This story originally appeared in 2007 on Law on the Row, but it still generates a significant amount of interest because of Gibson Guitar’s reputation in the industry, so I decided to update it to correspond with the recent opening of Gibson Garage at Cummins Station in Nashville. More about that following the original article, which appeared as follows:
Gibson Guitar Counterfeits Seized
Gibson Guitar Corp., located in Nashville, Tennessee, was cooperated with authorities in Oakdale, New York to successfully capture the owner of a music store owner who was selling fake versions of the legendary Gibson guitar at his Montauk Highway shop.
The police seized 15 fake Gibsons from the store and another 18 guitars from his home. Bernard Musumeci surrendered to the police on September 18th, was arrested and charged with second-degree trademark counterfeiting and was released on bail pending arraignment.
The arrest came after a two-month investigation by the authorities who worked closely with authorities at the Gibson company. Once alerted to the possibility of counterfeits, an undercover security expert from Gibson was used to determine whether guitars from the store were, indeed, counterfeit.
The original Gibson Guitar and Mandolin Company was founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Mich., by shoe clerk and musician Orville Gibson. The company shifted operations to Nashville between 1974 and 1984. Gibson now produces what many consider the world’s most recognizable guitars, including the famous Les Paul model and the Flying V. The company is also the parent company of Baldwin, Epiphone, Wurlitzer, Slingerland, Kramer and other well-known brands associated with various musical instruments.
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Gibson guitars is an iconic American brand and industry leader in guitar manufacturing and related merchandise, which can be found on its website gibson.com. The company recently celebrated the career of Grammy-winning guitarist and performer, Peter Frampton, by recreated his beloved “Phenix” Les Paul Custom that survived a plane crash in 1980 and was reunited with Frampton some thirty years later! For Music City residents and tourists, Gibson recently opened “Gibson Garage” a retail store it dubs “the ultimate guitar experience.” The historic 8,000 square foot shop officially opened to the public yesterday, Wednesday, June 9, at the historic Cummins Station located on 209 10th Avenue South, in the heart of downtown Nashville. For a virtual tour, follow this link: https://hello.gibson.com/garage-press
If you’re a guitar enthusiast, I was recently contacted by Jo Miller, an editor at Happy DIY Home. They recently published an very interesting and comprehensive guide on their “sister site,” Beginner Guitar HQ. that compares the top electric guitar brands, including Gibson, of course. You can find it here: https://beginnerguitarhq.com/electric-guitar-brands/
