“Repro” Studs and Stops: How Can You Tell?
The are DMC stops. These are scary good repros. Not cheap either but, in keeping with the Japanese' uncanny knack for knockoffs, these are astounding.
Here's the Montreux "Time Machine" Stop. A good repro but you can definitely tell them apart from underneath.
Call them repro, call them replica, call them replacement or call them fake-which is, of course, what they are. They look nearly the same and, in some cases, exactly the same. They work the same and nobody will know. The plastic parts business for Les Pauls has become a cottage industry. Fortunately, most of us aren’tspending huge amounts of money of Les Pauls, so this problem doesn’t cause us to lose any sleep. The parts that are making me very nervous are metal. Stop tails and studs are the main concern but also pickup covers, pickguard brackets, screws and saddles. Tuners aren’t much of an issue, although there are real Klusons that are relic’d and even have the shrunken keys. How do you tell the difference between real and fake? The truth is that sometimes you can’t. I’ve gotten so that I consider every single part on every guitar I buy and sell to be suspect. This is why I like original owner guitars. In most cases, if I am looking at a guitar that has changed hands many times, the owner doesn’t have a clue what’s real and what isn’t. Fortunately, the really good fakes are fairly recent, so if an owner has had the guitar for a few years (and isn’t a liar) then I can be relatively certain about the components. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard…”the original owner told me it was a 65 and all original…” while I’m looking at a 68 with half of its parts changed. The first thing I look at when I go to see a guitar is consistency. Is the wear pattern reasonable for the year of the guitar and the overall condition. If the gold is gone from the tuners on a 345 but not the pickups, then there is suspicion. If the reverse is true, then it’s probably legit. The backs of the tuners see a lot less action than the pickup covers. On a nickel guitar, it’s tougher. You can look at how much shine or tarnish is there and make an educated leap based on the overall condition of the guitar. If the guitar appears close to mint but all of the parts are worn, you have to scratch your head and wonder. I look at the case. If the case is close to mint and the finish is too and the parts are worn, I might consider it legit. I’ve seen plenty of owners who play their guitars to death but take unbelievably good care of them. That red 59 ES 345 was played every day for more than 25 years but looked almost new. In any case, it should all make sense. When everything looks right, then it’s time to start taking things apart. Recently, I bought a set of stop tail studs from one of the big players in the fake market, DMC (Dead Mint Club). They were aged nickel plated steel of the correct vintage length. When I got them, I compared them to the real ones I had on my 61. Almost dead on. The only give away was the very slightest roundness from the top of the stud to the side. there should be a hard edge. And since studs have no markings -like a bridge would-it’s hard to tell for sure. In fact, it’s impossible. So, I go back to the guitar’s story. Does it make sense that the studs were replaced? Did it have a Bigsby at one point? That’s a pretty good indicator that they might be fake since they usually get lost. I picked up a stop tail from another manufacturer, Montreux Time Machine. These were very close but not dead on. The tooling on the back was ever so slightly different. The one from DMC was nearly dead on. There is some variation in the tooling marks on Gibson’s, so who’s to say that the DMC one you’re staring at isn’t correct? What to do? Go back and reread this post. Buying from a reputable dealer can be a start. I try to buy instruments that have had only one owner and are complete. I pay a premium sometimes but I know what I’m getting. The closer to mint a guitar is, the more comfortable I am that nothings been replaced. Also, the less the seller knows about guitars, the more I believe him. Most of these sellers wouldn’t even know that such good parts are available or even worth the money (“Hey, I’ll spend an extra $125 in case the buyer doesn’t think this Gibson Historic stop tail looks authentic enough…”) I think not. Fake plastic is another story all together.
Here are the studs on my 61 dot neck.
DMC Vintage Aged. These are awfully close.
