I posted this in the thread in which i was seeking info about a "Jaguar" Stratocaster Guitar I had purchased, but I am posting it in a new topic to be sure other folks don't fall into the scam I did.

Thanks to all who commented on my "Jaguar" stratocaster. I got some enlightening but disappointing news from folks on the FDP forum that the guitar I purchased is not a "Project guitar that was put together with parts and turned out really cool", but a counterfeit made by a Chinese company in Beijing. What a bummer.
It still looks nice and it plays OK as far as I can determine with my limited experience and it reacts well to the normal Stratocaster setup, but it is all Chinese and Korean parts. I've emailed the seller ( the completed auction is still up on eBay as item 290193247944 ) who might not have known what he was selling, but as a seller of a number of other guitars he should have had an idea. Not sure what I will do about this as I've read that not only selling these but posessing one may be illegal because of the copyright infringement.

Here's an article on these Chinese fakes
http://www.vintagerock.com/fakeguitars.aspx

And here's a link to the exact model this guy sold me
http://www.paylessguitars.com/product_detail.asp?Pid=991

I see that in two of their pictures the Chinese company seems to have figured out that the pickguard on a new Fender strat has 11 mounting screws and not 10 like the one I bought. Perhaps I have a "valuable" Chinese prototype? NOT! It probably depends on which China-person was making their "custom shop" models that day.



Be careful out there and don't fall for a scam like I did.

_________________
Phil in Northwest Arkansas

Sorry for your misfortunes! I've bought Partsocasters on Ebay before, and have never really been satisfied. Even if it was a parts guitar, who knows where the parts came from?!?!?? That said, the guitar looks kinda cool. If it plays ok, just have fun with it.

_________________
When I was a young man, we called it Vietnam.
Now that I'm an old man, still bleeding in a foreign land........."War Is Not The Answer", 2007.

www.guitargeezer.com

$190? God, that seem cheap even for some knockoff?

Crazy man - the sunburst tele slimline had a stratocaster decal on the headstock!!!!!

and that's why I just stay away from ebay lol

Actually it's $300 with the shipping unless you happen to be going to Beijing; about what you might pay for a used MIJ or nice MIM. I got nicked for $395 total by the eBay seller and am feeling pretty dumb about it. I would not have ordered from the Chinese company no matter how much I like old Jaguars. My Jag addiction is why I bought the eBay offering in the first place thinking it was a customized neck on a Fender Mex or Japanese body.

_________________
Phil in Northwest Arkansas

I see what you mean. Good advise and thanks for the heads up. Rather fascinating stuff... I had no idea!

The worst part about these guitars is the fact that if you know what you're looking for, you can pick out the fine details that make them so fake. Just look at the SRV strats...

_________________
"Music is really a way to reach out and hold onto each other in a healthy way." --Stevie Ray Vaughan

230 dollars. for a Epiphone Les Paul. Custom.

GENUINE!?!?! impossible -- the originals cost like 500 dollars + and how can they afford to lower the price by THAT much!? is it because they buy it straight from the manufacturer?

_________________
"we loved you ya ya ya... we loved you ya ya ya"

Read the "about us" on their web site and you'll see that ALL these guitars are built from scratch in China (with some Korean parts) where apparently no license is required by the Chinese government. These are all counterfeit even though they put "Made in USA" or "Made in Mexico" prominently on them along with copies of the real manufacturer's logos. Cheap labor and no regulation is how they do it. If you still want to buy one, just don't lick the paint.

_________________
Phil in Northwest Arkansas

Thanks for the condolences. It actually seems to play OK, but as a geezer myself I may not be the best judge. I get a fair amount of hum from the pups and I had bought some Fender Noisless pups to put in before I found out what it really was. If I can't get satisfaction from the seller I may try the Noisless, if they will fit, and keep using it to learn on.

_________________
Phil in Northwest Arkansas

eh, that sucks.... the guitar looks pretty nice if anything, although not much like a genuine fender with the different knobs, fret inlays, gold pickups, etc

I hang out over in the Gibson forums too and these things are a huge problem with Les Pauls. I hadn't realized that they were conterfitting Fenders too!

The Chinese patterned this one after a Custom Shop model made for Jaguar Cars which had gold leaper inlays on the fretboard where this one has the mother-of-plastic? ones. The growler on the headstock is actually nicely done although not the actual Jaguar logo like the Custom Shop used. Here's a link to a "real" one.

http://www.ibanezregister.com/classified/fender-general/fs-fenderjagstrat.htm

_________________
Phil in Northwest Arkansas

Some of the pictures on payless' site look real close--it is possible they used the real thing for some of those pictures, then they send you the fake.

Stuff like that needs to be policed, reported, stopped, punished, etc.

People should be getting what they think they're getting.

Al DiMeola has a good point about buying from authorized dealers--but then that also hurts in terms those who can't afford the higher priced stuff and look for it used.

_________________
It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

this is also the company called musoland.cn or .com.cn i cant remember... darn near perfect pictures of replicas... i almost bought the sg custom 3 pick up assuming its just hte electronics that suck and maybe they are bodies and necks purchased from epiphone as seconds... a few weeks later i saw one of the 300 dollar (including shipping) sg customs on ebay for 700 dollars. there are subtleties like wrong inlays or lack of corrent inlays.... i would love to see one in person though.... my epiphone g400 sg was 315 (sale) and the guitar is insanely nice, so there is a chance that with a proper set up and electronics, some of those guitars might not be bad... remember tokia back in the day actually made some better guitars than what gibson was cranking out for well under 1/3 or 1/4 the cost?