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Legit or Not????


swinger

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i bought an EPI LP gold top standard last month. a friend of mine told me to check if it is legit or not because i got it in a very low price. $240 brand new( according to the guitar store owner..... but i think so) here in vietnam with light scratches and a replaced nut. believe me, when it comes to taking of their products they're pretty poor.

 

 

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so, what do you think guys? good deal or not? if its not........ what the hell! the tone kicks ***!

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Hmmm. The year of manufacture would be right for a goldtop Standard (they never called it a '57). It looks mostly legit to me but I'm a bit worried about the pickguard mounting screw. I think it's supposed to be further in; also it should be on a direct line drawn through the top two knobs. The layout of the knobs is a bit off too. Also I'm not liking the shape of the pickup covers... seem a bit too rounded. Whoever mounted those tuners was in one fark of a hurry. Can we see a pic of the control cavity with the cover off?

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I couldnt say either way but the wiring in my LP is quite neat and tidy with connector plug (Think this might be a new thing tho) and looks profesional. The colour seems the same not painted just unfinished.

 

My jack socket has epiphone engraved on it so could check that

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This is a real problem for us "Novices" in the guitar field, there are so many "Sus or Bogus" guitars out there, how do we know if we are paying for a real guitar.

 

Yes I know get one from a reputable store but with the money they some times charge, and yes if you get a dud you've wasted money, but gee, it's bloody hard for us. Buying second hand is often the only way people can get a good quality guitar at a reasonable price. Can't blame them for looking after the hip pocket, especially with the world economy at the moment.

 

This one looks, to me, just great, I wonder if it will get to a stage where we take a set of tools along and dismantle the guitar, and have a check sheet to mark off the correct items.

 

The makers of the duds are getting better at doing this, so what do the real manfacturers do to save us unsuspecting buyers.

 

It must be very dishearting to either hear or read those words (I'm not pointing fingers at anyone here as I know the good folks have given LOTS of good advise) it's not real. So how do we overcome this in a reasonable way??. (the problem of fakes)

 

Prior to me joining this forum, I never had even heard of fake guitars, this forum has made me very aware of a very BIG problem. I have also learn't heaps from lots of members here, some are very knowledgeable, and it's great they share their knowledge and experience with us.

 

It is also great that new members come here and ask about prospective buys or purchases, I think the more understanding we have has to be good and safer for us novices.

 

OK that's enough from me.

 

 

Cheers everyone

 

 

RR

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The factory it supposedly comes from spits out 10' date='000 guitars per month. Yikes.[/quote']

 

What factory is that? I'm watching a Joe Pass on e-bay with a serial number that also starts with "I".

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What factory is that? I'm watching a Joe Pass on e-bay with a serial number that also starts with "I".

 

From the guitar dater project:

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Guitar Info

Your guitar was made at the

Saein Plant, Korea/China

April 2003

Production Number: 0584

 

 

Saein Musical Instrument Co. Ltd

 

The Saein Musical Instrument Co. Ltd. is located in the Namdong Industrial Complex in Incheon, Korea. Saein was established in July 1st 1991 and has a monthly capacity of 4,500pcs. In Oct 1st 1992, Saien Began manufacturing guitars for Epiphone, who they now consider to be their main business. They also started producing their own line of guitars called Shine in 1997. In February, 2001, a new factory was opened in Gaomi City, China. This factory boasts a monthly capacity of 10,000pcs. Saein was presented the ‘The Best Quality Award of the Year’ by Gibson Epiphone USA in 1998 and 1999.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

But that is assuming that the guitar and serial number are both legit.

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You can count on what Rotcanx says. He works for an Epi dealer and has been familiar with Epi's for many years.

I also believe the guitar is suspect. The control knobs are spaced wrong. Also, the info on serial doesn't mean it's legit. It just means that a forger went to the trouble of generating a serial number that would "appear" legit when run through the guitar dater project.

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tenx for the replies and concerns bros!

 

i am just curious if the purchase i made was legit.... thats all.

 

im happy with the tone and feel of the guitar. only, there are some parts that should be replace. but its only minimal. all in all, just love it! just like i said this is the first time to own an LP thats why i seeked help from you guys about it.

 

tenx a lot!

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In the first serial number pic, it looks as though there's a rectangular area around the number that is slightly different coloured... makes me speculate that the serial is a decal instead of an ink stamp.

 

That cavity is unlike any I've ever seen, and I've popped the cover on more Epi LPs than I care to count. All that heat-shrink tubing is, to say the very least, unusual. Also what's with that yellow wood on the left side? No, Epis can be a bit sloppy in the wiring cavity (compared to a Gibson) but they're not that sloppy.

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