tbonesullivan

Well, it's now been confirmed that PRS was one of the companies hit. I would very possibly assume that the video above is from their response. Whoever made this call at FMIC is definitely short on more than a few brain cells, to go after PRS with such a flimsy "win". https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/electric-guitars/prs-fender-cease-and-desist

Well that sucks. Makes me realize that I've been posting here for probably almost two decades now. Time flies when you're having fun. RIP JohnnyB, you are definitely missed.

Yeah... like if the Chinese company had even tried, they might have actually won. But instead they ignored it, or possibly were never even notified, given how good they are about keeping a mailing address for legal procedures. I heard that they argued the shape was based on a woman's body? Did Leo Fender EVER say that?

Making "Better Than Gibson current production" was how Hamer Started. I think the crux of the matter will be "how different" an S-type guitar needs to be from a Stratocaster to not infringe on the copyright. The Grosh Retro Classic looks pretty much like a Strat to me, except for the headstock, which is slightly different. You need to overlay the two guitar bodies to see how they are different.

Thank you for all your work on this! I wish I could help but back end stuff is beyond me. Heck even front end stuff is beyond me.

IIRC, they have a somewhat weak neck joint, depending on the era and where made. The original "violin bass" as used by McCartney had a puny neck tenon and a floating fretboard. So the main thing to worry about is the tension of the strings. Unfortunately actually finding that out for a given set of strings can be a pain in the ass, due to how much flatwounds vary in construction.

I actually had been planning on selling my G&L Legacies eventually, but now I think I want to keep them just to spite Fender. Even though I have like... 5 Fender guitars / basses.

I think that's exactly what was ruled in the united states when they tried to trademark the shape. I'm pretty sure they did this in Germany because the laws are different. Though it might have been good for the company they sued to actually do something. The problem is that they seem to be going directly after smaller companies that don't have large legal resources. Of course now I wonder if they are going to go after Kramer guitars as well, which is owned by Gibson. Ibanez also makes strat type guitars.

Fender won a regional court case in Düsseldorf, Germany, against a company that pumps out strat clones on Ali-Express. Well, they kinda won, as the other party never bothered to show up, so technically it's a "default" ruling". But now they have decided to use this to send C&D letters to pretty much every company that sells guitars through Thomann in Germany, and most likely would love to bring this back to the U.S., but unfortunately the strat body was already declared generic. However that hasn't stopped them from going after U.S. companies that sell internationally. LSL got papers sent, and who knows who else. Since they already own Bigsby, the company Leo ripped the Strat headstock shape from, and also now that I guess they got the rights to Leo Fenders name from the bankruptcy of G&L, I guess they want to start suing everyone like Gibson. https://www.guitarworld.com/gear/electric-guitars/fender-cease-and-desist-lsl-instruments

For the price, I certainly hope those both bring the goods. That pain scheme reminds me of a story from Billy Gibbons guitar book, where he talks about opening for Hendrix when he was with the Moving Sidewalks. After a show was over, they brought out sheets of paper and paint and just were throwing paint on everything, or something like that.

I mean.. that is his classic look. His Fender signature models are also usually just black, though they sometimes make sunburst ones. However all of Geddy Lee's Sansamp pedals and preamps are kinda seafoam green, so I think he also likes green.

Ahh, a black SG. I used to have one. I'm sure I've posted pics about it. definitely one I should have not moved on, but I sold it to a friend, who later passed away. Now I really kinda wonder what his sister did with all his stuff, as his mom passed away not long before he did. I have two SGs now.. somewhere in the pile.

See, that's one thing I was glad about. Being used to Fender and MM basses, having the pickup cover or the horseshoe in the way is just a pain. I know some people love it, and it's got that iconic look, but you'll also see the majority of Rickenbacker 4001 and 4003 basses out there with it removed. The other Rick model basses don't have the big cover thing.

Yeah, I just saw two more photos posted of the blue one... danng.

Oh man don't even get me started on the prices of Concert Tickets, with or without the involvement of Ticketmaster / LiveNation. Here's the second one they made, which is more my style. I have no idea what the control setup is, but IIRC, Geddy lee is pretty much both pickups FULL OUT on his Jazz and Ricks.

