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Fender logos on Squier basses...
- Thread starter MarkoYYZ
- Start date
I used to struggle with understanding why someone would replace a Squier logo with a Fender logo for their own satisfaction, but then I realized there are probably a lot of guys out there who stuff a sock down their britches then hang out at home and look at themselves all day.
"Wow! Look at that! I have a Fender AND a nice package" said the sad panda.
"Wow! Look at that! I have a Fender AND a nice package" said the sad panda.
I realize this. It would still be a way to pass off a (mostly)Squier as a true Fender though. Just seems odd to me that everybody gets upset about changing logos, but no one cares if you just swap the whole neck.
For the record, I don`t necessarily support Fender logos on Squiers though. I really like the redesigned VM logo that was posted earlier(the actual vintage style Squier one).
Obvious MIA-owning gear-snob!
Personally my view and actions are rather the reverse. I just love tearing up the house with "SX" or "Squier" on the headstock of a bass I've finely tuned to be boutique. In fact I have this "real" $800 Fender acoustic guitar that needed some work and because I had a bunch of SX stickers left over from another project, it got one too! Still has the "Fender" store sticker on the pickguard but says "SX" on the headstock just to mess with gear-snob minds.
And that's what it's all about to me. Gear snobbery. If I put a fake Fender logo on my Squire would the MIA quality be so obvious that anyone could tell it's a fake like a Lincoln Navigator logo on a Ford Focus? ...which WOULD be cool IMHO. I don't think so. This is just gear-snobs trying to justify their larger expenditures. Cripes. When I play a lined fretless nobody (including many bass players) even notice it's a fretless bass let alone if it had a fake waterslide! On the other hand, if the headstock SHAPE isn't "Fender" then the gear Nazis are all over you. Heh, talk about FAKE! I've got an SX with the old "paddle" headstock I sawed into Fender shape and I never get a ripple out of the gear snobs when I play it. Now THAT is blatant fakery. And there STILL isn't enough difference between a real Fender and a $100 Chinese clone for anyone to easily notice. People come up and ask, "How old IS that Fender?" Tee Hee! I call that "funny"!
On the other hand *I* as a player can notice the difference between MIA, MIM, Squier, and Chinese clones. But a logo isn't about fooling me. So my advice is for gear-snobs to stop looking at headstocks and start listening to basslines! Those who think that anyone playing a Squier 'isn't serious about music' (as I've heard so many times) clearly aren't listening.
I've put a Fender decal on my Squier VM '77 Jazz. But only after replacing the pickups with new Fender Vintage ones, Fender pots and an original Fender neckplate. I'm planning to replace the tuners with Fender Vintage '70's, and replacing the Gotoh 201 it's got now with a Fender MiM one I've got laying around - everything but the wood and tuss rod will be original Fender parts. I know this doesn't make it a real Fender, and I'm never going to sell it as a Fender. I've kept the serial number and "Crafted in Indonesia" at the back of the headstock. You could argue that even if I sell it to someone as a modded Squier, that that someone could one day try to sell it as a real Fender. Even though I see a vague moral dilemma there, it won't be my responsibility. Not more than if I sold a bass with the Squier decal, and the buyer replaced it himself.
The reason I did it, is that I think the bass just looks better with a Fender logo. Call me a shallow gear snob, but I'd rather play live with something looking (and sounding!) like a Fender. But if I did nothing to the Squier except replacing the neck for a Fender one with a Fender decal, so that it played like a Fender but sounded like a Squier, it would somehow be OK with everyone. That puzzles me...
I would be really stupid to sell this bass; there's no way I could get back even the money I've spent upgading it. A new VM '77 costs about $520 here in Norway and when I'm done with it, it'll have cost me nearly $900 (before you scream, remember that everything needs to be imported, is more expensive here and wages are more than equally higher). Well, I could have bought a new Fender for that, but now I'm "making" one to my own specs instead. I would probably just get about $300 for it if I sold it, so I would have to be pretty desperate to do that.
