Fender headstock decals on replicas

[martthebass]

44 minutes ago, 12stringbassist said:

A guitar wearing the wrong decal is:
An attempt to deceive the audience.
An attempt to make the owner feel better about his guitar.
A potential fraud upon resale.
A bit stupid, really. If the owner says it's not really a Fender, what does it make them look like?

I'll happily go out with a Squier bass, though I have several Fenders. And its logo is untouched.
People who rebadge Rockinbetters as R*ckenb*ckers make me laugh the hardest.

I will happily own up to getting this TRC for my Retrovibe, though...

I'd love a Rick faker in that finish....glamtastic.

[Reggaebass]

I’ve got a really nice Tokai jazz that’s got no headstock decal, because the previous owner removed the fender jazz one that someone had put on it, it’s strange the things some people do 

[Muzz]

Not far off this sort of thing...

[12stringbassist]

1 hour ago, martthebass said:

I'd love a Rick faker in that finish....glamtastic.

Not for sale, unfortunately.

[durhamboy]

I really don't care what others do, other than anyone selling a faked Fender, that's really a Squier or some such, for genuine Fender prices.

For myself, I have a couple of parts built Fender shaped instruments, but without Fender decals, just because I'd feel really naff doing it, but to each their own.

These days there are so many quality bass and guitar options across a huge range of prices, that wanting to look like you have a "real" Fender, or Gibson, shouldn't be an issue. Back in the day (and I'm bloody old) aspiring to own a genuine Fender, or Gibson, maybe made some of us feel more like "proper" musicians and yes, Squier's and Asian copies of famous models, were probably looked down on more than now, but now as then, how you play, not what you play it on, is what counts.

[tegs07]

On 26/05/2021 at 17:25, Reggaebass said:

I’ve got a really nice Tokai jazz that’s got no headstock decal, because the previous owner removed the fender jazz one that someone had put on it, it’s strange the things some people do 

Not sure why anyone would re decal a Tokai particularly if it was an early MIJ one. I’d still like an early Tokai Hard Puncher. As much for the daft name as the quality.

[SurroundedByManatees]

I once owned a great Kasuga precision bass that I sold to a guy who replaced the decal with a vintage type Ibanez one. Just for himself as Ibby-fanboy, so ok...that's a choice. 

He sold it as a Kasuga with Ibby logo, but the next time it went on it already was a rare Ibanez with matching price. So any next owner will only "know" that it's an Ibanez. 

I should have never sold that one though, it truly was a nice one. 

Edited June 1, 2021 by SurroundedByManatees

[el borracho]

21 hours ago, tegs07 said:

Not sure why anyone would re decal a Tokai particularly if it was an early MIJ one. I’d still like an early Tokai Hard Puncher. As much for the daft name as the quality.

Where does my MIM Fender with an early Hard Puncher neck complete with Tokai logo stand? A fake Tokai!

[Jonnie Comet]

I’m making a Phil Lynott clone (black respray, mirror pickguard) out of a 1975 Hondo P-bass and it’s got a 2005 Mighty Mite rosewood-fretboard neck on it, so no decals. I won’t sell it as a Fender but so long as it looks good from the front row and in photos I’m down with it. 
 

Honesty is the best policy. 

[King Tut]

I’ve got a beautiful Epiphone Thunderbird 4 pro. It came with a Gibson TRC fitted. I’m funked if I could be bothered to source an Epiphone TRC just so I’m not playing a counterfeit. Anyhoo, it’s such a good bass I can’t believe an original Gibson would be any better. I’ll play it out live and anyone who’s got a problem with it can mind their own business. By the same token the last gig I did was in Sweden and I took a first generation Squier CV Jazz with its original logo. Again, if anyone has a problem with me playing a Squier (which is a better bass than some Fenders I’ve played) again, they can mind their own business! Ahh the beauty of getting older is definitely not giving so much of a funk! I would obviously have a problem with someone trying to pass something off as something it’s not. That is clearly wrong - most of us on here would practice due diligence in the transaction but I guess someone starting out could be taken in. Have a groovy Sunday folks!

[prowla]

On 25/05/2021 at 10:26, Guest MoJo said:

I know that this is an area that divides opinion quite strongly but this poll was initiated by a Porsche Speedster replica that recently passed through our workshop. Based on modern Beetle running gear, the kit was top quality and only an Porsche aficionado would be able to tell that it wasn't a genuine restoration project without inspecting it carefully. The point is, that it was badged as a Porsche not a jokey 'Porch' or such like. Folks that put Fender decals on their Squiers or other replica are often looked down upon or slammed by the community but we happily accept Fender decals on Limelight basses. What does everyone think?

Less of the "we" there - the Limelight fans can be quite militant though!

