Stop Calling Guitarists "Fake": The Internet's Witch Hunt Against Anyone Who Plays Better Than You

Alright, listen. I've been watching this "fake guitarist" witch hunt blow up all over TikTok and Reddit, and I'm telling you straight—the guitar community is embarrassing itself.

Some of it's legit. Yeah, Giacomo Turra got caught stealing performances and lip-syncing. That dude deserves the heat. But then the internet went full Salem, and now people are accusing actual virtuosos like Ichika Nito of being "fake" because... what? His fingers move too fast? His editing is too clean? His performances are too good?

Here's the thing nobody wants to admit: The internet hates excellence. It makes people uncomfortable. So instead of saying "Wow, that's incredible," we say "That's impossible. You must be cheating."

The "Fake" Accusation Is Just Jealousy With a Moral Coat of Paint

Let me break this down. When someone posts a one-take, unedited performance of a technically insane piece, and the first response is "FAKE," what you're really hearing is: "I can't do that, so you can't either."

I've spent twenty years in studios and on stages. I've watched session players nail takes that would make your head spin. I've seen kids with six months of practice pull off things that should take years. You know what separates them from the "fakes"? They actually put in the work. They don't post it once and disappear—they post it again, and again, in different rooms, on different guitars, live at venues.

The real tells of a fake guitarist aren't hard to spot:

• Hand position is completely wrong for what you're hearing. (Like the vibrato hand that's not even touching the fretboard.)
• The timing doesn't match the audio. Their fingers are moving half a second behind the notes.
• They never play it the same way twice. Every video is a different angle, a different edit, a different "perfect take."
• They disappear when asked to prove it live. If you can't play it on a stage with a single camera, you're faking.

But here's what's not a tell: Clean editing. Good lighting. Playing fast. Playing technically difficult music.

The Real Problem: We've Confused "Impressive" With "Suspicious"

Ichika Nito didn't become one of the most respected guitarists on the internet because he's faking it. He became that because he can actually play. And yeah, his videos are slick—good production, good angles, good sound. That's not cheating. That's just... being professional.

When you accuse someone of being fake just because their performance is *too good*, you're saying: "I don't believe excellence is possible." And that's a you problem, not a them problem.

Here's What Actually Matters

Stop caring about whether the guitarist is "real." Start asking:

• Can they play it live? That's the only test that matters.
• Are they being honest about their process? Do they show the work, or just the result?
• Does the performance inspire me to pick up the guitar? If yes, it's real enough.

I don't care if Ichika Nito uses seventeen takes to get one perfect video. I don't care if he edits the audio or the video. If he can walk on stage and play that piece live in front of a thousand people, he's earned the right to call himself a guitarist. *(And he has, by the way—I've seen the footage.)*

The gatekeepers who spend their time in the comments accusing people of being "fake"? They're not protecting the integrity of the instrument. They're protecting their own ego from the reality that some people are better than them.

The Secret Sauce Here Is Simple

If you want to know if someone's actually a guitarist, don't watch their TikTok. Watch them play live. In a room with one camera. No edits. Just them and the guitar.

Everything else is just noise.

Yeah, call out the actual frauds—the people stealing other people's performances, the lip-syncers, the posers. But stop accusing brilliant musicians of being "fake" just because they're better than you. That's not integrity. That's insecurity.

Now go make some noise.