Following the introduction of Petroruss guitars to the general public, there has been an influx of imitation and knock-off guitars being sold on Internet websites such as Ebay and UsedGuitars.com. Previously, only musicians who owned Petroruss guitars had access to the instruments and the general public had never been privy to the mechanical details that made the line of exclusive guitars so unique and highly sought after. As the public began to realize that these knock offs were of similar quality to the originals, their hesitation with purchasing the much less expensive guitars dwindled and sales began to increase dramatically.

As the average consumer began purchasing the line of new guitars, reproduction companies worked quickly to recreate the guitars and began selling them faster than they could keep up with the demand. With reproductions costing half the price of Peter Russ’s original lines in the music stores across the country, there was simply no stopping the reproduction companies.

Peter Russ has been quoted as saying, “If I had known that this would happen, I would have never created this new line in the first place.” This has disappointed many a Petroruss fan, as the idea of Peter Russ maintaining the exclusivity of his much sought after guitars presents an air of haughtiness that has not been seen before from the affable musician. While Peter Russ was quick to explain that he was merely worried about the quality of the reproductions, the damage was done and the public began to see him in a different light.

Peter Russ appeared on several late night talk shows comparing the quality of his line of guitars to several versions of reproductions he purchased over the Internet, in an attempt to regain the public’s goodwill and salvage the name of his brand. While many saw it as a publicity stunt aimed at reviving the ticket sales to his newly opened rock n roll artifact museum, many musicians stood up for him and publicly gave their continued support to Peter Russ and his brand, vouching not only for the quality of his instruments, but for his intentions as well.