An unfortunate store bought this Counterfeit Ibanez Jem in the other day. This is about a $2,600 guitar, and so the store just lost a lot of money buying an unsellable copy. We present these photos for you to study, hoping you can avoid the same fate. These could walk into your store or be sold on eBay or Craigslist as genuine, so beware.

Side by side, they look pretty good, right? Want to try to guess which is which?

(its on the right)

We’ll start with the most obvious detail, the serial number. Compare a real Jem on the right to the fake, on the left. Click for larger images.

Real

Fake

First thing you notice is, there is no serial number on the fake, much less any actual standard graphics, just a shoddy printed model number. This should have been a HUGE warning sign to this store. Any name brand guitar that is $2,600 should have a serial number. It is that simple. Even the name brand guitars that are $100 have a serial.

Significantly, you’ll also notice the fake’s tuning machines read “Ibanez” while the real ones are Gotohs. I’m not sure if they always used Gotohs or not, but the example is a current issue. You’ll also see the fake lacks the bolts that hold down the lock nut, and if you’re really observant, you’ll notice that the points on the far left of the real one are actually separate pieces of wood, while the fake is made from one piece.

Real

Fake

Do you notice how the monkey grip is routed differently? On the real one, it is square and only as thick as the top edge of the guitar. The fake ignores this and follows the contours of the body.

The next significant details is the pickups. First, very hard to show in a picture, the real one has “DiMarzio” inset into the top of them, but not colored in any way.

Other than that, check out these two pictures focusing on the pickups.

Real

Fake

Notice the middle pickup? The real one has normal slug style pole pieces, while the fake has gold poles. This is a common tell on fakes, something I’ve seen on at least two different fakes.Also notice the knobs. The fake has the more fancy gold knurled knobs, the real one has simple plastic white knobs. If you refer bak to the top pictures, you’ll see that the spacing of the knobs is also off.

Just a couple more things to look at on this one. The Bridge is important.

Real

Fake

The fake has a standard Floyd Rose, while the Ibanez has an Ibanez specific lo-pro edge trem. Accept no imitations.

Last one, the Headstock.

Real

Fake

Notice the “Jem” script? On the real one, it’s slim and elegant. On the fake, it’s the same font, but somebody hit the “bold” button.

These are some examples of how to tell the difference on a fake Jem, but it is only one of many fakes from many different factories out there. These are just some of the things you should look for.

This information is quoted from our Gearwiki. Please contribute your knowledge.

DATING IBANEZ GUITARS

An Ibanez serial number can tell you two things, year of manufacture and factory (or country) of manufacture. There is no master list to correlate to a model number, these are consecutive serialized numbers only. If you’re trying to figure out what model something is from the serial number, figure out what year it is then go to the catalog library for the corresponding year (or year before or after) to find the model. Some models will never be found in the catalogs, that’s just the way it is.

On typical Ibanez serial numbers the first 2 digits will indicate year, or the first digit will indicate the last digit of the year, but there are also some that indicate no year at all.

This page is for dating Ibanez guitars built in Japan only. See the Factories heading a few paragraphs down for little info on guitars produced elsewhere.

Before 1975 Ibanez did not put serial numbers on their guitars. Most just bore a neck plate simply marked Japan. The only way to date these guitars is to find out what years they were available and then comparing all the minute details like scripts, contours, and inlay variances that only the hardcore vintage gurus know.

1975 – Present

This old style serial number will either be on the neck plate or impressed into the back of the headstock. It consists of a letter, A – L, followed by a 6 digit number. The letter stands for the month, A for January etc., the first 2 digits will be the year, 76 is 1976, 96 is 1996, the last 4 digits will be the consecutive production number for that months production, 1356 would be the 1356th guitar produced that month. This form of serial numbering is still used today on guitars where the number is impressed into the back of the headstock. A761356 – The 1356th guitar produced in January ’76

1987 – Present

These serial numbers will either be on the neck plate or on a serial sticker affixed to the back of the headstock, with some models still following the impressed old school serial numbers shown above. There are many variables of numbering through these years and between different models and are broken down into 3 categories, stickers, plates, and the impressed numbers that follow the old school style detailed above.

HEADSTOCK SERIAL STICKERS

1987 – 1996
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We found a site the other day that sells counterfeit guitars of many major manufacturers, calling them “Ibanez Style” or “Classic Style” in the case of Gibson. We’re usually interested in giving a very detailed point by point look at a guitar if we happen to have one in our hands, but in this case, we don’t. We have just a few photos that aren’t all that detailed. In this case, I’ve going to give you an idea of what we’d look at if we saw a guitar we suspected was a fake. Understand that these guitars are rarely seen in guitar shops. Dealers deal direct with the manufacturer or authorized distributor. These counterfeits make it into the market by direct order from consumer to the counterfeiter or via unofficial channels such as eBay. As always, if you discover an eBay seller is dealing counterfeits, you can notify us at Gearsecure, and we’ll publicize it across our social network, get in contact with the manufacturer and do what we can to stop the practice.

I’m not going to tell you the domain. We don’t want to give these guys any advertising or traffic. Rest assured we’ll be contacting our contacts at the manufacturers in question to make sure they are aware of the site.

No surprise the site in question originates in China. Undoubtedly some of these instruments are in the wild around the world, including the U.S. When you read the site, you can tell that the copy is written by somebody who isn’t a native English speaker, though the grammar isn’t horrible. There’s hardly any Engrish to make fun of, though the copy is far from brilliant or professional.

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