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A word about "Chinese" guitars...

Harry7139

By Harry7139
in Electric Guitars

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Harry7139 Newbie

Harry7139

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This is my personal experience with one of these "replica" guitars.. I will say that in no way do I advocate or advise purchasing one of these.. it's just with all the hype and Youtube stuff out there along with many unanswered questions I decided to find out first hand and relay my experience. First thing I did was call US Customs.. Their answer as to importing "replicas": You may indeed import and own ONE item with a registered trademark name within each 30 day calender period.. However it must be for PERSONAL USE ONLY.. Any attempt to sell the item as being real or even as an identified replica is stritckly forbidden and against the law and you will be prosecuted..and they ARE checking..so beware. Satisfied with that answer I proceeded to pick out a site and order a DG-335 replica in Pelham Blue.

 

I contacted one of those "sites" and asked if he had one and how soon it would ship..he said pay and I will ship right away..10 days later guitar had not even shipped yet... got nervous, pulled the plug and lucky for me got a refund from PayPal. After I settled down for a few weeks I decided to give it another try.. After much research I found what I considered to be a more trustworthy dealer.. I contacted him and he said as soon as I pay he would ship the next day.. I paid and the guitar was shipped the following day with a receipt and valid tracking number. Took a few days to get to US customs..spent 3 days in Customs.. He had put a "shipping price" on the guitar of $100.00.. Customs promptly changed that to 500.00 after inspecting and charged me a 38.00 duty fee.. The guitar was then delivered..

 

First thing I see after unpacking is... you guessed it.. a shiny new "Gibson USA" case...no where near the quality of a real one but actually..not bad.. Honestly I was afraid to open it for fear of what I would find inside.. Amazingly, I was quite impressed.. The color was spot on...nice clean binding and inlay work and frets..remarkable finish.. these guys are good.. I plugged it in and lo and behold it sounded and played like complete crap.. that I pretty much expected.. So I headed down to the store and bought BB Pro's 1 and 2 and some Gibson Pots.. After some minor set up work and the upgraded electronics..this thing actually plays and sounds amazing.. Construction wise it is indeed made out of laminated maple with a solid maple center block, mahogany neck with a rosewood fret board... I believe the same as a real 335.. I went back to the music store and played a few 335's they had...and I am very sad to say that this thing actually plays and sounds better than the real ones they had...I have literally beat the crap out of this thing and it stays in perfect tune.... sigh..

 

But I can never, and will never, in any capacity try to sell this thing...I don't want to go to jail..in fact I don't think I will even gig with it.. it's pretty much a home conversation piece.. As far as me.. I am a player.. I don't care what it says on the headstock (which I believe is the only reason people buy these things).. If it sounds good and plays good I'm gonna use it.. I own and gig with my old Fender Tele, an Epiphone Les Paul, several Taylors, and a Yamaha.. and I am anxiously awaiting my new Epiphone ES-339 to arrive... Bottom line is this: If you want a Gibson guitar go by a REAL one... Ordering one of those fakes is risky, time consuming, and not for the faint of heart.. It's a roll of the dice..I got lucky..but still had to put about 400.00 into it to make it sound and play good..and I'm stuck with it forever. I could have bought an Epi for a little less, had a nice guitar and been able to sell it down the line.. but on the bright side that fake DG-335 sure looks good hanging on my studio wall....lol

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WRGKMC Apprentice

WRGKMC

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My criticism is harsh but honest from my perspective.

 

I consider musicians who buy fakes at best second class musicians.

They dont support domestic builders and are the cause of why those instruments cost so much.

I could care less how well they're build, or good they sound, or how cheap they are.

I consider them second class because they are willing to settle for less than the best.

 

There are thousands of guitars without the fake logo so its not like you're playing a copied design.

The fake logo suggests you have no issue with it being a false advertisement and lack moral charecture

for even buying one. You wont fool a pro so you're stuck with fooling yourself.

