How to Tell a Real 1959 Gibson Les Paul Guitar From a Fake

Re:How to Tell a Real 1959 Gibson Les Paul Guitar From a Fake by elihu on Monday July 13, 2020 @09:47PM (#23827682)

My theory of the progression of manufacturing for some product goes like this:

stage 1: figure out how to make a thing

stage 2: figure out how to make the thing well

stage 3: figure out how to make the thing cheaply

stage 4: figure out how to make the thing well, cheaply

I'd say that for electric guitars, the '59 Les Paul was at the early end of stage 2, and sometime in the last decade or so we've gradually transitioned into stage 4.

One might argue that there's also a stage 5: figure out how to make the thing well and cheap, but customized to a specific user's preferences. Right now, that's the main reason why one would have an electric guitar custom made by a luthier rather than buy a factory-made instrument. (I like to mess around with just-intonation-based tuning systems, and have ended up building or modifying a lot of instruments simply because guitars in the tunings I want simply aren't for sale.)

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Re:How to Tell a Real 1959 Gibson Les Paul Guitar From a Fake by vondur on Monday July 13, 2020 @10:21PM (#23827856)

I've had 2 Kiesel's semi-custom made for me. Nice guitars and both were under $1500 for made in the USA.

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Re:How to Tell a Real 1959 Gibson Les Paul Guitar From a Fake by cpursley on Tuesday July 14, 2020 @04:37AM (#23829745)

I was about to mention Kiesel but you beat me to it. I'd argue that they're the real American guitar company (Gibson & Fender are has beens). Affordable made to order instruments that are ergonomic, high quality, and innovative.

https://www.kieselguitars.com/customshop/

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Re:How to Tell a Real 1959 Gibson Les Paul Guitar From a Fake by elihu on Tuesday July 14, 2020 @02:16AM (#23829072)

Yeah, it's amazing what you can have made specifically for you for the same price or less than an American-made Fender or Gibson if you go with a small-volume manufacturer or an independent luthier.

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