Fake Moderne
Fast forward to 2005. Dan had received a call from a guy who really felt that he had found a Gibson Moderne prototype, on Ebay of all places.
The seller had a great story and this guy was buying it hook line and sinker. He was convinced that he had actually found the million dollar guitar that no one else had ever seen in the flesh. He wanted to help the seller broker the deal for a percentage of the selling price and the rights to a book deal on the instrument.
This is where Dan came into the picture. This guy needed a confirmation that this guitar was legitimate and since Dan was the only person that had ever really seen a Moderne in hands, he figured that Dan was his man.
So he calls Dan and sets up this huge event that included bringing Gibson historian/restoration specialist Tom Murphy and former Gibson Custom Shop/George Gruhn repairman Phil Jones to town.
This poor guy had done hundreds of hours of research on the Moderne and had spent a huge amount of money organizing this thing, much to the chagrin of his family.
Unfortunately, the guitar was debunked seconds after the case was opened. It appeared the seller knew the whole time. He just wanted to see if he could fool the big boys.
These photos show the guitar and what the book cover would have looked like if the guitar was real.
Fake Moderne
Fast forward to 2005. Dan had received a call from a guy who really felt that he had found a Gibson Moderne prototype, on Ebay of all places.
The seller had a great story and this guy was buying it hook line and sinker. He was convinced that he had actually found the million dollar guitar that no one else had ever seen in the flesh. He wanted to help the seller broker the deal for a percentage of the selling price and the rights to a book deal on the instrument.
This is where Dan came into the picture. This guy needed a confirmation that this guitar was legitimate and since Dan was the only person that had ever really seen a Moderne in hands, he figured that Dan was his man.
So he calls Dan and sets up this huge event that included bringing Gibson historian/restoration specialist Tom Murphy and former Gibson Custom Shop/George Gruhn repairman Phil Jones to town.
This poor guy had done hundreds of hours of research on the Moderne and had spent a huge amount of money organizing this thing, much to the chagrin of his family.
Unfortunately, the guitar was debunked seconds after the case was opened. It appeared the seller knew the whole time. He just wanted to see if he could fool the big boys.
These photos show the guitar and what the book cover would have looked like if the guitar was real.