 

 

 

Edited Sunday at 08:30 by prowla

[Muzz]

I've just finished off building/modding the best P I've played* with a John East P-Retro (it's also got an uprated bridge, Hipshot Ultralites, a DiMarzio DP122 and a gold scratchplate I found in my bits pile) and it's my go-to bass (along with one of my Shukers, which was more than 10x the (original) price of the P) - at first sight, it's a £150 Squier Sonic, near the very bottom of the price range for a factory P...OK, the upgrades triple that, but I've added them slowly (some from the parts bin) as I've realised what a great foundation instrument it is.

 

Bottom line is the Squier Sonic sticker will be staying, anyone who might want to look at it from a distance and curl a lip can feel as superior as they like, I've had several full-on Fender Ps over the years, and for me (who else?) this is better than all of them.

 

 

* My criteria have changed a good way over the years, not least around weight: this one is 7.7lbs, which is a big thing for me gigging 6-8 times a month...it's very good in other ways, too...

[simisker]

On 25/05/2021 at 18:32, Roger2611 said:

I am slightly confused, I have a bitsa Precision with a genuine Fender neck on it, should I now sand the genuine decal and serial number off just because it might not be a Fender body? (I do actually have a MIM body which wears a Squier Matt Freeman neck so really confused as to what I should do with that one!) I suppose I could swap the two over and have a bitsa bass which was all Fender....it all seems a bit futile really!

 

Seeing as this thread's become active again, I'd like to know what people's opinions are on this, as I'm in a similar boat.

[NancyJohnson]

On 26/05/2021 at 07:46, NancyJohnson said:

There should be another option of 'No'.

Don't we live in a world of fakery?  It's not limited to Fender decals on Limelight/Bravewood/Squier or Gibson truss rod covers on Epiphones or Rickenbacker covers on Chickenbackers, it extends to other products including watches, clothing, accessories. 

I've never seen the point in faking things up; maybe I'm just wired differently.  I actually like the fact that my 40 year old Aria Primary bass plays and sounds better (*subjective) than it's Fender equivalent, so why would I sand off the logo and put a Fender on on it?

 

Interestingly, in the last few months it became apparent that it was actually cheaper to buy in a Chinese neck for my Aria than to fork out for a refret, so that's what I did.

 

It's got a '70s style Fender Jazz Bass logo on it; do I care?  Nope, in truth, not really.  Everyone who needs to know its provenance knows what it is and if I sell it, the buyer will know as well (and they'll get the original neck, too).

[PaulThePlug]

Not a copy, but all for something ish...

Harley B PB50 Modder...

Bitsa P...

Squier p

[prowla]

1 hour ago, NancyJohnson said:

 

Interestingly, in the last few months it became apparent that it was actually cheaper to buy in a Chinese neck for my Aria than to fork out for a refret, so that's what I did.

 

It's got a '70s style Fender Jazz Bass logo on it; do I care?  Nope, in truth, not really.  Everyone who needs to know its provenance knows what it is and if I sell it, the buyer will know as well (and they'll get the original neck, too).

 

The problem is when someone who doesn't know gets it, maybe someone isn't as honest or they shuffle off this mortal coil and the estate gets sold.

[prowla]

1 minute ago, PaulThePlug said:

Not a copy, but all for something ish...

Harley B PB50 Modder...

Bitsa P...

Squier p

My fretless (Licensed Mighty Mite neck).

 

 

[neepheid]

Epiphone and Squier until I die!  I've never felt a need to put a bass's big brother's clothes on and steal his ID to try and go to the pub or something.  I was going somewhere with that metaphor, then I got lost.

 

My basses are what they are, what they were, and what they'll always be.  The only time I've replaced a decal it's either been like for like (when I restored an old Hagstrom), or gone down the comedy route (put "Fecker Imprecision Bass" on a bitsa).  Apart from that, it is what it is.

[Russ]

On 25/05/2021 at 10:51, Stingray5 said:

All this has brought back the memory of seeing an episode of Channel 4's Equinox called "Twang, Bang, Kerrang" back in 1987. Others may also recall this programme which celebrated the electric guitar. One of the contributors was Francis Dunnery (It Bites) showing off his (then) favourite guitar, a Squier Strat, admittedly with one or two upgrades. But it did please me to see that, as I had a Squier Strat myself around the same time.

Regi Wooten (Victor's guitarist brother, who's probably even more of a monster player than Vic) is well known for using a Squier Strat as his main guitar.

 

Granted, I think it's supposed to be a JV - basically a Japanese Fender, and, as enlightened people know, that makes it better than a US Fender.  

 

 

I don't play a lot of guitar, but a couple of years back I did buy a Squier RH Contemporary Telecaster. I'm not likely to ever gig with it (mostly because I'm not likely to ever gig on guitar, because my guitar skills are ordinary at best  ) but it sounds great, plays well and does what I need it to do. 

[Stub Mandrel]

Sorry... "could care less" so 24% of respondents care about this issue?

 

Horrible American mangling of the phrase "couldn't care less".

[Stub Mandrel]

On topic ... Harley Benton kit (my covid project) with a Squier neck off here that already had a dodgy decal.  No plan to sell it, only gigged once.

 

Suppose I'm hoping someone will complement its sound or look so I can say 'well actually...'