I was browsing the local craigslist ads when I happened upon an ad for a Chinese Les Paul copy. The guitar was a pretty convincing Les Paul, but what disturbed me most about the guitar was that the headstock actually said Gibson on it. While I worked for Ibanez, I recall a notice on their website warning of counterfeit guitars.
Having been a victim of buying a counterfeit guitar in the past, this really struck a nerve with me. It has me terrified to buy vintage guitars, pickups or just about any other vintage "mojo" part.
Admittedly my own experience with counterfeiting could have (and should have) been completely avoided but greed got the better of me and I found myself with one of the worst looking and functioning Fender Jaguar copies. Needless to say I took a heavy loss and learned a valuable lesson; If it looks too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true.
Caveat Emptor is truly the rule. Buyer Beware. I will say in favor of the craigslist seller, he did mention it was not an authentic Gibson. But will the next seller be so honest?
Some "experts" claim to be able to spot them a mile away. I've played guitar for more than half of my life. I know there are exceptions to every rule for what one company did one year or another. These guitars look very convincing and I'm not certain that I'd be able to tell an authentic one from a counterfeit.
The entire thing leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I'm afraid to buy a new guitar. My only option at this point seems to be building guitars myself from reputable parts dealers.
Is misrepresenting out of ignorance or intention just as bad as counterfeit?
Fender squier or package starcaster guitars being sold above retail. Make no mistake the new starcaster line has nothing to do with the short lived 70's semi hollow guitar.
For example, I have seen a number of Vox amplifiers being sold as tube amps when there isn't a tube in them. Maybe "tube" is a buzz word that generates more profit like "vintage", "point to point", "Pre CBS", or "Blackface".
Even the manufacturers get in on the fun. Marshall had their Valvestate amplifiers. Some of the models contained no valves to speak of (see the VS15R post I made a while back as a reference). Peavey has the "Transtube" series which while containing the word tube in the name does not have a tube to be seen...or heard for that matter.
The manufacturers also like to play games with the output wattage ratings. Bigger is always better so they give you the peak output wattage as though it were the average power. Then you wonder why your 12 watt tube amp (which was manufactured when clean wattage was important) is drowning out your 35 watt newly manufactured amplifier. This has actually happened to me.
Manufacturers and other retailers like to use the term "all tube", "class A", or "point to point" when it is clearly untrue. All tube is admittedly subject to some semantics. Do you define all tube as no solid state components or only a tube audio path?
For example, does the rectifier being solid state make a 1965 Fender Bandmaster any less all tube than a 1965 Fender Tremolux? One could certainly make a debate for either side of the argument as the audio path is nearly identical in both of these amplifiers. Sure the rectifier will affect the sound.
But an amplifier that has a few tubes and a solid state reverb cannot be called all tube, right? What about amplifiers with relays to switch between channels?
As for point to point, again, one has to classify some things. Do terminal strips, eyelet boards, turret boards, etc. count as point to point? Or is that reserved for a mess of wire literally linking point to point? Technically they may not be point to point, but again, this is accepted nomenclature when talking about an old Fender amplifier.
Referring to a modern amp with a printed circuit board just because the manufacturer claims it is hand wired is a falsehood. Truth is, all tube amplifiers have some degree of hand wiring and assembly. But that does not make it point to point wiring.
I've seen plenty of Fender amps completely misrepresented as Pre CBS or blackface when neither one is true. If your amplifier was manufactured from 1965 or later, it is not Pre CBS. It can still be blackface assuming it was manufactured between 1965 and 1967.
After that, they go into silverface amplifiers with and without the drip edge and then a return to blackface cosmetics. Some of these late amps are the ones which get passed off as blackface...and a part of me supposes it is technically true, but vintage enthusiasts know that these late blackface amps are not generally what is meant when one refers to a blackface Fender amplifier.
Some people even have the nerve to classify red knob amplifiers as blackface despite no connection with the prior series of Fender amplifiers.
