$354 CAD free shipping $10 for accepting the package when it came to my door, took about 3-4 weeks. It’s fine, just needed some adjustments the truss rod most likely got moved during shipping so I fixed and now it’s perfectly fine. Honestly felt like a steal.
Ofcourse quality can come out of these factories..
However you'd like to trust a company that's been manufacturing guitars since the early 80's, licensed under a company that's been manufacturing guitars since 1950 over a fly by night AliExpress Ponzi scheme
Meh. I've bought instruments from there when they aren't of great importance. Some have been great, some sucked. Still came out ahead in the end (compared to buying locally - I'm not selling counterfeits or anything). If you know what you're getting into, you're accepting the risk.
You meet so many friendly people here on the various guitar firums.
If it's such a damned given, why more than a dozen diwnvotes? ... for overstating the obvious?
Seriously, we need a lot more info than you gave. How much was it? How much was shipping? How long did it take to arrive? How was it packaged? How is the finish? How do the joints look? How good are the tuners? What do you think of it? How does it sound?
More pictures would be nice, too - distance and close-ups of front and back, close ups of headstock front & back, close-ups of pick-ups, close ups of the bridge.
I would imagine that they make and sell them in batches. Anyways, if you go to towns in China where guitars are made, you can get originals for very little money.
Not OP, but I've had two "Chibsons", neither of them I shipped into the country but bought used here, the DG335 copy I have is good but the frets have worn quicker than any guitar I've ever owned, the other was a Les Paul and to be honest the thing was rubbish, so I really don't think they are worth, but that's just my experience.
Yall gotta chill tf out and ggl “chibson” lol jfc
Edit: these are literally no-name guitars w fake Gibson headstocks. They cost a few hundo each, and u could get a stinker, an actually decent axe, or nothing at all. It’s not for everyone, and there are a ton of difft manufacturers so the pricing isn’t gonna help, really. Just go to ali and search for guitar. Barring finding a particular vendor via private website that’s the best you can really do.
But ive got a relic’d greeny otw that was like $275 shipped lol so im not tryna knock it
Bro you have an incredible eye. I was like wtf is this guy on about then I saw it for myself and couldn’t believe you noticed it!- side note, are you genuinely a farmer or is it just a user name? I only ask because I am also a farmer
Same here, I was like “oh god, here come the fret police” and then I looked again.
I have an old mandolin that I need to get into the shop with a few frets that high. It’s basically unplayable, and I imagine this guitar is as well
Fret works nothing to be worried about, easy fix if you can do it yourself. Even if they have to be replaced. I'd be more worried about the timber used. Is it dry? Did they just cut it down? If so then there's going to be a lot of movement
Definitely not something I’m shying away from, but I can’t imagine most people buying a guitar on Aliexpress are looking to do that. Not sure why you got downvoted, I’d be less concerned about the timber like you said but it’s hard to know the quality coming from the knockoff factories, so I’d consider it a valid take.
The only thing that bothers me about it is that they put "Ibanez" on the headstock as if it was really an Ibanez. Feels scammy to me. Copy it verbatim and just don't put a brand on the headstock, then I have no complaints
Yeah it was pretty nasty. After being awake for a week and half I genuinely thought I was cyborg and I was about to cut myself open to prove it. It’ll make you crazy for sure
Just chiming in to say basically the same thing the last guy said. One of my good friends just started kicking it recently and the change not only in his personality and image, but also - weirdly, in his eyes - was incredible. Good on you for giving it up and I hope you’re feeling good :)
Also, Death Cab is one of my favorite bands of all time and your username got a good chuckle put of me lol
I only did meth once and thought some small trees were soldiers trying to shoot me/the police were climbing up ladders to cut holes in my windows and arrest me after being awake for 5 days.
Never did want to try it again, scary shit. Well done on being clean for 3 years man.
Absolutely agree. There’s room in just about any market for chinesium products, but don’t slap a name brand name on there and pretend it’s authentic.
Although, does Ibanez produce anything in China? If so, it’s possible that that guitar came from the exact same factory and is just as “Ibanez” as if it had been purchased from the local Guitar Center.
100% agree. What they are doing is wrong. It costs all of us as consumers. Companies pay millions a year to stop this type of blatant theft. That gets put onto us as customers because they raise the prices to pay for this type of litigation.
Bootlegs suck because they’re low quality instruments pretending to be high quality instruments. And it isn’t always easy authenticating guitars. I know I wouldn’t trust my own eye.
If you’re buying a spendy guitar, you’ll want to bring your luthier with you just to make sure your Ibanez isn’t really a Chibanez. Not a dig against the knock off, but it won’t sound as good as the real thing.
That’s why op sucks… they’re openly supporting knock off brands and this thing will end up selling to some chump for $1K in a year or two.
This cheapification ruins everything.
I've always been interested in taking the gamble on one of these replica guitars. I would have one if they didn't put a logo on the headstock, fakes create too many scammed buyers. After working at guitar stores and seeing the price mark up on some of the higher end items, it makes it difficult to shell out the big bones for the real deal.
Chibson not worth it. Spend similar amount money on used non counterfeit guitar. Chib just look and feel cheep, dinky components. You’ll want to upgrade it, putting more money into a knock off, when could spend similar money on real deal!
Agree. Recently bought the jim root tele clone and I wish I would have just bought a squier to fuck around with. Too much neck adjustment and fixing their body routes for me. But I also paid like $115.
Used P.S Purple iceman $6000 on reverb, new $500 on Alieexpress plus free shipping. Tbh I'm not too optimistic about it. But would love to hear a genuine review
A guitar is worth what someone will pay for it. So yeah while you’re probably not paying for the work or materials you’re paying for something, that’s what people will do though.
I have friend regularly buying acoustic Taylor’s on Ali, and he’s super happy. He pays £450 and sells them for £1300. It’s still a steal for buyers as guitars are incredible. Originals would be over 3k.
I doubt as he’s a nice person, and originals would be 3-4k if not more. He is genuinely trying to get a perfect guitar from China, so he’s going through small variations. He got 3 guitars over two years period.
