Are amps less likely to be faked

[lzicc]

How exactly do they fill amps since they are sealed glass? Would it be harder to make counterfits since they are amps?

[Thegr8One]

nope lotsa amps are fakes
best bet is a trusted source

[symatech]

I figured they'd be faked less as well, however, it's not true. There are many fakes of amps out there.

http://www.macter.com/Sterile-Facility.htm someone on this board gave me this link a long time ago but I don't remember who.

[lzicc]

That link was very interesting to read. Alot involve to fill an amp. Thanks. I would have thought that what it takes to fill and seal those amps that it would be easier and more cost effective for a scammer to fake vials, just fill, crimp and label.

[The Baron]

You can buy empty amps and seal them yourself. It is quite easy. Doing it with consistent results is a bit harder and requires more sophisticated equipment. I thought about putting up some homebrew in amps, just for poops and snickers. I have two places I can get empty amps from. I'm sure a web search would turn up a dozen.

Back in the day, you could compare the tops... the shape of the seal, the height of the sealed amp, etc and it would give a fake away pretty easy. Usually faked amps were sealed by hand, using a small torch, rotating the filled amp by guess and by eye. The labels, too... some labels peel off, some won't, some tear up, some are on glossy paper, some are coated after application, some glues are water soluble and some aren't, some ink runs and some doesn't, some corners are cut square and some are rounded... all these little details would give away the fake. When the printing is on the amp itself, some flake off with a thumbnail, some doesn't. The font might differ. The height on the amp... genuine stuff almost always has the same exact height on the amp for the labeling. Under or over filling. I could go on. But now some fakes are really tough to spot, and popular amps are getting hit hard with counterfeits. Often a fake will have real gear... just not the gear that it is supposed to be.

[Reptile]

very intersting post. i cant imagine what kind of scumbag would go throught all that hard work and trouble just to rip someone off. you figure that by creating quality looking fakes that they would be spending a good amount of money anyways, and mine as well just sell the real stuff. But people are devious i guess an noone can be trusted. People who sell fake gear should be beaten to death.

[Seajackal]

A bump for this thread, interesting info, The Baron, thanks for that!

[xderekx]

You can buy empty amps and seal them yourself. It is quite easy. Doing it with consistent results is a bit harder and requires more sophisticated equipment. I thought about putting up some homebrew in amps, just for poops and snickers. I have two places I can get empty amps from. I'm sure a web search would turn up a dozen.

Back in the day, you could compare the tops... the shape of the seal, the height of the sealed amp, etc and it would give a fake away pretty easy. Usually faked amps were sealed by hand, using a small torch, rotating the filled amp by guess and by eye. The labels, too... some labels peel off, some won't, some tear up, some are on glossy paper, some are coated after application, some glues are water soluble and some aren't, some ink runs and some doesn't, some corners are cut square and some are rounded... all these little details would give away the fake. When the printing is on the amp itself, some flake off with a thumbnail, some doesn't. The font might differ. The height on the amp... genuine stuff almost always has the same exact height on the amp for the labeling. Under or over filling. I could go on. But now some fakes are really tough to spot, and popular amps are getting hit hard with counterfeits. Often a fake will have real gear... just not the gear that it is supposed to be.

interesting...
now...wouldnt the use of a torch heat up the entirety of the ampule causing the ampule to take a different shape? curious for this reason: please offer your thoughts baron...Counterfeit Question? Need Some Knowledge...

[The Baron]

Make yourself an alcohol lamp and practice bending glass tubing. You will notice that localized heat does not spread quickly in glass. You will also see what a delightfully pliant substance glass can be when heated.

An alcohol lamp probably will not get hot enough to seal an amp, but a blowtorch-type cigar lighter or pocket butane torch probably will. My understanding of the process is that a holder is made out of pipe or tubing, with a handle that won't burn the hand. The holder serves to keep the amp lined up in the same direction and in the same point in space as it is rotated. The open end of the amp softens and shrinks together, sealing the amp. The process ideally must be done quickly and with no nonsense. It would not do to heat the product up to its flash point, working around an open flame.