Custom Chibson Experience (Internals vid added)

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guitargeek62guitargeek62 Frets: 4066
edited April 2014 in Guitar
**Disclaimer** I am not attempting to start another thread on the ethics of forgeries. There is no way at all that the guitar I've bought can be passed off as a real Gibson (even using their logo), and I have no intention of selling it because a) it was fairly cheap, and b) I'm happy to keep it as a wall-hanger even if I don't play it much. I'll be permanently marking it as a copy in the pickup cavities also.

I thought it might interest some of you to follow my order of a Chibson and general experience;




For a long time I've lusted after a Trini Lopez. I'm a fan of Dave Grohl, and very nearly ordered a DG-335 when they were released (wish I had, look at what they sell for now!). The problem for me is that neither the originals, or the DG-335 (& later Trini re-issue), had a neck that I would get on with, so I doubted that I'd ever keep it even if I had bought one back in 2008.

I've given thought to having a replica built in the future by a UK or US luthier perhaps. I even found a few places that sell DIY ES ply bodies that I could adapt into one and build myself, but they were all frightfully expensive for something that I essentially want for it's cosmetic value.

Along comes Chibson.

Recently, @Jookychap posted a photo of a Chibson copy of a Trini that surprised me by being much closer in details than the few DG-335 copies I'd seen on youtube, MLP etc. I tracked down the website and saw that they did a few variations of the model, and even offered nitro- finishes, and customisation options... perfect. This is the picture that sold me;

image

I contacted them straight away to try and get some better pictures of the nitro finishes as the ones on the site seemed to have quite a bit of orange peel. They weren't able to help much in that respect unfortunately so I played it safe and went with a polyurethane finish. We went back & forth on options and in the end I gave them my full wish-list spec. I asked for a few changes - custom fat-neck (with dimensions and profile), an ebony fingerboard, kluson tuners, and the rear-control cover from the ES-333/Lucille. They already offered the latter on their Tom Delonge ES copy, and I'm expecting to mod this guitar quite a bit in the long run so it'll make the work easier. I kept the rest of the spec much in line with a Trini (bound f-holes, gold logo, trapeze tailpiece etc), and awaited the estimate.

They were able to make everything I'd asked for, and surprisingly enough would only charge extra for the Ebony fingerboard! I gave it a day or so to mull over, and then confirmed the order and put the payment through (Paypal btw, nice and secure at least). This was 3 weeks ago, I had a few follow-up emails from the company to confirm the order sheet before it was sent to their factory. The communication has generally been very commendable, for which I'm grateful when dealing blind half-way across the world!

This morning, I unexpectedly received the following progress pic from them (that's my name that I've blocked out btw, which was a nice touch by them);

image

As far as I can tell it seems to be on track to what I'd asked for. I presume the f-holes are bound as requested, and are simply awaiting scraping. I've asked them to confirm though, along with a minor point in that I'd asked for a bronze logo rather than a pearl inlay/overlay so hopefully that can be addressed easily enough by them, otherwise I'll stick with MOP. The fingerboard does appear to be Ebony, but in that state it's a little hard to tell.

Still, so far I'm very impressed with the company's communication, and I can't wait to get my hands on it to find out if it's any good! :)



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Comments

  • underdogunderdog Frets: 8334
    Looks nice, what is it costing?
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  • JookyChapJookyChap Frets: 4234
    Cool thread Si - very interested to see how this goes :)

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  • guitargeek62guitargeek62 Frets: 4066
    edited March 2014
    £285 + (presumably) import duties. I doubt it'll go over £350, so essentially it's Epiphone money. If it's Epi quality, that's fine by me too - I'm really not expecting perfection.

