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What would you do...?

Scratch it off....leave it on.

  • scratch it off

    Votes: 29 35.4%

  • leave it on

    Votes: 53 64.6%
  • Total voters
    82
  • Poll closed .
Hot Rats

Hot Rats

Jul 29, 2000
6,955
25,213
California
#1
So, you posted in the Fender decal thread....then through a trade, you aquire one the nicest playing '66 Jazz replica bass' you have ever had the pleasure of playing. So what do you do...it's not a Fender, do you scratch off the decal?
 
#5
That would depend if I went and put a Fender neck on a Fender copy body. It's politics really, why do some people buy high end Fender look a likes and distance themselves from the Fender name? That I will never know.
 
#6
line6man said:
I would never buy or trade for a bass with a Fender logo if it were not manufactured by Fender. When I see a Fender logo on a non-Fender instrument, I quickly lose interest in the instrument and move on.
Click to expand...

This. I would have serious doubts about the seller's honesty, even if he told me it was a fake right off the bat. I don't care what anyone says, putting a counterfeit Fender decal on a non-Fender bass is a lie. As they say in a court of law, if someone wll lie about one thing, anything they say can be regarded with suspicion. I just wouldn't want to take the chance.
 
#7
I'd scratch the decal off with my bare hands until my fingernails bled, and then call the the neighborhood Exorcist to perform a ritual so this bass would never again be used as the instrument of the devil.

Or I'd just leave it as is and eventually sell it along as the real thing to some unsuspecting noob here on TB, take the millions in ill-gotten gains, and start an international crime syndicate specializing in extortion, kidnapping, drugs, slavery, people-smuggling and selling fake Fender basses.
 
#13
There is nothing legally wrong with placing a "fender" decal on a headstock as long as you don't try to pass it off as a real fender. People doing this is our own damn fault. Many times we hear with our eyes, so if we see a guy playing a Squier CV J bass we'll think gosh his tone sounds thin. But if that same guy sands the Squier name off and puts a Fender decal on the bass you would see a 66 Fender and say "Wow! They just don't build em like that anymore."

I owned for a short while a "tribute" bass. A Squier VM P bass that had new guts, bridge, pg and a Fender decal. The seller was honest and sent me a pic of the bass he wanted it to look like. I saw nothing wrong with this. I brought it to band practice and both my drummer and guitarist/singer were in love with the bass all night, thinking it was a Fender. About an hour before band practice was through my guitarist who played Gibson Sg's asked "how did you afford a bass like that?" Thinking it was a vintage fender. I said well, it's a Squier. He couldn't believe it, so I showed him the neck plate and the Made In China writing. We played another song and he said the "Fender" wasn't working well in the mix. It had been all night as long as it was a Fender, but when he knew it was a Squier it didn't sound so great to his eyes.
 
#15
One of my friends has a very, very, high quality replica 58/59 Les Paul Standard with actual vintage PAF pickups, hardware, pots, wire, etc, down to actual NOS, not replica, bumble bee caps. The body is all new-aged stock wood, but the neck is an actual refurbished vintage Gibson Les Paul neck from what my friend's told me. It looks like it came from the Gibson factory, but it's a total custom build, using many actual vintage components, done by a luthier team that does not attempt to defraud anyone. Nor do they make replicas trying to sell them as being factory originals, new or old. It's also not uncommon, as many well respected luthiers and custom builders have done similar blends of new and old components to create what is basically a new instrument at the end of the day. Maybe you could call it a radical restoration job! They left a few small clues in the instrument to make sure that it won't fool any Les Paul experts, or potential buyers in the future into thinking it's a true vintage original. I can't accuse them of fraud or counterfeiting as I understand such crimes to be in nature. However I'm no lawyer.

My friend tells folks what it really is, and he's honest about it. If he ever sells it, he's got paperwork from the luthier group in question as to what it really is, and that is one hell of a nice custom build Les Paul replica. I'd consider my friend stupid if he were to scratch out the Gibson logo, and he sure in heck won't ever pass it off to a possible future buyer if he ever sells it as being something it's not. Think of it what you will about such instruments, but we can only be responsible for own morality and ethics in the end. I don't like blatant fraud and misrepresentation anymore than anyone else. I'll always be opposed to that. However someone with a Squier bass or guitar, or some quality Fender replica, with some second hand water slide decal slapped on that says Fender on it, ain't worrying me any, as long as they are honest about they really have.
 
#16
Accurate decal, or no decal.

I have this “thing” about honesty (unless it‘s cops and it has to do with something in my past that would put me in jail), and catching someone in a “fib” makes me lose respect for them, and I just don’t want to ever be in that position.

I’d scratch the decal.
 
#17
Nobody said:
The easiest solution is to just not but any bass with Fender on it.
Click to expand...

Agreed! Most copies of fenders are bound to be better quality than actual fenders!
Fender is just like Harley davidson - their product is ****** but they have strong brand recognition. in both cases Japanese manufacturers are superior.
 
#18
UncleMattGuy said:
Agreed! Most copies of fenders are bound to be better quality than actual fenders!
Fender is just like Harley davidson - their product is ****** but they have strong brand recognition. in both cases Japanese manufacturers are superior.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't go that far to say that Fender makes trash guitars with a strong iconic branding. They have been holding fast to a recipe that has worked for years. The copies just wanna throw all the bells and whistles and the other unnecessary junk to justify it being a better instrument, at a higher price. Keep in mind that Japan is a small but strong market with little room for error.
 
#19
madbassplaya said:
There is nothing legally wrong with placing a "fender" decal on a headstock as long as you don't try to pass it off as a real fender....
Click to expand...

Yes, there is.
It is a violation of trademark, whether enforced or not. It's still illegal.
It's not a political issue, either, it's a legal and moral issue, plain and simple, no matter how anyone tries to justify the reasons or intent behind it's use.

This is not my opinion, it's fact.
 
#20
kcole4001 said:
Yes, there is.
It is a violation of trademark, whether enforced or not. It's still illegal.
It's not a political issue, either, it's a legal and moral issue, plain and simple, no matter how anyone tries to justify the reasons or intent behind it's use.

This is not my opinion, it's fact.
Click to expand...

A moral issue? I find nothing wrong with it.


I would leave it on.


By this logic every cover band needs to pay for the songs they are performing and making money off of.

I dont see what the big deal is? Happens with cars all the time.
 

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