Pictured above Michael “Duff” Mckagan from Guns N Roses, who claims his Replica Burny Guitar sounds better than any other guitar.

Sometimes, buying a Replica Guitar is actually a better choice than buying from the original brand.

(Not Usually)

(But We’re going to fill you in on everything you need to know to make this decision)

Table of Contents:

What’s the Difference Between a Counterfeit and a Replica?
Is there proof Replica’s are better than the originals (Yes…..sometimes)
So, which sites are the best?
Can I find these in stores?
Conclusion

What’s the Difference Between a Counterfeit and a Replica?

Simply put, Replicas are just guitars that are almost exactly the same as another popular guitar…..with minor changes so they stay within the laws of their country (This is legal in certain countries, but not in the United States or some European Countries). Replicas can literally sound as good or even better in some cases than the original.

Counterfeit Guitars are exact copies logo and all of the original, they are not illegal to own in all countries, but it is almost always illegal to sell or transport them…..which puts them in a very grey area. They are usually made by extremely shady companies who are usually committing a crime by selling you this guitar. Trusting any company that does this is a huge mistake.

Not all cultures believe that Replicas are taking away from others, and so they hire professional Luthiers to create them and see nothing wrong with their businesses, even though that’s pretty strange it’s one of the reasons the guitars actually are sometimes better than the originals.

Is there proof some Replica’s are better than the originals?

Sort of, SOME Replicas are better….But not all Replicas are better, and the majority of the guitars are insanely good deals that are just about the same as buying the original.

(Also keep in mind, most of the tone of electric guitars comes from your rig – amp and pedal set up and not from your guitar. Yes, a little bit of the tone does come from the guitar when you play electric but not nearly as much as you’d think.)

A quick Google Search Shows many famous Guitarists and songs recorded with Replica Guitars.

Take a listen at a Chibson versus a Gibson here:

Or Take a Listen to this fucking incredible EVH stealth copy.

(Save yourself a few thousand why don’t ya.)

They don’t look bad either….

So, Which Sites Are the Best?

After looking everywhere on the web, It turns out that there is an overwhelming amount of Businesses that provide Replica guitars with tons of very inexpensive customizable options…..but an underwhelming amount of reviews for each site.

I guess people just feel uncomfortable saying they bought one of these (Figures).

So, without there being a lot of reviews it was extremely hard to figure out which sites to use…

Thankfuly AliExpress and Alibaba turned out to be great options (Or so I thought).

Turns out, that AliExpress does a terrible job on making their end customer happy, they’re so focused on the sellers and not the customers there that they routinely take off bad reviews so their vendors seem more legitimate.

What’s Worse?

It’s impossible to find a good review of this company. Link to list of 785 bad reviews (The only good review I found was when they rated themselves which is kind of funny. lol.)

Some of the stories on that link are super sketchy, they ask people for credit card info for all sorts of random things, such as needing to change your email address.

Thankfully, Alibaba turns out pretty great.

Now, it’s not the best by any means. In fact there are a lot of flaws I found going through their site, for instance the reviews are next to impossible to find unless you know how.

To find the reviews on products you must…

First go to the product you want.

Then click on Company Profile.

Select on Feedback.

A few other issues as well…

Alibaba is actually sort of evil, because they allow for counterfeits as well (So watch out), when buying off this site every time you buy you must thoroughly look at every single piece of feedback, the information about their company, and it is best you watch the videos on how they make their products as well. (Which is actually a very nice feature albeit annoying you’re basically forced to watch).

Also, don’t be tempted to buy a counterfeit guitar. I know it’s tempting, but there’s no good reason to risk your guitar getting taken away. Even though it isn’t illegal to buy the counterfeits here in the states….some local authorities have been known to take them. Which means you’ll lose out on a lot of money.

(Fun Fact, some counterfeits on their site actually aren’t bad at all even though it’s not safe to buy them it’s kind of interesting considering that almost all counterfeits are made out of cheap parts. Check out this fake Martin for instance.)

All in All though, Alibaba is the best of all the sites because….

Has incredible sounding Replica guitars
You can check real reviews on their website (Includes good and bad)
You can see the company and read about them on the website
You can watch videos of how the guitars are made
Money back guarantee from Alibaba
Huge Selection
Vendors also offer customization

Go to Alibaba.

Conclusion.

Finding a good replica guitar is a damn pain in the ass. I really hope you find this useful and if you come across a better site than Alibaba please send me a message on the Contact page so I can review and add it here. TIA.

-Broke and Talented