Headstock Logos on New Builds

Whose Logo Do You Put On Your Warmoth Builds?

  • Total voters
    73
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom said:
line6man said:
Alright, I'll be as clear as possible:

Fender is the name of a company that produces guitars. Warmoth is a different company, having no relation to Fender...
The presence of a Fender logo on a guitar that was not produced by Fender incorrectly conveys the information that the guitar was produced by Fender, as Fender's name is specifically stated along with their logo. The name/logo is present in the area of the guitar that is most commonly used to denote the manufacturer that produced the instrument.

The headstock shape found on Strats, Teles, Jazz/Precision basses, etc. originated from, and is most commonly associated with Fender, however, the shape of a headstock is usually not used to indicate the manufacturer of a guitar, and it does not specifically mention Fender, it only bears resemblance to a design created by Fender. No definitive indication of the manufacturer can be concluded from the shape of a headstock, though the shape of a headstock could lead to an assumption of what manufacturer might have produced the guitar.
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The headstock shape does denote the brand name so much so that's what the license states.  It's a Fender trademark.  The mere silhouette of the headstock is immediately recognizable as Fender.  If we get uber technical, those Indonesian, Korean, and Japanese Fenders are not made in a building owned by Fender, nor made by Fender employees.  It is a company given license to produce x amount of units to Fender specs and put a Fender logo them.  In other words, they are made by a Fender subcontractor.  In W's case, I bought parts built to Fender licensed specs and chose every detail, then I put a Fender logo on it.  What's the difference? 
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The difference is FMIC owns the trademark. It is solely up to them, not you or I, how and and where their trademarks can be used.
 
taez555 said:
I'm currently a no-logo guy.   If I was to put one on it would either be my own or a Warmoth, since technically it really is a Warmoth guitar just assembled and setup by me.

As far as Fender, or other logos go.... I don't know..    If you're aiming for the relic, reproduction thing, that's cool.   You want a guitar that looks and plays like SRV's, then go for it.   

However I would never bring myself to putting a Fender logo on a regular Warmoth.  I mean, you wouldn't put a Honda logo on a Ferrari?  ;-)
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ive never seen a ferrari that looks like a honda  :dontknow:
 
I'm not a fan of using the wrong logo on anything. I would hate down the road to have a family member selling off my guitar collection, and unknowingly either sell or try sell a Partscaster as a Strat or a Tele. I wouldn't want them to get in trouble, and I wouldn't want them to accidentally sell something to someone who was expecting something else.

On Warmoths selling for little on eBay, i think that's exactly the right thing. To me the whole value of W's is to put together your dream guitar. You can do that on the Warmoth site,and for a nice value. You get to pick out exactly what you want. Why would I buy someone else's dream guitar, when I can get my own.


Oh and SilverLizard is that a Rockman in your signature picture? I had one a long time ago, it got broken ,and I must have discarded it I think I might have the rackmount chassis for it still kicking around somewhere though.
 
I should add that there are other options. Here's what I did on my rosewood twelecaster headstock:
Twelecasterheadstock.jpg
 
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom said:
The headstock shape does denote the brand name so much so that's what the license states.  It's a Fender trademark.  The mere silhouette of the headstock is immediately recognizable as Fender.  If we get uber technical, those Indonesian, Korean, and Japanese Fenders are not made in a building owned by Fender, nor made by Fender employees.  It is a company given license to produce x amount of units to Fender specs and put a Fender logo them.  In other words, they are made by a Fender subcontractor.  In W's case, I bought parts built to Fender licensed specs and chose every detail, then I put a Fender logo on it.  What's the difference? 
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The parts made by subcontractors are made for Fender, not for the subcontractors themselves. Nobody's allowed to build and sell Fender guitars except Fender. If Fender hires somebody else to build them, they're still Fender's guitars to do with as they please. They generally sell them.

Fender licenses their headstock shapes, but they don't license their name.
 
Like a Stradivarius or Guarneri, my upcoming Warmoth will have no obvious logo on it  :icon_biggrin: Neither my classical guitar nor my cello have logos on the outside (btw, not expensive instruments). I don't think my cello has a logo anywhere on it, not even on the inside...

