danski__ Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Hi guys I want your opinion about my Epiphone Les Paul Custom Alpine White ... The question is...Is my guitar real?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 . Welcome. Most likely real. Serial# conforms. Post a clear overhead shot of the whole guitar (no angles). And try this on the Epiphone Electrics forum - http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/forum/90-epiphone-electrics/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danski__ Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 . Welcome. Most likely real. Serial# conforms. Post a clear overhead shot of the whole guitar (no angles). And try this on the Epiphone Electrics forum - http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/forum/90-epiphone-electrics/ Thank for information... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanH Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Epi LP Customs are notorious for fakes/back door seconds. On yours, I'm not sure about the different font sizes with the serial number..... Was this sold as 'brand new' by an Ebay or Amazon third party? If so, an '08 year of manufacture sold 'as new' is suspicious. If bought second-hand from a private seller, can they confirm (with a receipt) that it was purchased from an authorised Gibson Epi dealer? If the answer to either of these questions is "No" you may have a problem. Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Moore Tribute Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Sorry to say but that looks fake to me :( The EE is out of sinc and the wrong size & The Diamond just doesn't look right But lets see what the experts say... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danski__ Posted July 10, 2011 Author Share Posted July 10, 2011 Epi LP Customs are notorious for fakes/back door seconds. On yours, I'm not sure about the different font sizes with the serial number..... Was this sold as 'brand new' by an Ebay or Amazon third party? If so, an '08 year of manufacture sold 'as new' is suspicious. If bought second-hand from a private seller, can they confirm (with a receipt) that it was purchased from an authorised Gibson Epi dealer? If the answer to either of these questions is "No" you may have a problem. Alan The guitar was purchased from UK... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 The guitar was purchased from UK... :) I didn't know about Epi fakes until I read about them from this site. What I gather though, is that they seem to be more common in the UK than in the USA. But that is not really the question, it is WHO it came from. The other thing that MAY matter, is why do you care and WHERE are you located? Reason being, in some counties, the Epi brand carries more prestige, and more of a premium as far as cost, and having a fake and/or selling a fake is more looked down on as far as Epi goes because of the cost. The other reason, regarding the origins of WHO you bought it from has to do with the whole fraud thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Based on 2 pics??? From what I see? Sorry... Willy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Danski - Welcome to the forum. Let's get your issue sorted out, then we can welcome you properly. Normally there are things we look for when getting an "Iz IT FAKE?" question, one of which will be the appearance of the Headstock serial #. Other things will require good, straight on pics of the BODY so we can see the Knobs, pickguard and screw, bridge and tailpiece...Basically a good shot of the whole thing. Other full git pics wouldn't hurt either. There are things that raise RED Warning Flags to us, one of which is the Serial Number stamp. I'll explain in a bit. White EPI Les Paul Customs are notorious for being "faked", but the makers still make the same boo-boos, which is why we're holding what we look for close to the vest, so to speak. PICS!!!!! For example, on Ebay, the sellers put them up for SHORT periods of time, and after one is sold, they use the SAME pics for the next one. Also the BACKGROUND of the shots can be a giveaway, plus seller info and history, which we scrutinize. Don't give up hope just yet, we need to see more. OK, back to serial number: I have two EPI LPs, both made in China, one at the QuingDao plant (EE) which yours indicates, and the other at the DaeWoo plant (DW). I've taken pics of the serial numbers, and I'll put your pic up as a comparison and explain what I don't like about what I see. DaeWoo Plant, 2006 QuingDao Plant, 2008 (Both Mine and Yours): You'll note that on the EPIs I have the FACTORY LETTER CODE is the same size as the rest of the serial number, and spacing between letters and numbers is consistent. On the EPI you posted pics of the Factory Letters are noticably LARGER than the rest of the serial number, and the spacing is a bit off/wider, EVEN THOUGH both our Gits came from the SAME factory, in the SAME Year, just a few months apart. This is why we need to see more good pics of the front. Are you able to say if this was an Ebay purchase? Shipped From? Price lower than expected? Looking forward to more pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_edward Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 One picture would have been good enough - there are no legit EE Epi's with two different font sizes in the serial number. The most faked Epi is the LP Custom, mostly in black or white, and almost all EE07 serial number. This is the first fake EE08 I've seen because most of the scammers had realized their mistake by 2008. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Moore Tribute Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 There are a lot of Fakes out with serial# EE08.... Yep my White SG was a EE08... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
