Fake G&L guitars

[dhgleaves]

It's pretty well-known that there are many fake Fenders and Gibsons floating around, but are people aware of there being a problem with fake G&Ls? I just happened to stumble across this

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http://www.cheapguitarstores.com/electric-guitars/g-l-guitars-for-sale.html

website where they seem to sell nothing but fake (they call them replica) guitars, including 52 different G&L models. They even have both US and Tribute models. If you look at the whole site, they even have fake Squiers, which is strange to me (like why make a fake Squier that sells for the same price as a real one)? I don't much about this site, but has anyone run across a fake G&L? If so, I'd be curious to know what the signs were. When guitars are added to the registry, is there a way of determining that they are genuine?

[Crusher]

How could that be?! Really...

That being said, people would go to such lenght to get some money over fake stuff, piracy and all... Online local adds are now full of spammers, nigerian frauders and the like... How many fake stuff have I encountered over the years and how many scammers - they don't have much to loose and they always sell their crap... It's getting harder to spot them though, because there are a lot more, and kids aren't always aware of it - some buy them because they genuinely think they are the original, until told otherwise, and it's usually too late.

That being said, G&L replica is surprising me a lot. Must not be that hard to spot though, I'm pretty sure neck joints are crappy and frets mut be all over the place, not even talking about the pickups (the first thing they chop in usually)... but still, people could abuse and buy just to sell kids fake ones... As for Gibson and Fender, there are a lot of them about everywhere and it's not new... such a shame they have gone to G&L...

When I think about it though, some "lawsuit" tend to be cool (I mean some, like, rare stuff), but cost usually near the same price as the regular one. Think "Bacchus" brand or "Yamaha" and "Ibanez" in the past, pretty outstanding quality for the price, and close to the real ones. I've got a jazz bass "Fender" replica, and let me tell you, it's not bad at all, but cost is more than a real one they were emulating (some were even better than the original, but wasn't that common). Yamaha and Ibanez were pretty much lawsuit in the past, and now rock solid and got their own models. Thing is, it was easy to feel and see, and were quality stuff... but those fakes are annoying. Think Aliexpress anyone? At least, they are easy to spot for trained eyes. And checking the provided site's title "cheap guitars"... well, this explain that...

Thanks for the share, will stay sharp about these. I try not to buy online for these reasons, but it's getting harder to get stuff from G&L in Quebec. They don't have sellers near home anymore - I've checked and haven't found any, they all said they were not sellers anymore. Anyone have a clue about this?

[Craig]

Here is what URLVoid.com says:

NoScams
26-05-2014
cheapguitarstores.com is a counterfeit goods scam or fake web store from China selling copyright infringing items. Usually you get some low quality junk, or very often nothing, and they just steal your money. In many cases it's one way of getting to know your credit card details.

Please don't post links without first checking them using URLVoid.com. See: How to check links using the urlvoid website.

[dhgleaves]

Here is what URLVoid.com says:

NoScams
26-05-2014
cheapguitarstores.com is a counterfeit goods scam or fake web store from China selling copyright infringing items. Usually you get some low quality junk, or very often nothing, and they just steal your money. In many cases it's one way of getting to know your credit card details.

Please don't post links without first checking them using URLVoid.com. See: How to check links using the urlvoid website.

Hmm, well I just followed your instructions and the overall safety reputation is yellow, so apparently I shouldn't have posted a clickable link. However under the safety scan reports, there were 32 green checks and just the one red one that you quoted. So, it's not that the site itself is unsafe, they are just being identified as selling copyright infringing items, which was what I said when I posted it. I also didn't post it as a reputable site, but with a concern about it selling fake guitars, which is more or less what you quoted. I think my question is still an important one. So what is the answer to my question about instruments being added to the registry? Is there some way of verifying that they are not fake? Is that related to entries being "validated"? Thanks.

[JagInTheBag]

DO NOT VISIT, the site is loaded with a email hacking virus.

This place states plainly that they make knock offs at the bottom of their site. At the very bottom, they state, if you like cheap guitars, you may also like cheap hair extensions! Sounds like a "win-win" to me. ROFL!

[dhgleaves]

DO NOT VISIT, the site is loaded with a email hacking virus.

This place states plainly that they make knock offs at the bottom of their site. At the very bottom, they state, if you like cheap guitars, you may also like cheap hair extensions! Sounds like a "win-win" to me. ROFL!

