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Are You A Les Paul Lover Read This & Weep,
Gibson Dirty Blonde Guitar
Within the past 20 years or so I can think of only one Gibson
that has increased in value. That would be the Ace Frehley model !!! Only 150
were made and they sold new for less than $5,000.00. Today that guitar has
doubled in value. As I said I cannot think of any Gibson guitar that has
increased since the 80's. Those $40,000.00 art guitars have all bombed. The
Indian Guitar, The Harley Guitar, The Elegant etc etc.
If Gibson put that guitar
out today it would probably sell for about $20,000.00; twice as
much as an original Ace Frehley in perfect condition would sell for today.
I worked for Gibson in the early 90's, during that time I was hanging
out with Ace quite a bit. Ace is a good guy and he's had some good breaks
& bad breaks. I know Ace well, under the image,
I really like him.
Although he has tried to pick up my girlfriend while I was in the bathroom &
used my house as refuge from his rockstar life by staying on my couch all night
for three days in a row he remains a good guy in my eyes. We have had
countless arguments about Gibson; He is loyal to them even though they have
treated him poorly and very disrespectfully.
When I worked at Gibson the sales managers & employees would joke about Ace, they never seemed to get tired of dissing him. I
actually told Ace about this. Maybe I should have minded my own business. I'd be lying if I said, I kept
it a secret that I wasn't a Gibson fan. In any case I feel his loyalty is
misplaced and certainly not appreciated by the people I worked with at Gibson.
This page is dedicated to the belief that certain guitar
shapes should be totally generic. I strongly believe that no one person or
company deserve to hoard a shape for their own profit after a reasonable time.
As a guitar player and consumer, I would vote for a modest 3
year period of exclusivity and as a businessman and capitalist, I would vote for
an incredibly long 25 years. (Patents are active 17 years) Maybe
12 years would be fair. (This is just my opinion)
Do the courts realize that legally an item becomes an
antique after 25 years?? I wonder....
I firmly believe that once something is classified as an
antique no individual, company, corporation or entity should have the right to
try to hoard the intellectual property for any period of time beyond that.
I'm not saying that a company shouldn't have the rights to a
trademark. For example a bell shaped truss rod cover or a distinctive
head stock or even the name by which the item is called. I don't believe that
anyone should ever copy those type of trademarks. I for one have never
knowingly done so. Excepting in cases where a particular company has hired me or
anyone else to Reproduce or Ghostbuild a
custom guitar for one of their famous celebrity endorsers. "This is
altogether another
story and, many companies hate me for exposing them for this." There are people who
own these guitars who hate me for my little exposé's, and many dealers who
are overstocked with a lot of krap they are trying to sell don't appreciate me
for my rants. They don't want the consumers to know things like such & such
guitar is made in Korea and assembled in the USA and legally called an American
Guitar.
Be aware that many famous guitar players are playing custom
made replicas of the brand they are touting as being high quality.
The most publicized Milli Vanilli'ish case was Slash', who publicly came
out and told the world in several interviews, that his Gibson Les Paul's were
all custom made by a small time
Ghostbuilder in Los Angeles, who goes only by
"MAX." Slash was very cool to do that. My respect for him went up
about 3 notches when I read that article.
There are numerous photos of Billy Gibbons playing both
Gibsons & Gretsch's with a question mark on the headstock where there is
usually a brand
name. It's an insider joke: No self respecting Rockstar wants an off the rack
guitar, so they get custom guitars made to their particular specs. The guitars
only look like the originals!! These definitely aren't the garden variety,
cheaply made, mass produced, off the shelf guitars like you will find at Guitar
Center. (There are some exceptions of course, but very few I have seen as of
late)
In my opinion I believe that Fender should have the right to
their distinctive trade names like Stratocaster, Telecaster, Precision Bass,
Jazz Bass etc etc. I don't believe they should have any rights for names like
Katana or Marauder (or any short lived or discontinued models). I don't believe that
they should care whether or not someone else copies those models either.
I believe that Fender should have the rights to their
distinctive headstock shapes. I don't believe they should water down their
distinctive shapes, which happens when they put them on other brands. They have been doing
this lately. In my opinion, this activity only hurts & cheapens the original trademark and detracts from the
value of the original brand.
