Ibanez Gurus, I need help

[reez_rock]

Hi Guys,
need some help. I just got this guitar from a fellow softies but I doubt its authenticity.

The person said it's a custom order straight from the Ibanez factory in Indonesia.
As far as I know, Ibanez never provide any custom order model except your name is Vai or Satriani.
However, the guitar quality of the guitar is very good. It's pretty much the same with any Indonesian ibanez-es that i've owned. Not like those cheapo China made copies. Heavy body with solid maple neck

Hope some Ibanez gurus here can highlight points that I should note. Here are the photos of the guitar

This is where i find it weird, the serial number written like those indonesian made Ibanez but it said PGM30W Made in Japan

Electronics cavity looks pretty neat, no wood splinters or anything like the china made copies

Sounds are pretty good. Long sustain and pickups are pretty good



What do you think guys?


Thank you in advance!



Cheers!
Reez

 

[van_halen]

so is it made in Japan or Indonesia or China?

 

[junkiemanxl]

I'm not a guru but this pgm looks kinda off....

did u take out the pickups to look whats under and on the in print?

Is this a 301? cause if it is, there are quite a few irregularities like the bridge, the abalone dots and the ibanez logo.

Not sure if its the picture angle but this pgm's headstock has a very steep angle. the painted f holes and the stamp on the back of the headstock are not aligned properly.

The f holes should be allocated somewhere along the mid pickups like so.

i've got doubts of its authenticity... You can always drop ibanez an email to check on the serial and authenticity of your PGM.

 

[IbanezFreak]

I am a ibanezfreak! but sorry not an ibanez guru..

But yes, sorry but i have to doubt its authentic too...I really doubt the asian ibanez factories would take such custom orders?

But you know what, if it plays fine and sounds fine..why not? How much did you pay for it?

 

[lemonade93]

the giveaway to me that its fake is he 'ordered' it from Indo but it says made in 'Japan' It's either he's lying, or Ibanez has been scamming us!!! OH NOESSS

The inlays should be black, not abalone or MOP or wtv that is, and the 12th fret should have an extra dot inbetween the 2 dots already there

 

[reez_rock]

Yes. I'm fully aware that it's not 301. According to the prev owner. It's a custom order based on a PGM30. The reason why i pulled the trigger on it is the fact that it has fixed bridge and maple neck.

I almost buy a 301 during sweelee sale. I think it was ard 1900 that time but just couldn't bare to spend too much on it

 

[reez_rock]

BTW, thanks for all the iputs so far

 

[imkeith]

my friend owns a fake pgm lol and the finishes are obvious give aways when ur looking at it close up

 

[reez_rock]

I am a ibanezfreak! but sorry not an ibanez guru..

But yes, sorry but i have to doubt its authentic too...I really doubt the asian ibanez factories would take such custom orders?


But you know what, if it plays fine and sounds fine..why not? How much did you pay for it?

Still bro...although it plays well....if it's fake, feels like wearing an AAA Grade Lorex watch mah

Bro imkeith : Yeah man. this one not like that. The finish and built are pretty good. I can compare it to PGM3 that i used to own.

 

[babs]

it is definatly a fake .... this indo guy tried ti push it to me but he did not know i was a ibanez collector ..... eventually after i made checks on the guitars serial number and electronics i rejected this guitar

 

[dodgethis]

Made in Indonesia, stamped with Made In Japan. If this alone doesn't raise an eyebrow that this is a counterfeit guitar, I don't know what would.

The excuses that the seller gave you are seriously pathetic. 'Custom order based on a PGM30', my ass. The seller pulled a fast one on you. This is a counterfeit PGM300 which he tried to pass off as a custom-built PGM30.

 

[imkeith]

^^^ pretty much sums up everything.. and also like someone mentioned earlier the mop inlays are a give away

 

[dmitry_a]

The excuses that the seller gave you are seriously pathetic. 'Custom order based on a PGM30', my ass. The seller pulled a fast one on you. This is a counterfeit PGM300 which he tried to pass off as a custom-built PGM30.

It says PGM 30 on the back of the headstock. Also from what I see in the catalogs the PGM 30 is a floating bridge model. But the custom-model excuse is just plain weak if you know how Ibanez operates.

 

[imkeith]

i honestly dont understand why would the ppl who make this imitations not do their homework on their part

 

[subversion]

bro reez_rock, i noted the following on your 'ibanez':

*the ibanez decal there is a 2-unit affair, the 'ibanez' label itself is applied seperately from the swoop symbol. there's misalignment & the different colours are suspect

*the tip of the typical ibanez truss rod cover always rise above the machine head nearest the nut- yours does not

*wrong fretboard markers used

*pickup mounting brackets were used for the humbuckers

*single coil pickup cover is cream, not white

*take a closer look at your 'F-holes'- they are misaligned, note the different spacing measurements at the neck mounting ring area

*the hard tail bridge is of the wrong finish

*the string saddles there are the wrong version- the one in yours are usually used for traditional type Fender bridges.

*the treble side cutaway is also too rounded, it's like curving into the neck

 

[reez_rock]

Thanks for all the helps Gurus! It's time for me to chase the guy now

 

[subversion]

hope there won't be excessive confrontation

 

[AzNjT]

aww reez, i was eyeing this guitar too, but the way that it looked threw me off.
i hope you find that guy and get ur full refund back.

 

[dodgethis]

It says PGM 30 on the back of the headstock. Also from what I see in the catalogs the PGM 30 is a floating bridge model. But the custom-model excuse is just plain weak if you know how Ibanez operates.

I don't think you got what I said.

 

[reez_rock]

Tried to call the guy several times and sms-es but he never pickup. I managed to find out much details about him tho. He's a student. Found his websites and photos and I'm ready to post it anytime.

I'll wait and give him some chance hoping that he saw his thread before I proceed.