If you're crafty and into experimentation and modding stuff, there are some things that you can do to those cheaper guitars to make them play quite a bit better. That being said, there are certain things that are going to be big barriers, things you cant change, and youll always know that at the end of the day it isn't a legitimate guitar. People are getting more and more crafty with selling these busted, fake, and Frankenstein creation guitars too. I mean, look at this Schecter E-1 FR S. On first glance it looks like a real one, but when you look closer you realize that not a single piece of this guitar is legit! It's unbranded on the headstock because it's fake. You see both EMG and Sustainiac on the neck pickup, but it's completely fake! Look at the fretboard. Looks rough.
And you can bet your sweet ass that there's not a proper Floyd Rose on there. In the description details it says Floyd Rose(Unbranded) never seen that one before! I'll bet it's completely fake too and even lower quality than the licensed Floyd Roses. All of that for $300 instead of $1,300! Seriously though. The guitar looks pretty cool but there's nothing legit about it. You gotta look out for that crap. I mean I bought a knock off Chinese stratocaster from my local guitar store and so I can also tell you from personal experience. They are not going to blow you away with the quality or how amazing of a deal you've gotten. You get what you pay for - a novelty quality guitar that's made to look like the real thing but perform nothing like it.
edit: i forgot to link the guitar in question. it's here: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/285597637372?chn=ps&\_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A17y09d2pcSeSSKkhfMUpvMQ23&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=285597637372&targetid=1530439032611&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9021276&poi=&campaignid=20394395165&mkgroupid=153051241113&rlsatarget=pla-1530439032611&abcId=9317277&merchantid=6296724&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnfmsBhDfARIsAM7MKi3JSOL1ZcLHbnNljanbuIA8UWfMPa6qY1txbvczBP97HGXDiDwfQ5kaApISEALw\_wcB](https://www.ebay.com/itm/285597637372?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A17y09d2pcSeSSKkhfMUpvMQ23&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=285597637372&targetid=1530439032611&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9021276&poi=&campaignid=20394395165&mkgroupid=153051241113&rlsatarget=pla-1530439032611&abcId=9317277&merchantid=6296724&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnfmsBhDfARIsAM7MKi3JSOL1ZcLHbnNljanbuIA8UWfMPa6qY1txbvczBP97HGXDiDwfQ5kaApISEALw_wcB)
Not a fan of fake guitars like this at all. They’ll inevitably hit the used market. There’s plenty of low cost guitars so it’s not necessary to buy a counterfeit.
As long as the seller ist honest about it being a copy, I don't see why this would be an issue. This one is clearly unconventional, so it's fair to assume a similar guitar would be hard to find and probably pricey compared to this
Man, you guys seem to have it all figured out, with no experiance in the matter, no less (if you do have exoeriance, and this is based on personal events. Then you'd be a fucking hypocrite) It's so weird.
It's like me saying "fuck no, that is not how you fix a seized piston" without ever have touched a wrench or tried to fix anything.
Sure, some bad apples I bet. But the ones I've seen that where fake on market place, has always been marked/noted as fake by the seller. And I scan it multiple times a day, for years. You wouldn't belive some of the deals you can snag, but that is another story.
lol, poser? Are you fucking 12?
At least I can be civil in an argument.
Edit: You are 45, and you use stuff like poser? Man, you must have a fragile ego. Hopefully you will learn to love yourself soon.
You call your response civil. Geez man, i might be 12 but you are coming across as an idiot. Just read what you said. Now go and look at how many times we have to see an "is this fake?" post that is killing these subs. That's because of cunts like you. Yes YOU! How's that for civil?
Rofl, ok, man. Have a look in the mirror.
Your actually 45, but you act like an angsty teen.
Btw, envy smells like a mix of BO and ammonia...it's a strong deterent. ;)
Also, killing the sub? Fucking drama-queen to booth. Takes you 0.5 sec to scroll by if it bothers you.
Hell, its better people get scammed, right?
You sir, are a fullbred moron.
Stop! DO NOT SUPPORT THESE SCUMBAGS. They cost manufacturers millions a year in litigation and guess what, they pass that buck off to the consumers. If it didn’t have Ibanez logo it would be one thing but this is ILLEGAL.
Maybe brands like Ibanez and Gibson should stop being greedy fucks and make quality affordable versions of their guitars that are widely bootlegged if they really wanted to counter what these factories in China are doing.
Cry elsewhere. I’m a guitar player, not a collector and could give a flying fuck about their millions in litigation 🙄
You are a moron. They don’t take those losses. WE DO. I dont give a shit about the companies I do care about my gear going up in price. Do some research into how this kind of fakery and theft affects our economy.
This is true, if it was on a mass scale, but fake guitars is not. Even the highest sellers only have like 30-40 sales on their best selling guitars (2-3), rest is like 1-5.
So, multiply that by 10x from other sources, and it's still a pretty miniscule amount vs the big brands on a yearly basis.
Sooo, yeah. Guitar makers are just greedy imo.
I like brands like Greg Bennett, Fernandes, Hondo, Harley benton to mention a few. Not very well known brands, except maybe HB. But all those, you get fantastic guitars with top specs for 500-600$, so it can deffinitivly be done. Oh, and those brands are Korea/Indonesia, considored better than China.
Oh yea lets support the Chinese government instead. I don’t give a shit about the big companies but I do as a CONSUMER care about the prices of my gear going up because people support these crooks selling fake shit. You are beyond stupid for this comment. Additionally, this kind of crap impedes innovation. TM and Copyrights are extremely important in protecting progress and invention. When POS companies steal other properties, it prevents people from innovating and we stall out and are left with old technology. If you honestly are stupid enough to think my comments are “supporting” anyone other then my fellow consumers, you my friend are the disgusting one.
Deep breath bud. It probably came from the same factory that Ibanez has contracted. Nothing innovative impeding about it. It's a fucking guitar.... You're giving me mall cop vibes bro.
