Beware Fake PRS

amarok1971

@iain.reverb ;;; please file this in the fake as fuck section please  its also on ebay

https://reverb.com/item/7316290-paul-reed-smith-25th-anniversary-hollowbody-10-top-2010-charcoal-flight-case

humbucko

Here's the eBay link... can someone explain how this is a fake? My PRS knowledge is close to zero

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PRS-Hollowbody-25th-Anniversary-10-top-private-stock-GUITAR-HARD-CASE/122822256342?hash=item1c98c6e6d6:g:a4sAAOSweZJaFS2N

crunchman

The Reverb listing has been removed now.  I can't get at Ebay from my work PC.

From my brief look there are one or two things that definitely looked a bit strange.  The birds definitely didn't look right to me.  Also, the headstock shape doesn't look quite right but I don't know if that's the strange camera angle.

It's also got the Private Stock eagle on the headstock and it was underpriced for a Private Stock guitar.  I also can't imagine anyone ordering a Private Stock with hollow birds - even if they were genuine.

amarok1971

the enwistle pups lol, the bridge, the birds, the headstock, the body shape... easier to ask what is right with it 

amarok1971

oh and dont forget the lovely gear4music gold case.. the case candy (a sticker!)

Whitecat

crunchman said:

The Reverb listing has been removed now.  I can't get at Ebay from my work PC.

From my brief look there are one or two things that definitely looked a bit strange.  The birds definitely didn't look right to me.  Also, the headstock shape doesn't look quite right but I don't know if that's the strange camera angle.

It's also got the Private Stock eagle on the headstock and it was underpriced for a Private Stock guitar.  I also can't imagine anyone ordering a Private Stock with hollow birds - even if they were genuine.

The birds - headstock and fretboard - were actually an attempt at getting it right. All 25th Anniversary models had an eagle on the headstock that looked like that, and they had hollow birds as well. The hollow birds had shadows though, which didn't appear to be the case on this one. So of all the red flags, those were actually the least-worst.

The tuners, the way the serial number looked, the carve, the control placement, many many other things were just wrong though...

usedtobe

Entwistle pickups are a nice touch. Comedy gold, right there..!

SimonC

The guy needs to go back and re-count the frets as well.

Funkfingers

Twenty two frets is the correct number for (real examples of) that model. Just about everything else is wrong. 

crunchman

Whitecat said:

crunchman said:

The Reverb listing has been removed now.  I can't get at Ebay from my work PC.

From my brief look there are one or two things that definitely looked a bit strange.  The birds definitely didn't look right to me.  Also, the headstock shape doesn't look quite right but I don't know if that's the strange camera angle.

It's also got the Private Stock eagle on the headstock and it was underpriced for a Private Stock guitar.  I also can't imagine anyone ordering a Private Stock with hollow birds - even if they were genuine.

The birds - headstock and fretboard - were actually an attempt at getting it right. All 25th Anniversary models had an eagle on the headstock that looked like that, and they had hollow birds as well. The hollow birds had shadows though, which didn't appear to be the case on this one. So of all the red flags, those were actually the least-worst.

The tuners, the way the serial number looked, the carve, the control placement, many many other things were just wrong though...

If you look at the birds though, and compare them to real ones, they are poorly done.  That was easier to notice for me than than the carve in those kind of pictures.

amarok1971

I have emailed the guy politely informing him that he has bought (and is selling) a fake, he politely informed me back that it isn't and he has upgraded the pups (to entwistles  ) he's playing the smiling assassin skirting the issue game, obviously knowing what he has got and what he is doing. Wanker.

Whitecat

crunchman said:

Whitecat said:

crunchman said:

The Reverb listing has been removed now.  I can't get at Ebay from my work PC.

From my brief look there are one or two things that definitely looked a bit strange.  The birds definitely didn't look right to me.  Also, the headstock shape doesn't look quite right but I don't know if that's the strange camera angle.

It's also got the Private Stock eagle on the headstock and it was underpriced for a Private Stock guitar.  I also can't imagine anyone ordering a Private Stock with hollow birds - even if they were genuine.

The birds - headstock and fretboard - were actually an attempt at getting it right. All 25th Anniversary models had an eagle on the headstock that looked like that, and they had hollow birds as well. The hollow birds had shadows though, which didn't appear to be the case on this one. So of all the red flags, those were actually the least-worst.

The tuners, the way the serial number looked, the carve, the control placement, many many other things were just wrong though...

If you look at the birds though, and compare them to real ones, they are poorly done.  That was easier to notice for me than than the carve in those kind of pictures.

Yes, and the fact that they even look paua-esque is wrong. 25th Ann birds were made from black and white Corian (or something similar) and were not shiny/pearlescent. 

