Trump Guitars hit with cease and desist from Gibson over use of Les Paul body shape

UPDATE 11/25: Gibson has confirmed to Guitar World that it has issued a cease and desist order to Trump Guitars owner 16 Creative over the use of its single-cut electric guitar model, “as the design infringes upon Gibson’s exclusive trademarks, particularly the iconic Les Paul body shape.”

This is a developing story and we will share a full statement as we have it, but for now here’s everything we do know about the burgeoning Trump Guitars line…

The incoming 47th American President has endorsed a series of guitars – a new official addition to his growing portfolio of merchandise.

Trump Guitars is not thought to be owned directly by the President-elect, but its electric model is being pitched as “the only guitar officially endorsed by President Donald J. Trump”.

The launch includes a small selection of Les Paul-style electric guitars, and acoustic guitars split into several categories, with signed editions, limited to 275 pieces, priced at upwards of $10,000.

The Trump Guitars site indicates the guitar brand is owned by 16 Creative (pitched as a “veteran owned, multi-focused branding agency”) and says that the instruments are “custom designed and developed by a veteran-owned company with the help of a master luthier”.

There is also a mention of parts being supplied by “multiple providers” that are “both domestic and international,” so it’s possible the guitars are not made in the USA.

Either way, it seems early days for the venture, with caveats that some listing images are digitally rendered “for illustration purposes only” and that “all sales are final”, though guitars damaged in transit are eligible for a refund.

The President-elect is pictured on the site holding an electric from the American Eagle series, which sees a bold eagle and flag design emblazoned on its body and also features ‘Make America Great Again’ inlays.

Black, Gold, and Red colorways of the LP-like models are available for $1,500 apiece as part of the Presidential Series and feature two humbuckers and spell his name out with their inlays.

The electrics feature mahogany bodies and necks and 22-fret rosewood fingerboards. Like official Les Paul guitars, they feature two Volume and two Tone controls for their Maga ’45 ‘buckers, though unlike a traditional Les Paul-style construction it is a bolt-on neck.

No specific details are mentioned regarding their scale length – they’re 39″ top-to-bottom – or the rest of the hardware, like the bridge and tuners.

Two acoustic guitars make up the God Bless The USA models and pair spruce, sapele, mahogany, and rosewood with D-shape cutaways and ABS nuts and saddles.

Whether these are intended as display-only ‘wall-hangers’ or player-grade models is not clear from the marketing.

Regardless, it is the Trump Guitars electric design – notably, its striking resemblance to the Gibson Les Paul – that has drawn the most attention from guitar fans.

In recent years, Gibson has staunchly defended its intellectual property. For instance, it remains embroiled in a long-standing lawsuit with Dean over its usage of V and Z-shaped guitar designs and the Futura headstock.

As a result, questions quickly arose from guitarists as to how the firm will react to Trump Guitars’ offerings, given the potential political implications if it were to take legal action.

Guitar World approached Gibson to ask whether it considers the design to infringe upon its intellectual property and was told: “We can confirm a cease and desist has been issued against 16 Creative as the design infringes upon Gibson’s exclusive trademarks, particularly the iconic Les Paul body shape.”

Meanwhile, it is still not confirmed whether or not the President-elect actually plays guitar, but there have been previous crossovers with the six-string world.

Last summer, eagle eyed players spotted a Gibson guitar case sat in storage next to classified documents at Mar-a-Lago last summer. Then there were some bizarre NFT cards that pictured Trump playing a Gibson ES-335-like guitar, complete with an “alarmingly inaccurate” whammy bar.