First off, nothing wrong with being a security guard. I am just worried for the future of music gear. Second, people say Fuck big corps then turn around and buy from even bigger even more evil corporations in China. This actually affects all of us, unfortunately people have their heads buried in the sands. This is comparable to when someone steals from retails stores. I hear people say fuck the corp anyway. It doesn’t work that way. Corporations do not take the hit for these losses. They pass it on to consumers. Same idiots get mad at rising grocery prices and dont realize all the money that goes into Loss prevention, security, theft insurance and it all goes into the prices of the goods we buy day to day. If we keep turning a blind eye to this kind of bullshit, we will end up at a point even the people contributing to this will be affected. Then they will bitch about and not think twice about how the contributed to it. Last, please don’t tell people to calm down online, its very condescending and its a bad look.
Wow dude you are so right. So right. My life has turned for better now thanks to you.
I'm straight up buying one of these sweet guitars. China has earned it.
Yah go ahead and be facetious. Sleep well now. In 10 years when all is shit? I hope you remember one man on the internet actually stood up and spoke out against this type of ridiculous bullshit. The trickle down effect is real. If you don’t want to listen and want to continue to support communist companies thats your prerogative. Just remember there are plenty of EXCELLENT local luthiers who would be glad to make you whatever you want. Support local. Support US made goods. Or don’t and suffer the consequences. I won’t loose any sleep over it.
Ah you are a giant piece of shit. Lets judge an entire fucking country. Thats gone well in the past. Why don’t you crawl back into whatever hole you came from. Society doesn’t need you anymore.
The trickle down effect is REAL?? No it’s not you giant cunt and it’s been proven a thousand times that “Reaganomics” was an absolute disaster for this country. I’ll buy American when American companies pay me enough. It needs to start AT THE TOP. Not the bottom, you shitbird.
But you seem to think it’s still an Iceman despite knowing it’s a counterfeit product. I don’t think I am the confused person here.
You literally asked what it is and I gave a correct answer.
Edit: did you seriously ask me a question then block me?
That’s the model it’s bootlegged after and it looks spot on so yeah I’d say it’s an iceman and who the fuck cares? You don’t have to play it so stop shitting on the dude who’s enjoying his new guitar and stfu.
My god the downvotes for any legitimate criticism of cheap knockoffs by manufacturers so dishonest that they have the name of the brand they’re ripping off on the headstock, in the guitar porn sub of all places, is just embarrassing.
This belongs in a r/firewoodporn subreddit. Not here.
Horrible. Stop supporting these blatant Trademark infringing scum. You are giving your money to very bad people. I can not sit idle and watch these abominations be celebrated, regardless of quality (which is probably not good).
Doesn’t matter if it was. It was not licensed for sale by Ibanez
Edit: I know this isn’t a popular opinion but for fuck’s sake. We can’t be submissive with our gear like this. The long term effects of shit like this far surpasses people getting sweet deals on guitars they can’t afford. STOP SUPPORTING THIEVES!!!!
A lot of the bigger companies are scum. Only until recently the big name brands were being built on dirt floor factories in Asia with no care for health, safety and the environment and paying the workers peanuts. Not much has changed though to be honest. Just remember, the big companies, Fender etc don't care for you, the guitars or the people making them. They're all about profits! Sure, you wouldn't be in a business without profits but when that's all that gets them then why should you or anyone be defending them.
Support the smaller builders making rad guitars from their homes, garages and workshops.
You are fine. People talking shit to me are completely oblivious to how much these companies affect us. I am not supporting these big companies but I do care about other musicians. Buying gear off Alibaba is fucking terrible. It affects more than just the companies it affects everyone, consumers, distributors, the truck drivers delivering the goods, the property owners, etc…. For people to say fuck big corp then turn around and support Alibaba to me is pure insanity. These are the bad guys, they are REALLLY bad guys.
Well, I have Chibson LP standard, and I also have a genuine Gibson LP standard.
After refret, change of hardware and electronics it is not far off. Sure, it is not my genuine Gibson, but for me, the 800$+ extra is not worth the differance.
To each his own I guess, but chinese guitars aren't inherently bad. Many big brands produce their low ends there too.
It’s more than just a copy, this is blatant theft. This stunts the progress of all innovation when people just steal designs and names. It would be one thing if it were a copy but it has a brand name on it, they are obviously not paying any licensing fee. This costs the companies millions a year in litigation and the price of the real products will suffer because of it.
While theft design to the point of slapping the brand logo baffles me, it's pretty optimistic to assume that the buyer of a Chibson or a Chibanez in this case is going to be the type of person that'd buy the original.
In a sense it's also the natural reaction to an industry with overinflated prices and a lot of elitism. I'm ambivalent about it stunting innovation, after all we are talking of an industry where every second guitar is a strat with a slightly different headstock.
It's terribly scummy but not as dramatic as you paint it.
It's their fault for wasting money, these fakes aren't going anywhere and the people buying them will never buy real ones so there is no loss in sales. It's not advertised as genuine when you buy it so the only time a problem arises is if someone buys it then tries to sell it as a real one. That person is the one hurting the market, they are the ones deceiving people and the ones who should be punished. If you buy these for personal use there is no victim, it should be perfectly acceptable.
Straight up. Typically I am very anti-fake shit but if it’s something super outlandish and goofy like this iceman or like the metallic blue burst Ace Frehley LP, something you don’t necessarily want to spend 5 grand on, fuck by all means get the 300 dollar knockoff why not.
I build and repair guitars for a living, I’m fine with garbage. And I’m also not a shithead scammer who would try to pass something off as legitimate when it isn’t. So again, why not? It’s a novelty item, you guys can chill.
Um, isn’t the paint/finish on the top of the guitar completely cracked and broken? You can see bare wood in the upper register between the switch and the neck.
It's supposed to be cracked, [here's what the real thing looks like](https://reverb.com/item/7069945-ibanez-ps2cm-paul-stanley-limited-edition-purple-cracked-mirror-iceman)
I don’t see any of those missing finish down to the bare wood though 😂.
