Does this neck look suspicious to any of you? Looks rather odd to me! The logo seems way off and unrealistic...

http://cgi.ebay.com/Page-era-Fender-Cus ... 4aadd8edf2

Hi, I'm new!! My husband and I have started dabbling in guitars and we are learning as we go. Have been coming here for a little while now and trying to read up on some things, and figured tonight would be a good time to go on and sign up. I have something we need some help with!

First I want to say THANK YOU for this thread and all of the information that you have ALL shared!! It's been amazing sometimes to come here and look up something we've had questions about

As spontaneous as my husband is, we acquired a Fender Stratocaster today. A buddy called from an auction at a storage place, knows we like guitars, and said, "Hey.. they've got a teal colored Fender Stratocaster up for bid...." The rest is history, lol!

My first red flag that it might be a fake is that the middle screws of the trem cover are not off-set. They are in fact directly across from each other. Is there any exception to this rule, or is that a dead give-away?

Actually my first red flag was not being able to get the serial number to come up. In fact, I can't find any Fender that starts with the letters "AE". The entire serial number is AE-0020800985. I'm also suspicious that the tuner keys have been moved? You can see in the picture that there are extra holes there.

I'm tempted to take the screws out to look at the neck... but he's at work and told me not to do it LOL! The neckplate isn't engraved with anything... just plain silver.

We didn't spend a lot on it, so even if it's not what it's supposed to be... it was worth the learning experience

Anything anyone can tell us would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Yup, that neck looks to be a fake. There may be some real Fender parts on it, however, like the tuners (the previous owner probably replaced the original crummy tuners with better Fender tuners).

You'd have to take things apart to see what else might be Fender parts.

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Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.

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just joined today and researching as I may be buying a strat soon.

I was originally just going to visit an authorized dealer and buy new; but recently I decided I wanted to have something with some "investment" potential and began looking at high end used strats that are not yet vintage and haven't caught the eye of most collectors yet.

This thread is very informative and thank you to the people who've contributed. There is a lot of information I've learned on my own that was posted here, but also a few new things I never thought about before; like the wood around the truss rod.

In particular I've got my eye on an '87 Strat +. Reason being, of what I've been able to find out, is that this is the first year they produced that variation of the strat and and it is pretty much as close as you could get to a CS model without paying CS prices. Also, it is one of the first Post CBS production model guitars to come out of the USA.

Right now they can be bought pretty cheaply considering they're a high end model because most of the collectors want the vintage spec instruments as opposed to the ones with more modern harware/electronics; but I suspect in the near future people may begin collecting these as the quality is top notch and they are not so common compared to other models.

Some things I discovered by looking up as many pics as I could about this model - 1) they are one of the models mentioned earlier in this thread that does not have the Fender logo etched to the bridge saddles. 2) serial numbers for this model can be confusing -ex: 87 Strat plus Serial Numbers typically start with E4 as opposed to E7. 3)The Serial Number was moved after 1995 to the back of the headstock, before then it was on the front. 4) it is the only production model guitars to have Lace Sensor pickups and the early models used only the Gold Senors.

Hello hello!

New to the forum and read through the first post, very informative! I'm about to purchase a Fender MIJ 93/94 (N Series) Squier and the price is at around 290$, so it seems a little too decent? Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on the provided pics. Would be greatly appreciated!

Newbie here..following Jims advise

Does anybody think this is a fake:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0585953266

Looks legit to me!

Thank-you this was very helpful

I was wondering what your opinion on this was:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Strato ... ebdfb#shId

Thanks again

No one has mentioned this yet but there are several reference books out there that will help identify the Fender you have in hand. If it does not have the features the book mentions, I'd walk...

The first book I use is Gruhn's Guide To Vintage Guitars Updated and Revised. There is a Third Edition out now.

The second is Vintage Guitar Magazines 2011 Price guide. Many listings provide many tidbits of information that are extremely helpful. Examples include descriptions of the case, etc.

I also check the pictures off Gruhns website or Chicago Music Exchange.

In short, I try to get a idea of what features the guitar is supposed to have and make a mental checklist, then compare those features to the guitar in question. With the price guide, I have an idea of what it should cost and then act on the information.

I developed this technique looking at and buying C.F. Martin acoustics. Believe me, there are loads of fakes of those guitars out there....I found a D35 fake selling on CL in Nashville last year and see EBay has many from time to time.

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2006 American 60th Anniversay Stratocaster, 2006 American Telecaster, 2009 Martin MMV, 2009 Martin 000-15, 2006 Martin 000-16GT, Fender Superchamp XD amp

IMHO is the neckplate also upside down. The hole for correcting the neck (if possible) is not function this way.

As long you are having fun with it, no harm has been done.

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Greetings from Amsterdam, Willem

Just as old as the Stratocaster but with a better body.

Another thing, other than Artist Series and Re-issues, all American strats from the late 80's to today have 22 frets. The logo should not be partially under a tuner. I believe its just a Squier neck too. Also, would anyone know if the "skunk" strip is common on rosewood board Strats?

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"Epitaph on a blues musician’s tombstone: “I didn’t wake up this morning”" Davy Knowles


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My MIA Deluxe HSS has a skunk stripe and rosewood board.

I'm not a tele guy, can't help you with that one. The strat looks like a typical American Standard from what I can see...pics of the headstock/tuners/nut/back would certainly help. Even then, without having it in hand with the case and all of the candy, how would anyone know by a picture.