Over the years Fender has made mistakes, but eventually they
always seem to
fix them. This is very commendable for a company as large as Fender. Other
large guitar companies just seem to get worse & worse and never correct any of
the problems.
For example, Fender initially made some horrible mistakes
regarding Guild, which they set about to correct. Now the Guild product is better & even more viable than when it was owned by Guild. They have succeeded with
Gretsch where Gretsch had failed over & over again. This is a great credit to them. I
often say that large corporations usually have absolutely no redeeming value.
Fender is proving to be an exception and I am now quite proud to sell many of their products
in my store.
Gibson on the other hand will sue small companies into non
existence if they feel that one of their 60 year old sacred body shapes is being
copied. I believe they should try spending 1/10 of the amount of money that they
waste on suing people, and become more constructive by doing much needed research &
development. Gibson hasn't had an interesting new product since I can remember.
The one exception being the Johnny A model that is made from real wood.
This supposedly new robot guitar is far from new!!!!
that's been on the market 15 years almost. Gibson finally discovered it in 2007.
Oy
In my opinion Gibson should take the high road like CF Martin
does. They could choose to be a responsible industry leader. They could introduce
excellent new products at a rate of one a week if they wanted to.
Instead they repeatedly come out with the same tired old
designs. They attach celebrities names to these designs and sell them to
unsuspecting suckers who are too blind to see they are being duped. $30,000.00
for a Jimmy Page doubleneck, $12,000.00 for a plywood 335 with the Eric Clapton
designation on it. The real kicker here is that the vast majority of people who
are purchasing these guitars are of above average intelligence. I figure they
have to be to have that much money in the first place. (That's what makes the
scam, and yes it is a scam, so perfect.)
I could live with this BS if they priced them fairly. Instead
they preload the collect-ability and cache value into the retail selling price.
In my opinion this action effectively robs the consumer of his ability to make
anything on resale 20 years down the road.
When I worked for Gibson I was told that company policy was
to price the guitars high so that the end sucker OOPS! Did I say sucker? I meant
"buyer" would assume
it was of good quality.
Holy Dollar signs Batman this
guitar costs $20,000.00 it must be good !!!!!
Yeah, dream on Birdboy!!!!
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See What Else is on the Market
Don't Be A Lemming
I will continue to add quality guitars to this page
Don't Buy A Gibson On Ebay, It's
probably a forgery
There are many many people selling fake Gibsons
Fake Guitars Seized From Oakdale Music
Shop (Counterfeit Gibsons)
Newsday ^ | 18 Sep 07 | Joseph Mallia
Posted on Tuesday, September 18, 2007 5:14:02
PM by
Drew68
An Oakdale music store owner was arrested Monday for
selling fake versions of the legendary Gibson guitar at his Montauk
Highway shop, the Suffolk police said.
Investigators seized 15 fake Gibsons from the store, the
police said.
Bernard Musumeci, 44, of 2 Domino Way, Centereach,
surrendered to the police Monday night, and was charged with trademark
counterfeiting.
After he was released, Musumeci turned over another 18 guitars from his
home, and Gibson Guitar Corp. experts will determine whether they're
authentic.
The arrest came after a two-month investigation by Fifth Squad
detectives, working in conjunction with the Nashville-based Gibson
company.
After authorities were alerted that Musumeci may have been selling
fakes at Oakdale Music, at 925 Montauk Hwy., an undercover security expert
from Gibson determined that several guitars from the store were, indeed,
counterfeit.
Suffolk detectives applied for and executed a search warrant earlier
this week and the 15 guitars, all of which were determined to be
counterfeit, were seized at the music store.
Now based in Nashville, the original Gibson Guitar and Mandolin Company
was founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Mich., by shoe clerk and musician
Orville Gibson.
Gibson now produces what many consider the world's foremost guitars,
especially reissues of the Les Paul model first manufactured in 1952.
Authentic Gibsons are pricey. An original 1959 Gibson Les Paul Flame
Top guitar was listed on eBay Monday at a buy-it-now price of nearly
$100,000. And a 2007 reissue of the same guitar was listed for $4,500.
(Excerpt) Read more at
newsday.com ...
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Roman Blues Deluxe
It's not a real good idea to buy the Gibson 335
anymore.
The Blues Deluxe pictured here is one of many brands that are
far better to buy.
This one even uses real wood in the construction.
