I wouldn't think anyone would bother faking an SE.
Yeah I don't think they would either. Some of those tradetang and DHGate etc les pauls are made in the (one of the) Chinese epi factories so one of their counterfeit epiphones..well have you ever bought or played an epiphone? Especially a SECOND? The counterfeits might be better.?
But...when they're priced the same as a real epi (used or street or almost), well unless it was bought on this side of the pond used from someone who bought it from China and is trying to hoodwink the buyer into believeing that it's a REAL Chinese Epi...well...not much harm and not much foul.
I just can't see the Chinese les paul knockoffs..I mean epi knockoffs being a whole lot worse than a legit Chinese epi. I had a "real" Chinese Epi.
And so, I can't see anyone tooling-up to build fakes/counterfeits of guitars that sell (used) for about the same as the real deal. They would not be an easy sell. At least if it was ME, I'd be setting my sights on guitars that are such a bargain that they'll sell fast. Those are the counterfeit Gibsons and USA PRSs...not really the epis and SEs.
BUT...then again, they DO tool-up to build and sell counterfeit Shure mics like the 57s and 58s, which, sell for around 90 bucks, which is about the same as the real Shure's street price. BUT...they don't make knockoffs of crappy cheap AT condensers or anything...I dont think?
They're much more likely to build counterfeit Neumanns than knock-off RadioShack Realistic mics...and USA PRSs over SEs.
PS. Check out just how many counterfeit 57s and 58s there are. I can't remember the numbers but Shure says it's incredible. More fakes than legits on eBay I think they said. They will not tell the general public even how to spot the fakes because they don't want to give the counterfeiters any help. They are quite the go-getters them Chinese so who knows. Maybe they DO make counterfeit SEs. The whole thing is so blurry though. Most Chinese goods are substandard copies of higher quality goods. But...most of them are built by American companies who take American jobs to China and then complain about the American economy. It's accepted and almost applauded when American companies go to Asia to produce cheap goods (like gibby's epis, Fender's Squiers, Gretschs offerings...etc etc etc etc etc etc etc...........). A Chinese Epiphone (Gibson copy) is ok...because it's an actual American company screwing it's countrymen...but when it's a Chinese outfit (completely?) it's bad. I mean of COURSE it is bad...but to a lot of people, I guess mostly non-Americans, it's even WORSE when it's one of your own companies screwing you. To a lot of us the unpatriotic trend of shipping jobs overseas and products back home is ...well, it's CRIMINAL! Hey Canadian companies do it too. Take Godin for example. The low-end Godins' (check them out) headstocks read something like this: "Assembled in the USA from quality Canadian components" ..-ish. I've said it before and I'm saying the PI and political forum no-no again...HOW can a Canadian company like Godin build parts, ship them to the USA (shipping, import fees, brokerage fees, taxes...) to have them assembled and then shipped back up to Canada (again shipping, import exprot fees, brokerage fees, fule surcharges, taxes....) where they can be sold (CHEAP) at a profit? Is it because of all the cheap Mexican labour in the USA? Howcome American companies can't be profitable if they keep their operations domestic while Canadian companies (like Godin and Larrivee) can ship Canadian jobs to the USA and still remain profitable? I'll tell ya how...because the American companies CAN be profitable without shipping jobs to Mexico and Asia. The problem is that those CEOs and shareholders want MORE profit. Even if it means bringing a nation to it'e economic knees and creating a class of unemployed and underemployed poverty stricken majority and forcing them onto welfare and to accept foodstamps..which equals, the American people subsidizing those greedy and swolen profits and executive bonuses that CEOs get FOR shipping American jobs overseas. Those bloated CEOs then turn around and complain about the lazy people who "refuse" to get JOBS and WANT to stay on welfare and in receipt of foodstamps.
It just looks so strange and weird and even criminal when you look at the situation from an outside perspective. The whole nation would be much better off if the fatcats and shareholders would just keep the jobs here and pay those welfare recipients to do their work for them instead of paying the Chinese and Mexicans to do it and forcing the American people to "pay the wages" to those workers in the form of social benefits, welfare, foodstamps etc... It's the American PEOPLE who are subsidizing the exportation of their own jobs. Meanwhile the CEOs and bigwigs continue to make record profits and pay no taxes.
No the sky would not fall down. PRS, Gibson, Fender, Martin, Taylor, Guild, Cretsch, Shure, and all the other "job shippers-away" would continue to survive and make profit if they stopped shipping American jobs overseas today. If anything, they would by now be so streamlined that maybe ALL Canadian gear makers would be assembling and manufacturing their goods in the USA! Oh wait...they already do lol. There arent a lot of Canadian gear making companies. Besides Godin and Larrivee I guess it's only Traynor and Garnet?
Hey..sorry for the PS rant. If it's too politically charged and inflammatory, PLEASE mods...just delete it and give me a harsh scolding and don't ban me for life. I'll be good I promise ;-)
OH..the GOOD news is that...soon oil will be $200 and our world will shrink. It wont be profitable to ship those jobs across the globe and the goods back home anymore. We won't be eating fresh bananas in February..we'll be going back to our grandparents jarred strawberries and raspberries etc...and goods will have to be made close to home and just watch...all those companies who before wouldnt make money without shipping the jobs overseas, will continue to make record profits and dole-out huge bonuses to their exectuives...but they will be hiring Americans and taking them off the welfare bus. Hey...if Canadian companies can farm-out work to the USA, American companies can do it too.
Again...sorry for the rant but this whole "made in China" and "shiping American jobs overseas" really gets me riled-up. Those companies CAN be profitable withOUT shipping Americans' jobs to China. THEY are who I get frustrated with, even moreso than the actual Chinese counterfeiters. At least they aren't trying to rip-off their OWN people. Well...maybe they are but ...that's China. It's ok for them to be "Un-American" but the actual American companies who do it...well...to me, that's CRIMINAL!
There. I'm done. Delete away. Sorry for the rant. I get this way in the mornings with a cup of coffee :-(
