chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
I remember this. SOmeone dropped it on their station Floor.
How to Spot a Made in USA Fender:
- Thread starter Inspector #20
- Start date
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
Sorry to Hijack your thread, Robert, But my original Made in USA Fender neck was worth it to save.
chilipeppermaniac
Ambassador of Decibels
This pic from above is where I pulled and/or was installing the new Truss rod into the neck. I bought a coupler to join the 2 rods. Then of course, I would unscrew the coupler and rod on the outside once I tightened the set screw into the anchor to hold the new rod in place. Then it was time to put the Allen head nut and walnut plug in place to make the bi-flex rod work.
It was so nice knowing I could do all this without routing out the skunk stripe and installing new rod and stripe and refinishing the neck.
YUCK
jtees4
Well-Known Member
Nice Parker!!! The best kind, pre-refined made by Ken Parker no doubt. I don't own a Parker Fly now....BUT I will never ever criticize Parker. There was a time, maybe 10+ years ago....when my back was so bad I could not play any guitar standing up. A little research, and I ended up with a '97 Parker Fly Deluxe (just over 4 pounds). That guitar saved my life, I could not even pick up an SG at that time. PLUS the guitar was GREAT, top quality. The trem was also among the best in the business, and I've owned Steinbergers with T and S trems which were also great BUT more complicated. The reason I no longer have the Parker is simple, the neck was just too thin for me. Over time I started getting cramping from it, mostly due to bad arthritis I've developed over the years. So I sold it, but again....you will never hear me say a bad thing about parkers. They were also super comfortable to play, they may look strange to some, but in person the way the body contours is truly a work of art.
OP
The Fender Shell Game....
OP
OP
According to the Federal Trade Commission, “Made in USA” means that “all or virtually all” the product has been made in America. That is, all significant parts, processing and labor that go into the product must be of U.S. origin.
Why Fender Guitars are marked 'Corona California' or Made In Corona California.'
California Business and Professions Code § 17533.7, which is part of California's False Advertising Law that generally prohibits false and misleading advertising statements, has even stricter rules for making "Made in America" claims in California:
"It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association to sell or offer for sale in this state any merchandise on which merchandise or on its container there appears the words "Made in the USA," "Made in America," "USA," or similar words when the merchandise or any article, unit or part thereof, has been entirely or substantially made, manufactured or produced outside of the United States...."
Now, here is the hard to find published percentage required for a Made In USA Product Claim:
California MIA law
SECTION 1.
Section 17533.7 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
17533.7.
(a) It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or association to sell or offer for sale in this state any merchandise on which merchandise or on its container there appears the words “Made in U.S.A.,” “Made in America,” “U.S.A.,” or similar words if the merchandise or any article, unit, or part thereof, has been entirely or substantially made, manufactured, or produced outside of the United States.
(b) This section shall not apply to merchandise made, manufactured, or produced in the United States that has one or more articles, units, or parts from outside of the United States, if all of the articles, units, or parts of the merchandise obtained from outside the United States constitute not more than 5 percent of the final wholesale value of the manufactured product.
Caveat Emptor...
Why Fender Guitars are marked 'Corona California' or Made In Corona California.'
California Business and Professions Code § 17533.7, which is part of California's False Advertising Law that generally prohibits false and misleading advertising statements, has even stricter rules for making "Made in America" claims in California:
"It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation or association to sell or offer for sale in this state any merchandise on which merchandise or on its container there appears the words "Made in the USA," "Made in America," "USA," or similar words when the merchandise or any article, unit or part thereof, has been entirely or substantially made, manufactured or produced outside of the United States...."
Now, here is the hard to find published percentage required for a Made In USA Product Claim:
California MIA law
SECTION 1.
Section 17533.7 of the Business and Professions Code is amended to read:
17533.7.
(a) It is unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or association to sell or offer for sale in this state any merchandise on which merchandise or on its container there appears the words “Made in U.S.A.,” “Made in America,” “U.S.A.,” or similar words if the merchandise or any article, unit, or part thereof, has been entirely or substantially made, manufactured, or produced outside of the United States.
(b) This section shall not apply to merchandise made, manufactured, or produced in the United States that has one or more articles, units, or parts from outside of the United States, if all of the articles, units, or parts of the merchandise obtained from outside the United States constitute not more than 5 percent of the final wholesale value of the manufactured product.
Caveat Emptor...
OP
This guy exposes the Fender Custom Shop for what it really is...
OP
Pallets full of foreign parts are shipped here everyday...
OP
This video is lengthy, but interesting.
Pay attention to Fender's response in his second video, link posted below.
Pay attention to Fender's response in his second video, link posted below.
OP
Here's the funny part, or sad part, depending on how you look at it. In every video i have watched, where someone tries to explain how you identify a "fake" Fender guitar, they all miss key points in their presentation.
For example, Fender and Jackson are both notorious for tuning key alignment, even from their respective CS's, and yet most videos list that as a key point and you CANNOT use that as an evaluation standard in determining whether a unit is genuine.
Some of the worst tuning key alignment I've seen were on the Eric Johnson - USA Made Stratocasters, but customers seem to.pass this off as being "hand made."
For example, Fender and Jackson are both notorious for tuning key alignment, even from their respective CS's, and yet most videos list that as a key point and you CANNOT use that as an evaluation standard in determining whether a unit is genuine.
Some of the worst tuning key alignment I've seen were on the Eric Johnson - USA Made Stratocasters, but customers seem to.pass this off as being "hand made."
OP
Remember the legend of the Brown M&M's???
Here's a clue....
These cards had been in use since 2018 and nobody noticed/reported the spelling error until i reported it.
Then, we were assigned to start changing them out...
Here's a clue....
These cards had been in use since 2018 and nobody noticed/reported the spelling error until i reported it.
Then, we were assigned to start changing them out...
OP
Here's an example of factory, Jackson tuning key alignment
OP
Eric Johnson Stratocaster.
Looks good...
5 springs/locked down is how these are made. Note EJ serial and logo on neck plate.
But, i had to fail it...why???
It had a Corona neck on it without the requisite EJ serial number as shown on the Certificate of Authenticity.
These would be easy to fake, because the only serial is on the neckplate.
How did that happen???
Looks good...
5 springs/locked down is how these are made. Note EJ serial and logo on neck plate.
But, i had to fail it...why???
It had a Corona neck on it without the requisite EJ serial number as shown on the Certificate of Authenticity.
These would be easy to fake, because the only serial is on the neckplate.
How did that happen???
OP
A few of the thousands of defects that i killed, many of which bore "QC OK" stamps from other inspection stations.
gball
Ambassador of Boogie
But...that's not the same neck from the guitar...the one on the guitar has vintage tuners and gloss finish (and every EJ Strat I have seen has the SN only on the plate, not back of headstock unless they changed that spec).
OP
Good catch, as i likely mixed up the headstock photo with one of the others in my folder, but it was a very commonplace thing that did not make any sense.
Here's what an Eric Johnson headstock SHOULD look like.
No markings of any kind and serial is ONLY on the neck plate.
So when they started popping up with serialized Corona necks, (even though they had the "correct" vintage amber tint) everything ground to a screeching halt.
OP
Okay...yeah...that's not cool.