The Great Ali Express Lottery

[NikNik]

Hadn't been on there for a while so spent a bit of time on there this morning.

Firstly, I noticed a lot of Fodera/Smith copies, more than I can ever recall, but also Alembic ones. This one caught my eye but I was alarmed by the state of the top veneer (and also that of the rear headstock), which looks like heavily stained burl maple.  Also, no description of what the active circuit actually does.

Then there's this Fodera-style Yin-Yang with its mis-matched 3-piece body with finish blemishes and stain leaching from the tip of the dark Yin section.

Next, this Smith-style. Doesn't look to shabby but no control knobs(?), no explanation of the circuit and the appalling way the harness and battery clip just hanging loose. And check the baseball-bat depth of that neck!

Finally, this little 'Ray copy. Looks ok, nice flame maple cap. Somebody took the chance and got a bass with no suspension springs and damage to the scratchplate.

I've bought three necks off Ali and they have been good. But when it comes to a guitar or bass, I'd save my coin.

 

[uk_lefty]

My view on it is if someone is going to make a blatant fake to knock out as cheap as possible they aren't going to be too concerned about quality control. 

*waiting for comments on Warwick vs Spector, etc. 

[Maude]

I see all these Chinese counterfeits as a bass shaped lump of wood with some rather nice templates for where the hardware goes screwed on. 

On arrival, pull the hardware templates off, give the body and neck a quick rub down and finish in your preferred colour, give the frets a quick tidy up and choose your new hardware to your chosen price point. If you can't do this then maybe Ali express isn't for you. 

I see it as buying a house or car from auction, you'll get something that is similar to what you eventually want but it will more than likely need a bit of work. If you're not prepared to do the work (or sub it out) then a standard retailer is where you need to be. 

On the plus side if you do expect to do the work, you might get one that doesn't need as much as you first thought and that's a real win. 

Once all done it might not represent value for money but that's the risk with all these ways of buying things cheap. You pays yer money, you takes yer chance. 

🙂

[TheGreek]

I bought one of the Alembic SC copies - without doubt the worst thing resembling a bass guitar on the planet. The tuners were made of something slightly better than silver painted plastic but only slightly. The veneer on the body was about the thickness of the lacquer, the body made from something other than wood. Pickups had no range at all.

I couldn't send it back quickly enough - seller managed to resell it for £100 more than I paid. I feel sorry for whoever paid with their hard earned....

Remember that "all that glistens...."

[afterimage]

I wouldn't bother  buying one 

[Grahambythesea]

May be Chinese Fakes should be treated like the Americans are treating Chinese Steel and whack a 25% import duty on them on top of VAT !