CheapGuitarStores.com "replica Chinese basses"

[bholder]

would you rock this ?

View attachment 2768793

Fernandes FAB 170 alembic copy or counterfeit ?????

hmmmm

Before you answer, look at the headstock
whose insignia is on it...
it belongs to a friend of mine
and Fernandes isn't on it anywhere
and I've been trying to gethim
to sell it to me for over a decade LOL LOL LOL

my remarks stand

It's got the Alembic trademark, so if it isn't an Alembic, no, I would not touch it, and I would report anyone trying to sell it as legit. Leave the Fernandes logo on and I'm fine with it.

 

[Paulabass]

They really say "Schecter" on the headstock? Wow...

I can't wait to see Schecter's lawyers getting at them!

The Chinese counterfeit market is huge. They are not afraid of lawyers, or cease and desist orders, as none of those laws apply in China. Most of the big companies that are being ripped off are trying to appeal to their own customers not to buy them. It's not going away, and lawsuits are useless.
A warning about owning them- It is not illegal to import a counterfeit guitar. It IS illegal to resell one in U.S.A or Canada. It's impossible to get caught, so only heed that warning if you wish. Ebay will not let you list them.

 

[bholder]

The Chinese counterfeit market is huge. They are not afraid of lawyers, or cease and desist orders, as none of those laws apply in China. Most of the big companies that are being ripped off are trying to appeal to their own customers not to buy them. It's not going away, and lawsuits are useless.
A warning about owning them- It is not illegal to import a counterfeit guitar. It IS illegal to resell one in U.S.A or Canada. It's impossible to get caught, so only heed that warning if you wish. Ebay will not let you list them.

I've read stories on here of people ordering counterfeits and never receiving them because the shipment was intercepted and destroyed. Not sure how those stories fit into the legal picture. But I hope every single person who orders a counterfeit gets what they deserve (which, in my opinion, is junk or nothing, perhaps a lesson).

 

[PillO]

The Chinese counterfeit market is huge. They are not afraid of lawyers, or cease and desist orders, as none of those laws apply in China. Most of the big companies that are being ripped off are trying to appeal to their own customers not to buy them. It's not going away, and lawsuits are useless.
A warning about owning them- It is not illegal to import a counterfeit guitar. It IS illegal to resell one in U.S.A or Canada. It's impossible to get caught, so only heed that warning if you wish. Ebay will not let you list them.

I've read stories on here of people ordering counterfeits and never receiving them because the shipment was intercepted and destroyed. Not sure how those stories fit into the legal picture. But I hope every single person who orders a counterfeit gets what they deserve (which, in my opinion, is junk or nothing, perhaps a lesson).

Making counterfeits in China is illegal. However, the authorities in China choose not to enforce this law and will not enforce foreign court orders.

It is illegal to import a counterfeit, except if it is hand carried. It is also illegal to re-sell a counterfeit. These laws are enforced in the US and Canada. US customs sees interception and destruction of counterfeit goods as one of it's primary missions.

By dealing with counterfeiters in China, you take on a number of risks. Despite paying, you may not get the goods you have paid for either because the counterfeiter chooses not to deliver or because customs intercepts and destroys the goods. Counterfeiters are breaking laws - both locally and internationally - do you trust them with your credit card?

 

[nostatic]

For some, getting caught is the only deterrent to certain activities. Never ceases to amaze me what some deem acceptable behavior...

 

[buldog5151bass]

Agreed - there is little to stop them from doing what they do. I won't buy them for several reasons:

1. They are breaking legal and ethical standards. Other companies have spent millions of dollars developing and trying to protect their IP.

2. As others have said here and in other threads, often you do not get what is promised, and you are SOL.

3. In general, even if it LOOKS good, the quality is not. They are known for using garbage pot metal for hardware and garbage magnets for pickups, among other things.

