Illegal partscasters?

rpr

Nice! Axesrus don't seem to be selling bodies or necks at all anymore I notice...

They seem to be selling Fender licensed bodies, took a bit of finding tho

http://www.axesrus.co.uk/SearchResults.asp?Search=alder

Megii

asimmd said:

I f you take a look at the Strings Direct website,they do have genuine Fender necks and bodies. The necks even have Fender decals on them,so if I put a guitar together using these parts,is it a Fender or not? Also,if your Ford car is involved in an accident and the bonnet is replaced with a 3rd party replacement,the garage will put the logo back on the new bonnet,does this mean the car is no longer a Ford?

By jove you're right! Does say "This replacement neck is for a Fender or Squier® by Fender guitar" in the blurb for the necks, so I guess they are only allowed to be used to replace broken necks on such an instrument. But clearly one would think the resulting guitar could/should still be called a Fender.

Similar advice re the bodies: "This replacement body is for a Fender or Squier® by Fender guitar" it says... I still think it's all a bit funny and inconsistent, but I guess, as has been said, it all comes down to money in the end.

Megii

rpr said:

Nice! Axesrus don't seem to be selling bodies or necks at all anymore I notice...

They seem to be selling Fender licensed bodies, took a bit of finding tho

http://www.axesrus.co.uk/SearchResults.asp?Search=alder

But not listed or linked to in the menu listings at the side - very strange!...

OilCityPickups

Megii said:

Axesrus don't seem to be selling bodies or necks at all anymore I notice...

I was chatting to Axesrus on the phone a while back ... I believe they will not be the only ones to no longer carry necks and bodies. Fender seem to be having a worldwide crackdown on non-licenced products and playing some serious hardball.

Megii

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Megii said:

Axesrus don't seem to be selling bodies or necks at all anymore I notice...

I was chatting to Axesrus on the phone a while back ... I believe they will not be the only ones to no longer carry necks and bodies. Fender seem to be having a worldwide crackdown on non-licenced products and playing some serious hardball.

Certainly can't blame Axesrus if so, although I guess there is nothing to stop them stocking officially Fender licensed parts if they so wish. I guess one can't blame Fender for their stance either...

ThePrettyDamned

I have spent some time on this, and the worry I guess is that non-licensed parts have incorrect heel dimensions.

Obviously, licensed doesn't guarantee a perfect neck, but I'd rather get one knowing it has a better chance of being good, I suppose. I've decided on my tele to save up for a while and get a Warmoth neck. It'll be worth the extra cash, even if it takes a few months (which gives me plenty of time to finish the body and the prs style).

OilCityPickups

Licenced has absolutely nothing to do with quality. Fender were still happily licensing Mightymite when their quality went down the toilet in the eighties. It's back up now ... but the licensing is for the head shape only not for fit and finish. 

ThePrettyDamned

TheGuitarWeasel;119273" said:

Licenced has absolutely nothing to do with quality. Fender were still happily licensing Mightymite when their quality went down the toilet in the eighties. It's back up now ... but the licensing is for the head shape only not for fit and finish. 

*returns to nervousness buying necks*

Even more reason to go Warmoth. At least they are pretty good, very few bad things said about them.

impmann

If, as has been proven in court, Fender have no IP copyright on body shape, how can they crackdown on that?

impmann

Warmoth Tele necks are the wrong shape around the back edge of the headstock and have square edges to the fingerboard as supplied - they are good necks but I feel you pay a premium for the name and you do still have to fettle them.

ThePrettyDamned

impmann said:

Warmoth Tele necks are the wrong shape around the back edge of the headstock and have square edges to the fingerboard as supplied - they are good necks but I feel you pay a premium for the name and you do still have to fettle them.

Hmm, interesting.  The main things I want are being able to do behind the nut bends, and possibly an ebony board.  Also want stainless steel frets, so Warmoth seems a good bet.  

Any other recommendations for decent necks?   I will likely (in a few months) put up a WTB in the classifieds on the off chance someone has one.

Also, for 'rounding' the board, can I just mask the frets and use a piece of sandpaper (say 320, 400 then 800 grit)?  Never done it before, but having played a nice 'proper' usa fender neck, I now know I want it to be rounded a little more.  

Ianpdq

WD Music but they are expensive http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/necks-12-c.asp

impmann

Allparts are my personal faves but can need some fettling.

jd0272

Musikraft.

ICBM

impmann said:

If, as has been proven in court, Fender have no IP copyright on body shape, how can they crackdown on that?

They can't, legally - but they will probably just tell any vendors that unless they stop selling any copy bodies that aren't officially approved, they won't get any Fender parts at all.

At the end of the day it's about money and trademark rights and not about absolutely stopping copies - which they know they can't now - so as long as they can show they're defending their trademarks and are making money from a proportion of the parts, they will use whatever leverage they have rather than trying to block them altogether legally.

Rickenbacker take the opposite tack and go hard after anyone doing any kind of trademark infringement at all, and always have done. As a result they still have valid trademarks on everything from the logo to even the shapes of the bodies and the pickups.

OilCityPickups

impmann said:

If, as has been proven in court, Fender have no IP copyright on body shape, how can they crackdown on that?

I believe it's specifically necks that fender are aiming their crack down at ... though the knock on effect may be that many companies will feel that if you can't sell necks, you won't be able to shift bodies. I certainly wouldn't be surprised if that were the case with Axesrus.

WezV

TheGuitarWeasel said:

Licenced has absolutely nothing to do with quality. Fender were still happily licensing Mightymite when their quality went down the toilet in the eighties. It's back up now ... but the licensing is for the head shape only not for fit and finish. 

you can read the warmoth/fender licence here

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/fender_lic.pdf

there is a bit about the quality needing to match that of FMIC.  fender can request sample necks to check.  if they don't meet the standard required they have 90 days to improve or have to stop making licensed parts until they can show they do meet FMIC's quality

DeeTee

Rickenbacker do what they do for a simple reason. If and when they take legal action against people for trademark infringement, they have to show that they've taken steps to protect their trademark. If they don't, the defending party can rightly say "well, you didn't care when these people did it, so what were we supposed to think?"

ICBM

DeeTee said:

Rickenbacker do what they do for a simple reason. If and when they take legal action against people for trademark infringement, they have to show that they've taken steps to protect their trademark. If they don't, the defending party can rightly say "well, you didn't care when these people did it, so what were we supposed to think?"

Exactly - and having started down that path, they have no option but to continue.

Fender lost their body shape trademarks precisely because they didn't defend them actively enough - they've managed to retain their headstock-shape trademarks, but now they also have no choice other than to show they're defending them.

Whether the negative press it generates as well will be good or bad for them in the long run is less clear. I would say with Rickenbacker there's some evidence it doesn't win them any friends - which isn't to say it's right or wrong. It certainly doesn't completely stop copies either though.

ChrisMusic

ICBM said:   Whether the negative press it generates as well will be good or bad for them in the long run is less clear. I would say with Rickenbacker there's some evidence it doesn't win them any friends

It certainly doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy about the brand...    :-S