Saxophones Has anyone accidentally bought a counterfeit?

[Pete Thomas]

There are plenty of posts here warning members about counterfeit saxophones, mouthpieces, books, DVDs etc. but I wonder who has found they bought something like that without realising?

My own experience (only very slightly off topic as it's a guitar)

I once bought a custom made "Telecaster" copy from a reputable guitar shop. It wasa beautiful guitar with solid oak ash hand made body. It had a Fender logo on the neck, and the shop told me it was a Fender neck.

I recently wanted to sell it on comm mission via another shop, who informed me the neck was in fact not a Fender neck, it was also home made but with a Fender logo, hence counterfeit and although a great instrument, they would not take it. They dismantled the neck to show that the truss rod proved it was not Fender.

Of course I could always just remove the Fender transfer to sell it as 100% hand made.

 

[greenstripe]

That's always going to be a problem with Fender type guitars being very modular and easy to disassemble and assemble. How much original guitar remains if you start swapping bits out until none of the original guitar remains.

Plus many people want to make their guitar look the part -plenty of kits available to convert an Epiphone headstock to make it look like a Gibson. Although some recent Gibsons are of very questionable build quality and fakes and copies are sometimes better than the genuine article.

I've never knowingly bought fake musical instruments although my partner has an old 'Yamaha' flute that she bought used. A technician has said is possibly a copy but couldn't be sure.

 

[ellinas]

Of course I could always just remove the Fender transfer to sell it as 100% hand made.

In this case get you will sell it for more!
There is a chaos out there with part-casters of all types. I personally judge a guitar by it's playability and even though I was raised listening to rock n roll and the fender logo takes me back to day I used to have my room full of ritchie blackmore posters .... There are so many fenders out there that cause their price to depreciate.
If your guitar is hand made and it's good advertise it as such and you'll get better money for it.

I was shocked last week that I understood that a great condition early 80s USA stratocaster standard sells for about 500 euros ....

 

[Colin the Bear]

I bought a fake Shure SH55 microphone on ebay. New. Fake packaging and accessories. Great looking thing in chrome.
However Shure don't do a chrome version. I could put a genuine capsule in it. It's only the performance that lets it down.
We live and learn. If it's too good to be true and from an unknown seller, you have to use your head not your heart and give it a miss.
I bought a genuine one from G4m and kept the fake.

 

[TimboSax]

Never bought a counterfeit, but I have built and modified guitars and then put a decal on. I have friends that would use a (for example) Fender decal - I don't feel comfortable with that (although I don't have an answer as to how much modifications to an existing Fender makes it not a Fender built guitar).

Anyway, here's my latest build, definitely won't fool the experts 🙂 :

 

[mizmar]

Just to point out that, in the spirit of "you can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time"^¶ - someone is, probably, unknowingly, in possession of a fake.

^¶ Bob Marley

 

[Colin the Bear]

Strangest fake I've seen was a fake G4m alto. Which begs the question, for Pete's sake why?

 

[Pete Thomas]

for Pete's sake why?

Why not? It would be minimal cost and less likely to be called out

 

[thomsax]

I think we buy counterfeit every day. I'm a chef and I often hear persons saying that they was served S:ce Bearnaise when the served something that tasted and looked like the real thing. Lets say a XX manufactor/brand was bought up by YY. The moved the manufactoring to another place (country) and continued the great XX sax/mouthpiece production. After some years it was a complete different product. This is not illegal but ...... ? Legal counterfeit ?

 

[Jimmymack]

The My Grandfather's Axe equivalent.

 

[mizmar]

Strangest fake I've seen was a fake G4m alto. Which begs the question, for Pete's sake why?

What is a fake g4m alto?
Given that a g4m alto is: OEM alto + branding + warranty + distribution
Is it the same OEM instrument (leaving through the factories back door), with fake branding and "second hand" so no warranty?
Or a different OEM instrument etc.?

 

[Clivey]

What is a fair g4m alto?
Given that a g4m alto is: OEM alto + branding + warranty + distribution
Is it the same OEM instrument (leaving through the factories back door), with fake branding and "second hand" so no warranty?
Or a different OEM instrument etc.?

Gear4music actually have a reputation for supplying good quality own brand instruments at almost the same cost as you could risk importing directly from China.
They have the buying power that Manufacturers respect and that they don't faff about in the quality control dept in fear of losing contracts to supply.
Its conceivable that lesser makers could assemble from identical parts and fake their badge ,but I would also suggest that perhaps declined samples and rejected runs may hit the market from time to time. Not just Gear4music perhaps?
My Gear4music solid wood guitalele is made with Lazer precision "literally".
I am no label snob it is just a tool.

 

[mizmar]

Its conceivable that lesser makers could assemble from identical parts

I'm not dissing G4M. But it's also true that, because of the economies of scale, the same actual products do leave factories through the backdoor as the front, just missing the branding, warranty, DHL distribution deal etc. Sold as "2nd hand, G4M" on allibarbay no returns, seems like a way to go. If so - is it counterfeit? ½?

A while ago i got and fitted a cheep kitchen draw cabinet. Rubbish; pure sawdust, glue and staples... Except for the runners; which where top-shelf works of exquisite, easy glide, soft closing engineering... Undoubtedly designed and commissioned by a brand name kitchen supplier and sourced out of the back door.

 

[Pete Thomas]

but I would also suggest that perhaps declined samples and rejected runs may hit the market from time to time. Not just Gear4music perhaps?

But that would make it just a rejected genuine as opposed to an intentional counterfeit.

I think similar happened to Bauhaus, ie occasional factory rejects inadvertently may have slipped into the supply. And I vaguely remember reports suggesting that has also happened with big name brands. When there are large factories (or small) this does occasionally happen.

 

[Colin the Bear]

The one I saw had gear 4 music stamped on it in words. Not their etched logo. And from a dodgy looking source.