What is your evidence that the site is loaded with a virus? At least according to the site that Craig wants us to use to check links (URLVoid), that's not true. It was clear according to 32 out of 33 of the reports, including those that check for viruses. The one negative report was actually just a negative comment from 2014 about the fact that the site sells fake products. I clearly stated that in my message and, as you say, the site itself says that. The site's actually been around for years and gets discussed on other guitar forums.

The real point that I was raising, that no one except Crusher has responded to, is the fact that there now unfortunately appear to be fake G&Ls on the market, in potentially large numbers. I was curious to know if people have encountered these and, if so how to spot them. If people aren't aware of this fact, then they may not even be looking for signs and may attribute a problem to a real G&L being poorly built rather than it being a fake. This would actually potentially damage the reputation of G&L. The presence of fake guitars is a real problem these days, probably more so outside of the US. There is actually a forum devoted specifically to the issue (China Guitar Sceptic), and the guy who started it is in the UK. The majority of the fake guitars on the market are fake Gibsons and Fenders, so I was concerned to see fake G&L's also being sold. The fact that some are Tribute models is an even greater concern because you cannot check the serial numbers with G&L as you can with the US models. Plus, if there is an assumption that Tribute models are slightly lower quality because they are made in Asia, then what will be the signs of these other Asian-made guitars that might distinguish them from a real one? And for those who think that fake guitars are necessarily easy to detect, I don't think that's true. We're not talking about the ones disguised by some teenager trying to make more money. Some of these may, in fact, be made along side the real ones in similar factories (after all, some real Fenders are made in China). Typically you have to look for an accumulation of subtle signs rather than something obvious, or you need to take the guitar apart and look at the electronics, the neck cavity, etc. There are Youtube videos on this. It is noteworthy that I cannot post a Youtube link because the entire Youtube site gets a yellow rating from URLVoid. I also raised the question about guitars in the registry and if there is any way that they are checked (while being "validated"). Having a valid serial number is not evidence that the guitar is not fake. At one point, I ended up with a fake Fender Jazz Bass. It had a valid serial number that said when and where it was made, but I knew for a fact it was made in China. The first time I had it set up, the guitar tech did not recongnise that it was fake, but it definitely was.

So are there any thoughts on the questions that I did raise?

[JagInTheBag]

I know that this website is loaded with malware because it attempted to load an email hijacking trojan when I first visited it. By system caught it and cleaned it. Don't need anymore evidence than that.

-JagInTheBag

[Crusher]

Well, in fact, you are right about the point it's not that easy to check. I might have lowered the flag a bit by trying to convince myself it was an easy task, but well, counterfeit is getting more and more common, amongst everything. I never saw G&L fakes, so I cannot comment on this. I am also interested to know if there is any way to validate. I would say the birthmarks from G&L would be the best bet, because it probably isn't done the same elsewhere. Might be a good bet. Outside of that, I wouldn't really know. For Gibson, it's easy to tell, as no one does the "nibs" thing, but for Fender, I wouldn't know fast trick outside looking at details, but even then, it's not rare to see defects amongst them... I am more in the knowledge about the Gibsons.

Like I said, I'm curious. Might be a good thing to keep in mind the birthmarks in both back of the headstock and the body. Any other clues?

[Craig]

Here is what URLVoid.com says:

NoScams
26-05-2014
cheapguitarstores.com is a counterfeit goods scam or fake web store from China selling copyright infringing items. Usually you get some low quality junk, or very often nothing, and they just steal your money. In many cases it's one way of getting to know your credit card details.

Please don't post links without first checking them using URLVoid.com. See: How to check links using the urlvoid website.

Hmm, well I just followed your instructions and the overall safety reputation is yellow, so apparently I shouldn't have posted a clickable link. However under the safety scan reports, there were 32 green checks and just the one red one that you quoted. So, it's not that the site itself is unsafe, they are just being identified as selling copyright infringing items, which was what I said when I posted it. I also didn't post it as a reputable site, but with a concern about it selling fake guitars, which is more or less what you quoted. I think my question is still an important one. So what is the answer to my question about instruments being added to the registry? Is there some way of verifying that they are not fake? Is that related to entries being "validated"? Thanks.

Yes, you should have not posted the url as a clickable link and that is why I changed it.

Regarding the Registry entries being validated, see my reply to your post: Recent activity in the Registry.

Also, check out these posts in our G&L Knowledgebase: G&L Tributes made in China? and Buyer Beware: Doctored Tribute Series models ....

Hope this helps.