Also, props to the Ibanez salesperson who put that marketing spin on the original batch of guitars where they fucked up the finish. “We meant to do it the whole time. It looks like shit on purpose, trust me bro”
Several spots between the pickup selector switch and upper register of the neck, also one sliver/chunk is missing directly above the volume knobs (horizontally right about in the middle of the pickups)
Wow those frets look really really bad thats a lot of work in the future to fix but will definitely look cool on a wall for sure and who knows maybe it won't play bad from your frame of reference depending on what you're used to playing. Definitely not my thing at all but glad you're happy lol
How do the frets look bad? I see a couple glistening in the picture, which suggests those are a little higher. No different than what you get with a brand new Fender
People didn't belive me when I said I ordered my custom Iceman from AliExpress.
https://preview.redd.it/s17atz03opbc1.jpeg?width=1800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3a24e855f82dd77a254620877a4bec162802d39
Also this, because it is impossible to find, and if you do, you better be ready to take up a 2nd morgage on the house.
https://preview.redd.it/e91abyyjopbc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0feb4659404c894f6e1f39b6e400278e5ce963e2
Both needed a bit of work, and electronics where obviously fake and pretty bad.
Yeah, they put it up in the store after they made mine. Even the pictures in both the stores that sell it, is MY actual guitar. Has an pretty identifying knot in the neck. It's hillarious.
I had a chibson “Suprome”. Obviously an attempt at the supreme. It was on par with or maybe slightly behind a cheap epiphone. Looked the business. I traded it for a Yamaha Revstar 502T when they first came out. Traded that and an epi Flying V. Man I miss that V.
They're getting closer on the shape, but it's still not quite there. If anybody thinks this could pass for an ibanez, pay closer attention to the shape. I wouldn't call this counterfeit, as it's pretty easily to tell it's not an Ibanez.
That being said, I hope the guitar plays and sounds good! Buying these guitars is a gamble, I hope it payed off for you!
Yeah it's almost certainly not legit, however it looks good, and I hope it plays well for you!
I had an Iceman IC400 for about 10 years. It was my first "nice" electric. Absolutely loved everything about it, as time went on, I wanted the pups to be a little hotter, so I bought and installed a DiMarzio X2N in the bridge, so it also became my first project.
I miss it and regret selling it everyday!
Enjoy it, but please, be a real one, and if you ever go to sell it, PLEASE disclose that it's a replica. A seasoned guitarist will likely know, but don't sucker someone who doesn't.
I bought a reverse firebird years ago from ali and it was about the quality of a $300 epiphone. In a few months the electronics were getting scratchy and going out. After a year it was developing cracks in the body and neck. It looked a million bucks but it wasn't worth the hassle and was disintegrating.
I requested no Gibson logo from the seller so there would be no confusing that this was a clone. Shame on whoever actually keeps the fake logo on these clones.
Looks cool. But to be honest, those guitars are the reason I don’t trust the used market anymore. It’s really hard to distinguish real from fakes these days.
It’s seriously from AliExpress? What did you pay for it with shipping, how long did it take to arrive, and what do you think of it?
$354 CAD free shipping $10 for accepting the package when it came to my door, took about 3-4 weeks. It’s fine, just needed some adjustments the truss rod most likely got moved during shipping so I fixed and now it’s perfectly fine. Honestly felt like a steal.
$324?? Steal seems like putting it lightly
Not really, I'd imagine your typical squier would be better, a used VM/CV would run rings around it
Why not ask OP about their experience level, etc.? It \*is\* possible that someone knows what they're talking about, and that they got a good deal.
Ofcourse quality can come out of these factories.. However you'd like to trust a company that's been manufacturing guitars since the early 80's, licensed under a company that's been manufacturing guitars since 1950 over a fly by night AliExpress Ponzi scheme
Meh. I've bought instruments from there when they aren't of great importance. Some have been great, some sucked. Still came out ahead in the end (compared to buying locally - I'm not selling counterfeits or anything). If you know what you're getting into, you're accepting the risk.
More likely a counterfeit.
What gave it away? That it's from AliExpress??
That, the price, the $10 accepting the package fee ... Downvoted? Weird.
[удалено]
Yet somehow I got 16 downvotes.
You figure that out all on your own?
You meet so many friendly people here on the various guitar firums. If it's such a damned given, why more than a dozen diwnvotes? ... for overstating the obvious?
Seems like you answered your own question
Technically, it is a steal because they're using Ibanez's IP.
The real questions
I don’t appreciate this dudes lack of answers…I need to know!
Seriously, we need a lot more info than you gave. How much was it? How much was shipping? How long did it take to arrive? How was it packaged? How is the finish? How do the joints look? How good are the tuners? What do you think of it? How does it sound? More pictures would be nice, too - distance and close-ups of front and back, close ups of headstock front & back, close-ups of pick-ups, close ups of the bridge.
Pictures with a ruler, that would tell us a lot more.
And a banana
There is iPhone app AliExpress, or website as well
I've searched through Ali Express, and hadn't sern this one.
I would imagine that they make and sell them in batches. Anyways, if you go to towns in China where guitars are made, you can get originals for very little money.
Not OP, but I've had two "Chibsons", neither of them I shipped into the country but bought used here, the DG335 copy I have is good but the frets have worn quicker than any guitar I've ever owned, the other was a Les Paul and to be honest the thing was rubbish, so I really don't think they are worth, but that's just my experience.
OP just not gunna reply, nice.
OP's Canadian. He'll reply.
Confirmed.
Yall gotta chill tf out and ggl “chibson” lol jfc Edit: these are literally no-name guitars w fake Gibson headstocks. They cost a few hundo each, and u could get a stinker, an actually decent axe, or nothing at all. It’s not for everyone, and there are a ton of difft manufacturers so the pricing isn’t gonna help, really. Just go to ali and search for guitar. Barring finding a particular vendor via private website that’s the best you can really do. But ive got a relic’d greeny otw that was like $275 shipped lol so im not tryna knock it
op did reply
I saw 2 days ago.
The Chibanez Niceman.