    *edit* FWIW - I would happily spend >£500 on an Epiphone version of this if they made one. But only if it didn't have that damned D-profile they use on everything!
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  • TravisthedogTravisthedog Frets: 1844
    edited March 2014
    underdog said:
    Looks nice, what is it costing?
    ^ This
    I saw one site doing them for about 200 bucks
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  • WezVWezV Frets: 16541
    You can always spray a tint over the logo.   Looks good so far, if you ordered some with a non-gibson logo you could probably sell a few quite honestly as exactly what they are.
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    Looking lovely - agree with @WezV that it's  better off without the logo issues !
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
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  • guitargeek62guitargeek62 Frets: 4066
    underdog said:
    Looks nice, what is it costing?
    ^ This
    I saw one site doing them for about 200 bucks
    I've seen those too, the details weren't quite as close though (control placement, headstock shape etc) and they didn't offer any customisation.

    @WezV - good point on the lacquer, didn't think of that! I wouldn't want to risk any charges from Gibson - I'm happy with just the one for myself! :)
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  • MegiiMegii Frets: 1670
    edited March 2014
    Looks like it should be a great guitar, and cool that it has been custom made to your requirements, with the ebony board and rear control cover, neck profile etc.  I understand that there is quite a bit of variation in quality with different Chinese factories, and it seems like you have found a good one there. Will look forward to some pics and first impressions when you have the guitar! :)
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  • The maddest thing is that, if this factory could produce half decent guitars with ebony boards for another company, they'd sell pretty good.

    Quite interested to see how it pans out though.  Ethically, I do pretty much hate it, but this thread is about the guitar and it looks like it's coming on a treat.

    Wonder if they'd do a custom logo?
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  • Would like to know results.....
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  • Adam_MDAdam_MD Frets: 3420
    It looks like an outfit I'd be tempted to order from but would need to have a custom logo applied.
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  • Looks good to me

    Old Is Gold
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  • xSkarloeyxSkarloey Frets: 2962
    Hope it goes well. 

    If you end up satisfied with the result maybe you could let some of us who are interested have the details of the seller. 

    Are you going through Aliexpress? 
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  • guitargeek62guitargeek62 Frets: 4066
    Nope, I've gone through their website - most of the ones on aliexpress seemed to be on the less accurate side of things, although it's hard to be sure as everyone steals each others pictures on there!

    I didn't want to be accused of marketing frauds so I haven't linked the site on here, but if anyone is interested then PM me and I'll pass it on (or a minor bit of detective work would bring it up too!). :)
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  • DrBobDrBob Frets: 2998
    If I didn't already have a very nice 335 type guitar I'd be all over this lot about an Inverness Green one...
    In fact were I more fiscally fluid I'd probably still be on at them about the Firebird model they seem to sell as well...

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  • chrisj1602chrisj1602 Frets: 3889
    Looks great I think.  The custom ordering is great for that price!

    Personally, I wouldn't want a Gibson logo but not going to start preaching! I have seen one of these on a blog somewhere, the buyer asked for no logo and they did that.  I'm getting ideas now...
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  • guitargeek62guitargeek62 Frets: 4066
    I almost went with a blank headstock, but like I said, I want this as a wall-hanger more than anything and chances are I'd have added a logo later on anyway! :\

    @DrBob - you know how much that green tempted me! If this does turn out well then I'll be very interested in trying out a black nitro version at some point perhaps.


    Also - if anyone knows somewhere that sells the trapeze blocks like on the original, I'd be grateful for a link. Otherwise I'll find a chunk of ebony and make one myself! :)
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  • ChrisMusicChrisMusic Frets: 1133
    Interesting discussion, I am looking forward to see how this progresses.  Thanks for posting this.

    (The disclaimer in the OP is a very good idea, without the logo I see little difference between this and any other partscaster.)

    Looks good so far, and I really do like ebony boards.
    The original Trini neck profile is one I could not get on with either, so it is a real bonus of being able to specify the profile you want.

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  • guitargeek62guitargeek62 Frets: 4066
    On the originals it's just the nut width that's the problem, on the reissues it's the 60's profile they used. Lose/lose situation for me. :(
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  • I'm waiting on delivery of the new 2014 Gibson Trini Lopez, it would be very interesting to A/B them....
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