Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Fender Decals On Non-Fender Basses
- Thread starter JAUQO III-X
- Start date
- Status
How about a Fender bass with a different Fender decal? It's hard to find an MIM decal on eBay, and probably not worth jumping through Fenders hoops to get an authorized one.
How about a Fender bass with a different Fender decal? It's hard to find an MIM decal on eBay, and probably not worth jumping through Fenders hoops to get an authorized one.
I used the same example many pages ago. I don't like my MIM decal, the boring lettering and everything, and I'd like to put a classic "Fender Jazz Bass" decal on there. I mean, it's still a Fender, it's just not admitting to being Mexican.
Oh boy... some guys get really nuts over this topic.
If nobody is selling the instrument as an actual Fender, i dont see the problem.
Really, i dont.
This thread has inspired me to put a 'fake' Fender Logo on a real Fender...that will show them.
Moral of the story: If you are buying a bass...check the serials, neck stamp, pots, etc to be sure it is legit. Do what you want with your own bass....just be honest when you pass it on...and ask the buyer to do the same when he passes it on.
Moral of the story: If you are buying a bass...check the serials, neck stamp, pots, etc to be sure it is legit. Do what you want with your own bass....just be honest when you pass it on...and ask the buyer to do the same when he passes it on.
eSmith - a bumper-type sticker provided with the purchase of a new Fender instrument is not the same as brand / product-labeling. I think you know this, and I appreciate the argument you're making, but it is not the same. Labeling the headstock identifies the product as being a product FROM FMIC, whereas the sticker is designed so folks can identify with the brand. Your argument is like say it is okay to slap a Porsche logo on a Hyundai because Porsche T-shirts are sold.
Is it unethical to put a logo of a more expensive brand / product onto a product of lesser value to appear more impressive? Absolutely. I'm sure the FMIC attorneys would have something to say that it is more than unethical.
Chebass88
No, I guess just you. ..... Leave them laughing. .....
PS: They're decals, the stickers are on your lunch box. .... LOL
is this ok?
I like that! It pays homage to an icon and gives the headstock the "right look" yet doesn't proclaim to be something it's not. Well done!! [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Putting a decal that's the signature logo to identify a Fender on a non-Fender instrument is wrong. OK, so the person putting the decal on the neck never tells anyone it's Fender- but the very presence of the decal DOES represent it as such. And the guy he sells it to doesn't either. Nor does the woman the second owner sells it to. But then somewhere along the way an unsuspecting person buys it from an unscrupulous seller, thinking it IS a legitimate Fender. Therein is the problem.
And, the logo are NOT (well, maybe now, but I don't pay attention to new stuff any more) silkscreened on to the headstocks. The old ones were definitely decals. And that in no way is the same as slapping the bumper stickers that FMIC gives away on a car or your lunch box. There's a very clear difference between the headstock logos function and form and the freebie advertising stickers. That's a blatant straw horse you're arguing there.
John
And, the logo are NOT (well, maybe now, but I don't pay attention to new stuff any more) silkscreened on to the headstocks. The old ones were definitely decals. And that in no way is the same as slapping the bumper stickers that FMIC gives away on a car or your lunch box. There's a very clear difference between the headstock logos function and form and the freebie advertising stickers. That's a blatant straw horse you're arguing there.
John
,
Thanks, I like a name on the headstock.....and well I had a Waterslide decal left over from a refin of a '71 p-bass....
It;s gonna be on my build that I'm currently working on, link in my sig.
On topic, I personally would never put a logo on an instrument that wasn't that specific brand.
I had a jazz bass, and the neck broke on it, so i bought a good squier neck to replace it, and i want to sand off the logo and put on a fender one.
so its more of a replacement logo in my eyes, its still a fender, and its just a different neck. you dont put a Nordstrand logo on a headstock when you put in new pickups.
so its more of a replacement logo in my eyes, its still a fender, and its just a different neck. you dont put a Nordstrand logo on a headstock when you put in new pickups.
I've never put a Fender logo on a headstock, but if I owned a bass with a naked Fender-shaped headstock I would. They look like crap without them.
And if someone had something self righteous to say or wanted to judge my morality because of what I did to my own bass, I'd invite them to share it with someone who gave a ****.
And if someone had something self righteous to say or wanted to judge my morality because of what I did to my own bass, I'd invite them to share it with someone who gave a ****.
People do it to try to pass off cheap basses as Fenders. To me, it's like putting a Mercedes emblem on a Yugo.
Someone on TB pointed out in a similar thread a few years ago that it just might be illegal to put anything else on a Fender-licensed neck. Meaning that maybe the idea is for the headstock to be bare if it's a Fender-licensed replacement. Might be why Allparts doesn't have any logos of their own for their necks (but Warmoth does, so... )
Anyhow, after reading some of the analogies here (fake Rolex... fake Gucci... fake Armani... fake Mercedes) lol, you'd think that bolt-on slab bass was an Acacia or something
Let's come back down to earth. I wouldn't put a Ford decal on a Dodge or Chevy. Wouldn't put golden arches on a Burger King. Far better comparisons to Fender/non Fender than most I'm reading here.
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.
Not the same. If you imprinted zildijan on the cymbals, THAT would be the same. And, it would be so uncool that even your dog would be ashamed to be seen with you.
BZZZZT! WRONG!
Sure the NAME doesn't say "Fender". But there is much more to this than that! For example the headstock shape itself is a copyrighted Fender Logo. It's a violation of copyright law to copy that shape! Hey I mean since Fender stole that shape from other "scroll design" basses and got away with it, that means that they have the right to stop anyone else from stealing it too! And that goes for the font of the "Fender" name even if it doesn't actually spell "Fender".
Point is in court they'll argue that the average person can mistake the fake for real Fender and thus is an infringement!
Obviously selling fakes for monetary gain is the worse of the worst, but if you are an artist and someone copies your work to tap into the fame and recognition that the original artist (you) have rightfully earned, is that right? Of course this is little better than a "tribute" band. But I'd point out that there is a mechanism in place to remunerate the original song writers.
If Fender was smart they'd be selling "genuine" Fender stickers, decals, necks, headstocks or whatever at excessive but not outrageous prices to tap into this market and get paid for their creativity rather than suing everyone in sight. Wouldn't it be cool if you could go to the Fender website and for $20 order ANY era Fender logo?
If I was doing a build with a mix of different pieces and there were enough genuine Fender parts in the finished project, I would consider adding a Fender logo. If someone built a really cool modified car with aftermarket parts, I wouldn't expect them to forgo a logo just because the wheels weren't stock.
On the other hand, I once got a great deal on an interesting fraudulent neck on ebay. I didn't buy it as a genuine Fender neck and the seller didn't exactly try to disguise the fact that it was fake, but I'm sure someone could have been fooled and that would not have been very cool. The bass I built with it was one of the greatest sounding basses I have ever owned.
So: tribute logo = ok, fraud logo = not.
On the other hand, I once got a great deal on an interesting fraudulent neck on ebay. I didn't buy it as a genuine Fender neck and the seller didn't exactly try to disguise the fact that it was fake, but I'm sure someone could have been fooled and that would not have been very cool. The bass I built with it was one of the greatest sounding basses I have ever owned.
So: tribute logo = ok, fraud logo = not.
- Status
