# Watch out for Ralph's pawnshop



## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

He has two fake Epiphone Custom LPs
SilverBurst Custom Les Paul guitar | Guitars | Windsor Region | Kijiji









Les Paul Custom by Epiphone | Guitars | Windsor Region | Kijiji


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

*Ralph:*
 so sad your jealous ,,and you cant afford it.


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## Hammerhands (Dec 19, 2016)

I can't believe there are fake modern Epiphones.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

I can never tell how you can tell these things.


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## Derek_T (10 mo ago)

Mark Brown said:


> I can never tell how you can tell these things.


Easy, the headstock says Epiphone but these are Gibson Pickup, Gibson tuners, Gibson electronics... so it's a fake Epiphone


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

Mark Brown said:


> I can never tell how you can tell these things.


This for now, I have to leave. I'll go into details later if you want me to.


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## Mark Brown (Jan 4, 2022)

I would say that is a hell of a good start


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## BlueRocker (Jan 5, 2020)

The Silverburst was fairly obvious. I didn't check the ad but the Alpine White didn't set off any red flags immediately.


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

A "busted burst" ...in more ways than one!


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## Verne (Dec 29, 2018)

Ads were reported. Private sellers is one thing, businesses (pawn shops or not) are another. They know these things and they can't NOT know they are passing off counterfeit as authentic.


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## Percy (Feb 18, 2013)

These Chinese fakes are all over Southern Ontario
I almost bought a 'Slash' Gibson Les Paul , till I had a closer look and sure enough , another fake


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## Pat James (5 mo ago)

Never thought that there would be Epiphone fakes out there. Pretty weird, but it makes sense considering these copies are too crap to pass off as an authentic Gibson, but less people would question the quality of an Epiphone. Found a thread from another site that delves into this from years back. Once you look at the body proportions and the cutaway though, it becomes clearer. They even include the custom decal on the back.


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## Mikev7305 (Jan 6, 2020)

God that burst looks so bad


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

BlueRocker said:


> The Silverburst was fairly obvious. I didn't check the ad but the Alpine White didn't set off any red flags immediately.


Some obvious clues on the white one.
Knob pattern should be parallel to the neck. Sometimes lens distortion can make it look wrong, but not this one.
Domed tail piece posts heads.
Tail piece lower or equal to bridge volume knob.
Wide domed tuner washers.
Crooked or misplaced headstock diamond inlay.
Epiphone never used that kind of fonts for the serial.


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## Paul Running (Apr 12, 2020)

You lads should start a wiki on checking for authenticity of gear...definitely some knowledgeable eyes on this forum.


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## isoneedacoffee (Oct 31, 2014)

There are actually lots of Epiphone fakes out there. I was looking for an Epi LP for my daughter at one point. She loves Slash and I had found a Slash signature model. These normally go for a lot as they have Gibson pickups, real thick maple top, and upgraded electronics. Anyway, it became clear that it was a fake. There's a whole group on Facebook devoted to discussing Epiphone fakes. It's an interesting group: Epiphoney - the facts about FAKES! | Facebook


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

Paul Running said:


> You lads should start a wiki on checking for authenticity of gear...definitely some knowledgeable eyes on this forum.


The info is out there, you just have to look for it.

The New FAKE Epi thread
The Fake Epiphone Thread II


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## FatStrat2 (Apr 7, 2021)

If pawn shop is in the title, it's fair game to 'watch out'.

My brother used to have a fakey just like that Silverburst, it played like a typical Epiphone of that time except for a really cheap finish. Not bad playing, not great either.


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## superfly (Oct 14, 2021)

Gear Hunter | Epiphone - EILCSBNH








And you can buy the real deal for less...


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## BGood (Feb 20, 2015)

superfly said:


> Gear Hunter | Epiphone - EILCSBNH
> View attachment 444739
> 
> And you can buy the real deal for less...


I think even the legit ones look as bad Clownbursts, if not worse.


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## superfly (Oct 14, 2021)

BGood said:


> I think even the legit ones look as bad Clownbursts, if not worse.


Well, it's an Epi, and given it's not a cherry, it can be forgiven...


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

You know ralph means vomit, these fakes make me wanna ralph🤢.

I only know that because my dad’s name is ralph and anytime mom says it to him “ I wanna ralph”
He starts gagging


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

BGood said:


> Some obvious clues on the white one.
> Knob pattern should be parallel to the neck. Sometimes lens distortion can make it look wrong, but not this one.
> Domed tail piece posts heads.
> Tail piece lower or equal to bridge volume knob.
> ...


The cutaway horn is terrible too.


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## tomee2 (Feb 27, 2017)

Hammerhands said:


> I can't believe there are fake modern Epiphones.


They sell fake guitar strings, name brand strings that say made in USA on the package, sold direct from China super cheap. They'll fake anything, absolutely anything, they can to get US$ sent into China, and their government turns a blind eye to it. No other country would allow the rampant counterfeiting to go on the way China does.


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