Is it an undercover Gibson?

[sailaway]

There is an interesting 1960-2 F style 'might be a gibson' advertised on E bay :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws....16&rd=1 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=10179&item=3721096316&rd=1)

this 'nonGibson' mando appears to have an authentic Gibson engraved tailpiece, and a fairly fancy Gibson Mother of Pearl (?Squirrel?) inlay on the head . even the inside hookplate where the strings attach under the tailpiece is identical to the old Gibson pre war models. seller claims there is no Gibson label inside.(seller has 100% + feedback.) Could someone actually 'forge' all these Gibson hallmarks ? or is this a real undercover gibson ? (PS- i am not in the market for another Mando,my MAS is under control at the moment ... just curious ..) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Jim Garber]

Could #someone #actually 'forge' #all #these #Gibson #hallmarks ?
Quick answer... yes! This one looks like it was done better than some. Finish is off in color tho.

Even resepected makers did copies... I have seen a few of John Monteleone's F5s where he tried to duplicate everything as close as possible. Parts are readily available.

BTW the squirrel inlay is actually a variant of the Fern.

Jim

[ourgang]

You can buy after-market anything for Gibson mandos and banjos. The guy says it is a Gibson COPY.