Luthiery Laboratories

Fender has set their legal department against any and all possible targets. I have been hit by trolling internet lawyers before. It costs them almost nothing to attack you, but it can cost you a great deal to be attacked.

I don't think Fender has a leg to stand on in this case, but they have two things in their favor: their own lawyers, and a piece of complete insanity known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA.

All they need to do is find the right judge somewhere - anywhere - and this case is a go, and they will probably win. It could go on for decades in appeals, all the while damaging Fender's intended victims, so that Fender wins even if they lose.

Such is our legal system, and I want nothing to do with this, so I have taken down all my Fender projects until this shakes out. Sure, I only built a few things for myself, and I'm not selling anything, but for the price of a stamp they can reach out and touch me, and as I said, I've been there before. The American legal system is not about laws, it is about lawyers.

Fender makes nothing from sales of used guitars. I say boycott all new (retail) Fender products. That includes: Bigsby, Charvel, DeArmond, EVH, Fender, G&L, Gretsch, Jackson, PreSonus, and Squier. If you want a new Fender-style instrument, buy a Music Man. Or buy used.

These folks are all missing the point. Right or wrong, Fender can sue you, and you'll have to defend yourself.

Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is owned by investment firms Servco and TPG Inc. Sadly, Fender appears to be yet another victim of private equity - the perfectly-legal billionaires' version of the Mafia. Private equity makes money by buying companies and liquidating them, not fixing them. Say goodbye to Fender.