Dear Gear Abby, fake logo or no?

[lespaulreedsmith]

Dear Gear Page Abby,
I have some Warmothcasters that I put some waterslide decals on that of course make them look like Fender strats. I think the registered trademark of the strat is in big part their headstock so I feel it looks kinds wierd for a partscaster that looks identical pretty much to the real thing to have a different logo.
I hate Warmoths logo but I love their gear and parts.
So I choose to put an aftermarket 'F' logo on these guitars that I am keeping and not selling. I assembled them myself and I like Fender's logo on them even if they are not real 'Fenders'

Does this make me a bad person?
signed,
Wannabe

[derekd]

Horrible!

[snarkle]

Dear Wannabe:

Yes...but not a VERY bad person. In life, some small deceptions are allowable, if they keep us from hurting the ones we love. And you, for instance, clearly love yourself very much, as you've gone to the trouble of fitting yourself out with guitars that do just what you want them to do.

I don't know the exact particulars of your situation, but if, say, you have built these guitars with the intent of mimicking the $30,000 vintage Fenders you desire but can't afford, then you'd only be hurting yourself by displaying a Warmoth logo you dislike. And we don't want you to hurt yourself, or anyone else.

Now if you end up selling these guitars by passing them off as the real thing, that's another matter...the greater good of society would demand that you be severely punished!

Yours,

Abby

[Redhouse-Blues]

IMHO it would be better to have no logo at all then to fake it.

[doublee]

I once put a Fender decal on a new T style neck. For another guitar I am leaving the decal off, it feels better to me. If you do put a decal on it, it would be fair to subsequent owners to indicate somewhere what it REALLY is. Maybe in the PU routes or somewhere like that.

[Thomme]

the warmoth logo is in the neck pocket and neck heel, I don't think any scrutinizing customer would buy a "vintage" or "reissue," fender without checking that everything was original. Plus the lack of seriel number kind of gives it away. I see no problem with putting logos on unlogo'ed guitars. Do what you want, you paid for the guitar. If you wanted to put a Fender logo on a Martin acoustic, it's your choice.

[mc5nrg]

I'm looking for a decal that says "F*cker" in the Fender script. Also "Scrapocaster" to go along with it.

[HoboMan]

So I choose to put an aftermarket 'F' logo on these guitars that I am keeping and not selling.

If I had a nickel for every guitar that I was never going to sell......

[darth_vader]

Well they're waterslide decals, so can't you just waterslide them off again if you decide to sell?

I don't see any problem with it. Warmoth parts are licensed by Fender after all.

[doctorx]

As long as you don't try to sell it as a real Fender, who cares?

When I built my Tele I used a Squire neck, and since I didn't want people to think it was a Squire I sanded the decal off and refinished the headstock, and left it blank.

I don't need a decal, but if you want one, go for it.

[Rhomco]

You assembled a parts guitar that looks just like a production guitar but it cost you more than the production guitar you copied. You may never sell it but if you ever want to sell that parts guitar, the lack of the decal will cost you about 30% from my experiences. This is in spite of the fact that you describe the guitar as a parts guitar. Do the math on that $10.00 decal.
Go figure

[TieDyedDevil]

I'm surprised that Fender's not attempting to do something about these decals. Seems to me they risk having "Fender" become a generic term...

Regardless, what's your rationale for putting someone else's name on a guitar into which you've put so much thought and effort?

[airwarrior]

I put a Fender decal on my partscaster, and I sleep fine at night.

I don't think it would look right without it. Mine is a 70s type guitar with the CBS headstock and the big black logo is a large part of the look.

[whitehall]

I would do it in a heartbeat, but then I pull the tags off my mattresses too. as you can see , I live outside the law.

[jtm622]

On the "Dr. Phil Show", this question was asked during a "gear-hound" intervention:
"Does that possibly indicate that you never really wanted a "Warmoth", but were desirous of owning a REAL Fender instead???"

[gkoelling]

So far one of my partscasters has a "F" logo. I have logos for the rest but haven't used them yet.

I don't lacquer over them, so they can be removed later, if necessary.

[gkoelling]

You assembled a parts guitar that looks just like a production guitar but it cost you more than the production guitar you copied. You may never sell it but if you ever want to sell that parts guitar, the lack of the decal will cost you about 30% from my experiences. This is in spite of the fact that you describe the guitar as a parts guitar. Do the math on that $10.00 decal.
Go figure


It cost more??? than a production guitar? :confused:

[guitarmook]

I think it's shady, but not so bad if you do, in fact, never sell the guitar.

I DO think that people who build partscasters and later decide to sell them should remove the decal, and that there's little difference between selling a fake Fender and selling a fake Gibson, 'disclaimer' or not.

[KHAN]

I have several "Warmothcasters". So I made these for the headstocks. '60's and 70's style.
People seem to get a kick out of it when they look up close.

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n20/khanmfh/headstock.gif

[drive-south]

It's perfectly OK for Fender to take parts from China, Korea, Mexico, Canada, etc. bolt them together and put the Fender....made in USA logo on them.

I say leave the stickers on if you want. If you decide to sell, I would disclose to any potential buyer that the parts are Warmoth and the guitar was not built by Fender. They may consider this a selling point!

drive-south

[Ed DeGenaro]

It's perfectly OK for Fender to take parts from China, Korea, Mexico, Canada, etc. bolt them together and put the Fender....made in USA logo on them.

I say leave the stickers on if you want. If you decide to sell, I would disclose to any potential buyer that the parts are Warmoth and the guitar was not built by Fender. They may consider this a selling point!

drive-south
Owning the brand goes a long way in terms of what you're able to do with your property...

[A-Bone]

Owning the brand goes a long way in terms of what you're able to do with your property...

Ed beat me to it.

Also, disclosing to a potential buyer that the logo'd instrument is not genuine does not insulate the seller from potential liability and legal recourse for selling a counterfeit instrument; it is the presence of the trademarked emblem on the incorrect company's headstock that is the problem, whether you reveal this fact or not. This is especially noteworthy if the venue used for sale is an online auction house with a policy concerning fraud and counterfeit or if the payment source is someone like Paypal that is similarly harsh on counterfeiters.

[Tom Gross]

I have a parts tele that I bought used that came with a Fender sticker on it. I want to take it off, but it's under the varnish.
If I ever did sell it, I would for sure do something to take it off.

[darth_vader]

Owning the brand goes a long way in terms of what you're able to do with your property...

Whatever. Just think of it as free advertising for Fender.

[A-Bone]

Whatever. Just think of it as free advertising for Fender.

Pretty sure that Fender wouldn't see it that way, and since they hold the trademark, their vote and opinion is the only one that is likely to count.

[jerseydrew]

I'm looking for a decal that says "F*cker" in the Fender script. Also "Scrapocaster" to go along with it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v295/jerseydrew/IMG_1816.jpg

[michael30]

I have several "Warmothcasters". So I made these for the headstocks. '60's and 70's style.
People seem to get a kick out of it when they look up close.


Cool! The problem is that you can find a fake Fender logo in 3 minutes on the net, but finding somebody who'll make custom waterslides is much more difficult.