Hi guys, I have just purchased my first Fender USA, but it looks like I may have bought a genuine fender USA neck but a fake fender body.

When I got home I took the strings off gave it a clean, took the neck off expecting to see some kind of print in the neck pocket instead I see a badly drilled hold in the middle of the neck pocket (please see photo), and the neck pocket has been sprayed black which I believe is not factory original? The bridge and the saddle also look like cheap after market parts to me, should they have fender stamp on them?

On the end of the neck there's a minor wood split on the end of the neck where it meets the neck pocket... I bought the guitar second hand locally so I still have a chance to take it back and get a refund but I need to know what I am looking at here.

Please look at the following photos and let me know what you think, your help is much appreciated

The electronics clearly indicate some kind of asian copy, the grain on the neck is the worst looking I've ever seen. The serial number stamp isn't even close, the bridge saddles are wrong. Run and get your money back while you still can, good luck. . .

Could be wrong but I don't there's an actual Fender neck with the "spaghetti" logo and "Made in USA" right beneath it like that. Truss rod hole would definitely have a walnut plug if it were an American Standard. Neck pocket looks too messed up to even try to wrap my head around, electronics look cheap. Sorry man, you definitely got a fake. Time to go back to the seller and persuasively "demand a refund", or make sure if you do sell the guitar you remove anything on it that claims to be something it's not. Do the right thing and make sure this guitar does NOT change hands as a "Fender" again.

Fake! And not even a good fake.

Absolutely nothing USA about it.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

+1!

Arjay

_________________
"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

Man, that's got Asia written all over it!!

Note that the neck heel is splitting from an errant screw hole.

Get your money back before whoever sold it to you spends it.

_________________
You dig?

Mind me asking what you paid for it? And what kind of second hand transaction? Music Store, Pawn Shop, Craigslist, etc? The reason I ask is because I caught my local Guitar Center in a shady deal. They were selling a guitar as a Kramer "Pacer" (US Made Model in the 80's) but it was some kind of Striker (Korean Serial No., Trem,) BUT, the price was around what a Striker in that shape should have been. Too shady for my taste. If you didn't pay near what a MIA Strat should have cost than they may have known it was a fake and should have told you.

_________________
TOO MANY GUITARS, TOO LITTLE TIME!

Current Stable:
Fender Stratocaster MIM 07
Squire II Stratocaster MIK 89?
ESP LTD MH-100QM
Jackson KE3 Kelly MIJ

Fake!

Hmmm...

Random wire colors and gauges...low-quality looking switch and pots

I love the cable tie...but I usually clip off the extra piece...

Truss rod plug missing...is there even a truss rod inside?

String trees look to be missplaced...

And, my personal favorite...when will those folks get a clue that the rear cover needs to have the middle screws offset?

Sorry...not even close.

_________________
1967 Epiphone Madrid EC-30
1975 Fender Stratocaster
1981 Rickenbacker 360
2002 BC Rich Bich
2007 Fender Standard Stratocaster
2012 Taylor GA3-12
2012 Squier Telecaster
2017 Les Paul Kit


"Make every song you sing your favorite tune."

+1

_________________
Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Hey guys, thanks for the response. I have successfully got my refund back. Apparently the owner had no idea it was a fake, whatever the story was, this is a good lesson learned. I have always been a Les paul player and only had a very nice $@! Squire as my only Stratocaster, because its so nice to play it makes me wonder what a USA fender feels like.

Here's some photos of it because i know you guys would rather look at guitar anyday
Thanks again for pointing out the fake facts too!

Glad everything worked out for you. That Squier Strat you have is a beautiful guitar. Japaneese Squiers are top quality. You must have wondered when you bought that fake how it could be of so much lower quality than the one you already had. Enjoy the Strat you have, it's a nice one.

Nice and a whole lot better than that fake!
Nice look there and I bet a blue pearloid pick guard would be sweet too!

_________________
Everything belongs to JESUS!

1998 Fender Deluxe Super Strat
2008 PRS SE Singlecut

Marshall MgHD100FX single
Line6 Spider ll
Crate Kx 15


Digitech GNX1
Boss DS-1 pedal

Fake

What color is that? It looks a bit too bright to be Daphne Blue.