riddler2468 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'm looking for a real Epiphone Les Paul Custom recently. Many people said that there're a lot of counterfeits in the market so I started to spot check those from local stores. I check the guitars mainly by looking into its logos on the headstock. However, is there any difference between the guitars produced from different years? Also, any difference between the LP custom and Black beauty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 G'day, welcome to the forums, there's a great bunch around here, I hope you like the place. Model IDing isn't my forte, and the differences will vary fake to fake, but if it has an "EE" serial number, the Es should be the same size and font as the numbers, also if the tuner bushing washers are oversized or too close to the edge and cover the headstock binding, it's generally a fake, others will add to this I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Riddler, Welcome to the forum!!! I can't stress enough how important the above info is. Especially the part about posting pics BEFORE you buy. Nothing worse than having to put up a thread that reads..."Did I Buy A Fake?". The best way to know is to buy new from an authorized dealer. Still, not everyone can afford a new guitar. Also, if you know what you are looking for, there are some good deals out there in the used world. Just remember what Pete said about "if it's too good to be true". If you are unsure of how to post pics, it is explained in Animalfarm's DIY at the top of the Epiphone Lounge. Don't attach thumb-nails directly from your computer. Most of the time they come out poorly. The pics needed are of the items explained above. Probably the most important (though not limited to) are straight on shots of the front and back of the headstock and straight on shot of the body. Often those three shots are enough. Additionally, tell us where you live? This membership is worldwide. The members can be very helpful. If someone lives in your area they will likely post if they see anything they think might interest you. Good luck in your search. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigneil Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 I am in complete agreement with what the other guys have said, when buying from ebay you can tell a lot about the guitar by learning a little about the seller...where do they live, are they illusive about sharing better good quality photo's, how many previous sales have they had, what is their rep' like. etc etc. watch for guitars that are allegedly straight from the factory in China, or deals that are simply too good to be true. in terms of spotting one by looking at it....you have to be an Epi nerd or have a good eye for detail....if unsure you can show us the pics, between the collective epi bretheren minds, we are pretty darn good at spotting the bad ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddler2468 Posted February 26, 2012 Author Share Posted February 26, 2012 Thanks for the comments above! Here's two photos from the online local store here. The first one is an Epi LP custom. The second one is an Epi LP standard plain top I found that the logos in these two photos are a bit different from the ones from the Epiphone official website. Do you guys think they're fake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitmore Willy Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Additionally, tell us where you live? 1. Once again...Where do you live? 2. Are those supposed to be new or used? They look brand new. 3. How about a link to the store?...Mingwumusic? Depending on where in the world you are buying, some stores practice less than ethical advertising. (no offense intended to Mingwu) The headstocks on those guitars look OK. However, one shot each and one at an angle is hardly enough info to determine if I would buy a guitar from them. Some less than reputable dealers will show legit guitars. That doesn't mean that is what you are getting. As soon as you put up the above information I will be happy to contact Gibson Customer Service and ask them if this company is a licensed Epiphone dealer. You can also feel free to do that yourself. Responses usually take only a couple of days. Willy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddler2468 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Actually, I live in Hong Kong. The website I showed is just an example. But I have seen this logo on the guitar sold in the local store here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beattle55 Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Actually, I live in Hong Kong. The website I showed is just an example. But I have seen this logo on the guitar sold in the local store here. I can't even access mingwumusic.com from here in Canada. The site returns an error report stating: The following error has occurred: Not be able to enter the host name: mingwumusic.com conversion into IP addresses The domain name server returns the following message: No the DNS records This means that: The cache was not able to resolve the the hostname presented in the URL. Check if the address is correct. The cache server can not resolve you enter the address (URL) in the host name, Please check the name is correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddler2468 Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 I can't even access mingwumusic.com from here in Canada. The site returns an error report stating: Maybe it's a website from China so you can't access that. That's not a matter because I'm not gonna buy guitars from the website. I showed you guys the pictures from the website becasue they look like the ones I saw at the local store here. Recently, I found that the first E and last e of the logo is different. According to those from the official site, the Es are different. But on the pictures I posted, the Es are the same except their size. Is it about the date of production? (For instance, the 2005s is different from the 2000s) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Is it about the date of production? (For instance, the 2005s is different from the 2000s) Though I can't say this is the case in your particular instance, they often do change little details on the guitars over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddler2468 Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Though I can't say this is the case in your particular instance, they often do change little details on the guitars over time. OH I see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riddler2468 Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 I also realize what should be there under the truss rod cover? A nut and a half-moon-shaped washer? Anything else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RaSTuS Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I also realize what should be there under the truss rod cover? A nut and a half-moon-shaped washer? Anything else? That sounds about right, but it would be much better if you could post some pictures of the area, it's very difficult to say for certain without seeing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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