Headfstock Decal for Strat

[ozyonum]

I wanted to share the experience of vinyl headstock decal i have applied on my new girl.

Since i had a raw Goncalo Alves neck, waterslide decals did not work for me - could not apply any lacquer, and i really wanted to crown the new Warmoth Strat with Fender logo.
With some internet search, i found the vinyl one.. It is durable, no visible "Decal" feel and it actually looks quite good.

PM me if you want the exact site details where i have ordered from.

 

[stubhead]

i really wanted to crown the new Warmoth Strat with Fender logo.

Why?

 

[ozyonum]

i really wanted to crown the new Warmoth Strat with Fender logo.

Why?

Didn't really realize that i am offending some by placing a Fender decal on Warmoth guitar, not intended and apologies if so. 
Wanted to share the positive experience only, we can later discuss why i placed the decal in another topic maybe..

 

[Cagey]

I'm glad you found a good supplier of decals.

I suspect Mr. Head isn't offended at all, simply wondering why anyone would hide the real identity of a well-built guitar, or try to fool other people into believing that it was built by somebody who didn't build it. At the very least, it's trademark infringement.

 

[elfro89]

First of all a nice friendly welcome to you sir, I don't believe we've had the pleasure  :icon_thumright:

Contrary to the previous posters I totally understand why you put the mighty F on your guitar and congrats on a job well done!

I'm glad you found a good supplier of decals.

I suspect Mr. Head isn't offended at all, simply wondering why anyone would hide the real identity of a well-built guitar, or try to fool other people into believing that it was built by somebody who didn't build it. At the very least, it's trademark infringement.

Assumptions are a dangerous thing. I believe to most people who choose the fender logo, it is simply to complete the look of the guitar and not to fool others; otherwise why wouldn't he just say "look at this awesome fender." Trademark infringement only occurs if he was to pass it off as a genuine fender when trying to sell it. Otherwise it's not being used in a commercial sense so trademark has nothing to do with it.

 

[Disco Scottie]

The body and neck are both Fender-licensed replacement parts, so technically it is a Fender Strat.

 

[reluctant-builder]

The body and neck are both Fender-licensed replacement parts, so technically it is a Fender Strat.

I agree with that technicality. I've run into the quandary of whether to place a Fender decal on my Jazzmaster.

I've got a genuine Fender Tremolo, Fender pots and other assorted hardware, and, whoopie, a Fender neck-plate, but the guitar otherwise will be: Warmoth body and neck, Gotoh Kluson tuners, Warmoth pickguard, Novak pups, etc. So, it's a hybrid, but I think it has enough Fender DNA to justify the decal. I've always wanted a Jazzmaster and the decal, to me, is just a nice detail that makes it comes to fruition, even if it's not exactly a Fender JM (it will be better).

My Strat, if I do ever order the replacement neck, is a Fender, so I've got no qualms about applying a decal to that, too.

However, I won't be applying any Fender decals to subsequent builds. I'm pretty much over Fender. The Jazzmaster will be the last bit of homage I pay to the company (aside from, I feel, deservedly marking the headstock that corresponds to a body they made, in the case of the Strat) ... any Warmoth I build hence will have either no decal or a custom one, perhaps borrowing some of the humor Tonar infused into his Tonarcaster decal.  :icon_smile:

 

[stubhead]

No, I really was just curious. There seems to be a progression. A total layman is going to think Fenders and Gibsons are the best guitars ever, and I still know good musicians, mostly 55 and older,  who still think of a $4,000 Suhr or Anderson as an imitation Fender "parts" guitar. And the other extreme view is that only really old Fenders could be any good, and a new "real Fender" one is bound to be made as cheaply as possible out of parts sourced from whatever. And I've been surprised often enough by a $300 Schecters or Ibani that I don't think there's much can be deduced from labels. An offset double cutaway three single coil pickup guitar with a 25.5" scale IS a Stratocaster, for all intents, but there are so very many great varieties off of that platform nowadays I'm curious as to why it being a FENDER Stratocaster would even matter..

 

[reluctant-builder]

It's the cachet of being the original. Or, at least, the brand that made the model enduringly popular.

Who invented the compact fluorescent lightbulb? Sure, you can look it up, but it doesn't spring to mind like does the name Thomas Edison. His inventions have been endlessly refined and improved, but as the progenitor of certain ideas, his name still carries its cachet.

