Posted in: Used Vintage Guitars
Because you are going to be spending a lot of money on your guitar, you need to know as much information as you can on spotting counterfeit guitars. It would be a shame to spend several hundred, maybe even several thousand, dollars and not get what you think you are getting. The first step you should take in figuring out whether a guitar you find is the real thing is by doing as much research as possible. If the guitar is posted online, then surf the Internet until you know as much as you can about that particular guitar. If it is in a shop, ask to take a photo and then do the same research.
Over the past few years, there has been an increasingly large amount of counterfeit guitars from China. A lot of them can be found online. A great way to go about spotting counterfeit guitars is by looking at the common characteristics of a fake. Regardless of how great they make a fake guitar, you still will be able to tell because there is no way to identically replicate it. There are a few ways to check this. One surefire way to know whether it is fake or not is by checking out the size. Counterfeits often are just a tiny bit smaller than the real thing.
There also are ways of spotting counterfeit guitars from brand to brand. For example, it is getting easier to spot a counterfeit Gibson. You can do this by looking at the wiring. Gibson does not use plastic wiring. Your best bet at determining the authenticity of any guitar, regardless of the brand, is by checking the company’s web site. Because it has become more popular to make counterfeit guitars, many of the companies are posting ways to tell a real one from a fake. They do not want you to get stuck with a fake either.
Another thing you can do in spotting counterfeit guitars is how you feel about the potential deal. If something seems strange or off about the seller or the price, it is a good possibility that it is a counterfeit. For example, if you think the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Anyone who has a guitar for sale knows what it is worth. They are not going to grossly under price it. The best advice is to be careful and do as much research as you can.
