Could this be legit? Seems unlikely, but who knows. They aren't Eastwood versions, so they're either made prior to them taking over the brand, or they're knock-offs.
Sadly, these do seem like illegitimate and illegal Chinese copies. I know that John himself bought one just to see for himself how well or otherwise they were made. His conclusion was that they were absolutely dreadful, virtually unplayable and a total joke. Buy them at your own peril, or better still, don't even go there. It's an insult and an affront to John's great designs.
I agree. You'd like to think it was possible to sue these people. Maybe it's more trouble than it's worth for John. Thankfully, I wasn't tempted as I already have a legitimate Backlund 400. :-)
hmmmm,
Mr Backlund did have an agreement with some USA based luthier / manufacturer
before licensing his designs to Eastwood.
That website will probably be on the waybackmachine ...
C'mon. Surely everyone knows that's a cheap Chinese knock-off website by now?
I've never been there before, so it wasn't so obvious. However, the price did pretty much suggest that they were bogus.
Sadly, these do seem like illegitimate and illegal Chinese copies. I know that John himself bought one just to see for himself how well or otherwise they were made. His conclusion was that they were absolutely dreadful, virtually unplayable and a total joke. Buy them at your own peril, or better still, don't even go there. It's an insult and an affront to John's great designs.
I agree. You'd like to think it was possible to sue these people. Maybe it's more trouble than it's worth for John. Thankfully, I wasn't tempted as I already have a legitimate Backlund 400. :-)