whats the deal with warmoth/fender?

  • Thread starter Thread starter tom18222
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lpdeluxe said:
I understand that Fender requires return of a damaged neck before they will send out a new one with "Fender" on it.

Me, I made up a decal for my Warmoth neck that says "Imprecision Bass" but I haven't gotten around to sticking it on yet. I don't mind the look of the bare headstock. Wood is nice.
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Well, they require photos showing that a neck is beyond repair before they will send out a neck (and only to authorized warranty centers, thank you very much), and we have to send the neck back once we get the new one. Also, last time I checked they would not sell them, they will only send out replacement necks for warranty repairs. They used to sell "courtesy" necks if you managed to break yours (at a rather exorbitant $450+), but they stopped doing that several years ago. They also will not send out, even for warranty purposes, any Custom Shop necks. They have, over the last 10-15 years, had massive problems with counterfeiters, and have had to take serious measures to combat the issue.

As has already been mentioned, Warmoth will NOT put someone else's decals on a neck, and neither will any reputable repair shop. I have some old Fender decals, which I would be happy to put on if I was refinishing a neck for which they were appropriate, if they are even still useful (they are from about 1978 or so), but I would NEVER put them on a non-Fender neck, nor even on a Fender neck they didn't match. We got these decals from Fender way back when, before they were having the counterfeit problems they are having today, so they are not fakes, they are the real thing, but they will only be used on very specific guitars, and they will cost whoever buys them at least two arms and a leg (kind of negating the need to have their guitar refinished, I suppose).

And for what it's worth, I just got a new neck for a Strat I'm making myself. the neck came from USA Custom Guitars, and their workmanship is noticeably better than Warmoth's, though they do not have a license agreement with Fender so the headstocks are not the same shapes.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Thank you for the clarification, Light.

Leo himself was notoriously lax about copiers, from what I have read (Bill Carson recounts a conversation in which Leo tells Carson to think about how many families are being fed from making copies in Asia) but circumstances have greatly changed since his day.

I'm interested to hear that about USA Custom. As noted above, I have a Warmoth fretless P neck on one of my basses, with no complaints about quality or finish (I had them finish it for me) but higher quality is higher, nonetheless.
 
lpdeluxe said:
I'm interested to hear that about USA Custom. As noted above, I have a Warmoth fretless P neck on one of my basses, with no complaints about quality or finish (I had them finish it for me) but higher quality is higher, nonetheless.
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It's not at all a knock on Warmoth, by the way, who still are doing fantastic stuff. I just think the USCG folks are getting some of the details a little better. Very nice stuff.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Light said:
Well, they require photos showing that a neck is beyond repair before they will send out a neck (and only to authorized warranty centers, thank you very much), and we have to send the neck back once we get the new one. Also, last time I checked they would not sell them, they will only send out replacement necks for warranty repairs. They used to sell "courtesy" necks if you managed to break yours (at a rather exorbitant $450+), but they stopped doing that several years ago. They also will not send out, even for warranty purposes, any Custom Shop necks. They have, over the last 10-15 years, had massive problems with counterfeiters, and have had to take serious measures to combat the issue.

As has already been mentioned, Warmoth will NOT put someone else's decals on a neck, and neither will any reputable repair shop. I have some old Fender decals, which I would be happy to put on if I was refinishing a neck for which they were appropriate, if they are even still useful (they are from about 1978 or so), but I would NEVER put them on a non-Fender neck, nor even on a Fender neck they didn't match. We got these decals from Fender way back when, before they were having the counterfeit problems they are having today, so they are not fakes, they are the real thing, but they will only be used on very specific guitars, and they will cost whoever buys them at least two arms and a leg (kind of negating the need to have their guitar refinished, I suppose).

And for what it's worth, I just got a new neck for a Strat I'm making myself. the neck came from USA Custom Guitars, and their workmanship is noticeably better than Warmoth's, though they do not have a license agreement with Fender so the headstocks are not the same shapes.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
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I got a bunch of Fender decals back in the early 80s by just calling Fender. They required nothing but a request!

That is so over now.
 
Sorry, I did not have time to read all the posts; By placing the Fender logo on neck and representing that the neck and or guitar is a fender could give you some trouble sleeping......... in court waiting for the District Judge to hand you your ass.

Bailiff whack his pee pee.



:eek:
 
MCI2424 said:
I got a bunch of Fender decals back in the early 80s by just calling Fender. They required nothing but a request!

That is so over now.
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Yeah, me too. I've got a few that go back to the late seventies. But they are of course the wrong logo's for all the idiots out there who want to put Fender Logo's on fake guitars (which doesn't really matter to me, as the only way they will ever be getting used is if we refinish an actual Fender from that particular vintage - which is to say they will almost certainly never get used).


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
DrewPeterson7 said:
FWIW, Warmoth actually sells rather attractive metal Warmoth logos that could be installed on a headstock for a couple bucks - I quite like the look of the smoked chrome, and when I eventually do a parts strat as a backup for mine I'm planning on slapping one of their decals on the headstock.

http://www.warmoth.com/supplies/supplies.cfm?fuseaction=stickers
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Yeah, but you would have to order 7 of them if you wanted one. Warmoth has a "minimum" order of $25.00. This is just another annoying "policy" they have. They make some nice stuff, just hope you don't need any real customer service out of them, because you won't get it.

