I hope I don't get crucified for saying this, but some of the clones are actually not bad. Take the Terminator, for example. It's actually a pretty decent atty. And it should be -- they tried to make it an exact copy of the Odysseus V1. Something I've found, completely by accident, is that most of the parts of that sucker fit an Odysseus really well. And they ended up with a pretty nice piece of equipment, to be honest -- because they had a pretty damned good design to work with, and did a meticulous job of copying it.
Most copies, though, are garbage. I mean, look at that GGTS clone. It looks like it was made out of aluminum beer cans and spray painted. It's pretty awful.
But anyway, back to the original point. I think something Imeo said on this subject is right. Yes, I'm sure it's maddening to see people steal the designs he worked hard to perfect, but I'll admit I bought one of the Ody clones... and it definitely drove me to want the real thing. I mean, I had to assume that if the Terminator was a pretty nice little device (which it really is, especially compared to what else is available in its price range), and it's a Chinese knock-off of an old revision of Imeo's work, then the new stuff had to be pretty damned awesome.
I think what worries me more is the really bad knock-offs more than the good ones. If they directlly rip off Imeo's work like with the Terminator, at least they start on decent footing. If they just slap together something that tries to look like Imeo's work, like with the KTS (the GGTS knock-off), even going so far as to steal the "Telescopic Storm" name, I hope it doesn't give people an idea that shoddy junk like that bears any resemblance to the real thing.
I don't have a KTS, but I did order a couple extension tubes. They were cheap, and I was curious if I'd be able to use them on a GGTS the way I was able to use Odysseus parts on a Terminator. Not even close. They're thin, flimsy, and absolutely nowhere near the quality of the same parts for the GGTS, and certainly not usable on one. What worries me is that people who picked up the Terminator, which I have to say is a decent attempt to copy the original Ody, will pick up the KTS and think the quality of it is anywhere near a GGTS. It's just not, and I hope that doesn't make people believe that's what something from GG is like.
...and it's late, and I may be rambling. To bed with me.
