DJPogoff
New Member
Hello all.
I purchased a guitar that was advertised on eBay only as a PRS -- nothing more specific. There were only three pictures of the guitar on the eBay page. They were full length, body only, and headstock only. No pictures of the back of the guitar. I've posted only the picture of the headstock since I think this, alone, makes it clear that the guitar is counterfeit.
I asked the seller for the serial number, which he gave me. Later he sent me a picture of the back of the headstock where I saw the S/N, hand-written, as expected. I called PRS and talked with Shawn. He looked up the serial number and gave me all the details of the PRS guitar with that serial number. He said it was a 2011 SC58 with the Artist Package in Purple Heather. As you can see, the guitar is not Purple Heather and, now that I have it in hand, it's clearly turquoise (what PRS calls "Blue Crab Blue") and not a photographic color shift. What I think is a dead giveaway is the Paul Reed Smith signature on the headstock. On the SC58 (on all USA-made guitars?) the signature is inlaid. I think that the picture shows clearly enough that the signature is just painted on. With the guitar in hand (even with a magnifying glass, although not necessary), I can say with certainty that the signature is just painted on.
Other issues with the guitar that differ from a 2011 SC58:
- Three humbuckers without covers and with plastic surrounds, none of which is a 57/08, where the SC58 has two 57/08s with bone surrounds;
- A pre-compensated tail-piece only (exactly like what is on some of the SEs), where the SC58 has the new-for-2011 adjustable-saddle bridge and a separate stop tail-piece;
- The jack plate is oval metal with a partially-worn-off gold plating appearance, where the SC58 has a rectangular jack plate;
- A 2011 SC58 has Phase III tuners, where this guitar has locking, closed-back, all chrome plated, tuners with no PRS identification;
- The SC58 has binding on the neck (in all cases?), where this guitar has no neck binding, and no headstock binding.
There is likely more by which to identify this guitar as counterfeit but I'll stop here. Is this guitar as obviously counterfeit as I think it is? I'd really appreciate any feedback about the guitar, and advice regarding how to handle receiving a counterfeit guitar. I've opened a "complaint" with PayPal which they immediately escalated to a "dispute". On Monday, I plan to speak again with Shawn at PRS.
Thanks very much for any help with this.
David
I purchased a guitar that was advertised on eBay only as a PRS -- nothing more specific. There were only three pictures of the guitar on the eBay page. They were full length, body only, and headstock only. No pictures of the back of the guitar. I've posted only the picture of the headstock since I think this, alone, makes it clear that the guitar is counterfeit.
I asked the seller for the serial number, which he gave me. Later he sent me a picture of the back of the headstock where I saw the S/N, hand-written, as expected. I called PRS and talked with Shawn. He looked up the serial number and gave me all the details of the PRS guitar with that serial number. He said it was a 2011 SC58 with the Artist Package in Purple Heather. As you can see, the guitar is not Purple Heather and, now that I have it in hand, it's clearly turquoise (what PRS calls "Blue Crab Blue") and not a photographic color shift. What I think is a dead giveaway is the Paul Reed Smith signature on the headstock. On the SC58 (on all USA-made guitars?) the signature is inlaid. I think that the picture shows clearly enough that the signature is just painted on. With the guitar in hand (even with a magnifying glass, although not necessary), I can say with certainty that the signature is just painted on.
Other issues with the guitar that differ from a 2011 SC58:
- Three humbuckers without covers and with plastic surrounds, none of which is a 57/08, where the SC58 has two 57/08s with bone surrounds;
- A pre-compensated tail-piece only (exactly like what is on some of the SEs), where the SC58 has the new-for-2011 adjustable-saddle bridge and a separate stop tail-piece;
- The jack plate is oval metal with a partially-worn-off gold plating appearance, where the SC58 has a rectangular jack plate;
- A 2011 SC58 has Phase III tuners, where this guitar has locking, closed-back, all chrome plated, tuners with no PRS identification;
- The SC58 has binding on the neck (in all cases?), where this guitar has no neck binding, and no headstock binding.
There is likely more by which to identify this guitar as counterfeit but I'll stop here. Is this guitar as obviously counterfeit as I think it is? I'd really appreciate any feedback about the guitar, and advice regarding how to handle receiving a counterfeit guitar. I've opened a "complaint" with PayPal which they immediately escalated to a "dispute". On Monday, I plan to speak again with Shawn at PRS.
Thanks very much for any help with this.
David
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