FAKE Guitar Strings

Today we take a look at fake guitar strings so you know what to look out for.
Specifically the fake Ernie Ball and D'Addario strings that are out there.
DON'T BUY THESE!!!

Timestamps
0:00 Intro
1:12 Ernie Ball
4:39 Ernie Demo
5:34 D'Addario
9:49 D'Addario Demo
10:59 Conclusion

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[SimonJ]

NGL. I never knew there were counterfeit strings and legit can't tell the difference at a glance. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. 🙏

[GuitarLessonsBobbyCrispy]

Wow, I've been using Ernie Ball Super Slinky 9's ( the pink package ) for about 20 years, and I didn't know there were knock off guitar strings out there! So far so good I think as they seem to have the characteristics of the real Ernie Ball's, and I bought them at legitimate guitar stores.

[AndersMcTee]

Now this is a good and informative video. I had no idea that counterfeit strings were going around. Explains why they’re so cheap on the bay. Thanks for the heads up. 👍

[KingGrio]

Don't hear a big sound difference on the Ernie Balls, but if my strings felt oily and cheap, deteriorated rapidly and had the wrong gauge (especially if I am using a floyd rose system setup for a specific gauge), I'd be absolutely furious.

[enarepee]

Maybe when doing aural comparisons that get squashed to similarity by YT compression, show the audio in a DAW one above the other to “see” the difference? Great video, thank you!

[Optiman]

Thanks for making us aware. I follow several of the string companies. I don’t recall any of them warning their customers about counterfeit strings.

[MrArg]

To take the "go a little further for quality" further yet, definitely give Thomastik-Infeld's guitar strings a try. The quality is out of this world, superb durability, and their golden zone of sound lasts much longer than most other brands.

[SMGMusic]

One of the most helpful videos I've ever seen regarding counterfeit strings, much appreciated.

[gameon]

Earnie Ball packages are clearly distinctable - the genuine one (greenish backhround, black text) from the fake one (yellowish background, greyish text)

[lukemorron]

Thanks KDH for uploading this video! 1 year ago I received a pack of fake d'addario strings from my friend who previously borrowed my guitar. I got suspicious from the quality of packaging and decided to open it today and noticed:
- the prints on the packaging are not crisp, not like the real deal.
- the glue on the back is way too thick and lazily smeared, like a hot glue gun apllied in a hurry.
- the inner packaging are folded inside, just like in the video
- unsurprisingly, the authenticity code is exactly the same

[johnmalcolm]

To say something is made in USA only requires a small amount of processing to really happen in the USA.
I am not putting the packaging on my guitar and I'm capable of wiping off oil.
The way to test dimensions is with a gauge. The way to compare tone is straight to the desk with no effects.
You could have set up a rig to compare measured tension at standard pitch and vibrating length.

[publicpeanutbutter]

Thank you for posting this video, your video helped us discover that we got counterfeit Ernie Ball regular strings. The counterfeit strings were of a different color, weird splotches of colors on the front and back, back of the string pack had an Eagle seal on it(real ones don’t have it), writing was much larger, string packets were thin and red was bright, holes in the packets, and the strings had tarnish on them too. We luckily got a new pack of the real strings and the guy that sold us the counterfeit now know they weren’t real and what to look for.

[bmanofrocketleague]

A quick tell for the ernies is the packaging has a triangle cut on the top and bottom and the genuine ones have straight
edges.

[SeanDS]

Holy crap, I'm just now realizing the only time I tried D'Addario strings, they were probably counterfeit... they were the cheapest I could find and I was underwhelmed by them. Lol sorry D'Addario, I'll have to give you a second chance 🙏

[nocarbonfootprint]

i worked for a company that sold strings that we called "ours". We bought them from the same place everyone else bought theirs.

[TheSavagederek]

The other thing that makes it difficult is if you are buying online, a picture doesnt show colours very well, depending on light conditions . I normally only ever buy from a shop due to the amount of fakes around . Sometimes the fakes arent any cheaper either .

[Joshcheyka]

I can definitely tell a difference in tone, the real strings of both brands sound almost 3 Dimensional compared to the fakes.

[Dav]

Yup, loads of sellers on eBay and Amazon selling fake strings, I got burned with fake Elixirs and Super Slinkies, the spelling mistakes on the back of the Ernie Balls were bad.

[whiskymylove]

Very much could be my smooth brain playing tricks but even on my phone i hear a slight difference between them

[richardpeetrinpeetrin]

I never buy strings online. I always buy my strings from a pawn shop. I have two opened packs of Ernie Ball strings. I compared the packaging side by side and YES, one is authentic and one is fake! I can clearly see the differences between the two, especially on the backs of these two packs. I can also tell the differences between the inner paper/red dye..and last but not least, the differences between the real Ernie Ball strings, and the counterfeit strings! The counterfeit strings are on my Kramer right now! I been having trouble with them, they are constantly losing tone, sounding very flat! I certainly know how to spot the counterfeit Ernie Ball strings now. Thank You,