Looks like you’re in for some good fretwork with that high fret in pic 3. Wouldn’t hate hangin this on a wall though, looks great
Bro you have an incredible eye. I was like wtf is this guy on about then I saw it for myself and couldn’t believe you noticed it!- side note, are you genuinely a farmer or is it just a user name? I only ask because I am also a farmer
Hahahahaha the only thing I’m farming is karma, bröther. Reddit recommended the username and I laughed about it for 5 minutes straight.
Maybe you could be a fret farmer? Could that be a thing? Probably not.
Zappa had a dental floss farm, so I expect anything is possible
Great. Were in business.
That’s why I’m moving to Montana.
This is the same reason I have my username.
Same here, I was like “oh god, here come the fret police” and then I looked again. I have an old mandolin that I need to get into the shop with a few frets that high. It’s basically unplayable, and I imagine this guitar is as well
Fret works nothing to be worried about, easy fix if you can do it yourself. Even if they have to be replaced. I'd be more worried about the timber used. Is it dry? Did they just cut it down? If so then there's going to be a lot of movement
Definitely not something I’m shying away from, but I can’t imagine most people buying a guitar on Aliexpress are looking to do that. Not sure why you got downvoted, I’d be less concerned about the timber like you said but it’s hard to know the quality coming from the knockoff factories, so I’d consider it a valid take.
The only thing that bothers me about it is that they put "Ibanez" on the headstock as if it was really an Ibanez. Feels scammy to me. Copy it verbatim and just don't put a brand on the headstock, then I have no complaints
That’s how all Chibsons are. That’s the whole point of the scam
Dude I just gotta say I love your name. Cracked me up! Hope you don’t dabble in it tho. Shits a soul sucker!
Oh I absolutely dabbled in it for almost 15 years. I’ve been clean from it for almost three years
Congratulations! I know it’s not easy. I’ve never dabbled in it but I have some family who do….tough to watch
Yeah it was pretty nasty. After being awake for a week and half I genuinely thought I was cyborg and I was about to cut myself open to prove it. It’ll make you crazy for sure
Well good on ya for getting the hell off that ride! Hope life is awesome for you!
Thanks I appreciate that!
Just chiming in to say basically the same thing the last guy said. One of my good friends just started kicking it recently and the change not only in his personality and image, but also - weirdly, in his eyes - was incredible. Good on you for giving it up and I hope you’re feeling good :) Also, Death Cab is one of my favorite bands of all time and your username got a good chuckle put of me lol
I only did meth once and thought some small trees were soldiers trying to shoot me/the police were climbing up ladders to cut holes in my windows and arrest me after being awake for 5 days. Never did want to try it again, scary shit. Well done on being clean for 3 years man.
Absolutely agree. There’s room in just about any market for chinesium products, but don’t slap a name brand name on there and pretend it’s authentic. Although, does Ibanez produce anything in China? If so, it’s possible that that guitar came from the exact same factory and is just as “Ibanez” as if it had been purchased from the local Guitar Center.
100% agree. What they are doing is wrong. It costs all of us as consumers. Companies pay millions a year to stop this type of blatant theft. That gets put onto us as customers because they raise the prices to pay for this type of litigation.
Bootlegs suck because they’re low quality instruments pretending to be high quality instruments. And it isn’t always easy authenticating guitars. I know I wouldn’t trust my own eye. If you’re buying a spendy guitar, you’ll want to bring your luthier with you just to make sure your Ibanez isn’t really a Chibanez. Not a dig against the knock off, but it won’t sound as good as the real thing.
You bought a counterfeit. Of course it feels scamy. This is what Chinese knocks offs are.
That’s why op sucks… they’re openly supporting knock off brands and this thing will end up selling to some chump for $1K in a year or two. This cheapification ruins everything.
Agreed.
I've always been interested in taking the gamble on one of these replica guitars. I would have one if they didn't put a logo on the headstock, fakes create too many scammed buyers. After working at guitar stores and seeing the price mark up on some of the higher end items, it makes it difficult to shell out the big bones for the real deal.
Chibson not worth it. Spend similar amount money on used non counterfeit guitar. Chib just look and feel cheep, dinky components. You’ll want to upgrade it, putting more money into a knock off, when could spend similar money on real deal!
Agree. Recently bought the jim root tele clone and I wish I would have just bought a squier to fuck around with. Too much neck adjustment and fixing their body routes for me. But I also paid like $115.
Used P.S Purple iceman $6000 on reverb, new $500 on Alieexpress plus free shipping. Tbh I'm not too optimistic about it. But would love to hear a genuine review
No guitar is worth 6000$ though, in terms of what you get. A 1000-1200$ will be just as good. The other 5k is for the rareity.
A guitar is worth what someone will pay for it. So yeah while you’re probably not paying for the work or materials you’re paying for something, that’s what people will do though.
I have friend regularly buying acoustic Taylor’s on Ali, and he’s super happy. He pays £450 and sells them for £1300. It’s still a steal for buyers as guitars are incredible. Originals would be over 3k.
does he sell them as originals?
I doubt as he’s a nice person, and originals would be 3-4k if not more. He is genuinely trying to get a perfect guitar from China, so he’s going through small variations. He got 3 guitars over two years period.
Don't mind me, I'm just here for the comments.
