How bad must these knock-offs be?

Coin

Coin

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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Magnificent-G...416533300QQcategoryZ68175QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

This place on ebay is selling guitars apparently is from a factory that makes branded guitars for people like Gibson, and these non branded ones at knockdown prices. They've got a good rating, but I want to know from experts like yourselves how bad the guitars will actually be, seeing as they're in the original's woods etc. Is the keyword here 'basswood'? What is that? :laugh2:
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

Coin said:
Is the keyword here 'basswood'? What is that? :laugh2:
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It's a type of wood, and perfectly usable for guitars. Ernie Ball and Tom Anderson use basswood all the time, and IMO, EB makes some of the best production guitars in the US. (IMO) It gets a bad rap from a lot of people who have never even played with it (like so many other things in the guitar world).

They are probably made by Samick or something. I wouldn't expect much, but you never know until you pick one up.

I'm surprised they got a way with the "Gibson" in the title. I don't expect they will for long.
 
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Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

big_black said:
(IMO) It gets a bad rap from a lot of people who have never even played with it.
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I'm gonna give a big 'ol +1 to that. Joe Satriani seems pretty happy w/ basswood, as do a crapload of guys playing Ibanez RGs.
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

lol I want an unbranded Les Paul for cheap but that seems too good to be true, so it probably is ^-^ Somebody buy one, then tell me how it is :laugh2:
 
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Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

That's a pretty cool looking guitar.

You can get lucky with some Chinese guitars. Usually it's the little details that are bothersome - stuff like loose hardware, bad pots and switches, little finish flaws, etc. It's usually nothing that can't be easily overcome though. And yeah, there's nothing wrong with basswood. It's pretty soft compared to alder or mahogany, but tonally it's not bad at all.
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

I would consider one of those Tokai 335's. Tokai makes some very good replicas.
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

Gah 120 pounds ($220) for a Les Paul. It's got to be absolutely nothing like as good as the real thing, so why do I still want to risk that much money on it? -_- Human nature I suppose.
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

idsnowdog said:
I would consider one of those Tokai 335's. Tokai makes some very good replicas.
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I think there's a world of difference between Tokai and other companies that strove to make "clones" and companies that make guitars that were seeing come out of China and Korea lately that are obvious copyright infringements but lack the quality.

eBay has been rife with Ibanez knock-offs that look like someone had a couple cocktails in them before they took the blank to the bandsaw. The dimensions are just off and wrong. On Boston Craigslist last night there was someone selling Ibanez Jem's for $350 that were Made In Korea. They looked good, but just weren't all there.

Rumor has it that the original Jem 555's and the recent Jem 333's were put out by Ibanez in the Far East market because of the knock-offs; it was the only way they could compete. I think were now just seeing these models filter in with eBay opening to those parts of the world and PayPal following suit.
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

I think basswood is one of the best guitar woods. My personal favorite. It has a great eq and good sustain. So don't dismiss a guitar because of this.
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

hmm maybe one month i'll put in a sneaky bid at about 90 quid, and hopefully get one, and then if it's rubbish, it can make an impressive decoration ;)
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

At least it's not one of those selling them for $2 with $250 shipping. This one actually has a shot at being somewhat playable.
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

You might want to check out an AGILE Les Paul on ebay. They look really good and I beleive they are well regarded. I am sure the bros here have some experience with them. They are also within your price range.

The custom custom is an odd pickup. It is the one pickup I wish I hadn't sold. It has a solid warm midrange with a round high end and a flubby low end. It doesn't tolerate high gain that well. Some might disagree but I think it has one of the best half clean/half dirty sounds out there. A real good 70's rock pickup. I would consider a Pearly Gates for the neck to go with it. I would also do the Peter Green mod.
 
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Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

YJM_Rocks said:
I think basswood is one of the best guitar woods. My personal favorite. It has a great eq and good sustain. So don't dismiss a guitar because of this.
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All the basswood Ibanez' have been softer than...well...nevermind.

Not sure if it's JUST Ibanez but they just dinged VERY easily.
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

Coin said:
Is the keyword here 'basswood'? What is that? :laugh2:
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i'm guessing you've never played an Ibanez? a TON of their guitars (not just the cheaper korean models, either) are basswood. vai, satch, petrucci, lots of guitarists play on basswood. ibanez jems are made out of basswood.
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

mctriple said:
i'm guessing you've never played an Ibanez? a TON of their guitars (not just the cheaper korean models, either) are basswood. vai, satch, petrucci, lots of guitarists play on basswood. ibanez jems are made out of basswood.
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My schecter is basswood and it's been knocked a few times, only one ding....the soft wood thing is just ibanez, cheap basswood! Go schecter.
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

idsnowdog said:
You might want to check out an AGILE Les Paul on ebay. They look really good and I beleive they are well regarded. I am sure the bros here have some experience with them. They are also within your price range.
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I have 3 Agile AL (Les Paul type) models that I use when playing live & I love 'em!

~MkF!
 
Re: How bad must these knock-offs be?

the thing with basswood is, it has to be good basswood.

if its not, it sucks. majorly. the body doesnt resonate well and it sounds dead (well... isnt it like that for pretty much every piece of wood? :laugh2: ). a lot of cheap guitars are crappy cos of that. but if you got a good piece, its just as good as anything else and is a matter of preference in the end.
the bad rep comes from it being a cheap wood. it grows fast. that's why its used for a lot of cheapo guitars. and most of them aint the best of the bunch
 
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