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Fakes - look out


Tim Plains

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I registered here to learn about the Les Pauls before I buy one. It seems the best thing to do when I'm ready to pull the trigger is go to Guitar Center or the like and get new, whatever I have the money for at the time.

 

Stuff like that is really frustrating.

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There are still a few things that give it away but that headstock looks bang on!

Like **** I'll ever buy a Les Paul on-line.

 

5870b3n_20.jpg

 

The headstock might be the only thing they're getting right. Not even looking at the headstock/truss rod cover, I can see 5 things wrong in that first photo. Six, if you count the fact it comes wrapped in foam in a cardboard box.

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The headstock might be the only thing they're getting right. Not even looking at the headstock/truss rod cover' date=' I can see 5 things wrong in that first photo. Six, if you count the fact it comes wrapped in foam in a cardboard box.[/quote']

 

Trying to learn myself.. There's something odd looking to me about the curve of the body where the switch is (not sure if it has a technical term or not.. hump?). Is that one of them, or am I just seeing things?

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Man counterfeitism is rampant in China. They're getting away with murder. You can get a knock-off of everything there. Software, etc...

 

I used to manage a computer store and this guy from China comes in wanting to buy Microsoft Office. I told him the price and he said "Na, I'll wait until I get back to China. You can get them anywhere for $5." I said "Good then, go back to China then."

 

Where the heck are the sanctions?

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Man counterfeitism is rampant in China. They're getting away with murder. You can get a knock-off of everything there. Software' date=' etc...

 

I used to manage a computer store and this guy from China comes in wanting to buy Microsoft Office. I told him the price and he said "Na, I'll wait until I get back to China. You can get them anywhere for $5." I said "Good then, go back to China then."

 

Where the heck are the sanctions?[/quote']

 

Totally agree 100%. All the knock off stuff that comes out of China really does warrant some action at a government level, especially after the contaminated milk fiasco, which i believe that New Zealand brought to the worlds attention. In the long run the Chinese are just hurting their own standing in the eyes of the world and consumers will turn away from buying Chinese products, even bespoke products, because of their tainted reputation. Surely the Chinese government can see the damage this does to their standing in the world community.

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Totally agree 100%. All the knock off stuff that comes out of China really does warrant some action at a government level' date=' especially after the contaminated milk fiasco, which i believe that New Zealand brought to the worlds attention. In the long run the Chinese are just hurting their own standing in the eyes of the world and consumers will turn away from buying Chinese products, even bespoke products, because of their tainted reputation. Surely the Chinese government can see the damage this does to their standing in the world community.[/quote']They have CDs full of our Software that they sell for pennies...or so I've heard. Seriously though, this is the biggest slam to not just the American guitar market, but to the economy as a whole! This is why I will NEVER by anything online, let alone a guitar.

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The headstock might be the only thing they're getting right. Not even looking at the headstock/truss rod cover' date=' I can see 5 things wrong in that first photo. Six, if you count the fact it comes wrapped in foam in a cardboard box.[/quote']

 

I, too, see five but I'm not sure they will be the same five!

 

Now I really am thinking we may be spreading too much wisdom here.

 

How can we help and advise people what are the tell-tale signs without making the counterfeiters wiser?

 

Having said that, here goes.

 

One flaw is hard to overcome - The absence of fret-binding. O.K., we know that fixing this would be the most costly alteration.

 

The hardware anomalies (not telling!) would take little effort to rectify.

 

The basic shape (two counts, but not telling!) is just re-adjusting their tooling.

 

The hardware positioning (still not telling...), likewise, easy to adjust.

 

If we then dial-in the simplicity of sourcing the proper type of TRC then, pretty soon, it could become very difficult to spot a fake by snaps posted on the web.

 

Here's hoping they don't find an economical way of doing the neck properly.......

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pippy I see binding on the fret board...

But man, I've been trying to learn from all of you for a while.

I really need to do more observations, 5 or 6,,, I think I saw 2; but even that was hard for me...

I'm impressed.. I'll keep looking.

 

 

(BTW: I think we’re fooling ourselves. If I was running a company trying to make knock off's; how hard would it be to buy a few guitars measure them and tell my cnc machines to knock them out?)

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(BTW: I think we’re fooling ourselves. If I was running a company trying to make knock off's; how hard would it be to buy a few guitars measure them and tell my cnc machines to knock them out?)

 

I know' date=' and you are correct. This point has been made before.

 

The one thing in our favour is we are passionate about, [i']and understand the nuances of[/i], the Les Paul. Things which are obviously wrong to me because I know to look for them might be missed by a faker because they don't see things in exactly the same way. Small, unimportant, details (to a faker) are pretty much the only things they will continue to get wrong, simply because they don't notice them as being wrong in the first place.

 

But you are still correct! The devil really is in the detail........

 

Sorry about all the italics everyone!

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