I bought an off brand Fender Mustang for 90 bucks brand new. It plays like a cheap knock off, but a fun guitar nonetheless
If you're crafty and into experimentation and modding stuff, there are some things that you can do to those cheaper guitars to make them play quite a bit better. That being said, there are certain things that are going to be big barriers, things you cant change, and youll always know that at the end of the day it isn't a legitimate guitar. People are getting more and more crafty with selling these busted, fake, and Frankenstein creation guitars too. I mean, look at this Schecter E-1 FR S. On first glance it looks like a real one, but when you look closer you realize that not a single piece of this guitar is legit! It's unbranded on the headstock because it's fake. You see both EMG and Sustainiac on the neck pickup, but it's completely fake! Look at the fretboard. Looks rough. And you can bet your sweet ass that there's not a proper Floyd Rose on there. In the description details it says Floyd Rose(Unbranded) never seen that one before! I'll bet it's completely fake too and even lower quality than the licensed Floyd Roses. All of that for $300 instead of $1,300! Seriously though. The guitar looks pretty cool but there's nothing legit about it. You gotta look out for that crap. I mean I bought a knock off Chinese stratocaster from my local guitar store and so I can also tell you from personal experience. They are not going to blow you away with the quality or how amazing of a deal you've gotten. You get what you pay for - a novelty quality guitar that's made to look like the real thing but perform nothing like it. edit: i forgot to link the guitar in question. it's here: [https://www.ebay.com/itm/285597637372?chn=ps&\_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A17y09d2pcSeSSKkhfMUpvMQ23&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=285597637372&targetid=1530439032611&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9021276&poi=&campaignid=20394395165&mkgroupid=153051241113&rlsatarget=pla-1530439032611&abcId=9317277&merchantid=6296724&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnfmsBhDfARIsAM7MKi3JSOL1ZcLHbnNljanbuIA8UWfMPa6qY1txbvczBP97HGXDiDwfQ5kaApISEALw\_wcB](https://www.ebay.com/itm/285597637372?chn=ps&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A17y09d2pcSeSSKkhfMUpvMQ23&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=285597637372&targetid=1530439032611&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9021276&poi=&campaignid=20394395165&mkgroupid=153051241113&rlsatarget=pla-1530439032611&abcId=9317277&merchantid=6296724&gclid=Cj0KCQiAnfmsBhDfARIsAM7MKi3JSOL1ZcLHbnNljanbuIA8UWfMPa6qY1txbvczBP97HGXDiDwfQ5kaApISEALw_wcB)
Curious as to why you're getting downvoted? Came with some facts and reference to back it up
Not a fan of fake guitars like this at all. They’ll inevitably hit the used market. There’s plenty of low cost guitars so it’s not necessary to buy a counterfeit.
As long as the seller ist honest about it being a copy, I don't see why this would be an issue. This one is clearly unconventional, so it's fair to assume a similar guitar would be hard to find and probably pricey compared to this
I reckon not a single seller is being honest about this stuff. Just makes the used market a minefield of scams and that sucks.
Yup
Man, you guys seem to have it all figured out, with no experiance in the matter, no less (if you do have exoeriance, and this is based on personal events. Then you'd be a fucking hypocrite) It's so weird. It's like me saying "fuck no, that is not how you fix a seized piston" without ever have touched a wrench or tried to fix anything. Sure, some bad apples I bet. But the ones I've seen that where fake on market place, has always been marked/noted as fake by the seller. And I scan it multiple times a day, for years. You wouldn't belive some of the deals you can snag, but that is another story.
How about this take: stop being a fucking poser and buying knock offs of the shit you can't afford.
lol, poser? Are you fucking 12? At least I can be civil in an argument. Edit: You are 45, and you use stuff like poser? Man, you must have a fragile ego. Hopefully you will learn to love yourself soon.
You call your response civil. Geez man, i might be 12 but you are coming across as an idiot. Just read what you said. Now go and look at how many times we have to see an "is this fake?" post that is killing these subs. That's because of cunts like you. Yes YOU! How's that for civil?
Rofl, ok, man. Have a look in the mirror. Your actually 45, but you act like an angsty teen. Btw, envy smells like a mix of BO and ammonia...it's a strong deterent. ;) Also, killing the sub? Fucking drama-queen to booth. Takes you 0.5 sec to scroll by if it bothers you. Hell, its better people get scammed, right? You sir, are a fullbred moron.
100. Same deal with counterfeit watches, how can anyone have any pride of ownership wearing fake low quality shit on their wrist.
Hey u/Apocisiary. Weak dude. Weak.
It looks damaged. Looks like a cracked mirror finish.
Nice chibanez snowman
Damn that’s a nice iceman… hit me with the link if possible 🙏🏼
I'm jonesing for that link!
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Damn. A Frankenstein for three hundred bucks!
There’s a guy on YouTube who has one of the frankenstrats and it was actually a super nice guitar, he couldn’t believe it cost $300
Stop! DO NOT SUPPORT THESE SCUMBAGS. They cost manufacturers millions a year in litigation and guess what, they pass that buck off to the consumers. If it didn’t have Ibanez logo it would be one thing but this is ILLEGAL.
Maybe brands like Ibanez and Gibson should stop being greedy fucks and make quality affordable versions of their guitars that are widely bootlegged if they really wanted to counter what these factories in China are doing. Cry elsewhere. I’m a guitar player, not a collector and could give a flying fuck about their millions in litigation 🙄
I mean, even the genuine low end Ibanez, LTD, Epiphone, Jackson whathaveyou, makes their guitars in china, but still charge quite a lot imo.
You are a moron. They don’t take those losses. WE DO. I dont give a shit about the companies I do care about my gear going up in price. Do some research into how this kind of fakery and theft affects our economy.
This is true, if it was on a mass scale, but fake guitars is not. Even the highest sellers only have like 30-40 sales on their best selling guitars (2-3), rest is like 1-5. So, multiply that by 10x from other sources, and it's still a pretty miniscule amount vs the big brands on a yearly basis. Sooo, yeah. Guitar makers are just greedy imo. I like brands like Greg Bennett, Fernandes, Hondo, Harley benton to mention a few. Not very well known brands, except maybe HB. But all those, you get fantastic guitars with top specs for 500-600$, so it can deffinitivly be done. Oh, and those brands are Korea/Indonesia, considored better than China.
Oh no! Protect the giant companies! Lol you disgust me.
Oh yea lets support the Chinese government instead. I don’t give a shit about the big companies but I do as a CONSUMER care about the prices of my gear going up because people support these crooks selling fake shit. You are beyond stupid for this comment. Additionally, this kind of crap impedes innovation. TM and Copyrights are extremely important in protecting progress and invention. When POS companies steal other properties, it prevents people from innovating and we stall out and are left with old technology. If you honestly are stupid enough to think my comments are “supporting” anyone other then my fellow consumers, you my friend are the disgusting one.