 

[stubhead]

Where can I get a bunch of "Edison" decals for all my ligh.... oh wait. "G.E.'s" have a spankier muscularity to their bloom and a girthier kerrang. :help:

 

[reluctant-builder]

Where can I get a bunch of "Edison" decals for all my ligh.... oh wait. "G.E.'s" have a spankier muscularity to their bloom and a girthier kerrang. :help:

I was thinking how his name, in New York and elsewhere, is so synonymous with electricity, they make it part of the name of utility companies: Consolidated Edison, for example. And regardless of General Electric being stamped on lightbulbs ... Edison was one of its founders.

 

[Strat Avenger]

As long as one doesn't try to deceptively sell the guitar as a genuine Fender (made by Fender), there's nothing wrong with it.

Some guys would ask "why" because they are proud of their Warmoth custom guitar, and would rather put a WARMOTH decal on the headstock instead. 'Nothing wrong with that either.

Many celebrity guitar players have put name-brand decals on their guitars that were not the manufacturer.

Slash has done it. EVH did it in the early '80s (I think in the '70s too - a Gibson decal). He put a "Kramer" decal on a neck that was made by Tom Anderson.

George Lynch has the "ESP" decal on the headstock of his Tiger-striped guitar. No part of that guitar was made by ESP. None of it.
The previous neck that was on it also had a ESP decal on the headstock.

Back in the '80s, Jake E. Lee had a "Charvel" decal on the headstock of his white ('61 I think) Fender Strat.

Brad Gillis ('must be an '80s thing, huh?) had a "Fernandez" decal on the headstock of his '62 Fender Strat.

There have been others as well, but I think you get the point.

 

[Cagey]

Many celebrity guitar players have put name-brand decals on their guitars that were not the manufacturer.

Many celebrity guitar players have endorsement deals that would get their asses kicked if they're seen with something other than what they're supposed to be singing the praises of.

 

[reluctant-builder]

I just had a semblance of an epiphany. While I used to be a brand-whore for the Fender decal on the headstock, I absolutely hate -- despise -- seeing pickup covers with "Seymour Duncan" emblazoned on them. It just looks wrong to me; I want my pup covers to be whatever color I choose, uninterrupted by anyone's branding. When I see his name on pup covers it seriously detracts from my enjoyment of the guitar's look.

A headstock without a decal or inlay -- regardless of whose -- is just the opposite issue; it looks incomplete.

 

[reinhold]

The only pickups I like the name on are EMG's because actives don't look right without them to me, but I totally agree on the headstock.  Some of the builds on here I think would look a lot better if people had put one on, but hey, it's their choice.

 

[reluctant-builder]

While I'm not a fan of active electronics (though I know they make some passive varieties), I agree about EMG. I think, because it's not a "name" per se, it's just letters, and they're so small and understated, off in an extreme corner of the cover, that makes their branding tolerable.

 

[stubhead]

Or THIS guy, Jeff Babicz -
http://www.fullcontacthardware.com/strat-tremolo.htm

I mean, he really does have a specific approach to what he thinks makes guitars sound good*, but the egomaniacal branding makes it look as though he considers the other $1,000 worth of guitar crap to be a mere life-support system for the...

Taa Dah!

THE BABICZ BRIDGE!

There's a New Dawn in Guitamerica, and the name is... BABICZ!!!​

Boy i hope i can get a t-shirt n' a bumper sticker n' a lunchbox, can the fragrance be far behind... :headbang1:

*("The "eCam" saddle design means unwanted spaces between the bottom of the saddle and the top of the tremolo unit are eliminated. The Babicz "Full Contact Hardware" replacement tremolo system for "Stratocaster" style guitars offers unmatched stability, increased sustain, dramatically improved fullness and tone."

Umm - that's called "humbuckers + hardtail + a big loudass amp" where I come from, Babi... I guess I missed one too many sunrises huh.)

 

[hannaugh]

Too bad they put those huge tacky letters on there, cause the bridge is a nice looking one without them.  I doubt it does all that they say it does, but the design is nice on the eye. 

 

[reluctant-builder]

I truly think one of my stumbling blocks toward getting people to give me gobs of money is my aversion to slapping my name all over things.  :tard:

 

[Cagey]

I truly think one of my stumbling blocks toward getting people to give me gobs of money is my aversion to slapping my name all over things.  :tard:

More likely it's your sense of morality and fair play. But, yeah. Braggadocio only works on the weak and simple.