animalfarm Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 One picture would have been good enough. There are no legit EE Epi's with two different font sizes in the serial number. One of the things I do at work is write Technical Documents, So I tend to provide an abundance of information! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ocv5WdBmSok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictimofDoom Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Hi I`m a friend of danski and i found this on the internet searching for Epiphone LP custom white fake .. http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/epiphone-les-pauls/83330-my-new-epiphone-les-paul-custom-alpine-white.html There are pictures of the serial number which are on the bottom. The serial from this and the other guitar (from the link) are the same. So there are some questions popping in my head: 1. Can 2 guitars have the same serial number? 2. Can/will whoever is faking those guitars use the same serial number for the fakes? 3. What is the chance now that this guitar (from this topic) is real? Excuse me for the mistakes in the text and thanks very much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bookkeeper's Son Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 1) yes, if they're fake 2) Counterfeiters may do anything, whether logical or not 3) 0% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictimofDoom Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Thank you guys but we took the risk we bought it and... it turned out to be a real one. It is great. Now I know why the LP is so cool!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Grats on the new LP VoD, real nice clean look to it, enjoy HNGD. EDIT: Now realizing this is probably a fake, if you're happy with it that's fine, but I too have to question, if you were advised about the fakery, then why go ahead ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictimofDoom Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 It`s the same as the first post (danski_`s). The "EE" is bigger than the numbers.. No defects after all. Couldn`t find something wrong with it no matter how hard we tried. I will post some more pictures for you later but I`m pretty sure the guitar is real. Great sound, great look .. it rly makes me almoust handsome when I play with it :D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I am confused. You came on here to find out if a guitar was genuine or a fake, then when you are told it is a fake and shown why, now you say it is NOT a fake? I don't want to slam your purchase or put you down as a person. If you like it and are happy, then that is a good thing. But you didn't ask if you should buy the guitar or not, you didn't ask if it was a good guitar or not. You asked if it was a genuine Epiphone or a fake Epiphone. Not passing judgement-I used to have quite a few "fake" fenders, in addition to "real" Fenders made in Japan. Many won't be able to tell, and many won't care if they can tell. But many can tell the guitar in the Photos is a fake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SketchyEtchy Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I have seriously just p*ssed my self laughing at what has happened! I'm sure everyone knows why and is probably doing the same, the ones that tried to help has most likely raged at whats happened, and now laughing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictimofDoom Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Ok I will write the story here so nobody is pissed. I`m not the owner of the guitar I`m just a friend. We are from Bulgaria and about 2 mounths ago we saw in a the Bulgarian forum for musicians (where many musicians sell their equipment) this guitar for sell. After 3 weeks my friend (danski_) contacted the seller and they`ve talked for a long time. We were aware about fakes and we realy wanted to make sure the guitar danski is getting is a real Epiphone. There we some factors witch brought us to the conclusion that this guitar is real: 1. Too many pics posted from the seller on the Bulgarian forum for musicians + I think 2-3 videos. He also did send like 20+ more pics of the guitar ( atleast I have that many on my computer ). We`ve checked everything the guitar from all the pictures is the same. 2. He had 2 Epiphone LPs and specially for danski_ he said he could sell the other one if he is not sure that the Epiphone LP custom Alpin white is not real. The other guitar was Epiphone LP Custom plus. 3. He showed us he`s a guy we can trust ( yeah he could have not known that his guitar is fake ). 