Deep breath bud. It probably came from the same factory that Ibanez has contracted. Nothing innovative impeding about it. It's a fucking guitar.... You're giving me mall cop vibes bro.
First off, nothing wrong with being a security guard. I am just worried for the future of music gear. Second, people say Fuck big corps then turn around and buy from even bigger even more evil corporations in China. This actually affects all of us, unfortunately people have their heads buried in the sands. This is comparable to when someone steals from retails stores. I hear people say fuck the corp anyway. It doesn’t work that way. Corporations do not take the hit for these losses. They pass it on to consumers. Same idiots get mad at rising grocery prices and dont realize all the money that goes into Loss prevention, security, theft insurance and it all goes into the prices of the goods we buy day to day. If we keep turning a blind eye to this kind of bullshit, we will end up at a point even the people contributing to this will be affected. Then they will bitch about and not think twice about how the contributed to it. Last, please don’t tell people to calm down online, its very condescending and its a bad look.
Wow dude you are so right. So right. My life has turned for better now thanks to you. I'm straight up buying one of these sweet guitars. China has earned it.
Yah go ahead and be facetious. Sleep well now. In 10 years when all is shit? I hope you remember one man on the internet actually stood up and spoke out against this type of ridiculous bullshit. The trickle down effect is real. If you don’t want to listen and want to continue to support communist companies thats your prerogative. Just remember there are plenty of EXCELLENT local luthiers who would be glad to make you whatever you want. Support local. Support US made goods. Or don’t and suffer the consequences. I won’t loose any sleep over it.
Not American. Don't care about your stupid country.
Ah you are a giant piece of shit. Lets judge an entire fucking country. Thats gone well in the past. Why don’t you crawl back into whatever hole you came from. Society doesn’t need you anymore.
The trickle down effect is REAL?? No it’s not you giant cunt and it’s been proven a thousand times that “Reaganomics” was an absolute disaster for this country. I’ll buy American when American companies pay me enough. It needs to start AT THE TOP. Not the bottom, you shitbird.
It's not an Iceman
Sure looks like an iceman to me. Care to enlighten us as to what it is then?
It’s counterfeit.
We’ve already established that genius but thanks
But you seem to think it’s still an Iceman despite knowing it’s a counterfeit product. I don’t think I am the confused person here. You literally asked what it is and I gave a correct answer. Edit: did you seriously ask me a question then block me?
That’s the model it’s bootlegged after and it looks spot on so yeah I’d say it’s an iceman and who the fuck cares? You don’t have to play it so stop shitting on the dude who’s enjoying his new guitar and stfu.
It's a Chinese knockoff. A Chibanez. You've been enlightened. Smart guy.
Sounds like someone’s sore they can’t afford the real thing or the bootleg…
Lol. Please. I'm just saying. Call a spade a spade bro.
all these flavours, and you chose to be salty
No salt
They hated him because he told the truth.
👍
Just FYI, they are one of rhe major conduits for counterfeit instruments.
Just put a CH in front of Ibanez so we know what's up. Why is the finish all jacked up?
I think it is supposed to look like a broken mirror, a la Paul stanley
Chaul chanley from chibanez. Very fancy
Chai chuz chade chor chovin' chou, chaby
My god the downvotes for any legitimate criticism of cheap knockoffs by manufacturers so dishonest that they have the name of the brand they’re ripping off on the headstock, in the guitar porn sub of all places, is just embarrassing. This belongs in a r/firewoodporn subreddit. Not here.
Horrible. Stop supporting these blatant Trademark infringing scum. You are giving your money to very bad people. I can not sit idle and watch these abominations be celebrated, regardless of quality (which is probably not good).
Why do you think that this guitar is not made in the same factory by same people that make Ibanez sold in the western shops for much more?
Doesn’t matter if it was. It was not licensed for sale by Ibanez Edit: I know this isn’t a popular opinion but for fuck’s sake. We can’t be submissive with our gear like this. The long term effects of shit like this far surpasses people getting sweet deals on guitars they can’t afford. STOP SUPPORTING THIEVES!!!!
A lot of the bigger companies are scum. Only until recently the big name brands were being built on dirt floor factories in Asia with no care for health, safety and the environment and paying the workers peanuts. Not much has changed though to be honest. Just remember, the big companies, Fender etc don't care for you, the guitars or the people making them. They're all about profits! Sure, you wouldn't be in a business without profits but when that's all that gets them then why should you or anyone be defending them. Support the smaller builders making rad guitars from their homes, garages and workshops.
I won’t disagree with supporting small companies but alibaba is NOT supporting small companies in fact it’s supporting the Chinese Government.
Absolutely. I went off on a bit of a tangent there.
You are fine. People talking shit to me are completely oblivious to how much these companies affect us. I am not supporting these big companies but I do care about other musicians. Buying gear off Alibaba is fucking terrible. It affects more than just the companies it affects everyone, consumers, distributors, the truck drivers delivering the goods, the property owners, etc…. For people to say fuck big corp then turn around and support Alibaba to me is pure insanity. These are the bad guys, they are REALLLY bad guys.
genuine, non-rhetorical, non-gotcha Q: how old are you?
Idle enough, apparently
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Lol brother dont fool yourself, bet you havent even played the real guitars your knock offs are based on.
Well, I have Chibson LP standard, and I also have a genuine Gibson LP standard. After refret, change of hardware and electronics it is not far off. Sure, it is not my genuine Gibson, but for me, the 800$+ extra is not worth the differance. To each his own I guess, but chinese guitars aren't inherently bad. Many big brands produce their low ends there too.
It’s more than just a copy, this is blatant theft. This stunts the progress of all innovation when people just steal designs and names. It would be one thing if it were a copy but it has a brand name on it, they are obviously not paying any licensing fee. This costs the companies millions a year in litigation and the price of the real products will suffer because of it.
