Wild Card 6 question

[Mfranzdorf]

I've been looking at some Wild Card 6's online and on a hunch, I searched "Charvel" on Aliexpress ( known for cheap fakes), and sure enough...there are fake 6's on there that look pretty damn good. I'm far from a Charvel expert and I'm looking for advice on how to spot a fake. When it comes to a strat I can spot a fake pretty quickly, but not so much some Charvels. One thing I did notice was that the Seymour Duncan lettering on the pickups of the fakes looked a little off. Any sure fire details to check and avoid getting ripped off on the used market? Thanks for any insight.

[Guitarkid8]

Everything on that site looks fake.

[Mfranzdorf]

Oh yeah, everything in there is. Looking on how to spot a fake that might be for sale somewhere else, but originally came from a site like that.

The Demartini crossed swords look fake as hell on there, but to me, the Wild Card 6's weren't so obvious.

[Guitarkid8]

This thread about the crossed swords points out some good features. im sure others will have more input

http://www.jcfonline.com/threads/150699-Demartini-Crossed-Swords-with-non-Charvel-neck

[Johnnyryche]

I have a Charvel wild card 6 dreamsicle that I picked up this summer off Craig's List - great guitar! Here's a couple pics of an original Charvel and few things to spot on the fake ones:

-The color on the Charvel is candy tangerine, which is a nice brilliant color, especially in the light. The color on the fake looks lighter in color.
-The Charvel has a stamped neck plate with "Made in Japan". The fake has a blank chrome neckplate.
-The Charvel has a chrome hardtail bridge. The fake has a standard vtrem bridge.
-The Charvel has a truss rod adjust at the heel of the neck. The fake has a truss rod adjust carved out on the headstock near the nut.
-The Charvel's volume knob is centered directly under the humbucker and the selector switch is closer to the volume knob, almost centered in the middle of the bridge. The fake looks to have the volume knob moved slightly back to the lower edge of the humbucker and the selector switch is also moved further back.
-The Charvel pro mods have a knarled volume knob with a flat top. The fake, while close, is not the same knarled style as the Charvel.
-The Charvel has a circular string holder for the B and E strings. The fake has square string holder.

I know hardware is easy to swap with fakes. But certain structural features like the location of the truss rod adjustment and volume knobs should throw up red flags. Hope this helps.

John

[Mfranzdorf]

Thanks man. Some of those fakes I've seen have a bridge that looks just like the real deal, and they have Charvel looking neck plates as well. Some of the counterfeit sellers use real photos but what they actually send you is different.
Thanks for the info!

[paranoid]

the 12th fret markers, quite often are the quickest give away of a fake. if they are not correct there is no reason to look any further.