What's up with this Gibson?

J

jm417

Member
Ok guys, I need a little help here. There's a guy near me selling a guitar. Hard to find information on past models unless you have one or know exactly where to look. Says its a Gibson Les Paul Standard. Serial number dates it to Jan 17th 2000 and it is a real Gibson serial code. Shows none of the common signs of being a chinese knockoff.He sent me a few pictures at my request and it looks legit. Except for the serial number looking like the bare wood is showing. Bound top and neck, trapezoid inlays, Humbuckers (unsure of model but probably 490/496 or 57 classic), Grover tuners (standard on 2000 models, before they switched back to the awful keystone tuners on my 08). Everything says it is what it is. But I don't know about the color, its a trans green (don't remember if they offered a trans green standard); don't know if they offered gold hardware either now that I think about it, the Gibson logo looks stamped although it could be a trick from the camera flash, the radius on the back edges looks more strat type, and the aforementioned serial number being devoid of the body color/back color like it normally is. Any help here would be greatly appreciated.

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Yeah, the color is the thing setting off my "FAKE... FAKE... FAKE..." alarm. Try doing some Googling about that color and that year. How much is he asking for it?
 
Its got humbuckers in it. He didn't send me the front pic, but it has a pretty decent looking flame top, gold hardware and humbuckers. Its a craigslist post so I'm definitely doing my homework to try to find anything that might be wrong with it. He is asking $600 for it, which in reality sounds like a too good to be true situation, being at least half of what its worth.

I tried googling gibson color charts 2000 and 2000 gibson brochure but got nothing of value.
 
Excuse my ignorance here but couldn't you just call or send off a note to Gibson with the serial and confirm? I can imagine them not wanting to get bombasted with verifying emails but on the other side of the coin I would think they woukd be proactive in the fight against knock offs.
 
I planned on it. Also to check the weight. Usually a dead giveaway. If its light, it ain't right! I sent a customer service request to gibson but I have no idea how long it will take for a response.
 
Not a a great photo of the fret, but it appears to have no fret endge binding. Ask if it was ever refretted. No doubt a fake. Have you played it? You could score a nice guitar for that price, but probably not gibson standard.
 
Ah. it is a fake. A trip over to Fibsons.com helped out. Truss rod cover is the right style, but they don't put "Les Paul" on the standards. Also, Gibson never puts a decal on their control cavities. And apparently, the Chinese jackasses like the date January 17th 2000. Most of the fakes there start with 00170. Ah well, some things are too good to be true. Now off to craigslist to flag his post and put a warning up.
 
I had an emerald green les Paul "classic" that looked similar. Even if it was a classic, it would say classic and not model under the les paul sig.
Never seen a gold stamped serial number like that. If gold was used it wasn't normally stamped. Plus, the Gibson logo on the headstock looks like it's cream plastic instead of mop.
I mean it could be a one off. Stranger things have happened. But I'd call gibson and pick their brains about it. If i wasn't satisfied at that point, I would walk away from it.
 
Look at the headstock! I'm guessing fake.. look [closely] at Gibson... it actually looks like Gibsun - which is typically how they avoid copyright law!
The loop on the "O" is not quite closed, but passes a cursory inspection.
 
s0c9 said:
Look at the headstock! I'm guessing fake.. look [closely] at Gibson... it actually looks like Gibsun - which is typically how they avoid copyright law!
The loop on the "O" is not quite closed, but passes a cursory inspection.
Click to expand...

Just looked at the headstock of my 2008 Studio... the "o" in Gibson isn't closed on it either, and I know mine is legit. BUT... I compared the way the script is done on mine compared to the fake photo... definitely differences in how each letter "trails" into the next letter. Sneaky bastages!
 
FWIW, I have a couple Chinese Les Paul Customs, and they're really impressive. I swapped out the pickups in both, and they're fantastic sounding guitars. I wouldn't want to pay Gibson prices for them, but they're better than many of the lower end Gibson models.
 
"Trans-Green Les Paul Standard" is like saying "Two-Tone Sunburst Ibanez JEM" ... It will never happen - good call on the fake ...
 
I have 3 real gibsons and a Knock off custom that looks nice as a wall hanger but sounds like a dog. I even put a good hardware on it tuners bridge and tail piece and new pickups and it sounds like crap. They make a fine wall hanging but thats about it.
I have it angled on the wall of my recroom it looks nice and I fool many people but then I tell them what it is and they are surprised.
 
The price alone is a dead giveaway, all other factors aside. $600 for a real Les Paul without a broken neck? Don't think so.
 
cobbler said:
Excuse my ignorance here but couldn't you just call or send off a note to Gibson with the serial and confirm? I can imagine them not wanting to get bombasted with verifying emails but on the other side of the coin I would think they woukd be proactive in the fight against knock offs.
Click to expand...

That doesn't help.
The Chinese are copying real guitars with the real matching serial numbers.

If you post this info on the "LesPaulForum.com" you will know for sure.
There are a lot of collectors that hang out there.
They can spot a fake in no time... and even tell you
the Chinese factory name it came out of.

:shock
 
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