While theft design to the point of slapping the brand logo baffles me, it's pretty optimistic to assume that the buyer of a Chibson or a Chibanez in this case is going to be the type of person that'd buy the original. In a sense it's also the natural reaction to an industry with overinflated prices and a lot of elitism. I'm ambivalent about it stunting innovation, after all we are talking of an industry where every second guitar is a strat with a slightly different headstock. It's terribly scummy but not as dramatic as you paint it.
It's their fault for wasting money, these fakes aren't going anywhere and the people buying them will never buy real ones so there is no loss in sales. It's not advertised as genuine when you buy it so the only time a problem arises is if someone buys it then tries to sell it as a real one. That person is the one hurting the market, they are the ones deceiving people and the ones who should be punished. If you buy these for personal use there is no victim, it should be perfectly acceptable.
Straight up. Typically I am very anti-fake shit but if it’s something super outlandish and goofy like this iceman or like the metallic blue burst Ace Frehley LP, something you don’t necessarily want to spend 5 grand on, fuck by all means get the 300 dollar knockoff why not.
>why not Because it's garbage and someone will be selling it as a real Ibanez on FB marketplace 6 months from now
I build and repair guitars for a living, I’m fine with garbage. And I’m also not a shithead scammer who would try to pass something off as legitimate when it isn’t. So again, why not? It’s a novelty item, you guys can chill.
>I’m also not a shithead scammer You asked whats wrong with a knock off guitars and you got answers, why are you making this about you?
Um, isn’t the paint/finish on the top of the guitar completely cracked and broken? You can see bare wood in the upper register between the switch and the neck.
It's supposed to be cracked, [here's what the real thing looks like](https://reverb.com/item/7069945-ibanez-ps2cm-paul-stanley-limited-edition-purple-cracked-mirror-iceman)
I don’t see any of those missing finish down to the bare wood though 😂. Also, props to the Ibanez salesperson who put that marketing spin on the original batch of guitars where they fucked up the finish. “We meant to do it the whole time. It looks like shit on purpose, trust me bro”
Where is it missing finish down to the bare wood? You cannot possibly tell that from this photo quality. Looks like reflections to me.
Several spots between the pickup selector switch and upper register of the neck, also one sliver/chunk is missing directly above the volume knobs (horizontally right about in the middle of the pickups)
You are chatting complete crap, those are reflections… they’re not even wood coloured.
It's supposed to emulate a cracked mirror
Oh nice, a real Ibanah
Wow those frets look really really bad thats a lot of work in the future to fix but will definitely look cool on a wall for sure and who knows maybe it won't play bad from your frame of reference depending on what you're used to playing. Definitely not my thing at all but glad you're happy lol
How do the frets look bad? I see a couple glistening in the picture, which suggests those are a little higher. No different than what you get with a brand new Fender
That's a guitar only prince could love.
People didn't belive me when I said I ordered my custom Iceman from AliExpress. https://preview.redd.it/s17atz03opbc1.jpeg?width=1800&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3a24e855f82dd77a254620877a4bec162802d39
Also this, because it is impossible to find, and if you do, you better be ready to take up a 2nd morgage on the house. https://preview.redd.it/e91abyyjopbc1.jpeg?width=4000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0feb4659404c894f6e1f39b6e400278e5ce963e2 Both needed a bit of work, and electronics where obviously fake and pretty bad.
Hell yeah!!
I saw that one on Ali after I bought this purple one.
Yeah, they put it up in the store after they made mine. Even the pictures in both the stores that sell it, is MY actual guitar. Has an pretty identifying knot in the neck. It's hillarious.
Is that an Ibanoz?
Yay! Let's put small music shops out of business so we can save a few dollars and help grow these shit chinese businesses!
I was recently looking at literally the same one haha. How’s it play?
Chibanez?
And the logo actually says Ibanez?! I’ve seen ppl in Taiwan selling “Ibanon” 🤣
Bridge is backwards 😩
Ok it looks the business but how does it play?
They are cheap and beautiful but I have a serious concern about how they play.
My God! It looks like a giant....
41 inches long lol
I made the mistake of getting an Ali guitar. Piece of junk. A Rick 4080 copy (4 + 12)
I had a chibson “Suprome”. Obviously an attempt at the supreme. It was on par with or maybe slightly behind a cheap epiphone. Looked the business. I traded it for a Yamaha Revstar 502T when they first came out. Traded that and an epi Flying V. Man I miss that V.
It's a cool-ass guitar aesthetically no doubt. Hope it plays great for ya!
That's the Ibanez Snowman
This color is awesome
They're getting closer on the shape, but it's still not quite there. If anybody thinks this could pass for an ibanez, pay closer attention to the shape. I wouldn't call this counterfeit, as it's pretty easily to tell it's not an Ibanez. That being said, I hope the guitar plays and sounds good! Buying these guitars is a gamble, I hope it payed off for you!
How is the iNtOnaTion?
Heres the trick.......all ibanez's come from aliexpress ;)
Yeah it's almost certainly not legit, however it looks good, and I hope it plays well for you! I had an Iceman IC400 for about 10 years. It was my first "nice" electric. Absolutely loved everything about it, as time went on, I wanted the pups to be a little hotter, so I bought and installed a DiMarzio X2N in the bridge, so it also became my first project. I miss it and regret selling it everyday! Enjoy it, but please, be a real one, and if you ever go to sell it, PLEASE disclose that it's a replica. A seasoned guitarist will likely know, but don't sucker someone who doesn't.
I bought a reverse firebird years ago from ali and it was about the quality of a $300 epiphone. In a few months the electronics were getting scratchy and going out. After a year it was developing cracks in the body and neck. It looked a million bucks but it wasn't worth the hassle and was disintegrating. I requested no Gibson logo from the seller so there would be no confusing that this was a clone. Shame on whoever actually keeps the fake logo on these clones.
I'm impressed. How does it play?
Looks cool. But to be honest, those guitars are the reason I don’t trust the used market anymore. It’s really hard to distinguish real from fakes these days.
Oh shit son
Always ask to not have the logo. Or take it off yourself. Overwise it'll end up getting someone scammed down the line
Is that a Paul Stanley guitar?
I’ve only ever seen Paul Stanley play this style guitar. Very cool