The logos are there primarily for commercial reasons on electric guitars, and of course many people like the fact that others recognize that their guitar is expensive (that's only natural).

I welcome the fact that my Warmoth will be free of advertisements.
 
I posted pic of my Warmoth and a friend asked me "Why did you put a Fender headstock on it? That's not a Fender neck"

I explained to her it was licensed by Fender and therefore a legit copy, but Fender didn't offer that type of wood. She was ok with that (FWIW her husband is a pro guitar player) but then again I wouldn't put a Fender logo on it.

I WOULD consider a Fender logo if the neck was going on a Fender body though. A licensed replacement part on a Fender body? I have zero issues with that.

Well, fine, I don't much care if you put a Fender logo on your Warmoth either, I just don't get why you'd want to.
 
I don't have any issue at all putting a Fender logo on a Warmoth built to look like a Fender. If you've already copied a Fender body shape, headstock shape, and probably most of the hardware, it's still going to be a Fender copy no matter what a little plastic decal says. 

If you're worried about someone reselling then don't put a serial number on it, or make some other reasonably obvious alteration.
 
jay4321 said:
I don't have any issue at all putting a Fender logo on a Warmoth built to look like a Fender.
If you've already copied a Fender body shape, headstock shape, and probably most of the
hardware, it's still going to be a Fender copy no matter what a little plastic decal says.  
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Well said.

If you have a problem putting Fender logo on a Strat/Tele headstock, why even bother
with Fender designs at all? Get something other than Fender related parts.

I think the most awkward looking guitar is when someone put non-Fender logo on
a Strat or Tele headstock.

No logo at all? That just looks unfinished... A sundae with no cherry on top.

And how do you figure that your guitar is free of advertisement when it has a
strat body and headstock (for an example)???
 
T50 said:
And how do you figure that your guitar is free of advertisement when it has a
strat body and headstock (for an example)???
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...because that's not an advertisement?  unless you think wearing a pair of levi's is advertisement for that company, in which case i guess you've got a point, but i'd call that a semantic, angels dancing on the head of a pin type of argument

the omission of something which seems like maybe it ought to be there in itself demonstrates the intent behind its absence is how i see it at least :)
 
T50 said:
And how do you figure that your guitar is free of advertisement when it has a
strat body and headstock (for an example)???
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How is the shape of a guitar an advertisement?

People are going to know damn well it's a Strat or a Tele or whatever, but they have no idea who produced it.
Especially if it has features that Fender doesn't offer.

Take my Jazz bass for example.
It's got the body and headstock shape, but do you think anyone in their right mind would think that Fender produced it?
 
line6man said:
T50 said:
And how do you figure that your guitar is free of advertisement when it has a
strat body and headstock (for an example)???
Click to expand...

It's got the body and headstock shape, but do you think anyone in their right mind would think that Fender produced it?
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Fender has put out some crazy stuff. Also custom stuff is available through them. Look at Jonny Lang's black telecaster.
http://coryhollenhorst.com/images/jonny_controls.jpg
 
NLD09 said:
line6man said:
T50 said:
And how do you figure that your guitar is free of advertisement when it has a
strat body and headstock (for an example)???
Click to expand...

It's got the body and headstock shape, but do you think anyone in their right mind would think that Fender produced it?
Click to expand...

Fender has put out some crazy stuff. Also custom stuff is available through them. Look at Jonny Lang's black telecaster.
http://coryhollenhorst.com/images/jonny_controls.jpg
Click to expand...

Considering how expensive the Fender custom shop stuff is, (I've heard quotes above $12K for example) I think people are going to know pretty quickly whether or not you can afford it, based on the rest of your gear.

OTOH, that's still a valid point.
 
line6man said:
How is the shape of a guitar an advertisement?
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Because the Fender designs are so iconic, people would assume
its a Fender from a distance. Only when they get close enough,
they would realize it's a copy of the famous design. So you still
advertise for Fender in that sense.
 
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