I'm writing this thing where someone is lent an expensive guitar, it gets destroyed, and he tries to find a replacement and pass it off as the original. He's compared the two, and can't see a difference.

Is there anything on your beloved guitar or bass that maybe someone else wouldn't pick up on, but that you would instantly spot if someone replaced it? Other than serial numbers.

I think it would be pretty obvious right away by differences in weight, feel, sound, etc. But I almost always mod my stuff, and I'd open it up and recognize someone else's soldering/wiring job. (it would probably look neater than mine..)

also, for the sake of this thought experiment, I imagine no two people wind their strings the exact same way.

Dudley wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 12:24 pm I'm writing this thing where someone is lent an expensive guitar, it gets destroyed, and he tries to find a replacement and pass it off as the original. He's compared the two, and can't see a difference.

Is there anything on your beloved guitar or bass that maybe someone else wouldn't pick up on, but that you would instantly spot if someone replaced it? Other than serial numbers.

I would have absolutely no problem picking my own guitars out of a lineup.

First thing would be the setup. I'm fairly specific with how I setup my guitars and while I'm sure someone could duplicate how I do it, it would be pretty hard to get right without actually having a guitar to base it on. I play mostly 10's (11's on some guitars) but I always swap out the low E from a 46/48 to a 50. I would think many people wouldn't notice this but I'd spot it immediately if someone didn't get this right. I'm also pretty specific in how I wind strings and would notice right away if it was done by someone who didn't do it exactly like me.

After that, weight and feel. No two guitars are identical and they get less identical the more you play them. Guitars scratch easily and I've never seen one that has been well played that doesn't have dings/dents and general signs of age and use.

The other thing would be mods. Many if not most guitar players modify their guitars to their liking. At work, I'm constantly doing it for other people. This can be major like routing for different pickups or custom paint but can also be much subtler. A change in string tree. New nut, new saddles. new pots and switches etc... Most of this stuff type of stuff wouldn't be terribly noticeable to most people.

Streaks in the wood in a certain area. Specific wood grain in an area. The nut material/color and how it's cut. Finish damage, specifically checking. String gauge/material/ball ends if it was loaned and given right back.

If you want specific examples:
Vintage Jazzmaster: refin in a very specific color with grain that you can feel. Crazy light and resonant.
AVRI Jazzmaster: has a streak in neck grain in a specific place.
AVRI Tele: missing logo, has been refretted and a couple of the fret ends are a little sharp in winter months. Specific body damage.
AVRI Thinline: pickups look stock but aren't. Different Kohms.
Franken Strat: Volume all the way off reverts to full volume for some reason. Additional routing under pickguard.
Other Strat: has so many odd and specific mods. Additional routing mistake under pickguard.
Fender VI: this one is harder. Specific gauged strings. Replaced pickups. Multi-piece body in a specific noticeable place.

elisha wiesner wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 1:08 pm I play mostly 10's (11's on some guitars) but I always swap out the low E from a 46/48 to a 50. I would think many people wouldn't notice this but I'd spot it immediately if someone didn't get this right.

I wish there were some 10-50 gauged string set options, especially in pure nickel. Sadly, the only thing I can find is the very not common and expensive Eric Johnson GHS ones. I've compromised for ease sake and now use 10-48 Ernie Ball nickel wounds. But they deaden pretty quickly.

My '92 Jazzmaster was stolen from out practice space in 1996. I found it at a pawnshop about a month later, someone had Installed a second tone knob for the bridge pickup and moved the jack to the side (worst location for a jack) like a Les Paul. The Serial Number has also been scratched off, and the Pawnshop dude was argumentative about me proving it was mine since I had no identifiable way to prove it was mine so I called the cops. I had a police report and on the police report I had noted that it had a tiny Ninja face sticker on it in the description. It was still on the guitar. The cops took the guitar, and about a year later, I got it back.

The sticker is still there.

Why?
Thanks. little dude!

tommy wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 2:56 pm

elisha wiesner wrote: Fri Dec 10, 2021 1:08 pm I play mostly 10's (11's on some guitars) but I always swap out the low E from a 46/48 to a 50. I would think many people wouldn't notice this but I'd spot it immediately if someone didn't get this right.

I wish there were some 10-50 gauged string set options, especially in pure nickel. Sadly, the only thing I can find is the very not common and expensive Eric Johnson GHS ones. I've compromised for ease sake and now use 10-48 Ernie Ball nickel wounds. But they deaden pretty quickly.

I just buy regular 10-46 sets and a 50. It means I waste a 46 every time I change my strings but there's no other way to do it.

I remember neck dings. For instance, in 1993 my band was doing one of those big, semi-destructo endings. My guitar was leaning against something feeding back and the drummer knocked over a cymbal stand (I don't know if it was on purpose or not). The edge of the cymbal hit the back of my guitar neck and took a little chunk out. It's right at the third fret area on the side of the thicker strings.

I still have the guitar and I play it regularly. This divot has become an unintentional reference point. If it wasn't there, something would feel wrong. If someone tried to recreate it, my guess is that it would feel different. I'm thinking that every guitar that becomes a close instrument to someone has details like this that would be very difficult to successfully counterfeit.

I was going to say action, but (apart from one of my guitars which I need to adjust the nut slots; where the hell have I put my stupidly expensive slot cutters? I cannot find them!! It is so annoying!) the weather this year seems to provoke fairly regular shifts anyway!

I'd be very suspicious of anything that played too well.

Also, it should smell of lemons.

Are we talking visually, or by the way the guitar feels or sounds? Visually, it’s pretty easy for me to identify my instruments by dings and irregularities. If I were blindfolded that’s another thing. I have a couple old Guilds where the finish has worn/flaked off the neck that I’d pick up on. But my newer guitars (a tele and Rick 12 string), no I don’t think I could tell if they were swapped out with another, if the setup was reasonably close to the original.