Fake Gretsch and Gibson Guitars From China : eBay Guides

Hello Everyone:

There is a new ongoing problem with Fakes and Forgeries of Guitars made in China,

A lot of these guitars are popping up on ebay, a lot of times the seller who is selling these items know what they are, but they are out for a quick buck.

Gibson Flying V's, SG's, Hollowbodies and a few other models have had their share of illegal copies,

the easy way to spot them is the bridge, most of the forgeries use a cheesey bridge with two posts that have flat head screw slots, the real deal does not, the top of the posts are smooth like a nail head, only the bushings on the tail piece should have flat head screw slots,

now the SG's have two distinct features that is noticable on the fakes, the pickguard on the fakes are usually oddly shaped, or not shaped properly, or it does not have the proper screws used to hold it down,

also the back plate on the control cavity on the fakes does not have the same shape as the real USA made ones.

Hollowbodies are easy to spot, Gibson always puts a sticker inside the F hole that has the serial number and the model number, the fakes don't have it, yet.

also a bigsby on a USA made one says Bigsby, where the fake does not.

on the Flying V fakes, I have noticed the truss rod cover is not the same size as the USA made V's,

The Jimmy Hendrix V is one of the biggest fakes popping out of China off and on.

another tell tale sign is the tuning keys, the kluson style ones say Gibson Deluxe, the fakes are plain, or if the Gibson has grover tuning keys, if the keys look pitted or grover is not stamped on them, then it is a fake.

Now the Gretsch Guitars are similar with the same problem,

the bigsby is not stamped bigsby, the tuning keys are not stamped kluson, no sticker in the F hole, or no serial number on the back of the neck,

The fake Gretsch's usually have incorrect pickups that resemble chrome covered humbuckers, they also use tuning keys with keystone heads similar to gibson which is incorrect, the Chet Atkins model has the wrong bigsby on it.

look at the headstock, it usually has the incorrect style that Grestch does not use on their guitars.

if you are ever in doubt, ask for the serial number from the seller, Gibson and Gretsch will be glad to verify if the guitar is real or not.

take care and thank you for looking at my guide