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First Post: School me on headstocks!

satchaholic

New member
Joined
Dec 31, 2018
Messages
1
Hi all,
New to forum and first time posting. I'm an amateur guitar gear collector, and had my eye on an LP Standard that really just didn't seem right to me. I finally worked up the nerve to contact the seller, and he disclosed it was made in China. The guitar itself has some red flags, but I'm looking to get educated on what things to look for to definitively determine difference between a fake and a real Gibson.

More specifically, I learned about the 3-screw trussrod cover, lack of actual inlayed MOP, black pickup cavities and some other features, but one thing I was wondering and was unable to find info about was the different decals/logos used on the different headstocks, specifically Les Pauls. The one I'm linking to below has (what I now have learned is called) the "crown" inlay, but this seems odd for a Les Paul. Also the script on the trussrod cover saying both "Les Paul" and "Standard" together doesn't look right. The binding on the headstock looks inconsistent all the way around (could just be the pic), and the word "Gibson" looks "blocky" in some areas.

All things considered, I found myself not really knowing 100% if it's real or not.

Can you educate me on this guitar, and fake "features" in general?

Ebay item link (not affiliated in any way): https://www.ebay.com/itm/2000-Gibso...rentrq:02188ed31680aaa3251a821afff0a8ca|iid:1
 

brandtkronholm

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 3, 2006
Messages
2,748
The blue guitar in the EBay link is also a Chinese copy.

There are too many “tells” to thoroughly list.
 

Zentar

New member
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
830
For the same money buy a used Gibson LP Studio model. It was made in the same factory in Nashville that the famed Gibson LP Standards were made in.

That looks like a nice guitar for an amateur but what if it has a buzzy fretboard or won't stay in tune? What if the humbuckers sound cheap?

No one here can say if that guitar is of good quality. Usually the Chinese copies in that price range are decent guitars. I own two Chinese guitars like that one but I put on new machine heads and Seymore Duncan humbuckers to get it to a quality I liked. That wasn't cheap.
 
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