Cheap import guitar of the week #2 - Chibson Les Paul

It's time for a Gibson, er... I mean, Chibson Les Paul.

If you ever wanted to know whether or not Gibson was in real trouble concerning whether or not others can make what they make for real cheap, this is it.

Everyone knows that Gibson overprices their guitars, and there are loads of guitar players stupid enough to buy them. Everyone also knows that every year, China keeps getting better and better at copying Gibson design to the point where you simply can't tell the difference.

That telltale "scarf cut" on the neck that gave away a Chibson before? Gone. The headstock logo and diamond design not exactly matching up where it was supposed to? Now it does. Only someone with a really trained eye and a very intimate knowledge of how Gibson necks feel would be able to tell the difference. Otherwise, this one (or rather, several, as you'll see on that link,) will fool a lot of people.

To actual Gibson owners...

Be mad all you want, because it won't change anything. Even if you get a bug up your backside, attempt to get that guitar removed from the internet and are actually successful at it, it doesn't matter because there will be another right around the corner to take its place.

If you want to blame anyone, blame Gibson for overpricing their poorly-built guitars. It is their overpricing that spawned the Chibson market to begin with.

Would I buy a Chibson?

No. I would buy an I would buy an Oscar Schmidt instead for one simple reason. It's only a few bucks more the same price as the Chibson, and it comes from an American distributor. This means if anything goes wrong with the guitar or if it arrives damaged or whatever, I have a legitimate contact to take care of such matters under warranty.

However, I know some of you are going to see that Chibson and probably buy it. If you do, my advice is to buy with the intent of throwing away the money.

This means that when you buy, approach it the same way as if you were buying a $200 lottery ticket. That lottery ticket may be a million-dollar winner. Or the ticket may be a loser and you end up with nothing. Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. When you buy a Chibson, that is the best approach to take. It's a gamble.

Will your gamble pay off where you end up with a great guitar? Maybe. The only way to find out is to go for it and see what happens.

Published 2015 Mar 25