eBay: (Not a) Fender 62 U.S.A Vintage Reissue Guitar

Is it just me or does this look like an Encore? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem& item=928340503

Note the telltale headstock is not shown in the photos. I think that the eventual buyer will be disappointed. I intend to email them.

Slightly off, but what would be a fair price for a 1990 japanese 1962 re-issue in excellent condition?

That is one dodgy looking axe.....Seems to have had a very poorly done respray job (see the rear view of it).....

Shouldn't a 62 reissue strat have a skunk stripe down the back of the neck?......

I imported a few of the pics into photoshop and played around a bit and found the following.....

The bridge saddles aren't the pressed steel that you'd expect from a genuine strat...They are of the chromium die cast variety as found on tanglewoods and encores..... http://www.fatwasam.co.uk/misc/i-2.jpg

The machine heads are definitely the wrong type. They look like the kind found on a budget strat copy...... http://www.fatwasam.co.uk/misc/i-4.jpg

Just checked on Fender Dot Com.....A 1960's reissue strat has an Eleven Screw Scratchplate..... This fake axe only has eight screws holing its scratchplate on....

Also, a 1960's reissue has a 3 ply scratchplate.....This ebay offering doesn't.....
http://www.fender.com/new_repository/fender_guitars/ images/0131000_xl...

The seller has added some sort of disclaimer to his ebay page.....It's very cryptic and I'm not entirely certain I understand what the hell he's saying.....It reads:

<quote> On 07-Dec-02 at 16:17:13 GMT, seller added the following information: seller seen as what described as.

That is an approx 1994 Encore strat copy. I have one exactly like that, and it even has the white circular inspection label (printed yellow) in the same place, on the back of the headstock.

Further tell tales : the pickups are considerably bigger than a normal strat pickup (they were designed by Kent Armstrong to compensate for the cheap bar magnets used). The tremolo arm is not shown (the Encore one was just metal, no plastic tip, and considerably thicker than a real strat bar, and made out of cheap chromed metal rather than proper bar stock like the real thing) The saddles are die-cast (where on the 62 fender reissue they should have been stamped out of sheet metal and have 'fender' on them.) and the tuner gear covers are completely the wrong shape.

Opening up would reveal a bath-tub rout, a smaller tremelo block and some extremely cheap electronics.

I've just sat and compared it to my ES and yes, it matches it in every detail.... Unlike my Jap 62 reissue, which differs considerably.

Further to my previous message (ie yes it is definitely an Encore) A complaint has been made.

No. The 62 fender reissue had separate rosewood fingerboards, so the skunk stripe was unnecessary, the truss rod cavity being routed from the front and subsequently covered by the fingerboard.

Let's see if eBay pulls the auction - in my experience they don't do a thing about fraudulent listings...

Aaaaah......I have learned something this morning......

The seller has pulled the auction and relisted as an Encore. Do you think he reads UKMG?

Perhaps he read the email I sent him asking if he can provide the original fender documentation with the guitar......