4. We compared all the pictures with pictures of guitars wich are real and the only difference was the slightly bigger "EE". When we got the guitar yesterday we carefuly watched it before we buy it. It only needed string change like the previous owner said. My friend danski_ is the 3rd owner of this guitar. The previous owner bought it from bulgarian from UK and .. the guitar is bought from UK in 2008. It`s a great sounding guitar idk if it is fake or not but to me it seems real. I`ve seen pictures of fakes on the internet... they have so.. stupid (if i can say that in this situation) "mistakes" .. wich are spotted from first sight easily.. And if it is fake .. well. We are from Bulgaria man. Let me tell you what are our guitars. They are like for under 100$ (Bulgarian price wich is over the price wich you will pay in your country 100% sure about that..). We do not have money, and the money we get from our jobs is not over 300$ per mounth. So for us to buy a guitar like that (it has a big difference from our guitars and it sounds amazing when we compare it with them) for 600BGN (bulgarian money, 1 dollars= 1.6 BGN) is a great succes even if it is fake. We are happy for what we`ve done and will use it even if it is fake. It sounds great and we love it. Once again thank you for your answers. That is what matters. I`m happy that we can find good people willing to help us here. Hope someday we`ll return the favor! Thanks! Again sorry for every single mistake in the text above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictimofDoom Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 Couldn`t take pictures of it today . Uhm I will take pictures tommorow when I`m at danski_`s house and post it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 hmmmm Asian arm holding a guitar up against bamboo wallpaper? Thank you guys but we took the risk we bought it and... it turned out to be a real one. It is great. Now I know why the LP is so cool!! why don't we just make it easier and post Epi's blueprints so these "2 friends from Bulgaria" can make even BETTER counterfeits???? yes, i'm jaded, but most likely right too ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maskiki09 Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Excuse me, I have a question. I've got an epiphone les Paul custom alpine white made in China. But how come the rear pickup has no epiphone letters on it? And how the diamond not straight above the tuner? With serial number 11015120313. Was it a fake? The seller say it's made in China. Sorry for my english 🙏 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 On 7/30/2011 at 12:33 PM, VictimofDoom said: Ok I will write the story here so nobody is pissed. I`m not the owner of the guitar I`m just a friend. We are from Bulgaria and about 2 mounths ago we saw in a the Bulgarian forum for musicians (where many musicians sell their equipment) this guitar for sell. After 3 weeks my friend (danski_) contacted the seller and they`ve talked for a long time. We were aware about fakes and we realy wanted to make sure the guitar danski is getting is a real Epiphone. There we some factors witch brought us to the conclusion that this guitar is real: 1. Too many pics posted from the seller on the Bulgarian forum for musicians + I think 2-3 videos. He also did send like 20+ more pics of the guitar ( atleast I have that many on my computer ). We`ve checked everything the guitar from all the pictures is the same. 2. He had 2 Epiphone LPs and specially for danski_ he said he could sell the other one if he is not sure that the Epiphone LP custom Alpin white is not real. The other guitar was Epiphone LP Custom plus. 3. He showed us he`s a guy we can trust ( yeah he could have not known that his guitar is fake ). 4. We compared all the pictures with pictures of guitars wich are real and the only difference was the slightly bigger "EE". When we got the guitar yesterday we carefuly watched it before we buy it. It only needed string change like the previous owner said. My friend danski_ is the 3rd owner of this guitar. The previous owner bought it from bulgarian from UK and .. the guitar is bought from UK in 2008. It`s a great sounding guitar idk if it is fake or not but to me it seems real. I`ve seen pictures of fakes on the internet... they have so.. stupid (if i can say that in this situation) "mistakes" .. wich are spotted from first sight easily.. And if it is fake .. well. We are from Bulgaria man. Let me tell you what are our guitars. They are like for under 100$ (Bulgarian price wich is over the price wich you will pay in your country 100% sure about that..). We do not have money, and the money we get from our jobs is not over 300$ per mounth. So for us to buy a guitar like that (it has a big difference from our guitars and it sounds amazing when we compare it with them) for 600BGN (bulgarian money, 1 dollars= 1.6 BGN) is a great succes even if it is fake. We are happy for what we`ve done and will use it even if it is fake. It sounds great and we love it. Once again thank you for your answers. That is what matters. I`m happy that we can find good people willing to help us here. Hope someday we`ll return the favor! Thanks! Again sorry for every single mistake in the text above. This is the most inspiring post I've read in ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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