Strat54

There's a lot of fake gear on Reverb, I do report some of the ads. A guy last week had a fancy looking flame topped Tele like a Richie Kotzen signature on, obviously a Chinese knock off complete with ebay Custom Shop decals. He was a seemingly legit seller and after lengthy message exchanges removed the guitar but took some convincing. There's more on there. Some fake Fender necks. Mind you there's some poor bugger that's going to be the owner of the fake Cunetto neck on ebay Uk quite soon. Stupid seller even had the neck dates the year prior to Vince working fore Fender. I sent him a message, he didn't bother responding. Someone has now bid. Be careful out there guys, there's a lot of unscrupulous folks about.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-custom-shop-neck-cunetto/292342307662?hash=item4410f59b4e:g:c7AAAOSw3xVaFpEe


Seen this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwtodJyKs0Q

iain.reverb

amarok1971 said:

@iain.reverb ;;; please file this in the fake as fuck section please  its also on ebay

https://reverb.com/item/7316290-paul-reed-smith-25th-anniversary-hollowbody-10-top-2010-charcoal-flight-case

Thanks for the heads up. Its suspended now.

iain.reverb

Strat54 said:

There's a lot of fake gear on Reverb, I do report some of the ads. A guy last week had a fancy looking flame topped Tele like a Richie Kotzen signature on, obviously a Chinese knock off complete with ebay Custom Shop decals. He was a seemingly legit seller and after lengthy message exchanges removed the guitar but took some convincing. There's more on there. Some fake Fender necks. Mind you there's some poor bugger that's going to be the owner of the fake Cunetto neck on ebay Uk quite soon. Stupid seller even had the neck dates the year prior to Vince working fore Fender. I sent him a message, he didn't bother responding. Someone has now bid. Be careful out there guys, there's a lot of unscrupulous folks about.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-custom-shop-neck-cunetto/292342307662?hash=item4410f59b4e:g:c7AAAOSw3xVaFpEe


Seen this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwtodJyKs0Q

Thanks for flagging anything you see with an issue. If you come across anything else drop me a message and I can get it suspended/banned faster.

guitars4you

I can't quite see enough detail on the side of the body ref jack socket - should be 2 sockets for a Hollowbody with piezo + 9Volt battery casing with 2 small thumb screw knobs for access - Can't make this out on the relevant pics - can see the 'piezo switch' but this doesn't have the PRS/piezo bridge, so not sure what the switch now does - so all a can of worms going on there as well - no logical reason to remove that piezo bridge assembly 

He makes no mention of the piezo in his spec

Only the early Hollowbody models were available with the piezo or no piezo option - shortly afterwards, all Hollowbody models had piezo fitted as standard including the 25th anniv period

ICBM

Strat54 said:

Mind you there's some poor bugger that's going to be the owner of the fake Cunetto neck on ebay Uk quite soon. Stupid seller even had the neck dates the year prior to Vince working fore Fender. I sent him a message, he didn't bother responding. Someone has now bid. Be careful out there guys, there's a lot of unscrupulous folks about.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-custom-shop-neck-cunetto/292342307662?hash=item4410f59b4e:g:c7AAAOSw3xVaFpEe

What's really ironic about that is that you can tell it's not a real Cunetto-era neck because it has the *correct* headstock shape .

I suspect that the description will put off anyone from paying a lot for it anyway.

Strat54

iain.reverb said

Thanks for flagging anything you see with an issue. If you come across anything else drop me a message and I can get it suspended/banned faster.

Thanks Iain, that's good to know. This sellers necks always look suspect to me, not sure which part is 'Genuine Fender' The truss rod access area looks like a Chinese copy. The logo is certainly a fake repro and the name RELIC is a trademark of FMIC and cannot be used to sell an instrument/part whereby the ageing was not performed by Fender. 

https://reverb.com/item/7377190-genuine-fender-relic-tele-neck-aged-nitro-52-style-telecaster-maple

I've looked through his ebay history in the link he provided in the Reverb listing and all his other necks sold look like fakes.

What do you guys think?

ICBM

Strat54 said:

Thanks Iain, that's good to know. This sellers necks always look suspect to me, not sure which part is 'Genuine Fender' The truss rod access area looks like a Chinese copy. The logo is certainly a fake repro and the name RELIC is a trademark of FMIC and cannot be used to sell an instrument/part whereby the ageing was not performed by Fender. 

https://reverb.com/item/7377190-genuine-fender-relic-tele-neck-aged-nitro-52-style-telecaster-maple

I've looked through his ebay history in the link he provided in the Reverb listing and all his other necks sold look like fakes.

What do you guys think?

That's a Mexican Fender neck, but from a lower series than the vintage reissues - you can tell by the plastic truss rod hole liner and the oversized machinehead bushings - it will have had the diecast tuners originally. The neck heel sticker is correct - here's a real one:

http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/images/fender-mexican-stratocaster-neck-medium-jumbo-frets-maple-p3834-10383_image.jpg

So although it's a genuine Fender, it is not a genuine Relic.

Strat54

Yes, looks similar but where's the Fender neck heel stamp? Why remove that? Surely that would add some legitimacy to his genuine Fender claim. So even if it is a Mex neck then he is aiming to deceive, because a Fender Relic it ain't ! 
I see the listing has been ended

ICBM

Strat54 said:

Yes, looks similar but where's the Fender neck heel stamp? Why remove that?

There isn't one on a factory-assembled guitar.