Chibson (What are your views?)

[danthecoat]

Gonna go out on a limb here and ask what peoples thoughts are on Chibsons?

I hope this dosnt end up inflammatory as its really not my intention i just wondered what peoples views were on these.

Morally i know they are wrong and that's not my discussion point i purely mean the build of these guitars.

I have been collecting these for about 2 years now and i have been consistently amazed at just how good the ones i have come across are. I have owned about 8 or 9 of them.

I buy and sell vintage toys and with what that entails (Boot sales, Auctions, Markets and Private buying) I tend to come across instruments as well and one day i was offered a lovely Les Paul. The man opened the case and i looked and said WOW!! "its not real" he said as quick as a flash and i picked it up and it felt real, it looked real it even had the serial number on the back. I strummed it and tuned it and it was just amazing. It is real i thought. I plugged it in to his pignose amp (Remember those?) It sounded bloody real. He said it was a fake from china and he wanted £150 for it and i bought it. Got it home looked over it and thought to myself how can this not be real. Now i have friends with Gibsons and i asked one to come over and bring his les paul. He arrived i sat him down and said look what ive bought and opened the case........WOW he said and picked it up and sat there with it in his hands and started to look it over. "How much did you pay" he asked £150 i said "Good" he replied cos its fake (lol) How did he know well there was a whole list of things and up against a real one it looks fake ALL DAY LONG. Plugged in to the same setup and it sounds fake ALL DAY LONG but with nothing to compare it to it sounds better than my epiphone les paul which was over £500. 

I absolutely love it and with some minor set up adjustments and some fret polishing this sounds better than any guitar that i have owned so much so that i sold my Epiphone. Now since then i have been sourcing Chibson and other fake brands its largely not possible but i prefer them not to have the fake logo on them and some dont which is great because i am really not into the posing part and im the first to tell people that they are fake but not until they play them. i have got a few now and they all sound superb maybe one i have which is a fake fender sounds a bit weak but i will swap the pickups soon and i just know that will cure it as the play ability is bang on and i am being fussy as im sure most people would be happy with it.

The point im making is that for the money £200 and below these are better than any other brand i have had and its almost a mark of quality now, I mean don't get me wrong if you are expecting a £2000 and upwards Gibson or a £1000 upwards Fender then you are going to be sorely disappointed but a guitar for £200 i don't think these can be beaten. I think they are easily match able to ANY £500 guitar that's on the market today.

i must stress that i DO NOT agree with these being sold as genuine items i am referring to these being sold as £200 knock offs.

Any one else had any dealings with a Chibson or any other knock off? 

[Greeny]

Even the 'official' brands have far east manufacturing, and produce - in effect - 'knock offs' of their own USA or European-made models. My Japanese Fender Telecaster is as cheap (maybe cheaper) than a Squire version, and supposedly highly inferior to even a Mexican made one. But it isn't. It's been my constant companion for 15 years (with a few DIY upgrades along the way).

And then you get the Tokai guitars that were better than the real Les Pauls at the time. I still hanker after a Tokai Love Rock.

I've never been a guitar snob. I love any guitar*, and assume I would always be able to use it for a particular sound or vibe. So I would always go by how it sounds and feels, regardless of it's brand or 'coolness' or price tag. Its why I like Danelectro - they are cheap(ish), but do something unique and amazing.

But trying to con people into buying what they think is a real Gibson isn't cool at all. It's fraud. Hopefully, because of the internet, people are wiser now though.

I don't have any problem with your Chibson because you paid a fair price for it and like it. It's all that matters. And the person selling it to you was honest. If I'd seen it. I'd have bought it too!

*Except an Epiphone Flying V I bought. I fucking hated that guitar. My son has it now.

[kenny mac]

I own a Tokia love rock Gold top(Korean) and a Gibson les Paul standard 1993 model every guitarist that plays the two prefers the Tokia.
I have to say I love Korean built guitars.
Chibsons look stunning and  pick up changes and new tuning heads would probably make a great difference but I would check the electrics.

[cuthbert]

I have no experience with Chibsons, but I did buy a Chinese ES-335 knockoff with a gold top made by Firefly last October for $149 from Amazon, including shipping. I've never played a Gibson or Epiphone 335 so I can't compare it to those, but this guitar has been a true rock machine and learning experience for me. It arrived with high action and slightly off intonation, but it was playable right out of the box. In fact, I enjoyed playing it immediately, but could tell there was room for improvement and began searching the internetz (and joined the Firefly Fans Facebook group) for setup tips. I cleaned up the fretboard (black residue would get on my fingertips whenever I played it), restrung it with a set of D'Addario 10s, adjusted the truss rod to the correct relief, lowered the action and set the intonation. It still needs a little more work on the nut, but it's already comfortable to play, and the pickups (ceramic humbuckers) sound fantastic, especially with some crunch in the amplifier.

