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Tape Over Logos

I think it's fine, would never have a problem with anyone doing it and can understand why some people would choose to. We live in a brand-obsessed culture and it's getting tiresome seeing logos on headstocks, pickups, bridges and other hardware parts. If a pro is getting paid to show a logo, maybe it makes sense to cover the others to encourage a little extra payment. Since music and musicians are getting ripped of from every angle, every penny counts so why not, if you think it might get you a little extra?
How is that for branding?. Just a bit over the top I say.......just a bit.:rollno:
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Good to know as I'm one who would pay a builder not to put their advertisement on my cab. What's with using 20 percent of the equipment's real estate for advertising? With basses, the shape itself is branding, same as with many objects. I can de-badge a Saab or a Porsche and it's still unmistakably a Saab or Porsche. OTH if I want a bank getaway I de-badge a silver Camry and nobody will be able to tell the cops what I drove. LOL.

Rather than taping over the brand name, my preference would be a new logo that is utterly incongruous with the context. Like adorning the headstock with a Raleigh (bicycle) crest or branding my cab with a White Star Line flag. More fun to gonk some heads out there who are sizing up my gear to see if I'm hip enough to use Brand X.
I remove my badging off everything from music gear to bicycles to my truck and anything I can. Once it becomes mine........its no longer theirs;)
 
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How is that for branding?. Just a bit over the top I say.......just a bit.:rollno:
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The only thing worse than that is a Harley Davidson motor cycle with tons of aftermarket parts with the HD logo or the actual words Harley Davidson on it. And then the rider has on an HD shirt, HD bandanna, and an HD leather jacket.
I like Harley's, but I think that is one piece of machinery that needs no logo. Just me.
 
I know an outrageously excellent drummer who often puts a big Fender logo on his bass drum. Has no allegiance or particular like for Fender. But he's shooting for the "ridiculous" factor. He also stole the Carvin logo off one of my older 15" cabinets. That too most likely spent some time adorning his bass drum but he never used it when I played with him. He'll mischievously do that with any musical brand logo he can get his hands on. He just fully refuses to ever have his bass drum use an actual drum manufacturers logo.

I think in essence he really loves taking a proverbial dump upon the whole sprit of brand name worship and endorsements. What adds a special punch to it is that he's truly an excellent drummer. :laugh:
 
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When I did some TV filming, they covered logos on everything. They didn't want to deal with any issues related to royalty, or endorsement, or copyright, or whatever other happenstance might connect the TV production to any sort of financial/litigious interactions. Perhaps some artists with tape are avoiding issues because they are being filmed or photographed.

I've also seen this type of masking in mountain biking, where a racer is sponsored by one product but uses another in the course. Time for tape.

I'm sure other reasons exist, and have been, and/or will be noted in this thread.
 
If you want to be playing “incognito “ then don’t buy a Sandberg. Not unless you have stock in a tape making factory :smug:. I counted their 4 dot logo on something like 6 different places on pics people have posted here.

My guess is that most bassists (let alone most people) who will see you play don't know what a Sandberg is, and they certainly won't recognize that four-dot logo. If you buy a Fender-y Sandberg, most people will think you're playing a Fender until they get close enough to see it's not. Then they'll ask what a Sandberg is.

Even in the bass world, nuance is often left by the wayside.

Ive got no problems with logo's. The gear I'm playing thru is not there by accident. If you want to tape, rock on. I think when you tape it , you just draw more attention to it. Except for endorsement deals, why bother? It can be a bit pretentious......... Tape over a fender headstock logo is just begging for somebody to ask you "what is that?"

I agree. Saying you "don't want to be a billboard" at your local bar band gig implies you're famous enough for someone out there to care what you're playing.
 
Oh that's why people use taperwound strings, if they happen to be forced to use a brand that they don't endorse? They put tape
:D
I actually wonder how all this endorsement deals goes through with strings. How the **** can one ever tell?
Seriously though, even great late acoustic guitar wizard Michael Hedges but tapes over his home studio mixers because "who wants to look at all that ****" . It detracts from readings on the faders and it's even worse these days. With companys logos being design in that dreaded blue led designs (floor amp BluGuitar anyone?). Me myself have become very wary and almost a little bit "WAF" during the years regarding my domestic hifi equipment. I made sure I bought Stereo-Hifi speakers that has a plain cloth all over it and not the slighest sight of ANY logo appearing, no matter how tiny. On my huge LCD TV screen by LG I even opened it up and disconnected the wire that lits up (in white) the LG company logon, and it's much nicer. I don't put tape over guitar headstocks - here comes headless instruments in very handy I tell you - or synthesizers because they're not faced my way.

It has to do with reading brands all of the time. When you have too many logos it just clutters things up in no small way. I know even a jazz act in town, that apart from having a dapper dress code on stage, will not allow any members to show any brand out front towards the audience. Even including guitars and drums. The BL demands that - if so- you ahve to face amp heads and whatever from the audience and preferably black. They're using boutique instruments (and one headless) and no logo visible on headstock, but this includes not having to gaffer tape it over. That's even more ugly. Cymbals facing the drummer is no big deal, but the underside of the cymbal has to wiped out. Wonder how taped logos on cymbals would sound. All combos on stage should have panels facing up and not towards the audience so you don't see on/off lights either, and especially not blue leds. They had this stance that in classical music no brand is visible anyway and no one cares what instrument you play. I've even heard that people wants to get rid of the sideway logo of Steinway Grand pianos whenever performing. It's a little bit harder to pull off, but there are many classical pieces where not any piano is needed on stage at all.

I've seen this act, and it's a sight for sore eyes. As well as ears. You don't ever get hung up on brand, gas or novelty inventions, they just play and one thinks immediately of the music instead of their gear. They do perform in dinner jackets (it that tux to you americans) and so on, but not sleek and slim smooth jazz in spite of their dapper dress code. The guitar player has a black umbrella lying on the front of the stage to cover his pedalboard. Just for sight reasons. Now, of course, people starts wondering why so that can be just as detracting.

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I did deliberately order a parts caster from Usa Custom Guitar once. I did not want their logo on the headstock. Fixed it for you, no one is asking questions, and it's just a guitar.
 
... when I recently did remove it from a $5k bass it took most of the logo with it.

Here's a trick: Cut a piece of paper in a shape that perfectly covers your logo. The paper can be color matched to the wood or at least close enough. Place the paper over the logo, then Scotch tape it on. You only need a tiny amount of Scotch tape at each end to hold it in place.
 
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Pretentious and unnecessary if done by a small local band. Pretentious and unnecessary if done by a big band, like Rage Against The Machine, purely because they don't believe in corporate branding or whatever. Sort of pathetic if done for the TV cameras because the show has some deal whereby they can't unwittingly promote Marshall, Ampeg, Fender or whoever because of contractual binds.

Yeah! And then there's this loser playing the keyboards with tape over his Hohner Clavinet and Yamaha Motif. He's never going to amount to anything in the music biz.

You think he put it there himself?
 
whatever the reason behind the taping it is a silly practice: there are a number of other elements in the shapes/color patterns of the gear that indicate the brand even with the logo taped over. that reminds me of this guy i saw once in a TV show playing on a huge orange (color) rig with the logo taped over... i am still trying to figure out what was the brand of his rig... any help? :D