Seymour Duncan pickups from AliExpress - are they real?

[fabi_exodus]

Hello, I just wanted to check if these pickups are real. Their reviews are good, the seller claims they're real of course and only one guy suspects they may not be real. The price makes me a bit nervous however. A used TB-4 goes for ~€70 where I live and here it's sold for €40. Can an expert take a closer look and help me judge if the price really is too good to be true?

Here's the link: https://m.de.aliexpress.com/item/10...&terminal_id=bb5246f7ed74492aa72eece4b2e62b35

Best regards

 

[AlexR]

Usually price is your guide. If it looks to good to be true it usually is.

Also, pics used in ads can often be of a real set, but what you get is not what is pictured.

 

[Securb]

Let me be the first to take the leap and say they are fakes. If budget is an issue I would suggest picking up some Duncan's on the used market, eBay, Reverb. There is very little that can go wrong with a used pickup. Typically it works or it doesn't. You may also want to look in the trade section of this website for used pickups.

 

[superpete]

100% fake

 

[Mincer]

I suggest you buy used from someone you trust, or from an authorized dealer. What you receive from that company will be100% fake.

 

[Aceman]

Yes the pickups from Aliexpress that say Seymour Duncan on them are real pickups.

 

[ICTGoober]

You'll get something real, just not the real thing you paid for.

 

[solspirit]

They are 100% fake. Like everyone said, go used if you want to save a few bucks.

 

[Securb]

Here are real Duncan's less expensive than the new on Aliexpress

https://forum.seymourduncan.com/for...an-rough-cast-magnet-jbs-for-sale-trem-spaced

 

[Artie]

See more Duncan's.

 

[Juanhanglo]

Really? You think you are buying legit products from china at prices that are lower than in america?

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Anything for sale on Alibaba that looks to be an American product is fake. Period.

Shenzhen is the counterfeiting capital of the world, producing "D'Addario" strings and "Gibson" guitars and even much larger items that are cloned from stolen plans, then sold under fake brand names.

 

[CaptainWhizz]

Aliexpress is the place people go to buy cheap, Chinese-made guitars with logos of respected manufacturers on; in fact, replace “guitars” with “handbags”, “watches”, or one of countless other goods.

I would bet good money that those are not real Seymour Duncans.

 

[Masta' C]

People buy those pickups and then resell on sites like eBay and Amazon regularly. Drives me nuts.

I STRONGLY recommend purchasing new pickups from authorized dealers. The small premium is worth the piece of mind and difference in quality. The knock-offs are NOT the same, even if specs appear similar.

 

[ehdwuld]

I got some knockoff pickups with similar specs
that were not branded as SD
Check out the Donlis brand on aliexpress
Those are nice potted pickups that aren't counterfeit

 

[CaptainWhizz]

There are pickup brands such as Iron Gear, Tonerider, Wilkinson, Entwistle, and Warman (sorry, I only know the UK ones) that take advantage of cheaper Chinese manufacturing, but are more reliable with better customer service.

If you are after cheaper pickups then they are worth looking into; I’ve seen people get some great tones with Tonerider especially, and Iron Gear. Assuming from the link you posted you’re German, I’m sure you can get those brands or similar from Amazon, Thomann, Bax, or similar.

 

[ehdwuld]

Fleor

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Tthe Chinese factories are quite capable of building a quality product. The thing is, they build to spec.
Often the spec is something along the lines of, "Make ten thousand of these as cheaply as possible."

Given detailed specifications for manufacture and quality control, what they produce can be excellent.
Tonerider is an example - good designs, and an owner who's over there to keep an eye on things personally.

 

[AdrianSD]

Don't risk it with Aliexpress & other well known counterfeit product sources. Besides, people should start to wake up to the fact that continuing to prop up the mainland Chinese manufacturers at the expense of others around the world is the safest way to continue putting all our eggs in one basket and sell of our children future to some dodgy totalitarian government and shoddy businesses with little to no regards to human rights, gentlemen agreements and rule of law. Yes, I know it's a political statement, whose purpose is to get people having a bit of perspective, not inflame the topic.

 

[Mincer]

Thing is, deals like that simply don't exist in the real world with actual products. If all you care about is the labeling (like many people do with clothes and shoes), it can work. But not when the product actually has to do something. Outside of looks, the minute you plug it in, you'd be able to tell it wasn't genuine.