 

Hope its worth the cost of compramizing your morality but you wont get pats on the back from pros

who earn extra bucks endorcing manufacturers instruments. I'm sure the reds love it and the slave labor

really appreciates the $1 a day they earn building it. Godless commies love musicians who buy their fakes.

I do suggest if you're a red blooded American you should be ashamed of the instrument and sand that logo off.

At least then you wont be walking around with a badge that says "I endorce counterfitting". It may save your ass if you

ever play for a crowd of union workers who spot it being a fake. They can deal with a blank headstock, a fake will

bring you nothing but Bad Karma.

 

As I said, few will appreciate my frankness on the subject, but I've built guitars and worked for manufacturers, so

I see what the flod of counterfits has done to the business I love. i'll never support those who dont care if they

damage the buisiness and drive those who make them out of business. And, you may not pass it down as the real deal,

but noone lives forever. Theyre being sold as the real deal to kids who dont know better every day of the week.

Its like counterfit money. It makes the real dollar worthless. Those who buy the real deal are hurt by fakes

and those who build the real deal loose their jobs. That wont make anuone happy except for those who think

man made objects are the source of happiness. Hopefully they will wake up and realize their mind set is screwed up.

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WRGKMC Apprentice

WRGKMC

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One post stinks of spam.

I have zero problems bashing the soft sellers corrupting musicians morals.

Theres are one million people out of jobs here because of counterfitters.

 

Knock offs dont have the fake logos. They may be morally offensive but without a logo,

you arent breaking any laws selling it. Instruments with fake logos are counterfits.

Counterfits and counterfitters used to be one step up from violent criminals like

murderers.

 

In France or Italy its illegal to buy counterfit. Here thay can only fight the supply siide and do a

piss poor job of that, so its up to those in the music business to let the loosers know what kind

of low lifes they are for buying fakes.

 

I wouldnt have a musician in my band with a fake guitar because his lack of morality reflects on me.

I can feel sorry for him not having the cash to buy the real thing but its not going to make him a better musician playing a fake.

I'd rather have him shread a cheap piece of garbage bought from a manufacture. I can have some major respect for that musician.

Its tough enough being in a band these days staying on the good side of the law. Having asshole flaunting counterfits around

is not a good thing for anyone. The law figures if you have no morals and tolerate counterfitting then you have no problem

condoning other illegal activity. Its bad enough having cops waiting in front of clubs and following people home.

Having counterfit guitars will not be a good thing for you, believe me.

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Elias Graves Newbie

Elias Graves

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I ordered a Chinese wife. Had to send her to a plastic surgeon to get her up to US spec, but now, apart from the accent, no one ever suspects she's a fake. I'll never divorce her; I wouldn't want to pass on fraudulent goods, ya know.

Only cost me 500 bucks, too!

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cbh5150 Newbie

cbh5150

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I ordered a Chinese wife. Had to send her to a plastic surgeon to get her up to US spec, but now, apart from the accent, no one ever suspects she's a fake. I'll never divorce her; I wouldn't want to pass on fraudulent goods, ya know.

Only cost me 500 bucks, too!

 

I call shenanigans! :cop:

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Deadbeat Son Newbie

Deadbeat Son

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One post stinks of spam.

 

 

Not to me. To me, one post stinks of an active forum member who bought one of these Trade-Tang fakes and doesn't want to admit it with his/her real screen name. So, he/she created an alt to post about this guitar in hopes that the other members here would get some actual value from the post.

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Surrealistic Newbie

Surrealistic

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Not to me. To me, one post stinks of an active forum member who bought one of these Trade-Tang fakes and doesn't want to admit it with his/her real screen name. So, he/she created an alt to post about this guitar in hopes that the other members here would get some actual value from the post.

Possible I grant you, but if I were a betting man, my money would be on the chinese spammer.

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Elias Graves Newbie

Elias Graves

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Not to me. To me, one post stinks of an active forum member who bought one of these Trade-Tang fakes and doesn't want to admit it with his/her real screen name. So, he/she created an alt to post about this guitar in hopes that the other members here would get some actual value from the post.

 

See, I didn't want to overdo my NGD threads since I just had one the other day. :D

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