Fender Decals On Non-Fender Basses

[eSmith]

I already knew you couldn't buy a Fender neck with a Fender logo from AllParts. I kinda just let you run on for a while.

So what? who cares? it does not in any way indicate the legality of putting your fender sticker on whatever you like. It is totally irrelevant and means nothing. What is your point here? Because your vendor doesn't sell a product labeled the way you like the rest of us can't slap a sticker on it anyway?

Thats just wrong.

And why would Fender sell stickers? they give them away free with the products..... why would you want to buy them? What does Fender giving away stickers as opposed to selling them have tio do with us sticking them on things?

Talk about wandering around aimlessly trying to find a point to make.

I think you are just trying to be argumentative...... You go run with that.....

-eSmith.

 

[Burlington]

Probably, but why not just saw the old headstock off and glue it on the Warmoth?

wut

 

[sleepy_monkey]

I have seen guitardists with Fender stickers on their cars...does that mean they are trying to sell their car as a Ford Fender or a Fender Explorer?

 

[Burlington]

When questioned, every single one of them will admit, with embarrassment, that the guitar isn't a Fender.

Why would that cause one to be embarrassed? If I were to do it, which I just may, I would have no problem saying that the neck was Warmoth, AllParts etc but with a Fender logo.

People really get bent out of shape over this stuff

 

[RBrownBass]

I wanted my car to appear like it was really fast, so I bought some really large numbers for the sides and top. In addition, I put a bunch of commercial stickers on the front quarter panels. I also painted some flames on the side. People think it goes really fast now. I also added a rear spoiler. Yeah, I know it adds downforce to the rear wheels & I have a front wheel drive car, but ya gotta look fast. Sure, it isn't a racing car, but everyone on the street thinks it can go really fast. But whatevs, even thought it has less than 150 hp, it gets me to work on time.

Speaking of time, I bought this really awesome watch on the street for like $20. Sure, it turns my wrist green, but it does have a five-pointed crown on the crown and the name in all capital letters. People congratulate me on my style all the time. They call me Bond. Not the newer Bond, who wears that Greek-letter watch, but the older one, who wears the Submareener just like this awesome one I scored.

Since Christmas is coming up, I decided to buy my wife a purse. I got this great deal from the local store. I got my wife one of those bags with all the C's on it. At 1/10th of what they cost at the mall. What a deal - I will totally score by giving her this present. All her friends will envy her at the local PTA meeting.

I got a fast car. I got a watch that looks like it cost me 2 months pay. My wife carries a fancy purse. My bass that I cobbled together out of parts? Why shouldn't that look authentic like the rest of my life?

Only one example, and the worst of the bunch.

A better one is below:

I guess that's like if your your car gets in an accident and the hood or trunk gets replaced with plastic/fiberglass or after market parts you wouldn't put the logo back on to make it look like before?

Maybe. Depends on the make, model and aesthetic vaue of the car. If my car had been improved with aftermarket parts, I'd probably use the logo of the parts manufacturer.

This is why Allparts needs to do a logo of their own- I've owned several B/B Allparts necks and wouldn't dream of cheapening any of them with a Fender logo. I have a Fender Geddy body with a (Fender... NOT Squier) Jaguar neck, and I put a 70s style Fender logo on that neck, but it's a Fender neck with Jazz nut width. Frankly, that's about as far as I'd go. That project allows people to see that I'm playing a Fender and it didn't cost a lot.

I have a Fender 70's Jazz. The neck is broken.

Asking for opinions here, if I replace the neck with a blocked and bound Warmoth neck would it be unethical to put a Fender decal on it?

You already know you have a Warmoth neck and not a Fender neck, so this isn't really about you. Whoever plays your bass will be able to judge it on playability and quality, so it's not about them, either. What's left is the opinions of people who will only see your bass, perhaps on a stage or in your garage.

So now you've got to choose who you'd rather impress- people who have heard of Fender or people who are familiar with Warmoth's products. The latter group is small, knowledgeable and consists mostly of builders (whether for a living or for their own instruments) and musicians. The former group consists of groupies, teachers, dancers, preachers, PTA moms, pizza delivery boys, builders and musicians.