Gibson's and all the forged models are all
made from laminated plywood. The Blues Deluxe guitar is far better &
considerably cheaper. It also comes in
a custom shop version for slightly more dollars than a laminated Gibson, and
offers a tremendous amount
of options that Gibson does not offer.
Mosrite 300 Series
It's not a real good idea to buy the Gibson 335
anymore.
The Mosrite pictured here is one of many brands that are
far better to buy. Gibson never has tops as nice as this. This Guitar plays circles around the Gibson and
costs less.
If it isn't going to be better, then there is no reason to build it. There are countless double cutaway guitars that are miles better than anything
Gibson is making at any price. The versatility of a Mosrite is considerably more
that that of any Gibson counterparts.
Dean, Alembic, Moonstone, Dean, Gibson, Ibanez, Jackson, BC
Rich
This was a picture of my personal guitar collection in 1993
I STILL OWN MOST OF THEM TODAY!
The Gibson was completely redone but It still did not stand up, so I sold it
!!!!
My favorite player was the BC Rich.
The Dean's sounded the best by far.
The Jackson looked the coolest but I had retopped it.
This picture was shot about a year
after the previous picture
Explorers & Similar Shapes
I am always looking to buy any of these guitars
Click here to find out all the Les
Paul Broken Necks
Heritage Guitars
These were built in the original Gibson Factory by the original Gibson
employees.
I bought over 600 of these between 1995 and 2003
Something happened to Heritage quality and we stopped carrying them.
They were still better than the Gibson guitars of the era.
Ibanez Custom Agent
Bringing about $3,000.00 today
ESP James Hetfield Model
Rumor has it that all of Metallica's Guitars are
Ghostbuilt by Boris Dommenget in Germany
Boris has been building Rudolph Schenkers, & Mathias Jabs Explorers & Flying
Vees for 12 years.
Andy Babiuk and a beautiful Duesenberg Single Cutaway
Andy recommended that I carry these, I am glad that I became a Duesenberg dealer
they are fairly priced and the quality is awesome
Trussart Guitar, with Tom Holmes pickups a real favorite of
Billy Gibbons
Even More Heritage Guitars on display in my store 2003
Click here to find out all the Les
Paul Broken Necks
Custom Guitar
Nice guitar but I could do without that bridge
Hello Ed..;);)
Greetings from Norway..
been looking at your website for a few hours now and I am
impressed, especially the rants section
as I have some bad experience myself with gibson guitars.
first I owned a Les Paul studio that had several glips
between the fretboard and neck, think they tried to paint
over it or something, didn't work..;);)cost me 12000
kr.(1800 dollars) some 16 years ago ..a lot of money when
you are 14..
now the reason for buying my Les Paul was of course slash of
guns n roses, my hero..
(See Ghostbuilders, Ed)
and your section on brand loyalty is also very interesting
and very true, as I have been there myself, buying all of
Gibsons B.S. about their "hand crafted" instruments.. I have
found no such thing in my Gibsons..;);)
my second guitar was an Explorer, brand new 2007 model,
and the same damn thing was wrong with the
neck on this one as well. Only the glips was bigger, it
looked like they hadn't even tried to fit the fretboard
right.. it stood out a couple of millimeters from the neck
all the way from 5.fret up to the 12.fret..
poor craftsmanship at best.. I mean even the cheapest of
models from brands like Ibanez etc. you will not find
major flaws like this..
how the hell can they go on making their crappy
instr..??and people are still buying..??
I have now gotten rid of both my gibsons and be sure: there
will never be one in my house again...ever!!!
I am now a proud owner of an Ibanez universe 7 string.. and
it works and sounds better than I could ever imagine..
will not trade that one for any other guitar, the build is
excellent and so far beyond gibson`s sad attempts..
by the way.. any views up`s or down`s regarding Ibanez
guitars..??just curious..;);)
oh and I have to mention the Les Paul slash signature model,
here in Norway the list price is 65.000 kroner.
that should be about $9.500 !!!!!...what does Gibson do that
can justify that kind of prices..??ghost build like you have
mentioned..?? Slash probably gets his share I reckon..;);)
Well thats all from me, Use this if you can/want to on your
website, be sure I will do my bit to convert people into
thinking for and by themselves, not believing all the
commercial stuff they read from major corps. like gibson..
Hans E. Beddari
Stjørdal.
