ebay + booze = bad idea! (fake guitar content)

n3p · Post by **n3p** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:28 pm

lol @ what I just won on ebay.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/180921568809? ... 1497.l2649

I really should have read the description properly. Saw an Epiphone Ace Frehley LP for sale and, as they don't come up very often, I bid (and won). Didn't even check the pictures that well - I also know nothing about les pauls in general. Turns out it's a 'Japanese' (according to the seller, most likely Chinese though?) copy! I mean, fair enough there are fake Gibson Ace's out there, but a fake Epiphone?!

Anyway, here are some pictures from the auction which may amuse, I'll give it a proper inspection when it arrives. Don't even think it would be worth swapping parts over, so it might end up hung on the wall as an art piece!

Les Paul gurus - tell me what's wrong with this fake!

Pièce de résistance:

shramiac · Post by **shramiac** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:42 pm

Doing a random "Ace Frehley Epiphone" search, a few of these pics appeared! Nice looking timber though! But it may only be a printed paper woodgrain with a few clear coats over the top.

Post by **Genebaby** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 5:49 pm

Yeah, why not copy a Gibson? Looks ok though and he's very confident you'll like it.

Tell us what you think when you get it Nick.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 6:46 pm

Nice.

n3p · Post by **n3p** » Mon Jul 09, 2012 11:56 pm

shramiac wrote:...it may only be a printed paper woodgrain with a few clear coats over the top.

I wouldn't be surprised! Maybe if it's a total POS I'll strip it back to see what lurks beneath!

Genebaby wrote:Yeah, why not copy a Gibson? Looks ok though and he's very confident you'll like it.
Tell us what you think when you get it Nick.

The tuners don't look in line and the Ace picture just looks plain funny to me

I've been told it'll get here Wednesday though so I can have a proper look.

The seller emailed me:

Hi Nick,

It's actually a very nice guitar, i've had some Gibson models from the same supplier as I got this guitar from and they are literally exactly the same guitars, the only difference is that this one has an Epiphone headstock. It's not like the Gibson model is a worse guitar than a real gibson so this one is worse than a real epiphone. I've owned and sold many epiphone guitars in the past, and overall, epiphones aren't great, this guitar however sounds wonderful and plays very nicely. As you said, if you don't like it it'll make a great display piece, but i'm sure you'll be pleasantly suprised!

Meh, still not convinced!!

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 1:33 am

Are you going to pay or not?

TJMonster · Post by **TJMonster** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 2:02 am

Have it set up. The look or the wood from my experience isnt usually the problem. It's usually an UN even neck joint or a warped uneven fingerboard.

n3p · Post by **n3p** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:41 am

I already paid this morning

TJ, good plan - hopefully it wont need the frets levelling out, etc as it'd cost more than the guitar itself lol

1031 · Post by **1031** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 3:47 am

The last few Gibson fakes that showed up in the shop were absolute junk, the wood was uncured very very soft pots and pick ups were junk. They are not made in japan ! The fret board was some sort of flooring laminate.

I would cancel the sale!! he basically admitted he's selling fake guitars, and report his ass. Its against ebay policy They are illegitimate reproductions and do nothing but rip people off. Not mention affect peoples jobs.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 6:08 am

Just return it if its total junk.

TJMonster · Post by **TJMonster** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 6:31 am

I do fret leveling for $30. How much was it?

n3p · Post by **n3p** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 6:48 am

Fretwork here starts at £100 for a basic job, but going by what I've heard on this thread it would probably need a fair few hours. Paid £250 for it. Returning is still an option, but I'm quite intrigued as to what it's like in the flesh lol

poserboy71 · Post by **poserboy71** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 6:52 am

Those Chinese guitars feel extremely cheap. A few buddies o'mine have bought some and put better pickups and hardware on them. Silly.
I prefer to keep an eye on the druggies of my town and buy their real gear for dirt cheap when they need a fix.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 7:08 am

Rick cruisin around at midnight for guitars.

TJMonster · Post by **TJMonster** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 7:08 am

I got 2 Chinese guitars. Ofcourse I stripped the sealer off and cured the wood. Repainted one. That's the blue flame guitar. Almost done with the other.

ankh · Post by **ankh** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 4:16 pm

the three screws-instead of two- on the bell trussrod cover were a clear sign of a fake- so it is also a old knockoff, now they've fixed that-,same for the placement of the ace frehley makeup face .I'm afraid he has sold to you that guitar for the same price that you may get one brand new from China.I think it would be better to report to Ebay also for cautionary purposes, just in case this person got busted-and he will be- and avoid any trouble.

anyway for some tips about ace frehley chinese copies:

http://acelp.homestead.com/ChineseKnock-Offs.html

the rest of the website isn't bad, either;)

n3p · Post by **n3p** » Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:24 pm

Thanks for the info, I'm not too concerned about the price as it was cheap and truth be told I did report the seller, despite me buying the item! Never got a response from ebay. That site is very handy, the epiphone shown there looks exactly like the one I've won! I think I'll just hang it on the wall in my office, never to be played. As Slurpee says, it's a bit silly to spend loads upgrading a cheap piece o crap. Can't polish a turd! Wish I had luthier skills like TJ so I could cure the wood and whatnot

Nick

1031 · Post by **1031** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 1:16 am

Curing wood on a already assembled guitar is a neat trick, youll have let me know how your doing it and not have it release any of the glue joints split the top or bind a truss rod.