That said, FMIC can probably help you out with a replacement neck if you provide proof that the neck is theirs. I'd try that first. Note that I said "probably"- I don't know for sure what their policy is wrt replacement components. If for some reason you're set on having a Fender, try that. If you're more interested in giving credit to the people who made the fantastic neck you have, buy a decal from Warmoth. The guy who recognizes it will probably know a bit more about basses in general than the average guy who recgnizes the Fender logo.

 

[chokeslam512]

People put Fender decals on non-Fender basses so in fifty years when we are all gone there can still be threads on TalkBass asking if a certain bass on eBay is real and 38.3 "experts" can chime in and display their omniscience in the way of Fender instruments.

 

[SchizoBassist]

I have seen guitardists with Fender stickers on their cars...does that mean they are trying to sell their car as a Ford Fender or a Fender Explorer?

No, just the bumper

 

[eSmith]

I have a zildjian Cymbal case. I keep a few Sabian Cymbals in there.... I guess I should be embarrassed as I am obviously trying to pass them off as zildjians...... Maybe I should polish off the Sabian logos to complete the fraud.....



-eSmith.

 

[DwaynieAD]

Only Fender products should have Fender logos on them.

then shouldnt fenders have cort logo's on them?

and can i put a fender logo on my cort?

 

[smcd]

That has to do with supply and demand. If Fender sold replacement necks(like they sell replacement pickups) They'd be comparably priced with AllParts, just like their replacement pickups are comparably priced(You can get a J-set from Fender or Dimarzio for about $100, Fender is a few $ more). Getting a neck from a specific time period is much more expensive than a replacement. Same goes with cars, crate engines are cheap compared to actual era. But a crate from GM will be relatively priced to another manufacturer that does oem crates.

Supply and demand is not the reason in itself.

Let me rephrase for clarity - "Why would someone pay more money for a lower quality vintage part if they could buy a nicer identical part, brand new, for less?"


People desire vintage Fenders. REAL vintage Fenders. That's why people make counterfeits.

 

[RBrownBass]

Why would that cause one to be embarrassed? If I were to do it, which I just may, I would have no problem saying that the neck was Warmoth, AllParts etc but with a Fender logo.

People really get bent out of shape over this stuff

I understand why they do- the Internet has helped people who think Leo's "magic" is anything other than schematics and solder to unite and use their superior numbers to devalue anything that doesn't have that logo. Here's some tactics I've seen here:

Own a Lull/Alleva/Sadowsky/Grosh? "Leo did it first, and when I want a Fender, I'll buy a Fender"

Own an Alembic/Ken Smith/Fodera? "Coffee Table"

Own something with more than five strings? "Serve the music"

Own a bass with proper neck alignment? "Ain't no money above the first five frets ennyhow"

Not everyone has to play into their hands, but sometimes it's easier to buy a Fender than to defend what you did buy.

 

[smcd]

So what? who cares? it does not in any way indicate the legality of putting your fender sticker on whatever you like. It is totally irrelevant and means nothing. What is your point here? Because your vendor doesn't sell a product labeled the way you like the rest of us can't slap a sticker on it anyway?

Thats just wrong.

And why would Fender sell stickers? they give them away free with the products..... why would you want to buy them? What does Fender giving away stickers as opposed to selling them have tio do with us sticking them on things?

Talk about wandering around aimlessly trying to find a point to make.

I think you are just trying to be argumentative...... You go run with that.....

-eSmith.

"Stickers"... ??? What?? We're not talking about stickers. We're talking about Fender headstock decals.

First you said that people can buy genuine replacement Fender necks with Fender logos on them. That was false.

Then you said that Fender sells headstock decals. That was false.


I'm not being argumentative, I'm correcting falsehoods.

 

[smcd]

I have seen guitardists with Fender stickers on their cars...does that mean they are trying to sell their car as a Ford Fender or a Fender Explorer?

I saw a car with a sticker that had the word "Jesus" inside the outline of a fish. I pulled up next to the car, but there was a fat lady inside, not Jesus.

