So it seems like some clown, or a bunch of clowns, in China are attempting, rather badly at that, to manufacture counterfeit Gibson guitars to flood the market. Not to say that there is absolutely no domestic reproduction issues here in North America, but this story really got my attention! After researching this for a short while, I found out that this story is actually quite old.

NOTE: To tell you the truth, I just ran upstairs to make sure my vintage Gibson RD-Artist was really what I thought I got when I bought it from Steve’s Music in Toronto way back in 1979! It’s ok … it’s the real Macoy!!!

My father and I were on the phone, we talk around 3-4 times a week, the other night and he told me to hold on because he had cut out this article in the Brantford Expositor that he wanted to tell me about. While he left the phone to find it, I got on line and found the story. The story was called Be wary of fake Gibsons, police say.

The knockoffs are being sold for $1,200, while an authentic Gibson sells for about $2,500. People purchasing the knockoffs believe they are getting a good deal when in fact, the knockoffs are worth only about $200, he added.
Police have checked and learned that LA Music of Brantford, 139 Charing Cross St., is the only registered dealer for Gibson guitars in the Brantford area. Brantford Expositor

As the story goes, this man goes to some Chinese website, orders a fake Gibson Les Paul and sells it to a kid as the real deal. Thank God that his father is a guitarist and happened to own one when he was a young inspired musician just like his son is now. After bringing both the boy and his new dream guitar home, the boy’s father felt that something was wrong with this guitar, a gut feeling he had about it. So he went online to find telltale signs for knock off Gibson and sure enough they had been taken! Those bastards!

So has anyone out there had the misfortune of purchasing one of these genuine imitation Gibsons?!

Keep on Jammin’