How well do you know your vintage gear?

[Eagle]

This is one for the vintage enthusiasts !
A game of “Real or Repro” anyone considering buying should get these right.
1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

And finally 10

 

[the-trooper]

I don't, and I don't care, new is always better.

 

[DrewJD82]

I don't, and I don't care, new is always better.

Boooooo hisssssss

 

[DrewJD82]

This is one for the vintage enthusiasts !
A game of “Real or Repro” anyone considering buying should get these right.
1 View attachment 4092
2
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3
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4
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5
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8View attachment 4099
9
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And finally 10
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Hahaha I’m only going to guess the first pic; vintage saddles but repro baseplate?

The Strat knobs I’m curious about as they both show imperfections in the lettering, leading me to believe they’re both original/vintage, but that would surely be something a repro company would start doing.

I’m assuming the PAF is legit, as well. I don’t know enough about the rest of these parts or the aspects to rule them out, but I’m certainly anxious to hear what they are!

 

[jellodog]

... @Eagle I'm guessing that you're drawing attention to the mould seam line on the vibrato arm tip (9), and the LP tuning key button (7) ?

 

[Eagle]

I will give it a few days for anyone who wants a go.

 

[Eagle]

I don't, and I don't care, new is always better.

I don't disagree agree but I like golden age vintage from a nostalgia perspective. Not really to play it.

 

[Eagle]

... @Eagle I'm guessing that you're drawing attention to the mould seam line on the vibrato arm tip (9), and the LP tuning key button (7) ?

Yes because they help but you can identify them without seeing those details.

 

[Eagle]

Nobody in to vintage? There is about $300k in those pictures

 

[dk_ace]

This is why I don’t buy vintage guitars, you’re just underscoring how easy it would be for someone to take advantage of me…

It’s a shame, I really do want to buy a few.

D

 

[mk5]

I will give it a go. Not a vintage shopper or historian by any means, so I am totally fine with being wrong and am curious to know the true answers.

1. Real. Saddles look authentic to me. Also the screws in front look machined on the heads, which looks legit.

2. Ugh. I will say repro because I think it would be a nickel cover, not plastic. But it could be a real P.A.F. in a plastic cover.

3. I say repro. No particular reason other than it looks newer; no patina.

4. Repro. The font on volume pot looks wrong- too bloated, not sharp.

5. Fake- no fret end binding

6. Real. Font looks right.

7. Real Klusons

8. Real - vintage knob font looks good. Also looks more top hatty.

9. Real. All the ones I googled they were pre CBS look like that.

10. Repro. No serial # stamp

 

[Eagle]

I will give it a go. Not a vintage shopper or historian by any means, so I am totally fine with being wrong and am curious to know the true answers.

1. Real. Saddles look authentic to me. Also the screws in front look machined on the heads, which looks legit.

2. Ugh. I will say repro because I think it would be a nickel cover, not plastic. But it could be a real P.A.F. in a plastic cover.

3. I say repro. No particular reason other than it looks newer; no patina.

4. Repro. The font on volume pot looks wrong- too bloated, not sharp.

5. Fake- no fret end binding

6. Real. Font looks right.

7. Real Klusons

8. Real - vintage knob font looks good. Also looks more top hatty.

9. Real. All the ones I googled they were pre CBS look like that.

10. Repro. No serial # stamp

I will give the answers because nobody hardly is looking.

1 This is an awesome fake using the same tooling as the original .

2 Real paf 1959 with no cover and the original pickup ring.

3 1959 original abr1.

4 Real 1964 strat knob.

5 It was the switch tip but it is an original 59 LP . It has had a refret hence the loss of binding and also you can see the lacquer is cut down the binding during the refret.

6 Fantastic repro by the same guy that did the bridge. The same process exactly and passes a micrometer test . The font is totally correct because the same brand of dies were used to make it.

7 Real klusons from 59 but replaced plastic. This is quite common because the original plastic cracks up.

8 Repro 61 style strat knob. Very good replica .

9 Real 64 trem arm and tip.

10 Repro 54 Tele bridge. The lack of a serial number is correct for this because they switched to neck plate numbers by this time.

I think you did very well because the repro parts I used for examples are the best of the best, way better than custom shop fender use.
I put this up to show how difficult it's getting these days to identify the best replicas. These repro fender hardware parts are just exact with every tooling mark correct.

 

[Eagle]

One thing that you see on early strat trem baseplates is just no smoothing of the cut edges that is on the newer ones.

The cut is clear on this 59 original.
BUT this one guy built this 54 style

Perfect in every detail. These used to be things you could trust to identify replicas.

 

[Eagle]

All tooling marks are fake-able if you know about them but there are no fake pots and switches that look right. The best fakes use NOS ones with the right pot dates or solder over them.
I see better logos than Fender custom shop.

Made exactly the sam way as the originals.

 

[itchyfingers]

This is why I can't buy anything at those guitar shows.
Real '62 or partscaster built last week?

 

[Eagle]

This is why I can't buy anything at those guitar shows.
Real '62 or partscaster built last week?

Your not wrong. But if you are used to handling real vintage Fender it is only an incredibly small number of pieces that are problematic. But you need to know what it is that you’re looking at. The original ones with a good relic refinish and some replacement parts are where people over pay. $18k for a 61 refinish with half the hardware replaced ( should be more like $8 ) but it looks pretty much identical to a 8/10 all original. This is where the pictures above show what you’re up against.

 

[metropolis_4]

I will give the answers because nobody hardly is looking.

1 This is an awesome fake using the same tooling as the original .

2 Real paf 1959 with no cover and the original pickup ring.

3 1959 original abr1.

4 Real 1964 strat knob.

5 It was the switch tip but it is an original 59 LP . It has had a refret hence the loss of binding and also you can see the lacquer is cut down the binding during the refret.

6 Fantastic repro by the same guy that did the bridge. The same process exactly and passes a micrometer test . The font is totally correct because the same brand of dies were used to make it.

7 Real klusons from 59 but replaced plastic. This is quite common because the original plastic cracks up.

8 Repro 61 style strat knob. Very good replica .

9 Real 64 trem arm and tip.

10 Repro 54 Tele bridge. The lack of a serial number is correct for this because they switched to neck plate numbers by this time.

I think you did very well because the repro parts I used for examples are the best of the best, way better than custom shop fender use.
I put this up to show how difficult it's getting these days to identify the best replicas. These repro fender hardware parts are just exact with every tooling mark correct.

This is a really cool thread, thank you for posting all of this!

I love vintage gear, but I can count on one hand the number of authentic 50s-60s instruments I’ve had a chance to play.

Unfortunately I grew up during a time when prices on anything pre-1970s were already far out of reach, and the way things look today I doubt I’ll ever have a chance to ever own one of these or be in a position where I’m shopping for one.

But I still love this kind of stuff!