Fender decals on not-really-Fender basses

[Habilis]

Should I have a problem with this? In these forums, and in the classifieds, I have been seeing a lot of either Squier (not "Squire," you dorks!) basses or "Franken-basses" where the owner has done a fair amount of upgrading of parts (pickups, necks) etc., and then slapped a Fender decal on the headstock.

Generally, the owner has been pretty above-board about noting that the bass in question is not a "real Fender," unlike every ad for a Fender I've ever seen on Craigslist (*Invariably a "Squire"), but still, this just doesn't seem entirely kosher to me.

First of all, why would you do something like that unless you were trying to convince people it's a Fender?

Second, sure YOU might be up-front when you're selling it, but what's to stop the next guy you sell it to from reselling it as a "real Fender?" How much responsibility should the original decal-swapper bear for this?

I'm not trying to get anyone in trouble here; this is more of a philosophical question I had that I thought I'd put to my TB colleagues.

[bongomania]

Just FYI, we've had this discussion a thousand times already, and it always gets ugly. I'm not challenging your position, only warning that this landmine-strewn field is well known to the natives.

[king_biscuit]

Originally Posted by Habilis

First of all, why would you do something like that unless you were trying to convince people it's a Fender?

You wouldn't. /thread

[smcd]

This will get ugly fast.

[cybersnyder]

I put a Ferrari badge on my Pinto and now I get chicks!!

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by Habilis

First of all, why would you do something like that unless you were trying to convince people it's a Fender?

There are plenty of people who are self-conscious about playing Squier instruments (Squire for any dorks out there), so maybe they slap a Fender decal on there to make themselves more confident around the gear snobs. Your second point is certainly valid, though.

[king_biscuit]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

There are plenty of people who are self-conscious about playing Squier instruments (Squire for any dorks out there), so maybe they slap a Fender decal on there to make themselves more confident around the gear snobs. Your second point is certainly valid, though.

Then his first point is valid too. Because the purpose is to make other people think its a Fender.

[Habilis]

OK, I will close this thread if it gets what I would consider ugly.

[smcd]

[tjh]

just for clarification ... everybody that is a dork does not always misspell Squier ... and everybody that misspells Squire is not nescessarily a dork ... and then not everybody that changes logos on Squiers is considered a dork if they correctly spell Squier ... but because they change the logo to impress people, they do kind of look like a dork ... so I guess that maybe if you buy a Squier and tell people that you bought a Squire and then change the logo so that nobody knows you bought a Squier, including the people that you told you bought a Squire, they are probably dorks too??

I sand logos off of basses because I like to ... and I own them, so I can ... in fact often times, I take knobs off too, I am a minimalist ... I do not put Fender logos on, in fact I bought a bass once that was Squire (I am a dork, so I guess I better start spelling the way I am supposed to) that had a Fender logo on it, and I sanded that off too ... again, because I could ... I like keeping things mysterious, so when people see no name on the bass (and probably no knobs), they have to come and ask me what kind it is ... and I can tell them "I dunno, I bought it at a pawn shop for 50 bucks" ... then they can tell me about the ***** brand they play and feel superior about it ... I like to help people feel good about themselves ... especially when everybody else tells them they are dorks ...

[Geroi Asfalta]

If you're like me, and refinned a few necks, and the squier logo came off, I think it's alot easier to find a fender logo compared to a squier logo. I can't have a bare headstock.

[tmw]

Too funny!

Originally Posted by cybersnyder

I put a Ferrari badge on my Pinto and now I get chicks!!

[SasquatchDude]

Definitely not cool by my book. Only time I'd consider putting on a Fender decal is if I were building a "Frankenbass" entirely from genuine Fender parts, and the original logo was lost during refinishing.

Otherwise, I'd much rather be seen playing a "cheap" Fender copy than knowingly try to pass off a knock-off as the real deal.

[Not yet]

Was tradin in some gear at GC last weekend and the couple in front of me were trading in what looked like a nice sunburst strat to go for a PRS.

Ask the salesman how it turned out and he says when they looked at it it was just a fender decal.....older couple had just bought off Craigslist for too much money and were crushed

Kinda where it goes (manytimes) at the end of the day

[RaginRog]

Originally Posted by smcd

My goodness...that is such a tiny Rolls Royce, but I'd still pay $130k for it.

[cybersnyder]

If had a Squier and the decal bugged me, I'd just put a piece of electrical tape over it and say my endorsement deal requires me to hide the Fender logo. More mystique and much easier.

[PerlNinja]

I've got a Fender decal on one of my Corts...

[pklima]

I liked that "Squire by Fenda" decal somebody made. Sadly it was just a Photoshop, but I wish it was real. If you're gonna be fake, be so blatantly fake it's funny.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by tjh

just for clarification ... everybody that is a dork does not always misspell Squier ... and everybody that misspells Squire is not nescessarily a dork ...

But everyone who misspells Squier is a dork.

[pklima]

Actually, forget Fender. I wish I had some decals that said "Fendi" in the Fender-style script. That would confuse everyone.