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Fakin' it - All the way from China......

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Gus Borden

Gus Borden

Oct 21, 2007
2,727
26
Bergen County, New Jersey
#1
Okay, so my buddy sends me a link last week: Invalid Link Removed

Invalid Link Removed

It's basically all Chinese copies of instruments. He ordered one b/c they are cheap and he's curious. It arrived today, according to his wife, so later tonight or tomorrow I will hear about it. (He's a guitarist, so he ordered a "Gibsun" Les Paul. We'll see.)

So why post about it? Well, obviously they are all copies - doesn't make them bad, just rip-offs - so I am curious if anyone here in the TB world has been to the site or purchased anything from the site and what your opinions/experiences were.

Please, share. Thanks!
**NOTE** This is not about trashing the site - but about the site as a whole, good, bad, what to look out for, etc...

Also - is this a copy of an existing bass? I can't recall a bass that looks like this by one of the big companies...
[This invalid link has been removed]
 
#4
Okay. What I mean is: It's obvious that these are all copies or something not quite on the level in terms of legal in the US. So what I am curious about is if anyone has had dealings with this site, and if so, did they get screwed or did their purchases arrive as expected, was the customer service good? I read on the page that the site acts as an escrow/middle man and holds the money until the buyer approves the item, or similar.
I am just curious to see an actual discussion, possibly someone's review if they've dealt with these guys, or if people should watch out.

I am just saying I don't want to see a pissing match, but a real, quantifiable light shined on the site.
 
#9
Spinal Tapper said:
I heard they use photos of the real instruments and send you something else when you order...have fun dealing with that customer service and exchange policy :scowl:
Click to expand...


This is obviously true from looking at the Fodera pictures.
One of the 'Matthew Garrison signature' pics even has Joey Lauricella's signature on the back of the headpiece.
I bet that you could look on Fodera.com and find precisely those same basses/pictures, with the very same buckeye tops.
Someone just nicely photoshopped the background to a fetching pink color...
There's also detailing and hardware that are very specifically Fodera, and visibly original.

However, this does make for some fun reading:

> Specific parameters:
■ Qin Body: Chestnut top, Walnut & Maple back difficult mosaic
■ neck: Maple 3pc, Neck-Elite difficult piano technician inserts
■ Fingerboard: Ebony
■ pickup: Seymour Duncan Custom special section Matt Garrison
■ effective chord length: 33 "

"Good luck" is right. Do not expect much.
My guess is that they are building the instruments from these same photos. I highly doubt that they have a real MG signature bass there to copy from.

You get what you pay for, every time.
Don't expect more, and you won't be disappointed.

Cheers!
Martin
 
#13
I will ask him to shoot some pics and send them, he's like my special :ninja: little brother, so he'll do it for me.

Seriously though, I hope it is on the level for him, I really do. His wife was home from work today, so she called him to let him know that it arrived today. We shall see. Fingers crossed. It was a Les Paul copy for $300 (at most) and he told me the vendor threw in a hardshell case for free.
 
#15
gus1894 said:
I will ask him to shoot some pics and send them, he's like my special :ninja: little brother, so he'll do it for me.

Seriously though, I hope it is on the level for him, I really do. His wife was home from work today, so she called him to let him know that it arrived today. We shall see. Fingers crossed. It was a Les Paul copy for $300 (at most) and he told me the vendor threw in a hardshell case for free.
Click to expand...

I do too. I probably shouldn't, but I do.
 
#19
Invalid Link Removed
Made in San Luis Obispo,
California, USA

Yeah, right!

Is there a limit to how fake things can be???


Gotta love that one: Invalid Link Removed
A "pre Ernie Ball" Stingray 4 HH. And with a bridge that doesn't fit with the pickguard, well... that's what "cutting corners" is all about...
 
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