Copyright laws (and even laws in general) seems to be very different here from the US - atleast from what I've read here. There is absolutely no way a company could sue me for doing something like this to a product I've bought and own. If I were to put an Audi logo on a Volkswagen, there is no one to stop me. If Audi sued me, it would have made the whole continent laugh. What I do with my Squier bass is completely my own business. If I were to do it commersially, it would be a totally different matter though - and of course - if were to try to sell it off as a genuine Fender. Which again, would be double stupid, since I would't even make a profit.
As for the OP's decal, I think it's a really great idea and would easily use one of them instead of a replica.
The reason I did it, is that I think the bass just looks better with a Fender logo. Call me a shallow gear snob, but I'd rather play live with something looking (and sounding!) like a Fender. But if I did nothing to the Squier except replacing the neck for a Fender one with a Fender decal, so that it played like a Fender but sounded like a Squier, it would somehow be OK with everyone. That puzzles me...
I would be really stupid to sell this bass; there's no way I could get back even the money I've spent upgading it. A new VM '77 costs about $520 here in Norway and when I'm done with it, it'll have cost me nearly $900 (before you scream, remember that everything needs to be imported, is more expensive here and wages are more than equally higher). Well, I could have bought a new Fender for that, but now I'm "making" one to my own specs instead. I would probably just get about $300 for it if I sold it, so I would have to be pretty desperate to do that.
Copyright laws (and even laws in general) seems to be very different here from the US - atleast from what I've read here. There is absolutely no way a company could sue me for doing something like this to a product I've bought and own. If I were to put an Audi logo on a Volkswagen, there is no one to stop me. If Audi sued me, it would have made the whole continent laugh. What I do with my Squier bass is completely my own business. If I were to do it commersially, it would be a totally different matter though - and of course - if were to try to sell it off as a genuine Fender. Which again, would be double stupid, since I would't even make a profit.
As for the OP's decal, I think it's a really great idea and would easily use one of them instead of a replica.
I agree with this. I'm a little surprised at some of the rationalizations being made here. I haven't read one yet that negates the fact that it's dishonest.
What about those who put fender decals on a warmoth or allparts neck? Many ppl do that and I never see folks telling them that they're being dishonest.
A few years ago, I built a parts Jazz with components from various manufacturers, and put a Fender logo on the headstock. Although some of the parts were Fender, having a corporate logo on the headstock didn't sit well with me. All that work just to make it look more mass produced and, at the end of the day, a fake? That bothered me. The logo only lasted about 24 hours before I took it off. Fortunately, it was an early '60s replica so the waterslide was on top of the clearcoat and came off easily, but yeah, I wouldn't advocate putting a different logo on one of these unless the logo's custom or matches exactly how it rolled off the production line. Sticking a fake Fender logo on there is still tacky and wrong IMO.
I bought a warmoth all done with an all rosewood neck and the previous owner put a Fender decal on it....I paid 200 to have the neck redone! If anything that decal downgraded my Warmoth! Every part on that bass is better then a Fender.
I just looked at my Jazz VM and I see that there already is a Fender logo on it; it says, "Squier by Fender". It even uses that cool font to spell Fender. Why would Fender object to anybody adorning a Fender-made bass with a Fender logo decal when they already put one on it themselves?
What do you care what some guy in Hoboken does to his bass anyway? Are you really that bored?
What do you care what some guy in Hoboken does to his bass anyway? Are you really that bored?
Next mission of the NSA ------- Fender decal police ! "let me see your bass certificate of origin" ----- SHEESH !
I've never felt the need to hide that I play a Squier. I've had plenty of people comment on how they like how it sounds, and always get a kick out of telling them its a Squier.
If Im fooled at what the bass player is gigging on stage, I dont think thats the same as if he stole my wallet.
I have a Squier. I'm going to put Ibanez on the headstock.
I'm a rebel.
I guess this is just as dishonest as placing a fake CL add saying a hot chick looking for a hookup is going to be at your gig.
Wait what!?!
I'm a rebel.
I guess this is just as dishonest as placing a fake CL add saying a hot chick looking for a hookup is going to be at your gig.
Wait what!?!
I suspect in a few cases here, "you shouldn't care what is on your headstock", is more accurately read as "I care so much about the name on my headstock that I paid premium for it and I don't like that you're getting the same decal cheaper!"
Just sayin.
Just sayin.
