How do I check for the authenticity of a guitar?

[kdb14]

HI all,

Greetings. In a few weeks I will be trading a fender american tele with significant top up for a guitar.... however, the owner does not have his cert of authenticity.

He did give me his serial number, and claims to have bought it from SWee Lee.

I did search up the serial online and it said that the guitar was made in the Kalamazoo Factory in USA. However, i typed some random numbers into it after that and it said that the random serial number i typed in belonged to a guitar made in a different factory in the USA.

I doubt that i am a psychic by any stretch of the imagination so perhaps it was

1) a fluke

2) a flaw on the website's part?

EITHER WAY: the real question i am here to ask is... how do i check for its authenticity?

Do i merely call up SWee Lee and ask them whether it is authentic? or is there a differnt way of me checking?

Apologies for my ignorance if the answer is indeed a simple one. Just trying my best to not get scammed.

THank you for reading through my post, and i appreciate every form of replies and help.

Cheers!

- - - Updated - - -

SIde NOte: the guitar is a GIbson LEs Paul Custom.

 

[pyrokineticist]

Wow, no one actually replied to your post. So let me help you then. For Gibson, there are tons of tutorials on YouTube about how to differentiate the real ones from the fakes. Usually, on fakes, the headstock logo will give it away. But for more precise fakes, the next thing to look at are the knobs. If I remember correctly, Gibson's knobs are arrange in a certain way that fakes usually fail to copy. The third practical option is the weight of the guitar. Look up on the model of your Custom, which year it belongs to. Look up for it's weight and then measure yours and compare. Most fakes use cheaper woods so the weight will differ. Of course, the last option would be to bring your guitar to a professional. They will check everything, from your pickups to your wirings, to see if it's authentic or not. Most fakes fail to replica the wirings, because Gibsons are very spot on on that. Of course, the serial number counts too, just that it works better if you are in the U.S. (their local stores can check directly). Actually, just go and look up on YouTube, it is so much easier there. I know, because I'm a Gibson guitar owner as well. Hope this helps.

 

[vwkng]

Imho, you should avoid trading for a Gibson as there are far too many fakes that look real.
There are also way too many "upgrades" that could have been done to render the guitar "authentic".
As I had many bad experiences (buying, trading or playing) with Gibsons, I avoid them like the plague.
For single cut guitars, an ESP/LTD or PRS is much better.
Save your money.

 

[17wil]

save your money and go for the japanese copies instead. They are spot on detail and lesser fakes.

 

[fabrice21]

What are you trading?