As an owner of the "Big Beautiful Book of Bass", I know that Geddy Lee has quite the collection. He does not however have a very early 4000 bass, which had a huge gold scratch plate, single horseshoe pickup, strange plastic and lucite bridge cover, and other things. Well, Rick did him a solid and made him one, though with a neck pickup so it would give him the sound he wants. Now I have no interest in having this bass. I already have a 4003 in Fireglo. I love how well it does the Rick thing. However you can bet your ass that rich Rush / Geddy Lee fans have been activated by this. Apparently a second one was made in a more blue color with a Schaller bridge. I'm hoping that for once Rickenbacker decides "yes, we want to make money" and gives the people what they want. https://www.notreble.com/buzz/2026/04/27/inside-geddy-lees-new-custom-rickenbacker-4000v-bass-for-rushs-return/

Wow, I'd never even heard of this brand before! Definitely some interesting "ahead of their time" innovations, like an adjustable nut? Is the tremolo based on a big leaf spring like that later Gibson trems they used on SG specials, or is it something different?

I love the videos he does. He's just such a mellow guy. He also looks like one of those people who could eat all the junk food and not gain a pound.

Oh wow, never knew there was that much inside a duotone. What kind of shielding paint did Hamer use for those, anyone know? I've seen a few different colors inside the control cavities.

Another thing to note is that Jim Irsay was only 65 when he passed away. There are plenty of people his age and older with crap tons of money, as well as people decades younger who some of his collection will appeal too. He didn't just collect guitars either, and things like the first draft of Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" were also a part of this auction. Predicted to go at around 2.5 to 5 million, it ended up going for just over 12. His collection is honestly exceptionally well curated and much of it was definitely historically as well as culturally important. For the guitars, he also was a player, and tomorrow it looks like most of the "player" guitars are going up, which also look quite nice, but are only really remarkable in that they were part of the Irsay collection. Which yes, I admit sounds rather odd when there is a Gibson Les Paul 1958 Burst, two 1960 Bursts, and a circa 1971 Flying V as part of the auction. However there's also a lot of "modern" production guitars, including a bunch Martin and Collings Acoustics. I would water the Martin Museum however may also be in the game, as there are some Martins from the 1930s as well.

No idea... I'm sure whoever gets it is either gonna talk all about how they got it, or it'll remain hidden until they pass away. I don't see any companies having interest at that price point. Fender doesn't need it to copy to make a Gilmour strat. Still, must be plenty of rich Pink Floyd fans out there, as both Gilmour guitars went for well over the estimate.

Apparently the record for "Most Expensive Guitar Ever Sold" had to be changed several times in the past few days, as late massively rich guitar collector and businessman Jim Irsay's collection has been up for auction at Christies. Currently FIVE of the top ten most expensive guitars are guitars from the auction, including the entire top three. Those sold at the current auction are those in bold. David Gilmour’s Black Fender Stratocaster – $14,550,000 Jerry Garcia’s “Tiger” guitar – $11,560,000 Kurt Cobain’s Smells Like Teen Spirit Fender Mustang – $6,907,000 Kurt Cobain’s MTV Unplugged Martin D-18E – $6,010,000 Eric Clapton’s MTV Unplugged Martin 000-42 – $4,101,000 Eddie Van Halen’s Hot For Teacher Kramer – $3,932,000 Eric Clapton’s “The Fool” 1964 Gibson SG Standard – $3,003,000 John Lennon’s Framus Hootenanny 12-string – $2,857,000 Eddie Van Halen’s 1982 Kramer – $2,734,000 “Reach Out to Asia” Fender Stratocaster – $2,700,000 I should mention that the Gilmour Strat sold at just under 4 million in 2019, so that's definitely a good investment, I guess. There are still some further auctions that might be affordable for the "minor aristocracy", or even, dare I say, "regular" people. But you have to be looking for a lap steel guitar. https://www.christies.com/events/the-jim-irsay-collection/about

Almost all of my guitars have D'Addario strings on them. I know some that swear by GHS, or Ernie Ball, or DR (Especially in the NJ Area), but I just like the way D'Addarios play. For bass strings however I use like every brand, especially for Flats and ground wounds. There is so much freakin variation on the bass side of things, both with feel and sound.

Do the string companies draw their own wire and such, or do they get it from other sources? I know they do all the winding, but the machinery to draw down steel and such to such small diameters is not small.

Not gonna lie but yeah, I find his voice and commentary annoying, and just find his stuff to be excessively click bait oriented. Thankfully there are lots of other interesting Youtube channels to watch that are guitar gear oriented.that deliver reviews and such that are much more interesting.