Chibson Thread

JDOD

JDOD

therecordingrebels.com
OK, I've got my new Crimson Custom, sold my FMT HH Telecaster, decided to keep my Ibanez and have decided that I'm gonna get rid of the Washburn too (if I can find any sort of buyer for it). I want to get another dual humbucker, guitar to replace the Washburn and was considering a Chibson? Anyone got any experience of them? The one in this video looks pretty decent:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP--Hn_TpBg
 
I'm sure those Chibsons are nice guitars Jdude, but me, I'd rather just have the real thing. Of course, the $$$-thing comes into play, & I do understand that a Lester is expensive. I paid about a grand for my LP Studio, but, it's been rock-solid since day one, & I absolutely love it, even if it is a "lowly" studio....lol...I actually bought mine online, without even playing it. I know I took a big chance on getting a lemon, & was kinda worried, but again, it's a great guitar IMHO...

The only thing other than a string change/setup I've done to mine is to put a small piece of foam under the strings behind the nut & bridge because the strings were making a "ping" sound that you could hear in my recordings, but that's just something I've done to all my guitars (on my trem-equipped guitars I put foam under the springs too)...

Of course, my LP doesn't have the binding which I think makes a Lester look a lot better, but, again, the $$$-thing comes into play...

I do have to say the Chibson in that vid looks great, & he did say it was a fraction of the cost of the real thing, so you might get a good guitar going that route man...
 
Yeah, I don't want to spend much money, it will end up being a 2nd guitar only, not something that you'd I'd choose to play over the custom, but a reserve type thing.
 
Actually, since starting this thread... An hour ago? I've already gone off the idea of a Chibson. Seemed like a good idea when I was sitting in the office but i know I'll barely ever play on it!
 
If they didn't use the Gibson logos and stuff I would say go for it. They are cheap, like 250 for something that costs 10 times that price.
I learned long ago when I bought my Ibanez LP clone then bought a Gibson that the clones for the most part are not as good.
Everybody's mileage may vary, but I recommend the real deal if you can afford it. Gibson's prices are way too high but you get what you "over" pay for.
 
I was going to suggest keeping the Tele, that thing looked badass (still trying to fit one into my budget). Depends on what you can get for the Washburn, I guess. If it'll provide enough funds to get a used LP Studio that's how I would roll. I'm in the same boat as Miner, got my LP new for around $850 or so - it was marked down because it was a demo model off the floor - but also sight unseen from an online retailer. I wasn't really too worried about getting a lemon as I may have a bit more trust in the name as some. But, yeah, no issues ever - not even the ping sound - and it is still one of my go-to guitars even without the frills of the binding.

Are there any sites over there like Reverb.com over there? If so, you can generally find some great deals on Les Pauls - the real ones - if you don't mind buying used. I think Reverb is supposed to be international but I think that only means that there are some listings from Canadian sellers...never seen any from the UK.
 
If i were to offer two cents here i would suggest any guitar clone or not, if it plays nice and feels solid is a good addition. -AND- the if it is the dollar value driving the purchase then there is more wiggle room to modifiy it down the road. Chances are good you can afford to plop a new pick up in if need be?
 
Man...get a Hagstrom Swede and you won't think about the Gibson all that much. :)

The craftsmanship is very good on all the ones I have...the neck/fretboard is hard to beat for playing comfort and speed, and it's ability to hold true, and the stock pups sound really good, but of course, that's a taste thing and just like people swap pups on Gibson LPs, you might choose to do that too, or not.
The only thing that isn't top-notch/expensive quality are the pots/switches....but they work fine, and when they don't you can upgrade them to whatever you like for a few bucks.

Sound-wise...they can cover anything an LP can....and in my very biased opinion, body cut of Swedes is nicer looking and more comfortable than an LP. It's a little curvier/sexier, and fits nice against your body when playing...plus, the Hagstrom head-stock is just way cooler.
Not saying that LPs are bad looking or that they don't have their own coolness...just saying that the Swedes stand on their own AFA looks go, and they don't come off as just another LP knockoff. If you hold them side by side, you will see the differences in the body cuts and curves...and the necks are completely different.

That said...if you are really just buying for the name...then buy the name that works for you.
Nothing wrong with that, either way, you'll have a nice guitar...you'll just spend 3-4-5 times as much for one of them. ;)
 
I gotta say being a long term Hagstrom Swede guy, as well as being a Les Paul guy, go for a Swede. I prefer the vintage Swedes, but they are up to LP prices nowadays.

