potential bootleg "mid 70s" Elk Fuzz Sustainars

[Chankgeez]

If by some insane outside chance someone was genius enough to recreate these that well, it's worth the same amount as an original.

Not sure I agree.

[retinal orbita]

I have a friend that bought a triangle muff, mint condition, for $25 in a yard sale with a bunch of mic cables....

[Jwar]

If by some insane outside chance someone was genius enough to recreate these that well, it's worth the same amount as an original.

Not sure I agree.

I agree with it to a certain extent. I mean look at how many people clone stuff already. If the builder went through the trouble of literally building it component by component the exact same way and the same stuff, then in theory it's the same pedal. Now the price for this pedal alone is crazy.

I wonder if there's a way to have it looked at by a pro that can tell you if it's real? I mean does that exist in the pedal world??

[Chankgeez]

I wonder if there's a way to have it looked at by a pro that can tell you if it's real? I mean does that exist in the pedal world??

A "pro" what?

If someone has seen enough of the original Elk Sustainars, they'd probably be able to tell by examining it.

Also, what I've quoted above, to me, is something someone who's guilty might say to justify something they've done. (Not saying that's the case here.)

Forgery is forgery.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fclaJK5KDU[/youtube]

[Scruffie]

The knobs are modern MXR, even if they were vintage MXR didn't start production until 1973, not 72...

That PCB material looks incredibly thin for that period.

Solder oxidises, those joints are fresh.

[danieldanger]

I mean it's not like that doesn't happen. A guy in Italy found a stack of NOS Melos ring modulators and has been selling them. I bought one and it's incredible.

But I don't think that's the case here.

[Derelict78]

^ this is what I was thinking unless they were stored in a vacuum I can't see them being 30+ years old.

[culturejam]

If by some insane outside chance someone was genius enough to recreate these that well, it's worth the same amount as an original.

Not sure I agree.

I agree with it to a certain extent. I mean look at how many people clone stuff already. If the builder went through the trouble of literally building it component by component the exact same way and the same stuff, then in theory it's the same pedal.

I agree that painstakingly recreating a vintage product is expensive and has its own value. And cloning is totally legal and legit in almost all cases. But to sell that recreated item as if it were the original is straight-up fraud. Doesn't matter how nice or accurate it is. If you sell something as original and it's not original, that's fraud.

[Confuzzled]

I did get a message from the original poster last month when he wrote me with a theory about bootleg Elk Fuzz Sustainars. My take is that these are completely legit. The one that I bought from Japan for $950 was sold for $1150 and then resold to Kit Rae. So Kit can ultimately make the call on that unit but I'll say this; nearly impossible. If by some insane outside chance someone was genius enough to recreate these that well, it's worth the same amount as an original. If it's that indistinguishable from an original give this bootlegger a prize and job!
I worked in guitar shops throughout the 1990's, back when the Japanese used to keep American guitar shops open by showing up once or twice a year and draining them of the coolest gear, spending $50k, $100k in an hour and leaving. Japan is a stockpile of the best and rarest guitars, amps, and pedals. So it is not a stretch at all that a Japanese collector finally let his 5 or 6 mint condition Elk Sustainars out for profit. It is also not a stretch at all that somewhere in Japan a small crate of originals was discovered in a warehouse.
It's a constant surprise to collectors just how many of these rare holy units are actually out there, always more than riginal previously believed. They start surfacing when the prices reach a point of interest. That's one of the bonuses of high prices in the vintage fuzz pedal market-- it motivates people to keep digging them out and finding them.

I can attest to what jex is saying regarding the Japanese market. I used to work for a Japanese music store in nyc called dr. Sound on Wooster street (part of Kurosawa co.) and my bosses used to travel the u.s. buying Vintage American made gear and shipping it back to Japan. They would show us images of 70's starts hanging in the front windows of butcher shops next to dead ducks and pigs and would tell us that owning vintage gear was a status symbol for folks over there. Whether or not the pedals are original I couldn't say...

[Chankgeez]

Yeah, I don't think the intricacies of the Japanese market are in question.

[danieldanger]

i posted some photos here. let me know what you guys think. i mean, i WANT this to be real. ive just had enough red flags and its selling for enough that i feel its worth questioning.

http://imgur.com/a/6ZSZF

[culturejam]

I'm certainly not a vintage fuzz expert, but that looks like it might be real. The caps look right and I'm not sure where anyone would get those resistors with the coating on the leads (the vertical resistors). There also appears to be some oxidation on the inside of the case.

Again, I'm not an authority on this kind of thing, but just taking a quick look makes me think it could be legit.


The jacks look kinda new, but how long have jacks looked like that? How long have effects pedals used a stereo jack as a means to kill the battery when nothing is plugged into the input? I honestly don't know the answers.

[danieldanger]

it is however, very useful knowledge that 3 of the ones ive seen for sale arent identical looking, theyre actually the same pedal. useful info.

[whiskey_face]

looks legit to me but if im spending 800$ its on a few V4s and a 30 pack or something not a fuzz pedal

also you would think if you were gonna clone something you would clone muffs? way more popular?

[D.o.S.]

A) I'm kind of with Scruffie -- intellectually I find it hard to believe those knobs are from a vintage pedal. But it seems so stupidly obvious...


B)

I missed the 20 Jazz Funk Greats reissue when TG reissued them in 2011, couldn't find it ANYWHERE despite picking up the other reissues relatively easily and they instantly went for $80+ on discogs, and walked into a record store last month and they had forgotten to put out a set of them. I picked it up for retail. Total score!

So. Jelly.