beatles mono box how do you spot a fake?

Thanks, Stanshallogist.
Does this apply to the fake mono box only, or does the fake stereo box also have 'Cors'?

 

Sorry Jim, What do you think of this link, http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/forum/cd/...x1644M2PK83APR ? Is it likely a fake was in amazon.co.uk ?

So just to confirm, no paper sleeves with the mono past masters ?

 

Bought my Mono Box off ebay, it ended up being a fake, here were my findings:

1. Print on outside back sheet was perfect.(Thought it was good so far!)

2. White box was sturdy.

3. Font on hard days night was identical, 'mono' text staggered and all.

4. White Album text embossed.

5. All printing was high quality, no smell.

6. Sound was perfect mono, all legit tracks, no skipping etc.

Now the give aways:

1. Discs had small ring near centre, not solid black to centre like picture posted earlier.

2. No paper inner sleeves.

3. No plastic outer sleeves.

4. MMT book was not attached to gatefold sleeve, also no slot to place disc into.

5. Two mispellings on white album discs.

Overall it was an excellent fake, had I not read up on what to look for, I may never have known it was fake.

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks , i'm pretty sure mine is legit. been getting a little worried and obsessive about it.

 

That link doesn't work.

Look, stop worrying!

There were no paper sleeves with my mono past masters (bought from HMV on the day of release).

 

Try this link Jim

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/forum/cd...BSHXJA&cdSort=oldest&cdThread=Tx1644M2PK83APR

Is there no defiant way of telling its legit ? Serial number etc ?

 

I can't explain how that person got a fake from Amazon. It seems they sent her a proper version anyway. I can only think someone conned Amazon - i.e. they ordered the mono set, then for some reason asked Amazon to send it back for a refund but sent back a fake instead, therefore swapping a fake for a genuine product. And Amazon put it back into stock.

But I really think you are getting far too obsessed and should stop worrying

I don't know about serial numbers, but a sure sign that a product is a fake is on the actual disc, the last cm or so in the middle, it has a chinese symbol and a number like CC303.

CC303, or something very similiar, identifies it to a (pirate) pressing plant in China.

A legit copy won't have this, just the usual matrix info curved around the hub.

 

OK Jim. Would this be on the top of the disc in the centre ?

 

http://www.elisanet.fi/soininen/PINK_FLOYD_Oh_by_the_Way_COUNTERFEIT.html

 

Thats for the Pink Floyd boxset.

 

I can see the china code in the centre in your post. Thanks.

 

The outer box sizes vary, too. I'll check mine when I get home - I have some real ones & several counterfeit boxes of varying quality. Some are pretty high quality but the box is fatter.

 

I've looked at a couple of discs and the bottom has on one L153 and the other has L154. Is that a good ?

 

I found these matrix codes on a previous post -

The flac rips also say channels 2 (stereo). Odd ?

Matrix numbers for The White Album (mono):

CD 1: 6994612 2
CD 2: 6994622 2

Mine white album was the same bar the second disc which was CD 2: 6994622 1
Also a couple of my disc's have the odd light scratch. Is this normal ? The odd scratch i guess is ok.

Does this sound ok ? Going a bit mad over this.

 

Jim, does this sound ok ?

 

Gbeer - PM coming.

 

Your rips would say 2 channels as CD spec is two channels. With the mono discs they should be two identical channels though. Like playing a mono record through 2 speaker rather than 1.

 

Thanks Mike. Do the codes sound ok ? I shouldn't need to check all the disc's ? To be honest, it was in plastic film when i bought it and it don't come from Amazon.co.uk direct. Also looked at clips on youtube of the real thing and looks ok. Think i'm going mad !

 

I bought a fake stereo box from someone on ebay, so I do sympathise. Let me have a look and compare.

 

Mine is 6994622 2

Do you have all the inserts: the poster and photos in the White Album, the black inner sleeves for the same, the cut outs and the psych sleeve for Pepper? Are the poly sleeves reasonably sturdy or very thin and wrinkled (like some clear inner sleeves on 70s vinyl)?

I also have just poly sleeves for Mono Masters.

Anyone else have a 6994622 1 for the second disc of The Beatles?

 

I have all the sleeves, cuts outs and the poly sleeves are sturdy. Is mine code wrong then ?

 

I saw this link

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/archive/index.php/t-193773-p-5.html

and his white album has the same code i think, take a look. Does that mean mine's ok ?

I think i'm being silly. I did buy it from a big company, Amazon.co.uk.

 

If you got a bogus mono set, you would know it. I was there when an acquaintance broke the seal on a fake set and the contents looked horrible - the CDs were out of order, some upside down, the plastic covers were crooked, some of the sleeves cut irregularly...contrast that to how beautiful a real set looks when you open it.

I haven't seen a fake stereo box, so I can't comment.

 

I think your right. I think it looks good, arkworks good, proper sleeves, plastic slips for CD's is firm, cd's don't have the circle like a CDR....etc. Do you think the CD codes are ok ?

I suffer from servere OCD and i think this could have latched onto this box.

The chance amazon.co.uk sent me a fake is slim i guess.

 

Yeah, it's slim. The extras being present and in good shape is a very good sign. That the matrix code on one disc being slightly different is not outside the realms of possibility. Can you post a scan of the playing face of the 2nd white album CD? I got stung by a fake stereo set on ebay, and the typeset on the playing side was clearly different to what I saw when I got some genuine stereo CDs. Also the fake stereo set I had had some clear issues, including many typos.

There are a number of options you have to really put your mind at rest: phone MCPS who can give you the number or name of an organisation that would be able to confirm this for you. It's FACT for DVDs (I sent one to them once to confirm it was legit) but I can't remember who deals with it for CDs. Look on the Apple website for an email address and tell them your concerns and mention the matrix number - it may take a week or so, but you should get a reply. Or compare it to another legit copy. I can see how the OCD might not be satisfied by a slightly different number though! But do post or PM a scan of the play side.