Counterfeit Gibson Les Paul Custom

I WAS DOING RESEARCH for one of my Whack Job columns when I came across a link that lead to a link that lead to some thumbnails—but no shots of the headstock—of a brand new, green Les Paul with a price of $225, shipped directly from China. Hmm. We’ve all heard about counterfeit guitars, so for a $225 gamble, I decided to see if this was one of those knock-offs.

- Terry Carleton

The guitar arrived by courier in a black sedan—all very Men In Blackish. I opened the sealed, toxic, styro foam sarcophagus, and, sure enough, right on the headstock is the Gibson logo. Etched into the trussrod cover is “Les Paul Custom,” and on the back of the headstock are the words “Made in U.S.A.”, along with an embossed nine-digit serial number. Very credible. Very wrong.

PLAYABILITY & SOU ND