mystery guitar? need help identifying please

[cyberpunk409]

hey guys, this is the ONLY forum i know that might be able to help me.

a guitar has just popped up on ebay and i have no idea what it is, or if it's even MIJ. I think it'll sell for a low price since it can't be easily identified, so i'm hoping some of you can help me snatch up a bargain!

here's what i do know:
- gibson shaped headstock (with little side wings attached)
- serial number 005047 (seems stamped in and filled with gold paint)
- headstock has "GIBSON LES PAUL" sticker/veneer applied over it
- pickups and tuners are most likely AFTERMARKET, hence don't help
- can't tell if the neck is 1 or 3 piece (refer to pictures to see if you can)
- neck is set and has LONG neck tennon (with 1 bolt inside the neck p'up cavity)
- has fret edge binding
- thick binding in cutaway area

it's hard to tell other things from the pics such as:
- multiple piece body?
- thickness of maple cap?
- etc.

here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Gibson-Les-Paul-Standard-Fujigengakki-76-77-Lawsuit_W0QQitemZ270095954110QQihZ017QQcategoryZ33040QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i wouldn't really go much on what's said in the description, but if anyone can tell what it is by the pics and info given above, i would greatly appreciate it! thanks gang

 

[japanstrat]

Hmmmmmmm. Someone has got rid of the original brand.
It looks like a 1970's guitar to me.
The long tenon with the screw through it is interesting.
If it was from FujiGen you would expect it to have similar construction features as the 1970's Grecos.
There were quite a few other makers around in the 1970's.
I wouldn't buy it unless I played it and was impressed by it.
Just buying it on sight might be a bit of a risk.

 

[cyberpunk409]

yeah, no chance of playing it. im thinking for under $400 it might be a good gamble, anything more than that, then i'd like someone to be able to identify it beforehand. thanks for your input

 

[detroitace]

I'm pretty sure it's an Aria. They are the only ones I've seen who do the screw in the neck. Besides Frankenstein, that is.

Here's another thread on that guitar...

http://www.tokaiforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=7807

 

[japanstrat]

If it's an Aria it would be made by Matsumoku and not a bad guitar at all.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsumoku

 

[The batlord]

I believe some models of Greco guitars also used a "screw and glue" combination for their neck joints.

 

[villager]

the greco bolted ones had 2 bolts in the PU cavity and one in the neck/body back..not like that one..

 

[luis]

Some early Grecos were bolt on, and some Ibanez LP replicas too,the lowest end and early to mid 70's......I always prefer a set neck one.