Emotional Day for Music as Feds Seize $18M in Fake Guitars

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently made a huge bust in Los Angeles that has caused some waves in the music industry.

More than $18 million dollars in fake Gibson guitars were obtained in the largest fake musical instrument seizure in American history.

Picture 3,000 guitars — all brand new — that are made to look, feel and ideally sound like actual Gibson guitars, all lined up in front of you. That’s enough to fill up the average kitchen in one’s home.

Agents estimate that the price tag, had the instruments been real and actually purchased from Gibson, would have been upwards of $18 million dollars.

Musical artists take their guitars very seriously — especially their Gibsons. Some stars, like Keith Urban, have been playing the same guitar for decades.

Imagine finding out that the Gibson guitar that your grandfather passed down to you that you have been playing all of your life was deemed to be fake. You would be devastated!

The feds have intercepted counterfeits here that could essentially have altered the sound and quality of music moving forward. With that many fake Gibson guitars out there, there’s no telling who would have purchased one, and possibly recorded the next hit record using it, just to find out it was a mass-produced fake.

Gibson’s Chief Marketing Officer Beth Heidt says the seizure was “emotional and personal” for the company because it represents “generations of American families that have dedicated their entire lives to handcrafting Gibson instruments.”

Thankfully, that batch of fake Gibson guitars was taken off the streets and out of music stores nationwide.