The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Counterfeit instruments and cheap horns

Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-01-12 02:33

My problem with counterfeit instruments is they're not only harmful to the reputation of the genuine companies, but also they're taking hard earnt money from unsuspecting buyers and they end up with a low quality knock-off instead of the genuine article.

I recently saw a fake Yamaha YTS-62 tenor sax that had numerous dead giveaways as to it being a fake to those who know what they're looking for, but there were some specific features copied that are only seen on Yamaha tenor saxes that show the fakes are getting better and better. They still have a fair way to go before fake instruments are almost indistinguishable from the genuine articles just as is seen with other counterfeit goods until you take a very close look at them.

While obvious fakes have laser etched logos, wrong model numbers and serial numbers, some of the more recent Keilwerth, Selmer, Yamaha and Yanagisawa fakes have stamped logos like the originals.

At the moment all the fake clarinets doing the rounds seem to be mostly copies of Schreiber-built Buffets (B12 and E11) even when engraved as Yamaha 250, Buffet Prodige or R13 which makes then easy to spot as there are always some glaringly wrong details.

If a fake was bought in good faith with the belief it was the genuine article, then the buyer often only finds out once they start having trouble with it and take it to get repaired where only then the reality hits hard. If the repairer has any scruples, they'd most likely refuse to work on it as they know it's got even more problems they're not willing to deal with, or they simply refuse to work on counterfeits out of principle. I personally wouldn't want to work on any counterfeits on principle as fake goods often have a very murky background which I don't want to be part of.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics