I was at a flea market today. As I was walking around the event, I noticed this guy was offering this Fender Stratocaster for sale. It looked very-very clean. I asked to check it out. The guy was going on and on about it.
 
The thing was, this was not a true Stratocaster. It was some sort of an imitation. Why? Yes, it had a Fender Stratocaster logo, nicely lacquered on the headstock. But, it had no serial number. The tuning keys were not Fender or any other keys that Fender ever used. The neck plate did not have a Fender logo on it, which is not always the case. But, it was tarnishing. Fender neck plates of the years this model would have been created, did not tarnish. Plus, it did have a nice hard-shell case, but it was not made by Fender.
 
I asked how much. The guy was asking a thousand dollars. A fair enough price, had been real. But, it was not. “That’s about what I paid for it,” so said the guy selling it.
 
Now, I guess I believe that the guy believed he had a real Strat. But, it was not.
 
Just a bit of a backstory here…. I have been collecting, working on, creating, and, of course, playing guitar forever. So, I know the game. And, really coming up in the 1980s, a lot of guitars were very nicely faked. I mean, especially when it comes to Fenders, all someone has to do is to put a Fender logo on the headstock and if it is professionally lacquered into place, it looks very good. But, if you know what to look for, it is easy to see the flaws in the imitation.
 
I mean, now, there are even all of those fake Chinese-made Gibson guitars that are produced and brought into the U.S. From a distance, they look pretty good. A lot of people have sold them, and the buyer believed they were buying a real Les Paul. But, for anyone one who knows, they know, and can easily tell why they are not the Real, U.S. made instrument.
 
Hell, I had a very good friend, Kris Derrig, (RIP), who came to be one of the most revered and sought-after creators of replica guitar of all time. And, he passed away before he ever knew his impact. Sad… Not to mention another close friend who simply makes great guitars, replica and otherwise. So, I know the game.
 
But, in many ways, that is not even the point to all of this. That guy believed what he believed. At least I believe that he believed what he was offering was real. But, whomever created that guitar and had sold it to him as real, sold him a replica. It was not a real Fender Stratocaster. But, maybe someone will buy it, thinking it is real. Thus, they bought into the lie. Maybe someday they will try to sell it as the Real Deal, as well. But, it is not. For how long will the lie be transmitted?
 
This is something you really must think about as you pass through your life. Is what you believe the truth? Is what you tell others, based upon what you believe, the truth? Or, is what you believe not true and thus what you are saying and telling others false? If so, what is the karmic consequences to all of that? What will be your karma be for you spreading a lie based solely upon what you believe to be true, but it is not?