Wow. That's all pretty snitty. You "popped" in for information, you've received it in a friendly tone - try responding in the same spirit.

Bye - C

Removed by me.

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No no and no

I guess that leaves you with a couple of options.

Either get one delivered from HK from a reputable store either online or phone order.

Find out who the Fender distributer is in China and then find the closest authorized dealer and do your home work before buying.

Be prepared to pay a price similar to the cost of importing from the US.

I took a trip a back to the larger shop downtown to have another look at the Strats. I noticed a black acoustic Epiphone. Long story short: I decided against the Strat and bought an Epi acoustic. I 'm sure that the Strats in my price range are fakes. The Epi had an exceptionally nice sound and feel. With a deluxe hardshell case, I paid all of 900RMB for the guitar and case.

It was a second hand guitar in good shape so I'm not concerend about it falling apart in a few weeks. I may eventually buy a Strat; however, for now, I'm good. I will be spending a lot of time with 12 bar.de teaching materials.

Take care and thanks for your input

J-7, It's not complicated at all. There are Chinese criminals who counterfeit guitars. Just yesterday, I saw Stratocasters "made" in Mexico, China, Malaysia, and the USA, hanging on the wall of the shop where I bought my guitar. Most likely they came from a single source. Some were Squires and some were not. A fake guitar makes no effort to exactly copy the styling of an authentic guitar. For example, a fake may spell Squire as Squier or vice versa. A lot of the people dealing these things don't know themselves, where the instruments come from.

There is a certified Fender dealer in HK where criminal types can legitimately purchase authentic guitars. They can then take them back to factories in southern China where the counterfeits and fakes are made. Make no mistake.These people can turn out a guitar that will fool experts, especially when you are talking expensive vintage instruments. Remember, the average salary in China is around $425/monthly. They can afford to spend a little extra time getting that counterfeit just right.

Do a search in the archives on this website. Check "China fake guitars" on Google. I came across one post from a guy who said he just arrived Stateside from China and apologizing for his poor English skills. He then goes on to say he has a 60's Strat and needs some information on serial numbers. Where does a freshly landed Chinese kid with poor English get an early 60's Strat? It seems more likely that the guy was fishing for info on serial numbers to run some kind of scam.

Most people from mainland China have absolutely no understanding or appreciation for copyrights, intellectual property, artistic integrity, etc. Counterfeit Strats are just another scam to make money, which is all the criminal types care about. It's not only Strats. Check out the following article:

http://www.vintagerock.com/fakeguitars.aspx

Furthermore, British and American culture is something about which they have no
understanding. A lot of people in the States would have second thoughts about burning someone on a guitar because of the betrayal of trust involved. Of course, sociopathic types don't care. That's the mentality of the people in China who do these kind of things.

It shouldn't matter, if you can play, where your guitar comes from. Mike Bloomfield could have done just as well on a fake Strat as a real one. It does matter, if you are paying thousands for a classic instrument, which was just put together in a factory around Shenzhen. It matters because you are being ripped off. You can't use good wood, appliances, and electronics on a guitar that costs $20 to make.
As always, "Let the buyer beware."

You'll find tons of guitar "bargains" here......

http://www.ioffer.com/

How about a brand new Gibson Les Paul Custom for $345?



Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

I completely agree that to a musician it doesn't matter where a guitar comes from. But it has to be functional. That's my warning. The bit of experience I've had from these guitars proved them to be unplayable for any serious amount of time.
Now I'm a very picky sod when it comes to guitar setup. Most guitars won't pass my scrutiny unscathed, no matter where their made. Including the upper echelons of American Fender's. I'll do the work myself, but must have it just so. When I get a guitar that after a day's solid work I can't get anywhere near right. I give up.

Was just looking around on the [forgive me for saying it] Gibson boards. Guy over there crowing about the great deal he got on a Gibson he found in a pawn shop. Oops, couple of problems. He couldn't understand why a guitar only four years old would be having problems like that, but he still figured he got a good deal. Guess what? Reason the guitar was having those problems was because it was a FAKE.

Of course, the fact that the Fender and Gibson names are being diluted by the fake garbage being sold as authentic seems to be lost on people. If fake Gibsons are being sold in pawn shops, be sure that fake Fenders are too. The days when owning a Fender or Gibson guitar meant something are gone, unless you can probe it's not a fake.

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/F ... -bust-708/