Recent, boredom-induced YouTube activity has brought to my attention the seemingly booming trade in knock-off Gibsons. Whilst I had been aware of knock-off Ibanez Jems on eBay, I dismissed them as complete shite because they looked nowhere near close to an actual Jem. However, the same Chinese, web-based companies - e.g. http://www.paylessguitar.cn and http://www.samin.cn - make 'Gibsons' to what appear to be much higher standards and for very little in terms of money.
That Les Paul, for example goes for US$240. They do add an extra US$110 as a flat rate to ship the guitar but that still leaves you with a fairly convincing looking knock-off for circa £175. Whilst opinions on the quality of the guitars seem to be mixed, with Gibson devotees crying about their illegality and opportunists snapping them up before the operation is shut down, the word is that they are actually made semi-clandestinely in the Epiphone factory in China. Indeed, some of the guys who have them have even noticed that the pick ups have the Epiphone stamp on them. Whilst you might ask, 'Why would I want an Epiphone Les Paul, even if it is going for less than £200', I reckon the sheer novelty value of the guitars could be worth it.
There are still relatively few videos on YouTube about the knock-off Gibsons but the few that are up seem to suggest they're not that bad. The one thing they seem incapable of pulling off is having ebony fretboards on the Les Paul Customs but, at that price, it's hardly surprising. Whilst I'm not exactly scrambling for my wallet, I reckon £170 for this isn't too shoddy.
