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Post subject: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:27 pm
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Hello, I am posting in hopes of finding out if the strat I bought is authentic US made. A local music shop said it is not but I may not have told him it is an FSR (Fender Special Run).

Some things they pointed out why it was fake:
- the "Fender Stratocastor" logo on the neck is painted, they said since mid 2000's (forget the exact year) they use a sticker and laquer over it, so you should feel the sticker edge
- the back cover (white) does not match the pickguard (black)
- no Fender logo on the back metal plate (I don't see one on the FSR images online either)
- they also made mention to something about the colour of the pickups/knobs, the ones on this guitar are white
- they also mentioned the colour of the inside piece not being brass

I hope to have some light shed on the subject before I accuse the seller of fraud. When I entered the serial code on guitardater.com I got an 'invalid' return. But so does my friend who has an authenticated US tele.

The shop also suggested I take the neck off and check that the serial number matches the body. There was no "USXXXXXX" number on the neck. Only had "72713" and an "M", "R", "C", quality control checks of some sort.

The body had "72242" with a date stamp, and two "2"'s and "F".

He admitted to putting EMG pickups in it but then taking them out and replacing them with the originals. The store said the pickups were not american for sure, could be because they weren't brass??

Not sure if I can post pics here?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.


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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 9:38 pm
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Mack1979 wrote:
Some things they pointed out why it was fake:
- the "Fender Stratocastor" logo on the neck is painted, they said since mid 2000's (forget the exact year) they use a sticker and laquer over it, so you should feel the sticker edge
- the back cover (white) does not match the pickguard (black)
- no Fender logo on the back metal plate (I don't see one on the FSR images online either)
- they also made mention to something about the color of the pickups/knobs, the ones on this guitar are white
- they also mentioned the color of the inside piece not being brass


Well, you cant judge a fender being genuine on cosmetics. so the back cover, nobs and pickup covers, have no effect on being genuine. I seen some great strats USA's with squire cosmetics because the owner before put them on or thats all he had.

The way I tell if a fender is genuine is by the neck and body. the feel of a fender neck should be smooth and straight, also the frets on the neck should be rounded off and don't cut in your hand. on the body, check for how the craftsmanship is, normally on squires or cheaply made body do not go all out with sanding the edges inside the guitar leaving wood chippings. for the sticker on the fender head stock is a tricky thing. I have a squire series fender from 1996 that's rare and the neck and body are USA but the nobs and tuners were cheaply made. so I would open her up and see. if the music store lets you.

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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 10:15 pm
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Sounds very strange.
USA strats will have a serial somewhere on the headstock or the neck plate.
A painted logo rings alarm bells!
Not sure where you are coming from with the brass bit...
Post some photos :D


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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 11:18 pm
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We need to see it, there is no other way around it, please post some up.

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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 1:20 am
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Painted logo on the headstock?

Image

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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 5:50 am
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I hope this works so you can see the pictures.

Thanks

https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=F ... der%2cjpeg


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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 5:57 am
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So this looks like an American Special Strat (the guitar which replaced the HWY1). If you can take some photos of the upper contours (belly cut and where your right army rests) I will know for sure of it is ligit.

The logo doesn't look painted to me.


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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 8:01 am
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It looks legit to me as well - and a nice FSR American Special at that. I think you're just seeing a reflection of the decal edges under the finish - it looks normal to me, not painted on.

A couple of things about the numbers - a lot of those "guitar dater" sites are way behind in recording the serial number formats. For example, that "Guitar Dater Project" site will only show 2009 and earlier Fender formats as "valid". Besides, all those sites can tell you is if the serial number is a valid format, and some fakers have taken to using real formats that turn up as "valid" in those sites.

Also if I'm not mistaken those "72713" and "72242" numbers are the part number for the American Special neck and American Special body. Fender hasn't put matching serial number stickers on the body, neck and pickguard since the CBS days - and even then that was only from about 1976 to 1984/85. I don't believe FMIC continued that practice when they restarted production in the USA.


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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 8:09 am
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I agree w/ Paris, it appears to be a legit American Special. Logo on the headstock and the serial number appear to be legit. I believe the neck plate on those are plain, no logo. Back trem cover or the pickguard was probably replaced, that's why they don't match.
It sounds as if your local music shop knows less than squat.


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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 8:21 am
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I think I need a second opinion from another shop! Too bad I'm away from Toronto to get it.

Thanks for the replies and the info. It seems to check out, the craftsmanship is solid. The back plate is blank just like this one...http://www.musicpower.com/itemdesc.asp? ... -FSAMSPSV#

I think the question now is if the pickups are Chinese replacements. Does anyone know how to tell? I don't think my ear is trained enough to tell the difference. When I bring it in I could try playing it beside a similar model.

Cheers


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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 10:54 am
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It's real. If you don't believe forum members, why did you ask? I will never cease to be bewildered by people who spend their money, then want to know if what they bought is genuine, instead of the other way around. :roll:


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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 12:56 pm
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FYI...

FSR = Factory Special Run, not Fender Special Run

Looks legit to me.

cheers!

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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 1:40 pm
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Mack1979 wrote:
There was no "USXXXXXX" number on the neck. Only had "72713" and an "M", "R", "C", quality control checks of some sort.

Clearly the second photo shows the US serial number on the neck.
That's why it is always good to see pics. :D


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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 8:16 pm
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That local music shop sounds quite incompetent.

Or maybe they wanted to convince you it was a fake to buy it from you for next to nothing.

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Post subject: Re: Fake? Fender FSR American Special Strat
Posted: Tue Nov 04, 2014 8:35 pm
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Very possible, they valued it at $200 and clearly didn't know squat (which was the same boat I was in)

The guitar and pickups were inspected by another shop and the wiring was braided/cloth insulation which apparently is used with the Texas specials, whereas Chinese parts would have the standard smooth plastic ones.

Now I can live happily ever after with my genuine American strat.

Thanks again folks!


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