Guitar Body's - How Do You Tell If They're "Real"?

[The Doctor]

I am soon to begin my project, which is to build a Fender Stratocaster, I want to include as much Fender products as possible in it's assembly.

If I am to buy a body from eBay, how can I tell if it's a real Fender body?

[sumgai]

Dyolf,

Short answer: you can't.

Sorry, but that's just the nature of the beast. What with the stratospheric prices being charged for vintage and quasi-vintage Fenders these days, there are more little backwoods shops pumping out gen-u-wine Fender parts than you can shake a pick at. If I were generous, I'd guess that upwards of one percent (1%) of them are authorized by Fender - the rest of them would be targets of the RIAA, if the product were songs instead of bodies and necks. Think Skull-n-Crossbones here, and you've got the picture.

Look at it this way - I see that bodies on the innerweb are selling for more than 2 grand!! I've got more than a smattering of wood-working skills, and a shop full of tools. So why not just buy some good wood at perhaps a hunnert bucks a pop, and pump out some copies of that expensive body, then open up shop on eBay?

The easiest thing to do is simply not worry about where a part came from. If it isn't documented by a neutral authority (Gruhn's Guitars in Nashville, for instance), then it's more likely that it's not a real Fender part. Or at least, not a made-in-the-USA part. If it was made overseas, and has the Fender name on it, then it's up to you to decide on the value. But the chances are still good that it's something that never crossed Fender's books for either their bank or the IRS.

Let your wallet by your guide, or to put it another way, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".

HTH


sumgai

[The Doctor]

Thanks man!

I was told today that Fender put the Fender logo and a number in the slot where the neck sits. Is this true?

[sumgai]

dyolf,

Thanks man!

I was told today that Fender put the Fender logo and a number in the slot where the neck sits. Is this true?

I can honestly say that I've never seen such a marking. That's not to say that it couldn't have happened with some models, at some point in time, but the evidence laying before me on the workbench says.................

In fact, the only time I've ever seen Fender's logo (the stylized F, and not the whole name) stamped into a part was on the neck screw plate. Also, some knobs have had the logo, and I think Fender's licensed copy of the Bigsby vibrato also had it, but my memory is a bit hazy on that one.

In the last two decades, Fender has been pretty consistent about putting a sticker or decal in the pickup route, carrying a quality control stamp or two, and the body's identifying bar code. I've never seen this placed within the neck pocket. Which is kinda strange, because they do put a similar sticker on the underside of the neck heel, and that goes into the pocket without any harm in any way. Wonder why the discrepency.

If you're in a city that has a Vintage Guitar shop of any repute at all, then stop in and ask them. I'm sure they'll be glad to share this kind of information with you, they have a vested interest in curbing the proliferation of Fender knock-offs, be it parts or whole guitars.

HTH


sumgai

[Ripper]

My SRV Strat came with a sticker underneath the pickguard.
The date it was assembled, who inspected it etc...

I think even if Fender burned their name into the wood for identification purposes ( In an inconspicuous location )...Bootleg wood workers would still find a way to copy the markings. Theres just too much money to be made.

[mlrpa]

I have seen the '04 and up Mex strats have a # and bar code epoxied on the body in the control cavity. But brand new, out of the shipping box, the #'s on the body and the neck don't match. Typical Fender. Go with Warmoth or Mighty Mite. Good licensed Fender bodies.

[The Doctor]

I'm currently bidding on this body: cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=011&sspagename=STRK%3AMEBI%3AIT&viewitem=&item=320134351293&rd=1&rd=1