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TRadetang? Gibsons made in China...


RKO

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This site advertises here. The banner was at the top of this forum. I have too many questions to list.


 

 

I have to admit to being curious about them myself.

 

It's no secret Rondo Music has been selling outstanding Strat and Gibson LP copies for years. I owned one of the Strat copies, the neck and body were excellent. Most people change out the hardware and electronics, but that is done to MIA gits too.

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I have to admit to being curious about them myself.


It's no secret Rondo Music has been selling outstanding Strat and Gibson LP copies for years. I owned one of the Strat copies, the neck and body were excellent. Most people change out the hardware and electronics, but that is done to MIA gits too.

 

 

I don't think Rondo ever put the word "gibson" or "Fender" on the headstock. The models they sell are also very visibly different from Gibbies and Fenders. I think the scores of law suits filed by the companies for the most part insured that only they could make their guitars.

 

I was surprised at seeing the ad on the banner of this forum.

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I don't recall any significant differences between the Chinese strat and my MIM Strat.

 

 

Well, I'm not a Rondo historian, so I could be wrong. Were they were selling counterfeit Gibsons and Fenders?

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I have an Agile LP copy from Rondo. But I doubt anybody would mistake it for a gibson. The link I posted sells "Gibsons" made in China. Pretty sure gibson frowns on that...

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I have an Agile LP copy from Rondo. But I doubt anybody would mistake it for a gibson. The link I posted sells "Gibsons" made in China. Pretty sure gibson frowns on that...

 

 

So Gibson's lawyer will send them a "Cease and Desist" and they'll start calling them Gibsung.

 

You're right, no argument about the name. I guess my point was copying is rampant, nothing from software to musical instruments is safe. Maybe they're a good copy.

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So Gibson's lawyer will send them a "Cease and Desist" and they'll start calling them Gibsung.


You're right, no argument about the name. I guess my point was copying is rampant, nothing from software to musical instruments is safe. Maybe they're a good copy.

 

 

Gibsung:lol:

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Someone else posted a link to Tradetang a couple of weeks ago. I did some Googling and came up with a page from some legal/scam forum that was full of all kinds of horror stories. It sounds like there are basically two possible outcomes: either you get what you pay for---a cheap, Chinese knock-off that may or may not work---or you don't get anything at all and since the companies are based in China and have no legitimate presence in the US, there's no legal recourse available.

 

In short, steer clear :eek:!

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Wang Dang Sweet Tradetang!
:)

But they're made in Quindao.
That's a pretty humid Asian climate. I'd be concerned about the wood cracking here in the USA unless they're made in a humidity controlled environment. Wasn't there a thread about that recently?

 

I seem to recall there was a discussion about gits built in Asian humidity in the thread entitled "A Visit to a Vietnamese Guitar Factory." A fascinating thread indeed.

 

I think the humidity discussion occurred in the later pages of the thread. Here's a link if ya want to peruse it:

A Visit to a Vietnamese Guitar Factory

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Wang Dang Sweet Tradetang!
:)

But they're made in Quindao. That's a pretty humid Asian climate. I'd be concerned about the wood cracking here in the USA unless they're made in a humidity controlled environment. Wasn't there a thread about that recently?

 

Yes. One should not buy a counterfeit guitar, unless it was manufactured

in a humidity-controlled environment.

 

World experts agree, these guitars crack, warp, fall apart & disintegrate into

a pile of saw dust shortly after arriving in the United States.

 

One performer had his counterfeit guitar explode on stage. The BATF

investigators concluded that it was a guitar that was manufactured

in a facility that did not have computerized climate controls.

 

Thank God the band was on break at the time. He might have gotten hurt.

 

BTW, I'm starting a youtube channel on Vietnamese guitars.

And with every review, I'll read an email from a concerned citizen

about the danger of playing guitars that were manufactured in

a facility that did not have state-of-the-art humidity control.

 

There are some real horror stories out there.

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If you go to the big box store and buy a Les Paul copy that is made in china with a price tag that says "Les Paul", I guarantee no one will bat an eye. That's because the headstock says Epiphone. They consider it NOT a counterfeit Les Paul.

If you buy one from this site, it is considered counterfeit. Trouble is: it is likely to have come from the same factory that made the Epiphone. I haven't bought one... yet... but as best I can tell, the general consensus from the vids and website lead me to believe these ARE epiphones. They have the same angle on the headstock (14) as the Epis - not 17 like the USA ones. Most people in the know with china knockoffs said they are all using the same korean made pickups found in the Epis. As for fit, finish, fretwork... its not like Epis are known for good quality control. Its pot luck. These are player guitars - not collectors.

 

Well, I think that is great! Because I can go to the big box store and buy a nice Epiphone for $400-600 and I'd be stuck with the lousy Epi tuners and mediocre pickups. OR I can take a chance on one of these. I think I like the idea of taking a chance. If at least the base is good, I can pick one up for $200, spend $300 on a new tonepro, grovers and dimarzios. I can get the fret dress and nut cut free... I will come in at about the same price as the Epiphone, but wind up with a MUCH nicer guitar. May even cost less if I can sell the original pickups.

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If you go to the big box store and buy a Les Paul copy that is made in china with a price tag that says "Les Paul", I guarantee no one will bat an eye. That's because the headstock says Epiphone. They consider it NOT a counterfeit Les Paul...

 

 

Bringing back a dead thread?

 

That's because it's NOT a counterfeit Les Paul. It's an EPIPHONE. That's what it says on the headstock.

 

This clown is selling guitars that say Gibson on the headstock.

 

Big Difference!

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I used to do business in China, and set up a couple of factories there. One of the HUGE problems with doing business in China is that there is absolutely no respect for intellectual property. Anyplace you go in China, there are open air markets where Knock offs are sold. Most of the time, these are the same items that are sold to the companies who own the Name/Logo. If a company orders 50,000 of a popular item, the factory will likely make many more than were ordered. The extras are sold on the black market.

 

They very well could be the exact same item that you purchase in stores, but more often than not, the overrun items are made using less expensive components. Regardless of whether it is the same item or not, it is theft.

 

It isn't good shopping, nor is it a way to get back at the capitalists who cause all the evil in the world. It is supporting a systematic rape of business identities. Worse, it causes the real company great damage when the inferior items appear on the market and consumers believe them to be real.

 

If you want a Gibson, buy a Gibson. If you don't want to spend the money then you shouldnt have a Gibson.

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Well, the problem with tradetang and other sites is that you never know in nwhich posituin of the food chain you're in.

You could get B-grade goods, you could get absolute crap or you could get a wonderful instrument that the maker knows would not be sold if it has "Dim Sum" or "Great Wall" on the headstock.

One thing is for sure: shipping and handling will be around 50% of the value, so if you draw the short one and you got sh!t, you can't send it back.

I tried it a few times and about 1/3 is crap, 1/3 is half-decent and 1/3 was okay'ish. There was the odd gem, but in general it is fair to say that you get what you pay for.

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