Call USA custom guitars with your order. They'll make you a better piece, and give you outstanding customer service. I really can't say enough good things about USA custom. Nor can I say enough bad things about warmoth.

Did I mention warmoth's customer service sucks?

~Shawn
 
I don't see anything wrong with using a Fender decal on a non-fender product so long as you aren't trying to pass the guitar off as a genuine Fender. That being said, I've bought a Jazzmaster type body from a place called Guitar Mill- in Silver Sparkle Nitro finish , a Strat Style Neck from EBay (It is a nice WD neck, and built a Jazzmaster clone to 1. See if I could do it and 2. Because the vintage Jags and Jazzmasters I really want are way out of my pricerange right now. The electronics I used are all Fender AVRI, The bridge and tremolo are Fender Japan, the pickguard is Allparts, The tone Cap is from Angela Instruments, even the screws are Fender, as is the backplate. In essence it is a Fender, so I've got no problem putting a Fender decal on it. In my view its similar to a kit car like a Ferrari or Shelby clone. You want the look but you don't have the cash. I was fortunate to come across alot of the parts at good prices over a few years (especially the body). In fact I may be selling the guitar in the forum if I'm not back to work before my unemployment runs out (been out of work for almost 6 months). If I sell it, I won't represent it as a real Fender, and the decal can always be removed if necessary. If someone comes across it and tries to pass it off as a genuine Fender product, shame on both the buyer and the seller.
 
brich2929 said:
I don't see anything wrong with using a Fender decal on a non-fender product so long as you aren't trying to pass the guitar off as a genuine Fender.
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Using a Fender decal on a non-Fender is, by definition, trying to pass it off as a Fender.

The real problem with it, though, is it is illegal, and they WILL prosecute, given the opportunity. They have a fiduciary duty to their stock holders to do so.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Anfontan said:
I made this logo in Paint years ago and have used it on several kit guitars-this is my Tele. Its my initials combined into an emblem.:)
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that is very similar to a logo I made for a LP copy I built for my son.
PICT0001-1.jpg
 
I had a custom made Warmoth Strat neck made for me, and I had my guitar tech put on a Fender Waterslide Decal. The decal looked stunning. Blank headstocks look too bare, since no guitar comes looking like that.
 
Roguetitan said:
that is very similar to a logo I made for a LP copy I built for my son.
PICT0001-1.jpg
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Very nice there Rogue, you're logo looks like it was done with a paint brush though-I don't think my brush work would be steady enough for results like that!:o
 
Anfontan said:
Very nice there Rogue, you're logo looks like it was done with a paint brush though-I don't think my brush work would be steady enough for results like that!:o
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Thanks Anfrotan
I kind of Have to LOL Because when I tell you what I used you and most of the other guys especially the builders are going to:eek:

The Logo was put on with a black sharpie before I painted the headstock transparent candy apple red.

my first intentions was to make black pearl inlay but my son said he liked it the way it was so I just painted over it and to my suprise it turned out pretty darn good.:cool:
 
357mag said:
I had a custom made Warmoth Strat neck made for me, and I had my guitar tech put on a Fender Waterslide Decal. The decal looked stunning. Blank headstocks look too bare, since no guitar comes looking like that.
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Rubbish, as I said before plenty of people ask for custum headstocks with no logo. Here's one I finished just recently. The only thing the guy changed was to have the truss rod cover in rosewood. I haven't got a pic of that. His design, his Idea, no logo.

That Fender logo should not go on anything but a Fender. Period and a correct period fender for the decal style at that, anything else is piracy and copy rite fraud. Tell me if you record a Clapton solo on it does that make you Clapton?
 

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Nice, Muttley! Is that 2 different woods glued together, veneer or painted/stained?
 
solaris1982 said:
Nice, Muttley! Is that 2 different woods glued together, veneer or painted/stained?
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It's a 1.5mm veneer lay on. The veneer is cut and fitted then glued to the headstock face in the usual manner. This one is flame maple and Indian rosewood. As it's a figured veneer and on mahogany the back is balanced with a veneer on it to stop any chance of it pulling over time.

Here's the back
 

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muttley600 said:
It's a 1.5mm veneer lay on. The veneer is cut and fitted then glued to the headstock face in the usual manner. This one is flame maple and Indian rosewood. As it's a figured veneer and on mahogany the back is balanced with a veneer on it to stop any chance of it pulling over time.

Here's the back
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Muttley, I would LOVE to see some more pictures of your work, if you don't mind. That's beautiful, man.
 
Thurgood said:
Sorry, I did not have time to read all the posts; By placing the Fender logo on neck and representing that the neck and or guitar is a fender could give you some trouble sleeping......... in court waiting for the District Judge to hand you your ass.
Click to expand...

Light said:
Using a Fender decal on a non-Fender is, by definition, trying to pass it off as a Fender.

The real problem with it, though, is it is illegal, and they WILL prosecute, given the opportunity. They have a fiduciary duty to their stock holders to do so.
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c'mon guys. i agree that it's morally wrong and quite illegal...but unless it's sold, who would ever find out? i don't think the cops are checking bar bands for fake guitars. ;)


DrewPeterson7 said:
Muttley, I would LOVE to see some more pictures of your work, if you don't mind. That's beautiful, man.
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ditto! i've been wanting to see muttley's work for a long time.

muttley:

awesome work bro! so how 'bout it....got a website?
 
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