Norway.
Thanks Hans for your
letter,
Who knows, Maybe it
might convince some other 14 year old not to make the
mistake that you and I both made when we were young.
Could be, it's useless
to try and fight the corporate machine that is Gibson !!!!!
I get lot's of negativity slung at me because I choose to
call it the way I see it...
Occasionally when
someone tells me they didn't fall for the corporate BS,
I am elated,
Today in the USA most
people are brainwashed and programmed before they are out of
3rd grade. I guess we can thank the American
Advertising Council for turning our country into a 3rd
world. Of course all the wonderful American businessmen who
only care about making money for themselves that sends all
our wonderful designs to China so they can put all their
employees out of work.
Don't those idiotic
morons realize that no one can afford to buy anything if
they don't have a job... Duh !!!!
Maybe someday our
American culture will mature enough to realize what is
actually happening to us !!!!
I know that my
customers in Norway are all doing quite well because I sell
a lot of very expensive guitars there.
Thanks again for your
letter !!!
Ed Roman
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Burny
3 Beautiful Guild Singlecuts
I have noticed a tremendous propensity of people who are
collecting copy guitars
I predict that by 2010 there will be at least 3 or 4 dealers who will be
specializing in copies
Bradley GT
Gretsch Elliot Easton
Baker Crucible
Ed Roman Maximus
Click The Link do The Comparison
Lotus Singlecuts excellent for $249.00
CAN'T READ THE LOGO
Can anyone help on this one
Looks pretty good in the photo.
Love that Color
3 EKO Guitars
EPIPHONE
HYUNDAI
FAT DAWG MODEL
George Lynch with a guitar that looks like a Les Paul
I'm positive it isn't a Gibson...
Malden Singlecut Good Quality for a Good Price
Steve Stevens with Custom singlecut
Slash's Replica Gibsons
I am told that Slash has over 30 replica Les Paul's, I
have a 234.00 dollar model made in Korea sitting in my office. I can't sell it
or Gibson will sue me but I can show it to any interested individual. By January
2009 I will also have one down at the retail store in downtown Las Vegas.
Ask any sales rep to show it you.
No we cannot and will not sell it.
If we taped over the name we guarantee you will not be
able to tell the Gibson from the one we buy for $234.00 out of Canada. In fact
most people pick the lower cost one over Gibson because the cheaper one has
better tuning pegs on it than the one that Gibson sells.
The Orange Guitar on the left is one of the Guitars that
California Luthier Kris Derrig made for Slash back before anyone knew who Slash
was.
I wonder how many people bought Gibson's thinking that they were
buying the same guitar that Slash played.
Billy Gibbons also uses 4 lb replica Gibson's that one pickup is
actually a phony. I wonder how many Gibson guitars have sold because Billy
appears to be playing one. Billy has one with a Question Mark on the
Headstock instead of a brand name.
The bottom line is don't be afraid to buy a Michael Kelly or a
Baker Guitar just because it sells for so much
less than a Gibson. The Baker Guitar blows the Gibson
off the planet and costs less than half !!! Try it and see for
yourself plus the Baker Guitar has a 25 year
UNLIMITED warranty on the neck. Gibson
Necks Break Like Toothpicks and then you are completely Shit Out Of Luck
!!!!!
There Are Hundreds of Les Paul Copy Brands On The Market Today
Morris
Sekova
Tokai
Click here to find out all the Les
Paul Broken Necks
Benavente Guitar
Much Much Much Much More Coming
I may even devote a website to this rant,
Explorers & Similar Shapes
Flying Vees & Similar Shapes
Les Paul's & Similar Shapes
SG's & Similar Shapes
335's & Similar Shapes
Firebirds & Similar Shapes
L5's & Similar Shapes
Stratocasters & Similar Shapes
Telecasters & Similar Shapes
Mosrite & Similar Shapes
Ed Roman is retrofitting many Gibson Guitars with the
Buzz Feiten Tuning
System
This corrects a lot of design and engineering problems that come on stock
models
Ed - I'm getting loads of emails from Epiphone/Gibson,
crowing about their release of the Slash Les Paul.
