I’ve seen Les Pauls with maple necks hidden under solid colour finishes that have been made from four or five jointed pieces of timber. I’ve seen Gibsons with headstocks jointed just like the fake one above. The joint isn’t quite so obvious down at the heel-end but it is there.įurther confusing things on this jointed-neck issue is the fact that Gibson’s history is sometimes a murky, foggy place. These headstock ‘ears’ are normal and not a sign of a counterfeit Gibson. One thing to note (which confuses things very slightly) is that genuine Gibsons usually have the left and right edges of the headstock glued on from a separate piece of timber (you can just see this in the image on the right). The joint between the two different pieces of wood is obvious. Therefore, they tend to cut their necks from smaller billets and then glue additional wood to them to make up whatever’s missing.Ībove, you can see that the fake Les Paul on the left has had its angled headstock scarfed on. There’s lots of wood left over that’s of limited use. The problem for the fakers is that making necks this way is a very wasteful practice. While this practice contributes to the dozens of Gibsons I get through my workshop every year with broken headstocks, it’s also a big part of the Gibson ethos. The majority of (although by no means all) Les Pauls have a neck that is cut from a single billet of mahogany. The fake Gibson image is on the left and the genuine Gibson on the right unless stated. It does mean the article is a little long however. As I had the dubious fortune to have a Chinese Les Paul copy through my workshop recently, I thought I’d take the opportunity to get a few photographs of the fake and compare to similar photos of a genuine Les Paul.Īlong the way, I’ve explained a little about what you’re seeing – I think understanding the reasoning behind the design choices of the counterfeiters can only help you in spotting a fake. That information is – I think – a little out of date now and could also do with some ‘topping-up’. So, to try arm potential buyers, I’m supplementing the information (originally released by Gibson, I believe) that was mentioned in the previous article.
My main concern is for those who don’t know they’re buying a phony Gibson. If you want to buy what you know is a fake Les Paul, while Gibson (quite rightly) won’t approve, go right ahead – you pays your money and takes your chances. While these instruments aren’t the worst in the world, I’d hate to think of someone being fooled. These guitars are pretty readily available on the net from Chinese wholesale sites. For a while now, there seems to have been a bit of a glut of fake Gibsons coming from the Far East – mostly China. A little while back, we posted an article with some information to help you spot a counterfeit Gibson guitar.