Ethics of Fender Decals

[phatbass]

What's folks' opinions of where and when use of a Fender Decal (easily obtainable off eBay) is and isn't ok?

I've pretty well always been of the opinion that putting one on a neck, especially a non-Fender manufactured neck, is pretty much a no-no.

Lately however, with Fender licencing certain companies such as Warmoth, Mighty Mite, etc., I'm wondering if the issue is a bit less straight forward?

For example, I've got an early '70's Telecaster Bass. Over the years the original neck was replaced for some reason with a non-Fender neck. I've resisted doing the Fender decal thing, even though I'd like it to look more original, and I haven't been able to find a reasonably priced genuine Tele Bass neck.

Now I'm wavering - maybe if I'm buying a Fender licenced neck from Warmoth, Fender's getting their cut of the buck's, is it such a biggie? As long as I'm not trying to pass it off to a buyer as 100% original, of course.

What are people's thoughts on this general issue?

[throbgod13]

if you want to decal your neck, do it..

[DanGouge]

So long as you don't try to sell it as an original Fender neck (i.e.: commit fraud), I really don't see the problem.

[mongo2]

Down the road it's very possible somebody will wind up trying to sell a bogusly decaled "Fender" as the real thing.

[Meatrus]

I think its down to you to make up your mind on whether its ok or not. I cant imagine any one feels extremely against it, but there are a lot of Fender purists, so I could be wrong.

I see no problem with it, as long as has already been said you dont try to sell it as a Fender, it doesent make your neck a Fender neck of course, a Mexican person working on it does . I did it recently for no other reason than it just looks right., here it is.

[Ziltoid]

If you do not sell it saying it's a fender..why not?

As long as you're not counterfeiting, if a decal makes you happy, go for it.

[FL Knifemaker]

Here we go again!!

Being an educated consumer is a beautiful thing

[Richard Lindsey]

Originally Posted by phatbass

What's folks' opinions of where and when use of a Fender Decal (easily obtainable off eBay) is and isn't ok?

I've pretty well always been of the opinion that putting one on a neck, especially a non-Fender manufactured neck, is pretty much a no-no.

Lately however, with Fender licencing certain companies such as Warmoth, Mighty Mite, etc., I'm wondering if the issue is a bit less straight forward?

For example, I've got an early '70's Telecaster Bass. Over the years the original neck was replaced for some reason with a non-Fender neck. I've resisted doing the Fender decal thing, even though I'd like it to look more original, and I haven't been able to find a reasonably priced genuine Tele Bass neck.

Now I'm wavering - maybe if I'm buying a Fender licenced neck from Warmoth, Fender's getting their cut of the buck's, is it such a biggie? As long as I'm not trying to pass it off to a buyer as 100% original, of course.

What are people's thoughts on this general issue?

My take is that if Fender didn't make the neck, don't put Fender's name on it. Whatever deal they struck with Warmoth or whoever is irrelevant. You can bet that it didn't give Warmoth the right to use Fender's logo on their products, so why should it give you that right?

You may not misrepresent the bass when/if you sell it, but the next owner might. Especially when you consider that '70s Fenders, for reasons inexplicable to me but nonetheless operative, are becoming "vintage" items.

This is hardly the biggest issue facing people today, or even bassists, but the fact that you even asked suggests that you kind of have the sense it's not really kosher.

[Lync]

As a bass player, anytime you see someone with a fake or they admit it is a fake you should punch them in the face.

Seriously...just because you can doesn't mean you should. In the long run it makes things worse. Just like any scam does. It is like a virus that grows over time and adds negativity to the whole thing.

So...punch them in the face.

[pablo basso]

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by phatbass

Now I'm wavering - maybe if I'm buying a Fender licenced neck from Warmoth, Fender's getting their cut of the buck's, is it such a biggie? As long as I'm not trying to pass it off to a buyer as 100% original, of course.

What are people's thoughts on this general issue?

As long as you are not re-selling it as a Original Fender ,no foul.It`s your bass and you can do with it as you want.I just did a Warmoth build and it is officially licensed by Fender.I would sell it as a Warmoth build if I was selling it because that`s what it is.Fenders don`t stop being Fenders because you add a Badass bridge and Hipshot tuners.My bass has original `62 Fender pick-ups.But it`s still a Warmoth parts bass.Like FL knifemaker says,It`s best to educate yourself when buying.

[Sahm]

Do what you want. You're not a retailer like Warmoth, so you DO have more rights than them! You can rip the tag off your mattress if you want, you ain't going to jail. As far as this logic of not doing it so that future owners of the bass won't sell it as a counterfeit, ridiculous! By that reasoning, no one should ever make Warmoth basses with blank headstocks, because some unscrupulous future owner could just add a decal on it and pass is a real thing! It's not your job to worry about future evil intentions of some yet-to-be determined owner of YOUR bass.

[Pickebass]

It's not a Fender... no decal... Can't it just be a good bass?? Who should care if it's a Fender if you really have it for it's intended purpose... to make music??

[DeanT]

I'll never understand why people are so hung up on names. Why they care what it says on the headstock.

If you want your bass to be as historically accurate as possible, get a Fender Tele neck for it.

If it makes you feel better to have a Fender sticker in it, fine. Do it.

But, if you ever sell it, make sure you mention that it's not a 100% genuine Fender. Don't try to pass it off as a real Fender when it's not.

[RS]

Originally Posted by Lync

As a bass player, anytime you see someone with a fake or they admit it is a fake you should punch them in the face.

So...punch them in the face.

Wow, nice.

It's just a sticker dude.

[funk generator]

Im putting together a bass using a fender body, all parts neck, fender RI pickups. IM gonna put a decal on it. Allthough im thinking that bender decal is WAYYY cooler than a fender one

[baba]

As long as you don't sell it, do what you want. I think it's silly, but different strokes for different folks.

[Richard Lindsey]

Originally Posted by phatbass

What's folks' opinions of where and when use of a Fender Decal (easily obtainable off eBay) is and isn't ok?

I've pretty well always been of the opinion that putting one on a neck, especially a non-Fender manufactured neck, is pretty much a no-no.

Lately however, with Fender licencing certain companies such as Warmoth, Mighty Mite, etc., I'm wondering if the issue is a bit less straight forward?

For example, I've got an early '70's Telecaster Bass. Over the years the original neck was replaced for some reason with a non-Fender neck. I've resisted doing the Fender decal thing, even though I'd like it to look more original, and I haven't been able to find a reasonably priced genuine Tele Bass neck.

Now I'm wavering - maybe if I'm buying a Fender licenced neck from Warmoth, Fender's getting their cut of the buck's, is it such a biggie? As long as I'm not trying to pass it off to a buyer as 100% original, of course.

What are people's thoughts on this general issue?

Originally Posted by pablo basso

Nice one.

[michael_atw]

Originally Posted by Pickebass

It's not a Fender... no decal... Can't it just be a good bass?? Who should care if it's a Fender if you really have it for it's intended purpose... to make music??

Yep. That's a pretty good solution to just about every problem involved.

It makes me think about seeing someone putting Audi decals on their Honda Civic. In all honesty, I'm not really a fan of pretenders.

[Frettage]

Put the decal on it, and remove the decal if you ever sell it. Problem(s) solved.