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Post subject: Can you spot if this is a fake?
Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2016 4:10 pm
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This one guy is trying to sell his Fender Jazz Bass. From the serial number (which is Z9068288) I can tell that it has been manufactured in USA in year 2009/2010 . He says that he bought it in New Zealand 2 years ago for ~900 dollars. And now he is selling it for 700 dollars. Is this legit? I haven't tried to play it yet. What should I look out for when I see it in live to see if it's not a fake?
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Post subject: Re: Can you spot if this is a fake?
Posted: Tue Nov 15, 2016 5:21 pm
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Location: Albemarle, NC
Lots of signs this is dubious. I would pass.

1. Headstock decal is 70's Classic series style, which was a made in Mexico series. But this is not a Mexican Fender neck either. Fender Mexico would either have a truss rod bullet or a headstock truss rod access on a black inlaid maple fretboard.
2. On headstock reverse the serial number decal is crooked. It should be aligned to the orientation of the tuners but isn't. The photo is displayed upside down which disguises this misalignment. So I flipped it. Definitely wrong position.
3. Ultralite tuners were being used on American Standards, those are not.
4. Black block inlays on maple neck were very uncommon in 09/10 on USA model Jazzes so far as I recall. I can not think of one model USA Jazz that had them.
5. Pickguard is too red. It should be more brown tortoise colored. This red guard is not Fender USA.
6. No pickguard rounded notch for truss rod access. All Fender USA Jazz Basses in 2009 and 2010 should have that notch.
7. All USA Fender basses shipped for domestic distribution came with a Fender branded factory hard case in 09/10. Export instruments usually shipped with no case, so in New Zealand the aftermarket case alone can not really be considered a bad sign for a Fender export instrument. HOWEVER serial Z9068288 is a domestic distribution/non-export serial for sale in North America. You can tell is is a domestic serial because it works in the guitar dater project system whereas ANY export serial will kick out as unrecognized since it usually has one extra numeral that boots it out of the system. So since it is a valid North American distribution serial, a real good question to ask the seller is, "WHERE IS THE ORIGINAL FACTORY CASE?"

My opinion is this is a fake and an intentional one. It was not someone putting a Fender decal on a Squier and then the instrument being sold a couple of times and the owner thinking he has a real Fender and representing it as such in error. Someone intentionally put a fake USA serial on it. This is a parts bass which may have some Fender parts but other parts are not Fender. The person who has it now may be the victim here believing it to be what he says it is, but he paid too much for it. It is a knockoff and the serial that conforms to USA distribution would fool lots of people into thinking it might be genuine, but too many signs point the other way.


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Post subject: Re: Can you spot if this is a fake?
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 8:49 am
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Thank you very much!


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