Another favorite of mine is amplifiers which aren't even Fender amplifiers being referred to as blackface.
As if the manufacturers misrepresenting for their own gain (no pun intended) wasn't bad enough, end users continue to preach this stuff as though it were the bible of guitar playing. If you've ever punished yourself by reading an interview with Eric Johnson, you've already been exposed to toxic levels of bullshit. His playing aside, the man literally holds his fuzz face together with a rubber band because he believes that the screw that holds the cover on the bottom of the pedal changes the tone.
Now we have an entire generation of guitarists who think that Marshall Plexis are high gain, Gibson amplifiers are only for jazz guitarists, and any guitar made before 1979 is vintage (trust me, plenty belong in a land fill!).
Here are a few other overly hyped mojo words to scrutinize carefully when you see them:
Bumblebee capacitors - A capacitor has a very definite function and these values are not magical. In fact they are easily measured with the right equipment. You will find most quality capacitors will sound identical in your guitar. Do not waste your money on these.
Carbon Comp Resistors - These are an older style resistor that has almost universally been replaced by carbon film or metal film resistors for tolerance and thermal noise reasons alone. They pop up in old amps because that is all they had to choose from and they were cheap and available in the correct wattage. Like a capacitor, resistors have values (other than just resistance) which is measurable with the correct equipment. Do not get roped into thinking something is better just because it features carbon comp resistors.
Silicon or Germanium - Usually the argument goes something like this; Germamium is warmer than Silicon. Germanium doesn't have a life force of its own any more than silicon can control what it sounds like. There are a great number of parameters that define the sound of a transistor (both internal and external). Silicon replaced germanium for the same reasons that germanium replaced selenium. It is infinitely more efficient and reliable. Sure as guitarists we appreciate all sorts of inefficiencies (tubes, germanium, etc...), but know that something being germanium won't necessarily sound like anything. It happens to be true that in a Fuzz Face pedal, the germanium pedal will sound a bit darker, but try and tell me that a germanium Rangemaster is dark or warm. There really is more to designing an effect than just selection of the semiconductor material.
Alnico - Almost always in reference to pickups but also with speakers. Alnico magically makes everything better. Coils can be wound in a number of ways and the wire on the coil is just as important as the magnet attached to it. How the coil is wound is important as well. And of course this doesn't even take into account the various Gauss levels of the magnets. Not that it is alnico, but I recall seeing a Neodymium magnetic pickup installed (from the factory) on a guitar while I worked at Ibanez. I believe this was done in an effort to cut down on the amount of (expensive) copper wire used in the pickup. The magnet was so strong that you could pick up a 12" adjustable wrench with it. Additionally, the strings were being pulled down toward the pickup with such force that the entire guitar played sharp. Use some sense when you buy an "upgraded" part for your guitar. Alnico isn't always better. It reminds me of an adage I heard that goes something like this "A well designed solid state amplifier will sound better than a poorly made tube amp." Getting a 20$ alnico pickup? Reconsider. Handmade pickups take time and skill to wind. The parts are expensive as well. Look into quality magnets, wire, and fiber or bobbins.
NOS - I once read something about buying WWII era rifle magazines in which the writer suggested, how many NOS magazines could there possibly be in existence? You go to every gun show and see NOS magazines wrapped in brown paper 65 years after the war ended. Do you really think they produced that much surplus? It is the same with guitar parts, electronic components, and vacuum tubes. I believe there are articles on how some germanium transistors were relabeled as NKT275 for the Dunlop Fuzz Face pedals. The same sort of games go on with vacuum tubes and various electronic components that go into guitars and amplifiers.
...Or maybe I am just being overly skeptical...
What is the point of this rant? I admit that in part, my reasoning is selfish. I want to educate people so that I don't have to hear these fallacies propagated eternally. But I am also tired of seeing people attempt to take advantage of others as well.
Before you start wasting your money on "vintage" parts, consider saving your money and playing your guitar or listening with your ears and not your "gut".
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