The reissues are very good guitars at Epi prices.

The Chinese fakes are kinda junk, as well as contributing to degrading the Gibson brand. Not that I have any loyalty to the "brand" called Gibson, but one is like a classy hooker and the Chibson is like being fooled by a tranny.
If thats what someone is into, I guess that's okay, but I'd rather own the real deal.
:D
 
Hmmm, well my next guitar would be more of a "project" type guitar than the sort of thing I'm gonna use daily. I've got the best guitar I'll ever need so I want something I can have a bit of a mess about with, install a few parts (got a cool kill switch I'd like to install), change a few bits and stuff, basically learn something! I thought a Chibson would be a decent candidate for this. But it actually seems quite expensive for something that's gonna be for knocking about. I think I'll stick to my old strat-copy.

EDIT: I think what I'm getting it is, if you want to fake a Gibson and do a guitar up to be as Gibson0like as possible they probably make sense. If you just want to make yourself a nice guitar but aren't concerned what sort of nice guitar then they probably don't make sense.
 
I bought a fake gibson acoustic at a pawnshop for $100 - everybody knew it was fake.

It's a decent guitar but I really wish it didn't say Gibson on the headstock - I think it would be worth more with a blank headstock - it's kind of depressing to look at. Maybe I can paint over it.
 
antichef said:
I bought a fake gibson acoustic at a pawnshop for $100 - everybody knew it was fake.

It's a decent guitar but I really wish it didn't say Gibson on the headstock - I think it would be worth more with a blank headstock - it's kind of depressing to look at. Maybe I can paint over it.
Click to expand...

How i picture antichef when he looks at his fake gibson before he plays it...

giphy.gif
 
liv_rong said:
Those things do look pretty nice. Id also prefer the real thing though. As for fake things I wouldnt mind giving one of these a shot someday:

XV840 Solid Alder DOUBLE Bound Body, Vintage Sunburst, Maple Fingerboard
Click to expand...

You just had to post that... :facepalm:

I've had a hard-on for a double-bound Tele for ages. That Tobacco Burst or the Surf Green look great. :cool:
Shit...you can toss a Fender vintage neck on them and it would still cost just a fraction of a real double-bound Tele.

$179...it's like, you could leave out on the sidewalk, and not care if someone lifted it.
 
Forgeting the fact that they are counterfeits the first thought that comes to my mind is that they are not all made in the same factory so it'll be always a surprise box... you can either get an awesome axe or an horrible one. Other point is: why to buy a counterfeit -- you are after a good guitar or wishing that people believe that you have a Gibson?

If you want a good guitar there is plenty of good makers. MJB mentioned GuitarFetish that builds the 'Xaviere' guitars. I have a Strat from them that I purchased in their clearance section for $120 and that is a very nice axe. Speaking about Chinese guitars, I have a gold top Les Paul 'Strinberg' branded that is no doubt one of the best guitars I ever had. It costed me $100 in a local store plus $100 in hardware/electric parts replacement. I bought it because I was really upset with the low quality of my Epiphone G-400 (that I ended selling). I also have heard very good things about Tanglewood guitars. I am sure that if you look for you will find good stuff.

Now if you want to buy a Chibson to fool people I am sorry to say that it is just silly.

:cool:
 
I've seen a few killer Chibsons. I flirted with buying one because Silverburst LP Customs are expensive and I like the look of a Silverburst LP Custom but not the price of a Silverburst LP Custom. Many of those Chibsons are made at Epiphone factories and are quite good.

But ultimately you just don't know what you're gonna get when buying from China's knock-off market. I saw a chinese Mosrite Ventures clone with no input jack or knobs. Lol. I recently ordered my wife a pair of Vans from China and got a Duke Blue Devils baseball cap. :facepalm:

And lastly, one of my bandmates has a chinese 59 Les Paul. I call it a "Res Pawr". That's my racist way of saying "Les Paul" with a bad chinese accent. Anyway, It's okay. Looks wise, it's spot on. Every curve and nuance of a real LP is there. You'd never know it was a fake by looking at it. The pickups, pots, tuners, etc were all complete garbage, so they got swapped out with real Gibson stuff. So with a fresh setup and new hardware, it's pretty good. My only problem with it is that it's light. Like real light. Like SG light. It's made out of pine or styrofoam or something. Lol. It's very light, very resonant, and very soft feeling. This leads it to kind of sound more like a hollowbody. It's not bad, for about 500 bucks total investment. A real Les Paul kills it in every way.
 
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