Big shit...I'm glad Slash has an endorsement deal, but I've read the specs. It's a
plain Les Paul model, bottom line. So is the Zack Wylde Les Paul, the Jimmy Page
Les Paul, the Les Paul Les Paul... I'm waiting for a Leo Fender Les Paul any day
now. I don't care much that Slash's name is on it; it's still a model that has
been done (and copied) to death. If I'm dropping 5 grand on a guitar named for
some guy in a stove-pipe hat, it better be Abe Lincoln.
If you have a feel for this whole artist-endorsement-of-a-plain-stock-piece
thing (especially when it comes to the names of TWO people on the same guitar),
I would very much enjoy seeing it as a future rant.
Respectfully,
Alan P.
Broadcast Engineer & diehard Gretsch player
Washington DC
Ed's Response
Hello Alan
Calling yourself a diehard Gretsch
player implies that you don't want to be told about anything new. It implies
that you don't want to be confused with the facts. It implies that you have
already made up your mind and nothing will change it. it implies that you
are not a forward thinker. (Believe me, I can relate to that)
I sincerely appreciate your letter, I love the part about a Leo Fender model.
But you must understand, I stand straight & tall in the high winds of
ignorance. Ignorance is prevalent because of retarded diehard attitudes.
I used to be a Harley Guy, I thought
everyone who drove a Honda was an ass, I thought everyone who rode a Triumph was
an Ass. Well in truth, I was the biggest Ass of all for being a diehard
Harley dude. I went 30 years as a diehard Harley dude. One morning I woke
up and realized that I was no better than a diehard Gibson guy. I mean deep down
I knew they were pieces of crap and they were always giving me problems. But I
had worn this biker personae since I was 17 and I wasn't about to admit to the
fact that I was a complete Jerk.
Well Here I go.... I was a COMPLETE
JERK !!!!!!!!
I can remember when I worked at Gibson
and the idea of 2 names on a guitar came up. Everyone inside pretty much agreed
it was a crass idea and that even the general public wouldn't be that stupid.
Of course they did it anyway with the reasoning, "We Are Gibson, We can do
anything & the Suckers will always swallow it" (They rely on the
diehards) Just like Harley, they rely on diehards. That isn't
healthy in my book.
While at Gibson I didn't have a vote in
the matter, I was just a division commander, I was handling one brand name
"Steinberger" and they had both my hands tied behind my back. Basically I was a
puppet manager assigned to such trivialities as training their less than
intelligent sales force what a "trans trem" was & how it worked, & how to sell
headless guitars to retarded music dealers who were even less intelligent.
NOT MY IDEA OF A FUN JOB.
I ranted about this for years,
anyway imagine this Scenario.......
Billy Bob Buford of Billy Bob & The
Redneck Toilet Bowl Plungers happens to be a big Ace Frehley Fan. The only
thing of real importance in Billy Bob's miserable little life is to bow down on
his prayer rug and pray 7 times a day towards the northeast (New York City)
towards the home of his lifelong hero Ace Frehley.
Naturally when Billy Bob performs he
uses his trusty Les Paul, not just any Les Paul, He uses the Ace Frehley
Les Paul that he paid $13,000.00 for when he was a kid and can't bring himself
to play anything else.
OK the story is playing out.
Billy Bob writes a song about a mass murder chainsaw bloody death massacre and
gets a number one hit with a bullet in his little brain.
Gibson decides to honor this geek by
giving him a guitar of his own so they can sell them to his fans. Gibson gouges
their customers by charging $12,000.00 for a plywood ES335 with an Eric Clapton
logo on it. They stick it deep to their customers when they charge $25,000.00
for a doubleneck that used to sell the year before for $1,850.00.
Just because they associate Jimmy Page's name with it.
What I don't understand is,
Gibson reams their customers repeatedly yet the brand loyalty is strong with the
well to do sophisticated educated doctors, lawyers, dentists & accountants.
These are the very people who should see right through them. Oh Well !!!!
I mean I wouldn't expect some Hollywood. Burbank, San Fernando Valley mindless
musician to get it. or one of those lower east side New York hair-heads to
understand. But educated intelligent people should be able to see right through
their little veil of Bullshit.
Announcing the
New " Chainsaw Billy Bob" , " Ace Frehley", " Les Paul"...
Sheeeesh how stupid are we as a buying public.
Someone please bury this poorly designed antiquated piece of
crap in a dung hill in some third world armpit where it belongs !!!!!!
People !!!! Wake Up .....
Ed
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