Are there any luthiers in the US that can build perfect replicas of the originals?

[mbengs1]

If i could i might just make my own guitars. imagine, any gibson, fender, music man u name it. anything u want. i woudnt sell them though. or is that illegal?

[Grant Harding]

I doubt you'll find a great luthier that's willing to create a counterfeit with another makers logo on it. Going to court is never fun unless you're getting paid to be there.

 

If you made a "replica" 57 Les Paul and sold it you'd be breaking the law in most places I think.

[Grant Harding]

As long as you can live without the logo then the options are vast.

[mistersully]

why on earth you'd want a guitar with a gibson/fender/etc logo, that isn't made by them, is beyond me

[mbengs1]

why on earth you'd want a guitar with a gibson/fender/etc logo, that isn't made by them, is beyond me

 

coz where i'm from there's a company that can do it. but i won't do that though.

[1001gear]

In China as long as the forger registers the original trademark as his, he can use it.

[Emory]

A good luthier is an artist, and would want to put their own imprint on what they pour their time and talent into. To make a "perfect copy" is like someone who can do note perfect Hotel California.... yeah, but why and so what? What is your voice, what do you bring to the mix? Perfect copies are for Xerox....

[billybilly]

why on earth you'd want a guitar with a gibson/fender/etc logo, that isn't made by them, is beyond me

 

Word.

[Bucksstudent]

Mbengs, you're like a mythical beast, and your threads are like rising tides threatening to grow into a storm.

 

There's something special about a custom made guitar. It would be a shame to spoil something potentially better than a mass market guitar with a Gibson or Fender logo.

[Freeman Keller]

In most cases a luthier built instrument, whether a copy of something or not, will cost you significantly more that a factory built guitar. Remember that most of the time we are doing it by hand or with minimum tooling where a factory is highly automated, buys large quantities of materials at prices much lower than I can, and in cases where they a located outside the US often pay lower wages.

[1001gear]

Forgery sux period. I don't even like people imitating my lix. That said, MFing specs are easy to get or determine and well within the reach of forgers. What you wont get - even with high quality material is the informed selection and matching and certainly not the subtleties of craftsmanship that go into a fine instrument.

[Grant Harding]

 

coz where i'm from there's a company that can do it. but i won't do that though.

There's always someone willing to do something unscrupulous. They're just the bottom feeders - the scum comes from the ones that buy them and fuel the demand.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

Buckie, his thread count and content has not gone unnoticed by me, however as yet he hasn't really broken any rules apart from being as relevant as last years weather reports, not a lot to do.

[Ratae Corieltauvorum]

I'm going to lock this thread, it isn't really what this forum is for