 

[DwaynieAD]

here is in this moment covering blondie

 

[smcd]

Why would that cause one to be embarrassed? If I were to do it, which I just may, I would have no problem saying that the neck was Warmoth, AllParts etc but with a Fender logo.

People really get bent out of shape over this stuff

They're embarrassed because it's a cheesy move, and they know it. If you have no problem with Warmouth, AllParts, etc..., why bother putting a Fender logo on your headstock at all?

 

[SchizoBassist]

And this?

 

[SchizoBassist]

I saw a car with a sticker that had the word "Jesus" inside the outline of a fish. I pulled up next to the car, but there was a fat lady inside, not Jesus.

I thought Jesus was in the fish?

 

[Burlington]

They're embarrassed because it's a cheesy move, and they know it. If you have no problem with Warmouth, AllParts, etc..., why bother putting a Fender logo on your headstock at all?

I like the look of the Fender logo. When I build a Warmoth, it will be my dream bass that Fender never built. I'll have a Fender logo there because, well, honestly it fits the headstock. I don't find it "cheesy" at all, and would not be embarrassed whatsoever to tell everyone that is not in fact a Fender.

 

[john_martin_sai]

Necks are easy to take off to check a date stamp/serial etc....

Ever wonder if those are being faked too?

 

[GeneralElectric]

That has to do with supply and demand. If Fender sold replacement necks(like they sell replacement pickups) They'd be comparably priced with AllParts, just like their replacement pickups are comparably priced(You can get a J-set from Fender or Dimarzio for about $100, Fender is a few $ more).

Fender used to sell replacement necks. They were very expensive compared to everything else. They were good necks but did not delineate between Jazz and Precision basses.

As for the Fender logo thing:
I've had two things that I've sold with the Fender logo that weren't Fenders. One was a fretless ebony jazz neck modelled after an early 60s Fender neck. It had a Fender logo on the headstock and didn't look anything like the actual Fender one. It was clear coated on and looked fake. (The font was too big and the slightly the wrong style, and the lettering looked cheesy)

The other was a replica 1958 P-bass made from Fender parts. The builder put a Fender logo on it, or maybe the previous owner did. It looked like the real thing from 3 feet away. I disclosed that it was a copy. I didn't like the fact that it had a fake neck plate saying it was a 58 nor did I like the fact that it had a fake date stamp in the neck pocket.

I own an old vintage P-bass with a July 62 Fender jazz neck on it. The restorer applied a period correct Fender P-bass logo to complete the look. I don't have a problem with it. Everything but the pickup is a Fender part.

I own a parts P-bass made from a bunch of Fender USA parts and a JV series neck that was stripped and refretted with brass frets. I wanted a logo for it and at the time I could only get a Fender styled logo. I thought it looked sort of weird without a logo and I figured that it'd look weird without it. If people ask, its a parts bass. Its all Fender parts, with the exception of the neck (even though it was manufactured by Fender) so I didn't see a problem putting a decal on that either.

I also currently own 3 other parts basses.

One is a custom jazz with a warmoth neck. Nothing on it is Fender so it has a flying monkey decal from the Wizard of Oz.

I own a FrankenFender jazz. Really the only Fender part is the body and some hardware. The neck is from a VM Squier. The other parts are, arguably, better than Fender components (audere preamp, vintage spec pickups, high mass bridge, etc) When I got it, it had a Fender logo that wasn't clear coated on to it. It fell off most of the way. I haven't had a desire to replace it. The Squier logo and s/n are on the back of the headstock.

I own another parts P-bass currently being built. I got a second JV series neck for cheap ($20 on CL) and I put that on an American Fender body I had stripped natural. The bridge and strap buttons are Fender but none of the other parts are. My friends are making the bass a collage of their artwork. Each person, including myself, is painting a section of the bass. I plan on painting the headstock with a giant eye with the pupil being the string retainer.I have no plans on putting a Fender decal on it.

I have a problem with people putting a Fender decal on a bass thats just a parts bass without any Fender parts in it, or is just a run of the mill Squier with a changed logo. As long as it is disclosed however, I've had no problem buying basses that aren't Fenders with Fender decals.