do basses without a serial number mean they are fake?

[Aaron D]

Fender did number their guitars, but the location moved from time to time. Also, in the late '60's and early '70's many left the factory with no markings at all on the neck or body, only on the stamped neck plate.

 

[Aaron D]

Look bro..I'm just trying to answer the question dude asked....I didn't come here to argue or show I know more than someone else..I'm not sure if you just like to argue..if your having a bad day..but if it makes YOU FEEL BETTER to know you can google answers faster than someone else so be it YOUR RIGHT DUDE! I'm just here to have FRIENDLY CINVERSATION WITH FELLOW BASS PLAYERS.

 

[B-Mac]

there is this 6 string cort i have my eye on says made in the 90s custom shop but no serial? legit? or another knockoff

Cort Custom Shop 6 string bass neck-through Active EMG pickups Gotoh tuners | eBay

Bottom line.
It has no S/N
It more than likely was a foil sticker in black and gold or black and silver that fell off.
It is real
Its a good bass
Neck thru
Cort makes more guitars and basses than any other company on the planet as they are contracted by so many other companies.
The bid price is now too much
Walk away

And walk away from this thread. Fiction is now being posted.

 

[BobKos]

Oh NO! Bot another box thread! Seriously for the OP - I haven't handled that bass but my money says it is VERY heavy. Solid maple body + 6 string config? HMMMM. IMO it is OK that someone else got it. It is beautiful though....

 

[Grinderman]

Is it a Fender or a fake or is that a fake serial number? Is the bass a figment of our imagination or the decal? We can't see the sound. Why should we believe our ears? Fake Names is a band of living musicians. Where are their serial numbers? How can I be sure?

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

Why would anyone go to the time/trouble to make a counterfeit CORT?

Cort (in rare instances) has made some quality instruments. I had an opportunity to play an actual Gene Simmons "axe" bass and it was a phenomenal piece of equipment.

I have seen that model copied, many times (or one guy who just gets around).

 

[Topkat13]

I think it means they don't have a series of digits (sometimes combined with letters) that are related to the manufacturer's model, production date etc.

 

[Not Again]

Ellipsis abuse is real. And rampant.

 

[jpmcbride]

Ah well, here we are again. The OP asks a legitimate question and gets all kinds of unhelpful responses. Then arguments on peripheral topics break out. This is TB

OP was not asking a general question, he was asking specifically if he should be concerned about a Cort Bass without a serial number. At least a handful of people were helpful on this.

 

[2thAche]

That would be alot of work to fake something for $500.

 

[HubbardsFate]

Cort (in rare instances) has made some quality instruments. I had an opportunity to play an actual Gene Simmons "axe" bass and it was a phenomenal piece of equipment.

I have seen that model copied, many times (or one guy who just gets around).

Yeah, I'm not knocking Cort; my understanding is that nowadays, they make some truly excellent instruments (I'm currently in lust with a couple of their offerings). My point is that, if someone's gonna go to the trouble of making a fake, they're probably gonna fake a Fender, a Ric, an EBMM, et al., right up to the boutique stuff (pretty sure I have seen counterfeit Foderas on the 'Bay).

 

[IanStephenson]

, if someone's gonna go to the trouble of making a fake, they're probably gonna fake a Fender, a Ric, an EBMM, et al., right up to the boutique stuff (pretty sure I have seen counterfeit Foderas on the 'Bay).

I came across some well evidenced investigations of this a few years ago... In fact lower end guitars/basses are frequently counterfeited (eg How To Spot A Fake Epiphone Les Paul - 8 Telltale Signs - Killer Guitar Rigs). The rational is simple: try and sell a fake Fodera as real and the potential buyer is on the phone to Fodera verifying the serial number and checking every detail. Sell a 50's fender, and someone is checking that the solder on the caps is period correct. Moving an $5000 bass is a big risk, and it costs a lot of money to make a convincing fake at that level - if you can make a convincing Fodera copy then you don't need to be in the counterfeit business!

Making an Epiphone or a Cort copy is easy. No one is expecting a fake. The buyer is probably a new player who's never played the original, and in any case while the original is decent, it's not a work of art that needs to be perfectly copied. Even an experienced buyer is just after a fun player instrument, and probably isn't to critical at this price point - like you said "who would fake a Cort?".

Basically if making a fake $5000 bass costs $500, its a way bigger risk and same profit as making 10x$500 bases for $100 each.

 

[HubbardsFate]

I came across some well evidenced investigations of this a few years ago... In fact lower end guitars/basses are frequently counterfeited (eg How To Spot A Fake Epiphone Les Paul - 8 Telltale Signs - Killer Guitar Rigs). The rational is simple: try and sell a fake Fodera as real and the potential buyer is on the phone to Fodera verifying the serial number and checking every detail. Sell a 50's fender, and someone is checking that the solder on the caps is period correct. Moving an $5000 bass is a big risk, and it costs a lot of money to make a convincing fake at that level - if you can make a convincing Fodera copy then you don't need to be in the counterfeit business!

Making an Epiphone or a Cort copy is easy. No one is expecting a fake. The buyer is probably a new player who's never played the original, and in any case while the original is decent, it's not a work of art that needs to be perfectly copied. Even an experienced buyer is just after a fun player instrument, and probably isn't to critical at this price point - like you said "who would fake a Cort?".

Basically if making a fake $5000 bass costs $500, its a way bigger risk and same profit as making 10x$500 bases for $100 each.

Hhhmm...interesting...I never really looked at it that way, but yeah, I guess I can see counterfeiters going the "let's copy these cheaper basses" route based on what you posted...

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

Yeah, I'm not knocking Cort; my understanding is that nowadays, they make some truly excellent instruments (I'm currently in lust with a couple of their offerings). My point is that, if someone's gonna go to the trouble of making a fake, they're probably gonna fake a Fender, a Ric, an EBMM, et al., right up to the boutique stuff (pretty sure I have seen counterfeit Foderas on the 'Bay).

I hear ya and I promise, I wasn't getting ugly on your comment.

People used to say the same type of things about Epiphones. I'm a hard-core Epiphone guitar guy and I started collecting up some of the obvious fakes so I can show people fakes of even mid-level Epiphones can be lucrative.

Dirt bag counterfeiters have learned it's "safer" (a little less/diminished scrutiny) to echo Epiphone's business model ... Instead of putting a lot of "extra effort" into making a copy of the ($1,000) Tony Iommi SG where you make $100, you can use slightly less expensive wood/materials and make 20 copies of the $650 Les Pauls and make $35 - $50 dollars profit per piece.