Re: Hollow Body Electric


"Roger E. Blumberg" <rblumberg@xxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:BF54E447.3937C%rblumberg@xxxxxxxxxx
>
>
> > From: Tony Meloche <bombarde@xxxxxxx>
> > Newsgroups: alt.guitar.beginner
> > Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005 23:28:36 -0400
> > Subject: Re: Hollow Body Electric
> >
> > Roger E. Blumberg wrote:
> >>
> >>> From: "Roger E. Blumberg" <rblumberg@xxxxxxx>
> >>> Organization: EarthLink Inc. -- http://www.EarthLink.net
> >>> Newsgroups: alt.guitar.beginner
> >>> Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2005 00:30:26 GMT
> >>> Subject: Re: Hollow Body Electric
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>> It's been that long??
> >>>
> >>> ya, it started (at least) with the mid 70's Japanese knock-offs.
You'll see
> >>> lots of them (or claiming to be them) on eBay.
> >>>
> >>> Roger
> >>>
> >>
> >>
> >> search eBay: musical instruments / guitar / lawsuit (I get 82 hits
> >> currently).
> >> http://tinyurl.com/ba8h8
> >>
> >> I guess Fender must have largely given up at some point, but they too
were
> >> suing the Japanese makers in the 70's for Strats at least (and Teles
too I
> >> assume). I don't know many of the specific details of those lawsuit
> >> histories, nor really how many major waves there've been, but we're
probably
> >> in the midst of another one again. There were a bunch of (again)
> >> good-looking copies in the last 5 years or so, so I guess Gibson felt
it
> >> necessary to flex it's muscle again. The threat alone is enough to
prevent
> >> copiers for maybe a decade or so, and then people try again to see if
they
> >> can get away with it, it seems. Tony probably knows more details.
> >>
> >> Roger
> >>
> >
> >
> > A few, but not too many. Common sense tells me Fender has at least
> > licensed the original Strat body design, or else has "given up", as it
> > is ubiquitous now. But one of their big lawsuits was against Tokai
> > years ago, for "copying our design". I don't think it was copying the
> > design of the Strat that bothered them as much as the fact that the
> > finished product was every bit as good - or better - than an American
> > made Strat for only a portion of the cost. The 1970's Tokai Strat copy
> > was the first one to really shake Fender up.
> >
> > More recently, Rickenbacker (who has great lawyers) squawked to Rogue
> > about their ripoff 360 design. I don't know what was in the wording,
> > but Rogue dropped it like a hot potato.
> >
> > Mosrite's designs and patents are now owned by Fillmore of Japan, and
> > they faithfully reproduce excellent Mosrite copies. It's legal - they
> > own the patents. But they were also silkscreening the famous "The
> > Ventures Model" logo on the headstock (I got one of the last of those).
> > Don Wilson and Bob Bogle of the Ventures own the rights to that name,
> > and they brought suit. That was the end of the "Ventures" logo on the
> > headstock, but everything else is the same.
> >
> > The industry is full of similar stories.
> >
> > The Old Guy
> >
>
>
> Thanks for the additional bits Tony. The Tokia Gibsons (335s) of the
period
> are supposed to be very nice too. They must have been a force to reckon
with
> for US makers in general.
>
>
> > I don't think it was copying the
> > design of the Strat that bothered them as much as the fact that the
> > finished product was every bit as good - or better - than an American
> > made Strat for only a portion of the cost.
>
>
> that makes sense, across the board. The Japanese were making very good
> quality products generally by that point, and in many markets and fields,
> and at good prices. Tough to compete with that. Their inroads into the US
> auto market had already put a bit big pinch on the economy if I recall
> correctly. I believe that's were and when the whole "Buy American"
> sloganeering began -- in response to the Japanese-products threat
generally
> in the 70's.
>
> Roger
>

I remember our "made in japan" joke wasn't a joke anymore then. Thanks for
the interesting history lesson. I was really out of it. I put my guitar up
in the 70s when my drummer friend died from alcohol poisoning.


.

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