I'm sure the chief exectutive or President of Fender wouldn't mind and a whole lot of other vice Presidents of one thing or another wouldn't mind. But I know form my time as a marketing manager, many years back for BT, that you have a budget to achieve various targets and when that budget is spent on individuals, you feel they are very much your own property, your own private realtionship. You get very close to the people you hire outside the company and try to get their 100% attention on what, togteher, you are trying to achieve. And you want everyone elese in the company to see that realtionship, and you want everyone in the market to see that this person thinks so well of your products and services, that they are backing you with their reputation, their street cred..
Because all these projects like the Urge bass come down to being the responsibility of a very small group of individuals (marketing manager, product R&D, production management) and with one budget holder. I don't think the Washburn project will fly. If I were at Fender, I'd tell Stu that you're our guy, when you speak at a show I want poeple to know you have only one loyaty - to Fender.
Think of your girlfriend going out with someone else on the nights you never wanted to go out with her anyway. It doesn't put you out, you wouldn't be seeing her anyway - but you'd still like to think her focus is on you alone? I can tell you for a fact that marketing managers want to work with people who are focused on their agenda - not moonlighting down the road with another manufacturer. They really do care and would be emotionally hurt by finding out someone you thought was on board with a product line for 17 years was actully developing a new business relationship with a competitor.
and a huge price difference new. While the AB40s and 45s were a special run during the early MTV unplugged era the others continued. 
