The Fake Epiphone Thread!

[Sinmastah]

"Hey mate.
I am just trying to do business.I contacted my supplier and they assured me that they supply original epiphones made in china or korea.I had a music shop for 6 years & know that most epiphones are made in Korea or China.They are great guitars as I used to stock them.So what guitars do you sell.Why don't you send me a link of one of them so I can check them out.Also why would you start a new account called fakeepiphone.Why not fake Gibson or Fake Fender???Anyway I have seen other people selling this guitar from the same supplier and their feedback is good.
Thanks for all of your concern but maybe you should be minding your own business not mine. "

Funny how he is from Australia, where all these other fakes are coming from.

[djwilbanks]

what a douchetard.

[Sinmastah]

Yeah he's so pissed off at me, he even sent me another message 5 minutes after that one.

"If you stop people bidding on other peoples items you should be reported to ebay.You have never even seen the guitars I am selling or other peoples."

I really, really, really want to tell these people what the hell is wrong with these guitars, but I know I can't. Flick is getting in touch with Gibson, I have no details unfortunately, but he said they are getting serious about this...

You have no idea how much I want to scream at these people about why they are selling horrible guitars.

[djwilbanks]

At least its not like

"Every guitar we sell i inspect in personally they are all in a state of realness no ones we sells are fakes i can in person claim to you of these correctness it is not a fault of i that these guitars has come direct from manufacturr as i claim but as great deal from factory these are again i in personally inspect these and they are real epiphone"

[Sinmastah]

Too bad thats what they are saying, just different words. "This is a Real Genuine Epiphone Les Pal, with a stunning Flamed top, when you get this legit genuine guitar check out the serial number (that we ripped off from another Epi) to make sure it is legit. If there are any problems (Like your guitar is fake) We will give you a full refund, but you must give us positive feed back first (so it looks like they are better than the scum they are)."

[djwilbanks]

lol!

"This crap tastes great!.... now gimme my money"

[Sinmastah]

Originally Posted by djwilbanks

lol!

"This crap tastes great!.... now gimme my money"

Sounds like a lot of things going around. Well I am off to bed, hope to hear from this guy soon. I left him a novel for an email. I will see if I can post it.

[stef]

Hello People...
A Mate of mine just bought an Ultra of Ebay.
He is a bit worried it's a fake as there are a couple of details that dont match up:
-the truss rod cover read Les Paul Custom
-The paint on the gold LesPaul on the headstock is a little .... well.. not very neat
-I myself thought that the neck was Satin finish, the back of the neck that is, his is lacquered, just like my standard. is the back meant to be lacquered or is it just the fretboard that should be satin?
It is a 2008 built in china, which could explain the poor finish on it (the luck of the draw !) but apart from that, it looks genuine enough to me, with the quilted top and all.
I would have thought the Ultra would not be the easiest guitar to fake anyway...

[Big_dawg]

is it an ultra or ultra 2 ??

If its the ultra it should have a satin neck, it should also only weigh around 5.5lbs - about half a norlam LP.

Do you have any pics of it or a link to the ebay listing??

[stef]

Originally Posted by Big_dawg

is it an ultra or ultra 2 ??

If its the ultra it should have a satin neck, it should also only weigh around 5.5lbs - about half a norlam LP.

Do you have any pics of it or a link to the ebay listing??

Epiphone Les Paul Ultra Electric Guitar Cherry Sunburst en vente sur eBay.fr (fin le 07-Juil-08 18:40:38 Paris)
here is the ebay listing, he is getting some pics as we speak !
the weight is right, compared to my standard. but yep, the back of the neck does not look satin, as i understand it (compared to my satin neck Takamine)

[Big_dawg]

that looks ok to me, under the tailpiece or bridge does it have epiphone stamped into the casting (you should be able to see from the reflection on the body)

What is it that makes them think its a fake??

[stef]

ok, here comes:
1-the Custom on the truss rod cover:

2-the back of the neck:



the gold paint on the Les Paul is really not pin sharp. some would say crap finish !
knowing epiphone, i personally think it's genuine.. just one with a poor headstock finish (unlucky), and maybe a misconception on my part re: the satin finish on the neck.

[GNR4EVR]

Fake. Ask for a refund and report him. Two "EE"s again, Pickguard screw in the wrong place and the trussrod cover. The front strap lug looks funky to me too. I think its mounted too far from the neck.

[Big_dawg]

It should have the satin finish on the neck and it also has the dodgy serial number lettering (the letters being bigger than the numbers). It also seems to be a different guitar from the one shown on the ebay pictures - this has none of the stickers on the back of the headstock or the lines on the back of the body.

Check under the tailpiece for the Epiphone casting or even email epiphone with a picture of the back of the headstock showing the number - id like to hear from them that the lettering is wrong...

[stef]

Originally Posted by GNR4EVR

Fake. Ask for a refund and report him. Two "EE"s again, Pickguard screw in the wrong place and the trussrod cover. The front strap lug looks funky to me too. I think its mounted too far from the neck.

what do you mean two EE ?
it's a genuine factory code, isnt it ?

[Big_dawg]

Originally Posted by GNR4EVR

Fake. Ask for a refund and report him. Two "EE"s again, Pickguard screw in the wrong place and the trussrod cover. The front strap lug looks funky to me too. I think its mounted too far from the neck.

dont you sleep??? it must be like 4 in the morning over there...??!!

Stef any chance of pics of the front of the body...??

[Big_dawg]

Originally Posted by stef

what do you mean two EE ?
it's a genuine factory code, isnt it ?

If you look at the letters they are bigger than the numbers - all epiphones have the same size letters and numbers...

