Fender Decals On Non-Fender Basses

[Waterpilot]

Fender is riding that name recognition train too. All Fenders that aren't pre-CBS Fenders are "fake" Fenders...

CBS paid for that right didn't they?

 

[aborgman]

The biggest issue Fender has with J or P inspired basses is to not make a copy of the headstock.

Just recently Fender unsuccessfully attempted to sue Lakland, Sadowsky, Spector and so many more for making Fender style bodies.

The biggest thing Fender has is any case they can win.

The reason they only go after the headstock folks is because the courts slapped them down on body style due to lack of enforcement.

Gibson has actually successfully sued regarding body shape.

 

[THand]

CBS paid for that right didn't they?

Sure did. But they aren't the basses that made electric bass become known as "the Fender Bass" in studios, and they aren't the basses that made us think that a P bass or J bass would sound perfect. Those were the "real" Fenders, built under Leo. All other eras are copies (if you don't like the term "fake"). Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise. The exception I would throw into the mix would be a CS Fender, especially if you ordered a CS built exactly the way they used to. This is why the vintage Fenders are so high. They ARE special. What is for sale today is a good bass, but not anything special, thanks to CNC technology and job farming.

Heck, I love my Ibanez ATK's...but they are really Corts with a different sticker. Cort has made their share of Fenders too(and put on Fender logos, with permission of course).

Today, it is almost like the movie Armageddon, when the guys says "Russian chips, American chips, all made in Taiwan"! Cort builds damn near everything coming off a manufacturing line.

 

[Gort]

The reason they only go after the headstock folks is because the courts slapped them down on body style due to lack of enforcement.

Fender had the foresight to trademark the headstock shape and decals but they missed the boat not trademarking the body shapes.

 

[Gort]

Good try, but still twice as many letters as, "so".

I do my best, but I'm afraid never top the master of the succint.

But my screen name is one less letter than your's, so there.

 

[BassNoob1]

I know a guy who put a Fender Jazz Bass neck on another kind of bass he had because he liked the feel better. His headstock had the Fender logo on it.

 

[JAUQO III-X]

The reason they only go after the headstock folks is because the courts slapped them down on body style due to lack of enforcement.

I know.

 

[DougD]

I bought a Squier VM Jazz off of a guy on craigslist. The guy put a fender logo on it. I'm probably going to remove it and leave it without a logo.

I don't really care if some uneducated gear snob has something to say about me playing a Squier and I think its pretty lame to try and pass one off as a Fender.

I gigged a VM Jazz for about a year. It was one killin bass Absolutely no one looked at my bass and said "too bad it aint a Fender"

 

[JAUQO III-X]

I gigged a VM Jazz for about a year. It was one killin bass Absolutely no one looked at my bass and said "too bad it aint a Fender"

I play various none Fender basses. And no has ever said "so sad that you're not playing a Fender"


And for the record I do own and play Fenders on occassion.











I'm also a Fender endorser.

 

[eSmith]

Gort, (If That is your real name.... )


How much are you paying Ed North? Or, since you are not profiting from his creation, do you feel it is ok to appropriate his IP?

-eSmith.

 

[THand]

I play various none Fender basses. And no has ever said "so sad that you're not playing a Fender"


And for the record I do own and play Fenders on occassion.











I'm also a Fender endorser.

That's a unique looking Jazz bass you're playing. Did you design the paint job?

 

[JAUQO III-X]

That's a unique looking Jazz bass you're playing. Did you design the paint job?

I got the bass new old stock in 1981 or 82.

It's a 71 or 72 but I have done so many mods to it over the years.


It originally had a chocolate finish.

Black pickgaurd.

A maple fb.

Blocks and binding.


As time went on the mods started.


I ended up stripping the finish. It even had my girl friend at the time name carved into the upper horn.

I had the fingerboard taken off and a gaboon ebony fb attached. The luthier who put the fb on it messed the skunk stripe up by dropping some type of chemical on it. So I had to have a new skunk stripe added.

Then I had a high gloss finish put on the neck except for the front of the head stock.

I added Bart pickups.

A Audere pre and a Hipshot D- Tuner.

And the marble finish on it was done by Jens Ritter of Ritter guitars.

I forgot with the Hipshot D-tuner I replaced the remaining three machine heads with Hipshots as well.

And in the early 80's I added a Badass II bridge.

 

[DougD]

I play various none Fender basses. And no has ever said "so sad that you're not playing a Fender"


And for the record I do own and play Fenders on occassion.


I'm also a Fender endorser.

Yes I hear ya I got a bad case of wander lust and sold it. Big mistake.


I REALLY wish they made a 5 string version of this (with white blocks) I'd buy 2

 

[Gort]

Gort, (If That is your real name.... )


How much are you paying Ed North? Or, since you are not profiting from his creation, do you feel it is ok to appropriate his IP?

More bull.

You keep spoutin' it, I'll keep callin' it.

 

[DougD]

Mods to that bass were Audere pre, Hipshot tuners and D-tuner and straplocks. Sounded and played better than my USA FMT jazz V.

 

[dls59]

Yes I hear ya I got a bad case of wander lust and sold it. Big mistake.
View attachment 192527

I REALLY wish they made a 5 string version of this (with white blocks) I'd buy 2

Get an SX, put a Fender waterslide on it, and you've got it.

 

[THand]

I got the bass new old stock in 1981 or 82.

It's a 71 or 72 but I have done so many mods to it over the years.


It originally had a chocolate finish.

Black pickgaurd.

A maple fb.

Blocks and binding.


As time went on the mods started.


I ended up stripping the finish. It even had my girl friend at the time name carved into the upper horn.

I had the fingerboard taken off and a gaboon ebony fb attached. The luthier who put the fb on it messed the skunk stripe up by dropping some type of chemical on it. So I had to have a new skunk stripe added.

Then I had a high gloss finish put on the neck except for the front of the head stock.

I added Bart pickups.

A Audere pre and a Hipshot D- Tuner.

And the marble finish on it was done by Jens Ritter of Ritter guitars.

That's awesome!

 

[JAUQO III-X]

That's awesome!

Thanks.


I forgot with the Hipshot D-tuner I replaced the remaining three machine heads with Hipshots as well.

 

[bassbenj]

Gort, (If That is your real name.... )

How much are you paying Ed North? Or, since you are not profiting from his creation, do you feel it is ok to appropriate his IP?

-eSmith.

Interesting and sort of relevant fine point. While Ed North wrote the screenplay, it was based on the short story by Harry Bates. But Bates had used the name "Gnut". So is changing "Gnut" to "Gort" the same as putting a Fender logo on an SX? Clearly there is some IP "adjustment" going on even here.

 

[Gort]

Interesting and sort of relevant fine point. While Ed North wrote the screenplay, it was based on the short story by Harry Bates. But Bates had used the name "Gnut". So is changing "Gnut" to "Gort" the same as putting a Fender logo on an SX? Clearly there is some IP "adjustment" going on even here.

A finer point is I'm not selling anything, unlike those selling fraudulent decals.

The current holder of the "Gort" trademark is not Ed North according to the box of the GORT figure my son purchased for me as a birthday gift a few years ago and now sits next to my computer and is the first thing I saw when picking a screename for this site.