[Andy S]

Folks, I just read some stuff on another site I frequent and found this on Shure's web site about bootleg mics. This link has some of the details.

Shure - 2006 Press Releases

If you're looking at buying Shure SM58 or SM57 mics on Ebay, and the price is REALLY low or they are both Low and being shipped from China, Stop and think of the old adage, "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!!"

Also, I was visiting a friend's Music store today and he was informed by a couple of his vendors that there has been a BIG increase in attempts to make Gibson Les Pauls in China and sold on Ebay. They are cosmetically very good but wiring and the actual pups are not so hot. And I think it was either AKG or Audio Technika that were also being copied.

A few months ago Ibanez made an announcement about their guitars being copied and sold on auction sites.

This is crazy! The manufacturers are having the stuff officially made there, but then the bootleg stuff comes out and it LOOKS ok but plays poorly.

My son is big into sports shoes (Nike, Adidas, Brooks, etc). Last year he bought a pair of shoes on-line and once we got them they were easily seen to be fakes. The soles didn't match the photos posted during the auction. Fortunately, the guy refunded the money. But we then found an article on Nike's' site explaining that some of the Chinese employees will "borrow" the sole molds and other cut out patterns for a few nights, then return them after the bootleg versions of the patterns are made. Then the bootleggers will make a hundred pairs of that shoe from another location.

It sounds like this same thing is happening to the musical industry.

So, be careful what you think you are buying.

[eXperiment63]

Old news my friend.

I must admit though... I was VERY close to buying a bootleg Gibson. It was absolutely beautiful. Also, it would have been obvious it was fake(the inlays were not Gibson at all, they were the vine of life). I wasn't going to try and sell it as a Gibson. I just wanted to buy it because it looked absolutely amazing.

EDIT: here is what the guitar looks like, just so you have an idea.



You can tell it isn't really a Gibson... But I'll be damned if that isn't one pretty guitar

(For the mods: I hosted the pictures away from the site that sells the guitar, as to not advertise a counter-fitter.)

[Andy S]

Originally Posted by eXperiment63

Old news my friend.

I must admit though... I was VERY close to buying a bootleg Gibson. It was absolutely beautiful. Also, it would have been obvious it was fake(the inlays were not Gibson at all, they were the vine of life). I wasn't going to try and sell it as a Gibson. I just wanted to buy it because it looked absolutely amazing.

That's what is making it NOT so old. The first wave of bootleg Gibsons had discrepencies like that. The newest batch are,according to the vendor rep, nearly perfect cosmetically.

And Shure's USA site has the news release from November of this year. I hadn't seen anything here on or the other site so.....old or not, for those not aware of it, buyer beware.

I would just hate to see someone buy something, perhaps as a gift for someone, thinking they were getting the original thing for a great price, then find out it's a fraud. That would be a major Bummer!

[eXperiment63]

Oh the vendor you could get that 'Gibson' from has perfect looking Gibsons.

As long as prices are high for something, there will always be cheap imitations. Indeed, buyers should beware of where they buy their items.

Just a tip for those of you looking for a cheap SM 58 alternative; Behringer puts out the XM8500, which is nearly a PERFECT clone of the SM 58. It will only set you back $20.

[Andy S]

Originally Posted by eXperiment63

Oh the vendor you could get that 'Gibson' from has perfect looking Gibsons.

"The newest batch are,according to the vendor rep, nearly perfect cosmetically." hhmmm...I think I worded that wrong, heh heh. I meant the clones were so good that cosmetically they were fooling even the Gibson/Epiphone reps. Yeh....perfect Gibsons?? hmmm....

As long as prices are high for something, there will always be cheap imitations. Indeed, buyers should beware of where they buy their items.

That's true. Some of the prices for stuff made in the USA are WAY out of line.

Just a tip for those of you looking for a cheap SM 58 alternative; Behringer puts out the XM8500, which is nearly a PERFECT clone of the SM 58. It will only set you back $20.

Well, I've tried some of the clones. They look pretty good. But there seems to be a question on the durability and the sonic abilities of a clone v.s. a real SM58. But even Shure's own SM-48 for $49.00 US is a decent mic for starters. So one doesn't have to pay top dollar for gear if they are just starting out.

So, yeh, even the Behringer, if you are looking for a starting point, can be a good deal.

Oh, yeh, That guitar is a nice looking thing. But I don't believe Gibson ever used a tail piece like that on a Les Paul. That would be a starting point for non-authentic stuff. Now, if it was sold as a used LP that's been personalized, who knows. Vine-of-life inlays, that tail piece, it is definitely interesting, but definitely not a stock Gibson.

[MCH]

My take on the fake Gibsons (or facsimiles) and others is that it is surprising how good they are. They can sound and play very well. I've played real expensive guitars in the stores and couldn't feel or hear the difference that would justify the huge difference in price.
Most times the difference was in setup. Cheaper guitars needed a setup, while the more expensive ones most likely had it already done.
just my take

[Stratrat]

The counterfeiters are getting very sophisticated, to the point that even experts sometimes have a hard time telling them from the real thing. The online auction sites have become riddled with them, to the point that I'd never buy from one of those sites if I wasn't 100% sure of exactly what I was getting. They're preying upon the people who want a genuine LP, Strat, Tele, etc., but don't want to pay what the stores want for them (especially for "vintage" models.)

Somebody on eBay recently posted what he purported to be a "Fender Custom Shop Telecaster", and it was one of the worst fakes I've seen - the "Custom Shop" badge on the back of the headstock looked like it was cut out from a pick by a 5-year old with dull scissors, and beneath it you could see where the (probably MIM) serial number and country of manufacture had been sanded off. The neck pocket stampings were very poorly done and there were a few other inconsistencies that made it easy to tell that it was a poorly-done fake. OTOH, there have been a few others posted that looked authentic down to almost the tiniest detail - only a true expert/connoisseur (which I am not) would be able to tell the difference.

I have no problem with "copies" or "clones" as long as they're appropriately branded/labeled and sold as such, but selling them as authentic Gibsons, Fenders, etc. is unspeakably criminal.