Created and maintained by Ken Rodenas
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The magic, heart and soul of
I regret to have to even create this page, but as pick collecting has grown in
popularity, pirates and bootleggers hoping to take advantage of unsuspecting
fans have begun to surface in recent years. Please note the years listed below
represent approximately when the fakes first began to surface, not the year of
the corresponding |
KNOWN FAKES !!
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1996 "Destroyer" drumsticks |
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| These particular picks began surfacing in the western Kentucky, near Paducah and Louisville around the time of the Reunion. The same person would also later bootleg early tour picks (shown below) and fire helmets. These are made by the same company that made Peter's early sticks, but the font is enlarged and not the right color blue. In some instances, the bootlegger stained the sticks to make the appear in older. In addition to traditional length sticks, he also had pairs made in an 8" promotional size. The Cappella company confirmed the machine they use to print the logo shown here was not yet available in the 1970's. |
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1997 "Lost Cities Prototypes" |
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These are often called the "Lost Cities Tour prototypes" by collectors because they were made in late 1997 during the Lost Cities part of the tour and allegedly Ace decided not to use them. However, these colors and prism pattern were not even available until after the tour was over, and neither Ace nor the techs ever remember seeing and evaluating them, suggesting they may have been made after the tour was complete for some other purpose, but they were not prototypes shown to the band. No doubt these picks were made at D'Andrea, but why and by whom are a mystery. |
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Herringbone prism on transparent green (only 72 made) |
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Herringbone prism on transparent cranberry (only 72 made) |
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Herringbone prism on transparent blue (only 144 made) |
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Herringbone prism on transparent orange (only 72 made) |
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Herringbone prism on transparent magenta (only 72 made) |
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1998 "CONVENTION" |
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Could you imagine |
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1999 "COTN TOUR" |
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Multiple clues to this fake,
although it is difficult to tell from this smaller scan. The
plastic is too white, the signature is too thick and is pad printed, the ink
is glossy and the jagged edges of the |
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2000 "ALIVE TOUR" |
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This one shows up every couple of years. The lettering is not spaced properly and the wrong "I" font is used. In the second scan, you can see they scraped off the extra lines at the top and bottom of the "I", as well as an attempt at making the pick look played. Problem is, Paul is not a shredder on the guitar, and rarely does he ever (at least purposely) turn the pick and play with the top portion. In addition, the print is too glossy and these fakes are pad printed, whereas the authentic picks were stamped. |
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2000 "ALIVE, DESTROYER AND LOVE GUN TOURS" |
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These particular picks began surfacing in the western Kentucky, near Paducah and Louisville. Given the striking similarities to the other fake Alive! picks, perhaps the others originally came from this same source? On the Alive! and Destroyer picks, an incorrect font is used for the "I". Note the smudging on the logo side of the Destroyer pick. Most fakes will smudge easily. The signatures are way too dark and way too thick on the Love Gun picks. I do not know what gauge or type of plastic these are printed on. |
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2000 "PSYCHO CIRCUS TOUR" |
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This pick surfaced toward
the end of 2000, two years after the Psycho Circus tour was already over. |
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2000 "FAREWELL TOUR" |
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A couple points to make. The pattern and logo on the Peter pick is exact to the transparent green ones he made up for the tour, which uses his Reunion signature. All the others use the Spencer's signature used early in the tour. I have not seen these in person, but my guess is the ink is pad printed. I received confirmation from Paul's tech that these picks were NEVER made by the band! |
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2001 "McFarlane" |
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Made in the USA, these colorful "copies" were patterned after the silver on black McFarlane Alive! figure picks. They are blank on the back just like the original McFarlane picks. |
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2001-2002 "UNMASKED" |
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This pick began surfacing in
Germany toward the end of 2001. It was represented as a rare 1980 Unmasked
tour pick. No doubt, it was patterned after Bruce Kulick's ESP
picks. The signature does not match any of Paul's other picks nor has |
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2001-2002 "DYNASTY" |
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These picks also began to surface in Germany toward the end of 2001. Note you can almost see through to the other side. That should not occur with bone picks, which is the material the real Dynasty picks were printed on. |
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Great efforts were made to "weather" both sides of the Gene pick to make it appear concert used, although you cannot see that detail in this small scan. The Gene pick is also a thin gauge pick, which Gene has never used. |
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2002 "DESTROYER" |
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Similar to the fake Dynasty picks, this is printed on the same thin material as the Gene Dynasty pick. You probably cannot see it in the scan, but when titled in the light, this pick shows literally thousands of scratch marks on both sides of the pick, like someone rubbed it on its face up and down a fret board about 50 times in attempt to make it look concert used. |
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2002 "ERIC SINGER" |
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This pick is hot stamped! So watch out folks. The bootleggers are becoming more sophisticated. However, there is no ink or foil in the crevices, which is why the signature appears faint in this scan. The signature is identical, although a tad smaller, than Eric's Japan and Australia picks from the Farewell Pacific tour. This one first surfaced in Texas with about 15 others, and then again in southern Maryland by the handful. |
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2002 "FAREWELL TOUR" |
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Similar to the "Lost Cities" Reunion tour picks, among the best fakes ever made. No doubt these picks were made at D'Andrea, but why and by whom are a mystery. Multiple sources have confirmed they were not commissioned by Ace or the band. Moreover, the circle-dot foil print contains tiny pinhole imperfections, suggesting a rush job. Both of these sets initially surfaced in New York in 2002, but the second set of AFB picks arose again in mass quantities in Henderson, NV in the Spring of 2005. |
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2004 "WORLD DOMINATION TOUR" |
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These began to surface in the Chicago area in the Spring of 2004. Blank on the back. |
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2004 "ROCK THE NATION TOUR" |
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At the conclusion of the tour, a black
on pearl pick bearing the  logo on one side and "Rock
the Nation 2004 World Tour " on the reverse began to surface.
These picks were ordered by a "shady" crew member (not one of the techs)
looking to make some extra cash from the Mexican locals at the end of
the tour. They were manufactured by InTune Guitar Pick Company. Paul and
Tommy's techs both confirmed these were not officially commissioned and
were made without the knowledge or consent by anyone associated with the
band. |
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2004-05 Fan Picks |
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These are not really fakes in that they do not attempt to duplicate
authentic band picks. Nonetheless, they are not sanctioned or
licensed by the band and an unsuspecting novice might sped their hard
earned money thinking they are an official
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2005 "1970's PETER CHRIS DRUMSTICKS" |
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These drumsticks surfaced in Houston, TX. The logo and name are lazered into the wood, a technology unavailable in the 1970's. Peter's name is spelled incorrectly and the sticks are longer than a standard 2B size with giant beads on the end. Pairs were made in both nylon and wood tips. |
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2005 Coloured PICKS |
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Made and sold on eBay in the UK, these picks are blank on the back. Although
the official
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2007 "Live To Win" PICKS |
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Made and sold on eBay in the US. These cheap photo picks are not sanctioned or licensed by Paul and an unsuspecting novice might spend their hard earned money thinking they are an official Live To Win product. They aren't.
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| Thanks for visiting my site! |
| Email address: krodenas@fuse.net |
| ©
1998-2008 Ken Rodenas
All text and photos posted on this page are the sole property of Ken Rodenas. Any copying, reproduction or use of these texts or images without the express written consent of Ken Rodenas is strictly prohibited. |
