streaks and bad nuts and crap) but i don't think it's worth the raging rants to discredit them.

[Jake]

i got my SG for like $500 and didn't need to modify a thing once i put the strings I like on it...put aside $20 a month for a year and i bought a Les Paul...had my store's Gibson-certified tech dial it in and it's good one of the best guitars i've ever played.

so i mean i duno.  if you can build guitars better than Gibsons for less then that's awesome and i would love to play one...but i still love my Les Paul haha

You got a Les Paul for $240? That's about what I'd pay for a new one.

[Jor el]

I have Ed Roman build all my guitars.

[Jake]

[Jake]

 

[VOLVO)))]

Is it black? Send it to me plz.

[Jor el]

This thread makes me sad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[NoSleepTilSleep]

Well Jake, touche for making me sound like a total teabagger..... I guess the thread veered that way, totally not my intention though.

[VOLVO)))]

Well Jake, touche for making me sound like a total teabagger..... I guess the thread veered that way, totally not my intention though.

DONT TREAD ON ME

[Jake]