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Zakk Wylde Epiphone story...


liyboviz

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Hi,

 

Just bought a Zakk Wylde model.

 

I bought it from a local store, not an Ebay auction or some unknown dealer.

 

To my surprise, after sending pictures to Gibson customer support, I was told it's a fake...

 

The guitar was made in China, comapring to a korean one I saw in another store - there are defenitly finishing differences.

 

The packaging, manuals all seems original.

 

The problem as I see it is in the neck joint, zakk and Epiphone logo

 

The contact person in china is sure it's not a fake.

 

Could it be that the korean and china are constructed differently?

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It's not the epiphone representative in my country but a well respected store and music teaching place.

 

the things that caghut my eye is the difference between the neck joint of my epiphone and the one here (I think a korean one):

 

http://www.epiphone.com/ZakkUPCLOSE/rt6.html

 

Plus, the ZW logo is missing the knobs which I saw on a korean one.

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Looks like the same neck joint to me, although the finish/seam on the Epi website example is more uniform and better disguised...unless I'm missing something?

 

There are noticeable differences between MIK and MIC Casinos, for example the headstock joint and apparently even choice of neck wood species, so maybe a little variation is normal...

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Hi,

 

I'm from Israel,

 

This morning we had a conference call with his china contact person and he should check the issue.

they are sure it's the korea/china construction differences and that the guitar is authentic but I wait for her answer.

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I tried another shot and this time I got:

 

Thank you for sending the pictures. The instrument appears consistent with a 2009 Epiphone Zakk Wylde model

 

What do you say... [cool]

 

I even made contact with the china dealer that suggested me to email the Gibson china customer support... and that I wil do...

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I tried another shot and this time I got:

 

Thank you for sending the pictures. The instrument appears consistent with a 2009 Epiphone Zakk Wylde model

 

What do you say... :-({|=

 

I even made contact with the china dealer that suggested me to email the Gibson china customer support... and that I wil do...

 

Do you mean you emailed Gibson/Epiphone a second time and got a different answer?

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Here are your pics....

img2144b.jpg

img2175p.jpg

for comparison

http://www.thomann.de/de/prod_bdb_AR_157423.html?image=12&small=1

 

The serial' looks legit' date='

as said I think the ZW's are still made in Korea, that's what I'm wondering

 

and like Ricochet said, it's an authorized dealer ?

 

Peter[/quote']

 

What size is that nice underwire bra in the upper right corner of the second picture?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry, was there a question about a guitar?

 

Cheers

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Currently in China the Gibson/Epi counterfeiting business is running at capacity, and almost totally unchecked.

If there is ANY doubt, (as in, the 1st Gibson response) why don't you just tell the seller that you want your money back, and then order one from an authorized dealer?

If the seller is resisting, that would be red-flag #2 to me...........

Don't "soft buy" with them........get your money back, while you still can.

ALWAYS buy from an authorized dealer.

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Hi,

 

My first post[biggrin]

 

I had a similar experience. When I got my epi I took shots and sent it to Service.china@gibson.com and service@gibson.com. Some guy over at gibson told me its fake while china service said its legit. So, I emailed both...again. Now, I asked them why i got different replies. Service china said "its because we have updated database for chinese guitars than in US". So now Im fine.

 

photos they require by the way are:

- full body shots F&B (front and back)

- headstock F&B

- close up body

- markings under tailpiece, bridge, etc.

- wiring if possible

 

cheers.

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Hi' date='

 

My first post[biggrin']

 

I had a similar experience. When I got my epi I took shots and sent it to Service.china@gibson.com and service@gibson.com. Some guy over at gibson told me its fake while china service said its legit. So, I emailed both...again. Now, I asked them why i got different replies. Service china said "its because we have updated database for chinese guitars than in US". So now Im fine.

 

photos they require by the way are:

- full body shots F&B (front and back)

- headstock F&B

- close up body

- markings under tailpiece, bridge, etc.

- wiring if possible

 

cheers.

 

 

Hi and welcome to the forum man,

 

As far as I'm concerned I'm not happy with that reply. It's not that hard nowadays to have a database updated every single day, and if that's true then Gibson should simply reply that this serial number does not exist in their database, not to call it a fake! It just does not make sense to me...

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thanks man,

 

Well, somehow I agree with you. Funny thing is gibson didn't reply after china gibson did. When they told me its fake, they even asked me to provide seller info and they will forward it to their legal department. That's why i emailed them twice.

 

Just after this, I looked over the manual and checked the parts in my LP like Tailpiece, bridge, input jack, toggle switch and found epiphone markings. Also found 500k alpha pots and wiring harness on the cavity and the pickups. All hardwares conforms with the standards so im pretty sure its legit.:-k

 

Also I found out guitarupdaterproject is crooked. My friend owns a copy LP long time ago and to my surprise, the serial is legit according to this. When I inspected the parts,there were no markings on all hardwares, no brand on pots, messy wirings, aside from the odd shape. So When in doubt, its best to send the photos I've stated above to gibson.

 

cheers

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