4. You are supporting the same market that shipped counterfeit baby formula and dog food, resulting in poisoning.

5. People talk about how important it is to have a fair standard of living and working conditions in our own country, ignoring that a big reason why this stuff is so popular there is that they are much worse in these regards.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

But their flamed maple, if it is maple, is cheap and beautiful ... and even if it’s not maple but another kind of wood, who cares? Flamed is flamed ... therefore it’s clear that somebody may be tempted to go this route as there’s an evident lack of flexibility amongst the western builders in which “custom” options to allow at fair or more reasonable prices ... just think what you have to do to get a bloody matching headstock in a Fender ... two options : 1) praying and waiting for the miracle, 2) go buy a Custom Shop instrument which is on another level of finish and luthiery, and, hence, costs like Parma’s ham (as we say where I live) ...
Therefore it seems that there’s a whole lot of intermediate finish options missing at various price ranges which may make Chinese counterfeit instruments objects of desire for a certain number of people ...

 

[jd56hawk]

Plenty of genuine basses to buy whether you want to spend $300 or twice that much.
I'd buy a Squier Affinity before I'd even take one of those bs fakes for free.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

It all depends if the Schecter company has licensed the overseas company to build their product. A lot of major brands use Indonesia, China, Mexico, and other overseas builders to make their economy, and high end basses. And IME, the higher end or mid priced imports are very high quality. They use good materials, good craftsmanship, good hardware, and good detail work like fret jobs. In some cases, these licensed overseas companies use the same hardware and electronics as the major companies. For example, the G&L Tribute is a line of basses made made in Indonesia, and licensed by G&L. And they use the same pickups, electronics, and bridge from the US company.

Some other major brands that outsource Bass guitars:
Sterling by MusicMan, Fender, G&L, Warwick, Lakland, and others.

Not everyone can afford, or want's to pay premium price for a high quality instrument. Having overseas manufacturers produce high quality instruments is a way which the consumer can own a high quality instrument. Anyway, that's the major reason the major brands say they outsource.

I have a sneaky suspicion some of these OEM manufacturers in China are actually using specifications from name brand designs. Adding a name brand decal will double the price before the guitar leaves China. And an exact duplicate non-licensed will head for the U.S. as a 'replika bass' for 1/3 to 1/4th the price.

The only thing that surprises me is that there aren't more knockoff brand name amps that are made in the Asian countries. I did spot some Peavey Max copies on Aliexpress a long time ago.

Not defending them-- just making an observation.

 

[pudgychef]

I have a sneaky suspicion some of these OEM manufacturers in China are actually using specifications from name brand designs. Adding a name brand decal will double the price before the guitar leaves China. And an exact duplicate non-licensed will head for the U.S. as a 'replika bass' for 1/3 to 1/4th the price.

The only thing that surprises me is that there aren't more knockoff brand name amps that are made in the Asian countries. I did spot some Peavey Max copies on Aliexpress a long time ago.

Not defending them-- just making an observation.

Plenty of the OEM manufacturers here have agreements to produce branded items for export, and produce their own brand on the same items for domestic sale. I think Behringer was an early adaptor of this type model when they were producing Ashdown gear as well as items under their own label that were clearly of a similar origin.

Try to find the cooler MIC items here...Classic Vibes, Bugeras, Dingwall etc.....you would have to buy them re-imported or out a back door....

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Plenty of the OEM manufacturers here have agreements to produce branded items for export, and produce their own brand on the same items for domestic sale. I think Behringer was an early adaptor of this type model when they were producing Ashdown gear as well as items under their own label that were clearly of a similar origin.

Try to find the cooler MIC items here...Classic Vibes, Bugeras, Dingwall etc.....you would have to buy them re-imported or out a back door....

Wow, I didn't know that. I found out a while back that Music Group built a huge factory over there and also got a lot of technical help from Mackie, and now manufacture Mackie stuff. I thought some of the early Behringers looked very much like an Ashdown with their 'fuel gauge' style meters and tone controls. Also early Behringer cabs and Hartkes looked suspiciously identical....

 

[GreyBeard]

like a fake Rolex. It may look kinda like a Schecter but, I doubt if it plays or sounds like a Schecter.