??What’s the story on the famous ‘lawsuit” guitars? Well there is a bunch of wrong info out there and debated on who was actually sued. To the best information I have Ibanez was the only actual company sued by Gibson during the lawsuit era from the late 70’s early 80’s. Legalities though are NOT the point of this article, what matters is the quality of guitars built by the Japanese makers during that time frame and how good they are.

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? So here’s the lowdown. In Japan during the late 70’s and early 80’s there were several guitar makers that decided to copy/replicate the great old Gibsons and Fenders from the 50’s. They actually had vintage guitars, pretty much copied them very very closely and sold those guitars to high end guitar buyers in Japan. There were several makers and ALL of them made really good copies. Ibanez,Tokai,Greco,Burny,Fernandes were the biggest and most well known. Not only are their guitars very accurate in feel, quality wood and construction methods were used. Good quality parts, tuners and pickups were used. If you put a Gibson logo or Fender logo on them you could fool many people except the experts in guitar identification.? The goal was to reproduce the best American made guitars from the golden era, the late 50’s and make them affordable to the high end Japanese markets. They are some of the best guitars ever built from playability to attention to detail to tone, at a time when the Amercian guitar makers were making a poor quality product.

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?So what to look for? Well in almost every case the Japanese guitar makers have lower spec models and higher spec models in the line. Very similar to what Gibson and Fender do today in having a regular line and a Custom shop or Historic line. Most of the makers used numbers as the indicator, so a higher number means better wood and higher quality parts, mostly improved electronics and pickups. Example a Tokai LS-80 is like the standard Gibson les paul or classic model and their LS-100 and up range are closer to the Gibson Historic line in high specs. There are MANY different specs and higher quality guitars in all these lines and would be impossible to cover here. A good rule of thumb though is that the lower specs are very close to Gibsons/Fenders standard line or equal in some cases and the higher specs guitars get you closer to the best of these makers. When looking to buy one of these find out the specs the best you can and the neck shape, many of the MIJ guitars have really thin necks made for their market, but there are PLENTY of nice medium to thicker neck options out there.

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?Here’s a list of my favorites from this era and they all can be bought for a lot less dough than the American made counterparts.

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Tokai Love Rocks: Many folks like their Les Paul replicas the best, including me and they still make them new and can be found in the Uk,?Japan and on e-bay. High end Greco’s, and Burny’s are killer also. The lower spec models I would place just under a regular Gibson or Fender but WAY better than anything coming from Korea or China

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Fernandes and Tokai for the best Fender replicas: Again the lower spec models are good but the higher spec models just kill.

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Ibanez I believe make the best of the semi- hollow/hollow bodied guitars.

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There are more mfrs. out there that came later and deserve a strong look and more research. The Epiphone Japan made line [not Korean] and the Orville or Orville by Gibson line that were officially licensed by Gibson are killer guitars for the money and of high quality. Greco and Fender Japan for the Fender copies are excellent. One of the newest players in this game are Edwards brand. Made by ESP they are excellent guitars made new and can be bought from Japan for less that half of what a new Gibson or Fender U.S.A. made guitar costs, available on E-bay from authorized dealers who ship to the U.S. all the time. I have bought several guitars from Japan all with great results.

? Most but not all of the Gibson copies feature long neck tenons just like the Historic models and?the REAL DEAL '54-60's Les Pauls, there IS a tonal difference that many people like better, more sustain and resonance.

? The only drawback to the MIJ guitars is that they tend to use lower grade pots and wiring in the lower spec models and to get the guitar really happening they need to be upgraded but that's relatively cheap and easy.

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? In summary the best advice I can give is to start researching your specific needs in guitars and go from there. E-bay has these guitars for sale all the time and is an excellent source of information from the sellers themselves. Here’s a list of brands and a great place to start. These are the real "sleepers" in the guitar world and I have found? it a great affordable way to add guitars to my collection and for recording purposes that sound great without having a $2,000 price tage. Many of these guitars are well under the $800 mark and definately have the "real deal" sound! Below I have listed most of the better guitars, some are only available used and some still make them new! Enjoy!

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Tokai: used and NEW guitars/ Gibson and Fender replicas

Greco: used from the “lawsuit” era/ Gibson and Fender replicas

Burny: used Gibson replicas from the “lawsuit” era, they do a great SG

Ibanez: used from the “lawsuit” era for Gibson Semi hollow-hollow body replicas

Fernandes: NEW but no more replicas, used?however their Fender replicas just kill!!

Orville/or Orville by Gibson: used licensed by Gibson

Epiphone Japan: used and killer Gibson replicas [not the Korean stuff]

Edwards: NEW guitars and many believe the best of the new makers for Gibson and Fender replicas.
Fender Japan: Great fender strats and teles made just like the golden era guitars

I have included a pic below of my Japan made copy guitars

Happy Hunting

Guitar Guru