[GNR4EVR]

Originally Posted by Big_dawg

If you look at the letters they are bigger than the numbers - all epiphones have the same size letters and numbers...

Yes, the serial is probably going to come up as real since its a copy of one, but the letters are larger than the numbers. One of the telltale signs of a fake. And yes I do sleep- on occasion when work isnt in the way..LOL

[stef]

Originally Posted by Big_dawg

dont you sleep??? it must be like 4 in the morning over there...??!!

Stef any chance of pics of the front of the body...??

i'll check close up the difference in size between the letters and numbers, and will let you know.

[GNR4EVR]

Originally Posted by Sinmastah

"Hey mate.
I am just trying to do business.I contacted my supplier and they assured me that they supply original epiphones made in china or korea.I had a music shop for 6 years & know that most epiphones are made in Korea or China.They are great guitars as I used to stock them.So what guitars do you sell.Why don't you send me a link of one of them so I can check them out.Also why would you start a new account called fakeepiphone.Why not fake Gibson or Fake Fender???Anyway I have seen other people selling this guitar from the same supplier and their feedback is good.
Thanks for all of your concern but maybe you should be minding your own business not mine. "

Funny how he is from Australia, where all these other fakes are coming from.

Maybe we need to inform him that theres no such thing as a Epiphone "Supplier", that you have to be an "AUTHORIZED" distributor, which he is NOT, but if he were, he'd be getting his guitars direct from Epiphone, not some B.S. supplier. ANd I would forward a copy of his email with his so called explanation to Ebay and gibson. Watch how fast he disappears.

[Big_dawg]

definately not the same guitar in the ebay adds, the pattern of the quilt is also different.

[Lynyrd77Skynyrd]

Originally Posted by Sinmastah

Epiphone Les Paul Custom Alpine White - eBay (item 200241137629 end time Jul-29-08 17:04:15 PDT)

Looks like the logo is going to fall off the edge of the headstock. Message send to user.

Someone bought this one, i sent a lenghthy message to the buyer to not pay for it or request a refund immediately.

[GNR4EVR]

Originally Posted by Sinmastah

This pisses me off. That AW LP is still up, and I've contacted the owner, and he claims its real and has been selling them for 6 years, and knows a legit guitar when he sees one. Then demands me to show him links of guitars I sell. I don't sell them smarts, I prevent you from selling your crap. Will post his email in a sec.

Heres and email I sent him, we'll see if he acts on THIS one:
I dont care who your "Supplier" of these guitars is, but they are FAKES. Unless you get your guitars direct from EPIPHONE AND ARE A AUTHORIZED DISTRIBUTOR OF THEM, YOU ARE PASSING COUNTERFEITS. If you do not delete these guitars, they will be reported to Ebay and Gibson, both of which are very hungry to get rid of counterfeiters and traffickers alike. And I might add that it is a felony to sell these.

[GNR4EVR]

Originally Posted by Lynyrd77Skynyrd

Someone bought this one, i sent a lenghthy message to the buyer to not pay for it or request a refund immediately.

Good. Thats the same guy I sent an email to.

[GNR4EVR]

Slash's birthday is July 24th and theyre having a party in Las Vegas at the Mirage hotel/Casino. I just found out, and my vacation there isnt until August 19th... GRRrRRRrr
Tickets are only 30.00 too, Dammnit

[stef]

Originally Posted by Big_dawg

definately not the same guitar in the ebay adds, the pattern of the quilt is also different.

i dont find that looking at the pics... do you have any specific area in mind ?

[stef]

Originally Posted by GNR4EVR

Fake. Ask for a refund and report him. Two "EE"s again, Pickguard screw in the wrong place and the trussrod cover. The front strap lug looks funky to me too. I think its mounted too far from the neck.

comparing with pics of the ultra on the epi website, the screw looks right to me, and so does the strap lug..
i'll check the lettering, but so far, nothing really conclusive that it's a fake ?

[Big_dawg]

- on the back of the body of the guitar in the ebay pics there are 2 specific dark lines in the wood (one just above the control cavity).

- In the ebay pics there are three stickers on the back ofthe headstock

- and in the ebay pics below the tailpeice there are quite noticeable patterns in the quilt (next to the neck tone knob theres a large flattened circle pattern about halfway between the tailpiece and bottom ofthe guitar) which dont appear to be on the one your friend has...


Your english is very good by the way, whereabouts in france are you..??

[Big_dawg]

Originally Posted by stef

comparing with pics of the ultra on the epi website, the screw looks right to me, and so does the strap lug..
i'll check the lettering, but so far, nothing really conclusive that it's a fake ?

Check with epiphone directly regarding the serial number and the two big E's.

I admit someones gone to a lot of work here...

[stef]

Originally Posted by Big_dawg

Check with epiphone directly regarding the serial number and the two big E's.

I admit someones gone to a lot of work here...

yes, the dark wood patterns dont come out too good on today's pictures, but then, the conditions are very different from what they were on the ebay listing (my friend used a mobile phone, to take picture of the guitar on the back seat of a car, in bright sunlight !). i think it requires a much closer look.
I am not sure, but i think my friend removed the stickers from the headstock (he certainly did on the pups). i'll aks him for a second look when he gets bck from lunch !
what bugs me is that the ultra must be a nightmare to fake (hollow body, quilt etc..) and here, it does look genuine. it's only a cheap truss rod cover and a poor pinstriping that sorts of lets it down.. so i'd rather put it down to poor finish quality from epiphone themselves, than really good faker who rushed the finish. if someone had gone through the trouble of faking the hollow body, the quilt, got all the details right, i doubt he'd get the truss rod cover wrong !
I am in Normandy, btw. but i lived in the UK for a good 13 years.