The only improvements I've made so far are replacing the stock tuners with Gotoh, and swapping in a new roller bridge from All-Parts. Oh, and a new set of top hat knobs that I find I much prefer to the original speed knobs. So far, I'm very happy with it!

[danthecoat]

I own a Tokia love rock Gold top(Korean) and a Gibson les Paul standard 1993 model every guitarist that plays the two prefers the Tokia.
I have to say I love Korean built guitars.
Chibsons look stunning and  pick up changes and new tuning heads would probably make a great difference but I would check the electrics.

I agree if you wanted to play them up against a real Gibson but in my experience just a decent setup and these sound as good as any £500 Epiphone so for less than £200 delivered within a week you dont need to touch the electrics

So it goes to show sometimes how overpriced some guitars are and Gibson have really gone downhill lately and have made some real strange decisions that have really hurt the brand.

Tim i too have a Jap strat that plays as good as any USA one that i have tried and Cuthbert you are so right with a bit of adjustment these sound lovely. They already look gorgeous heres some pics of my two faves. I play these two more than any of my guitars and i promise you all i have done is set them up lowered the action actually on the les paul i had to do the opposite as it was a bit low and i did a bit of fret dressing but nothing major. I took some off the bridge on the acoustic and now it plays like a dream but it could've been left but i am fussy and normally re adjust any guitar that i buy.



Les Paul

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https://i18.servimg.com/u/f18/17/91/14/36/img_2021.jpg



John Lennon Special Edition

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This was peeled off and loose in the guitar when it arrived (lol)

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[WarpCanada]

I think go ahead and buy what you want, but I wouldn't buy one that went as far as putting the Gibson logo on the headstock.

Get a Harley Benton, or get one of the awesome Yamaha Les Paul copies, or something.

It's the fake headstock logo thing that really makes me just feel gross inside. Yeah, Gibson can make Gibsons in all kinda factories around the world, but the thing is it's kinda like cheating on your wife, and then pasting a picture of your wife on top of your mistress's body.  Does that make any sense?

There's no respecct in that for yourself, or for anyone involved.  I mean, forget Gibson.   I mean, Gibson is just a company. But they're also some find human beings, down in the actual factory.  Sure Mark Agnesi is a turd, and the CEO is a loser. But what about the average Joes and Janes in the Gibson factory. Those people have my respect.


But do you respect YOURSELF?  I would be angry at myself for buying a thing that was bold as brass made by liars.

I mean who says that say, Fender, or Gibson, brands are even more desirable?   Why not free your mind from brand slavery, and go get a guitar made by one of the 1000 or so lesser known makers.  Or go buy a kit and finish the parts yourself, with house paint, and nail polish, and make your own crazy thing.

At least it would be what it says on the tin.   I guess I hate Gibson's corporate management, for their Play Authentic crap, but I also don't want to buy a Fake Gibson either.  But I love Gibson, the history, Gibson, the experience that the company hasn't ruined yet. 



Even if nobody else knew it was fake, I would know that I gave liars money to lie, and then I would be carrying my little lie around with me.  It would sour my feelings about the guitar. I couldn't enjoy playing it.  Not gonna judge anyone else who does, just couldn't do it myself.

[bruno]

If they can make a good guitar with a Gibson headstock, they can make and sell one without.
Whilst I understand the argument of intent (I know when I buy, I tell when I sell), these are designed to fool. Clearly these could be used to trick someone in spending hard earned money on something which it is not.

There's loads of good options for cheap instruments out there, and probably to a higher standard band-per-buck. I've got guitars made by Vintage and those made by HB - and they are good (but I would say not great, but they are great for the money). My HB Flying V cost £120 and it plays fine, and sounds like a Flying V.  There are more expensive HB's coming out, and those are starting to match pro-level guitars, there is a strong argument to buy top of the range pro from the new breed of manufacturers rather than the bottom end of one of the expensive name brands, and that will continue. Viva-la-choice! I've no problem with cheaper end of the market, but not being identifiable on the instrument it is designed to fool and trick, and so personally I would never buy one - or if I did, I would ensure that its branded it as fake somehow.

Anyway, that's my 10c worth.

B

[Ferryman_1957]

I'm with Bruno. Chibson is not for me. There are plenty of proper companies like Harley Benton producing good quality guitars at very affordable prices. It's not about where they are made, but why they are made.

[guitarron]

I think go ahead and buy what you want, but I wouldn't buy one that went as far as putting the Gibson logo on the headstock.

BAM!

Want a chibson? Buy an epiphone. They're quality instruments