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:29 am

That pic of Ace is hysterical!

shramiac · Post by **shramiac** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 10:03 am

Crayon drawing!

poserboy71 · Post by **poserboy71** » Wed Jul 11, 2012 12:10 pm

GOOD:

BAD:

n3p · Post by **n3p** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 12:29 am

lol, when you compare them like that, the epiphone looks total crap xD

I'm expecting it to be waiting for me when I get back from work tonight, after the day I've had I could do with a laugh!

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:20 am

the knock off has a lot of charm for some reason though.

n3p · Post by **n3p** » Thu Jul 12, 2012 7:13 pm

Dino, you can have it if you come collect!

The guitar arrived yesterday, but it was too dark for my camera to take any decent pics (even with the lights on - Damn you Nikon "Coolpix"!) so I'll take some today. But in summary, it's a POS. lol. Will update with a report later on

poserboy71 · Post by **poserboy71** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:25 am

Nick, Please return it and report the crook that sells them.

Life is too short to play a shitty guitar.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:43 am

yeah get your money back. its not good that a son of a bitch is selling that junk. report it to ebay and get your cash back

n3p · Post by **n3p** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:22 am

Hey Slurpee (lol, I love that how Vinnie affectionately called you that) - The seller was reported, but ebay so far haven't even got in touch with me. I tried retracting the bid but I was too late. The seller does accept returns, so I have the option to return it, but like I previously mentioned I may hang it as an art piece (or for something to laugh at when I'm having a shitty day

).

I took some pics, just to mention beforehand that I'm probably the worst photographer at taking photos so unfortunately I haven't "captured the emotion" (or focus). I am also les paul illiterate, so feel free to correct me if I think anything that seems out of the ordinary is actually normal!

Pickup rings just look weird to me, and the selector switch is off centre

Control knobs look a bit suspect?

Quality binding! ha!

Does the angle look normal to you?

Photography at its best!

Once I find a screwdriver I'll take off the back covers and see what the wiring's like.

As far as playability goes, some of the frets feel chipped (couldn't get a good picture) and really uneven. The fretboard just feels plain nasty, the pickups sound crap and there seems to be the most minimal difference between neck/bridge. It goes out of tune after about 10 minutes and the tone knobs seem to do nothing. The only thing that I'm happy with is that the volume controls work so I can turn off the noise! Although my butchering off Kiss riffs is probably the main reason for that

Nick

poserboy71 · Post by **poserboy71** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:34 am

That neck looks really thick.

Those Pickup rings are incorrect. Everything is off. Enjoy anyways....

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:36 am

anyone know the thickest guitar neck on a commercial guitar? thick sounds good.

poserboy71 · Post by **poserboy71** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:42 am

Play the Brian May guitars. HOLY FUCKING SHIT !!!!

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:44 am

is that the thickest. my Spector ns6 had a thick ass neck

poserboy71 · Post by **poserboy71** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:57 am

Probably not even close to the thickest , but the Brian May is HUGE.

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:20 am

ok.
rick is there a market for a usa made spector ns6 with umg's? i was thinking of selling. last time i tested the market on ebay in 2002 (with no pics) I had it up for $300 and nobody bid. I suppose pictures help and mine was in storage at my dads. I had a Ritz for sale for years at $200 (before 2001) and no takers, then i sold one for 2300 in i think 2008 and could have accepted 3k to end the auction.

erg2 · Post by **erg2** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:33 am

Bigger isn't always better...but thicker is.

poserboy71 · Post by **poserboy71** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 9:30 am

doublev2 wrote:ok.
rick is there a market for a usa made spector ns6 with umg's? i was thinking of selling. last time i tested the market on ebay in 2002 (with no pics) I had it up for $300 and nobody bid. I suppose pictures help and mine was in storage at my dads. I had a Ritz for sale for years at $200 (before 2001) and no takers, then i sold one for 2300 in i think 2008 and could have accepted 3k to end the auction.

Dino, We will have to talk and line up the next time you are in the States. I need to help you clean out your storage locker.

I have only seen a NS6 once about 15 years ago in a pawn shop. GREAT GUITAR !!!!

doublev2 · Post by **doublev2** » Fri Jul 13, 2012 5:08 pm

mine is black. i remember i only gigged it once at a high school concert and i got a lot of teasing from the thrash band i was trying to play with.

SherryBurke · Post by **SherryBurke** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 7:22 pm

That real actually same for the position of the ace frehley cosmetics experience. I'm reluctant he has marketed to you that instrument for the same cost that you may get one product new from Chinese suppliers. I think it would be better to review to Auction web sites also for cautionary requirements.