Is this guitar a genuine MM Axis?

[pillowhead4000]

Hi there,

I recently had the privilege of playing my friends MusicMan Albert Lee which was just a lovely guitar so decided to look at getting something in the used market to scratch the itch until I can afford a Bea Sabre down the line so I bought a guitar on eBay and afterwards started to feel suspicious about its legitimacy and was just wondering if anyone here can vouch for it. I'm pretty certain it is not real now but any confirmation you can all help with should help my case getting a refund through eBay. Obviously the fake guitar market is on the rise and we need to be more and more vigilant.

It is sold as an Employee Build with no serial number, is this something MM actually do? It says Brand: MusicMan Model: Axis.

What's your thoughts on it, I feel dumb for falling for it to be honest but I am just not hugely familiar with the MusicMan guitars but I am certainly going to be buying one in the future. Any help you guys can give me and things to look out for in the future would be greatly appreciated.

 

[beej]

Hi there- good idea to check first! It's a total fake. Full of red flags. There are a ton, but the most obvious ones to me are:

- The headstock shape is wrong and the logo looks like a decal (not silkscreened).
- The fretboard is cut out after the last fret for the truss rod (not how MM do it).
- The body shape isn't right (hard to tell if you're not familiar with these guitars, I know).
- The routing around the pickups is wrong (shouldn't be square like that around the tabs).
- The toggle switch is the wrong type.
- The binding around the top looks too thin.
- On the back, the neck heel is all wrong.
- The compartment covers on the back are the wrong size/shape/locations.

Anyhow, I'd run away from that one!

 

[Sweat]

Yep, no but hell no, the crappy headstock decal was an easy give away , how terrible a rip off that is

 

[Astrofreq]

Don’t feel dumb at all, we just know what to recognize. Stay away from that one.

 

[dibart77]

 

[tbonesullivan]

OMG. What IS that wood the neck is made out of?

Music Man Axis (Employee Build) Electric Guitar with case | eBay UK

This guitar does not have a serial number and is not marked as an official Axis model, though the general build quality and parts align with early Music Man practices. Given the unusual combination of features and lack of serial, this is very likely a non-standard employee build or USA...

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[pillowhead4000]

Thank you everyone for the reply, I really do appreciate the feedback and detail. I'm totally embarrassed I couldn't tell but thank you for helping me to recognise them. I'm going to just save my pennies and buy through an authorised dealer! Cheers all

 

[beej]

No worries- we’re happy to help. Glad you didn’t get scammed.

 

[GWDavis28]

Thank you everyone for the reply, I really do appreciate the feedback and detail. I'm totally embarrassed I couldn't tell but thank you for helping me to recognise them. I'm going to just save my pennies and buy through an authorised dealer! Cheers all

I'd say keep an eye on the for sale thread or on the Ebay thread, there are some really good deals that show up every now and then.

And Welcome!!!!

Glenn |B)