1Tbone Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Hi everyone, I'm new here on the forum and would like to introduce myself and ask a question. I currently own an Elitist Les Paul Custom Alpine white that I love and so I was looking for another Elitist model to augment the quiver and to get a different sound. I've settled on a Casino and have been hunting online for awhile. I live in LA and there are guitars crawling out of the cracks in the pavement in this town. :) However this can make it hard to tell if your getting the genuine item or swindled. My question is this. I have a line on an Elitist Casino sunburst that has a Bigsby B7 installed for roughly $1150. The piece seems to be in good shape but I'm concerned that this might be a regular casino in disguise. It looks identical to the one on Epi's website Casino with Bigsby This was my first indicator that something may be amiss, because the truss rod cover wasn't the traditional elitist stamped version, it was the same as a regular casino. So I asked the seller for some shots of the back of the head stock, about the truss rod cover, and who installed the bigbsy. His answers were not very suspect but the serial number was. Although the head stock had the traditional Elitist stamp under the finish, the serial number was pointing to the Terada factory , not Figujen. "T604564" was what was stamped on the back. So after all this long winded explanation, my question is whether or not anyone knows if any Elitist models were made outside of the Fujigen shop? Or I may be reading the serial numbers wrong and be barking up the wrong tree. I attached a the shot of the head stock that he sent me. You can zoom in and make out the numbers. I don't want to insult the seller and possibly lose out on a good deal but I'm just trying to do my homework and avoid buying a lesser quality instrument for more than it may be worth. Thanks in advance for any advice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parabar Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Hi 1Tbone, and welcome to the monkey house! Terada made most of the hollow body and semi-hollow Elitists (including the Elitist Broadway in my avatar); Fuji-Gen made primarily solid body Elitists. Terada is a specialist in hollow body guitars; they also make all of the pro-line Gretsches. Everything you've described is consistent with a legitimate, Terada-made Elitist Casino. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diverden Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Sounds like somebody trying to duplicate the cosmetics of a McCartney Casino. If the serial numbers match your probably OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Tbone Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Thanks guys. That is just what I wanted to hear. Do you think that the price is right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 I think it's a fair price if it's in very good to excellent condition and you can check it out before buying. Other things to check for a true Elitist are the neck will be very slim with a narrow nut, and the neck will be set at the 16th fret instead of the 17th fret as on the regular Casino (hard to fake that). This one looks to be a true Elitist though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1Tbone Posted January 20, 2012 Author Share Posted January 20, 2012 I think it's a fair price if it's in very good to excellent condition and you can check it out before buying. Other things to check for a true Elitist are the neck will be very slim with a narrow nut, and the neck will be set at the 16th fret instead of the 17th fret as on the regular Casino (hard to fake that). This one looks to be a true Elitist though. This is also good to know because now I'm %100 sure that it is an Elitist. The last shot he sent me shows a little more of the internal sticker ( says Elitist) as well as the fact that it joins at the 16th fret. Thanks for all the good advice guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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