In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

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In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by Ceylon » Fri Jul 12, 2019 5:05 am

You know what I mean, this fucking thing. I literally cannot imagine that any company that managed to grow as big as Gibson has would accept having dumb enough people on board for an idea like this to ever reach further than the water coolers. Not only is it dumb, the "Authentic Hendrix" sticker on the pickguard really makes it seems like high school satire or whatever, like branding a revolver with "true John Wayne" and having his face carved into the frame. And that same company is sueing Dean?

I mean did their website get hacked by pranksters or something and they felt too ashamed about that to mention it? Was it a joke that fell so flat they didn't even bother to try and pick it up? Did these guitars exist as anything but Photoshop renders , and if so, will someone some days stumble on the pre-production models buried somewhere outback between Pittsburgh and Lebanon, Tennessee?

Sorry, just ranting, but out of all the weird things I've seen since I got interested in guitars, this seems like the least likely one to ever cross from dream into pseudo-reality. Even the Firebird X at least had a semi-legit purpose that was wrapped in bizarre ideas and aesthetics. Nothing about the Hendrix Strat was not bizarre.
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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by Larry Mal » Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:02 am

Pretty weird, huh? It seems like Gibson realized how dumb this was at some point and pulled back from it, perhaps realizing how badly this would make their other products look.

I never really found all that much fault with Gibson on this, though. I mean, if they could sell a lot of these and make money, then that's what they should do. They made no effort to make this at all be like a Stratocaster from a legal sense, and only ever apparently claimed that this is "the guitar that Jimi would have played if it would have existed and he wouldn't have choked to death on his own vomit."

Inspiring stuff.

Nah, to me, the real evil here is Hendrix' family, who are a loathsome group of jackals happy to license the shit out of Jimi's legacy onto any product that they can get it on. Seriously, look into those people- it's really something.
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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by parry » Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:11 am

Larry Mal wrote:
Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:02 am
Nah, to me, the real evil here is Hendrix' family, who are a loathsome group of jackals happy to license the shit out of Jimi's legacy onto any product that they can get it on. Seriously, look into those people- it's really something.
The Marley family being a very close second - if not, tied for first ;)
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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by Larry Mal » Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:47 am

Yeah, except that at least a few of those people have genuinely tried to have musical careers of their own, sure, based on their father's legacy, but at least they go out and sing and whatnot.

The Hendrix people don't even do that, they just meet with the lawyers, meet with the board, cash them checks.

But yeah, the Marley estate is awful also, no doubt.
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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by StevenO » Fri Jul 12, 2019 8:35 am

Not a joke, they just grasp irony as well as they grasp market demand.

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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by Embenny » Fri Jul 12, 2019 8:45 am

Larry Mal wrote:
Fri Jul 12, 2019 6:47 am
Yeah, except that at least a few of those people have genuinely tried to have musical careers of their own, sure, based on their father's legacy, but at least they go out and sing and whatnot.

The Hendrix people don't even do that, they just meet with the lawyers, meet with the board, cash them checks.

But yeah, the Marley estate is awful also, no doubt.
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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by Larry Mal » Fri Jul 12, 2019 9:38 am

If there was anything Bob Marley was ever concerned about it was corporate culture and making sure it was nurturing enough for white collar workers.
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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by eskmsaul » Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:47 am

Funnily enough, they did find one of the prototypes! https://youtu.be/JTNv9i6Mq2w

Also, didn't Epiphone make Strat and Tele copies back in the 90s? I always wonder if there was no uproar simply because it was pre-internet times.

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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by parry » Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:51 am

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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by parry » Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:52 am

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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by cincinnatiharry » Fri Jul 12, 2019 11:42 am

yeah it goes the other way too...

Fender routinely use Humbuckers, tune-o-matic bridges, and stop tail pieces, and occasionally use set necks (not that Gibson invented the set neck). Also the Fender Robben Ford model was very Gibson inspired.

If Gibson was going to do a Hendrix model, obviously the right choice would have been to re-issue his two flying v guitars and his SG (Les Paul) at the time... guitars that you will note he didn't smash up.

That Hendrix strat was never released and was a blatant money grab by the Hendrix estate, an estate that is controlled not by Hendrix's brother, but controlled by a sister he never met.

Gibson has has A LOT or eras. From Orville's small company to, the Lloyd Loar years, to Ted McCarty, Norlin, Juszkiewicz (the era of the famed Firebird X and this Hendrix strat) to now James Curleigh. You can't attribute one decision to people who weren't even around when that decision was made. "Mr. Gibson" doesn't sit in a leather chair smoking a cigar behind a oak desk like a big business fat cat caricature.

It's also important to note this Dean lawsuit was started in the Juszkiewicz era, not the Curleigh era... and it does have a lot a validity. Namely, Luna Guitars (owned by Dean) sells an acoustic named the Humingbird... that's just taking the piss.

Also, I find this argument that "there's only so many shapes a guitar can have" to be a weak AF argument. People say there are no new ideas left and then the St. Vincent model comes out and blows everyone away. Not to mention boutique builders are coming up with entirely original guitars regularly.

I can understand why Gibson are being litigious... I'll give you two other examples... First, Rickenbacker. They rarely are ripped off. Why? Because they sue more than the church of Scientology. I am jesting, but for real if you market even a Rickenbacker inspired guitar they will sue. Next, Mosrite. Mosrite and Semie Moseley were being ripped off by everyone from Firstman, to Univox pretty much from the beginning (check out the first Hallmark guitars, they were the first to rip off Mosrite and Hallmark had Semie's own brother as a silent investor! LOL)... Semie was too poor, a bad business man, and had no money to sue. So he just got fucked over, and now Eastwood and Danelectro are raping him, even in death. I am Facebook friends with Dana Moseley, neither she nor any of her siblings have ever gotten payment from Eastwood, even though they routinely rip off Mosrite designs and even use the Mosrite name in their marketing.

My point? Business is hell and if you don't defend it, you lose it.
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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by StevenO » Sat Jul 13, 2019 7:03 am

parry wrote:
Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:52 am
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I love those! They look so cool. :-*

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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by Embenny » Sat Jul 13, 2019 5:07 pm

Geez, with that headstock, they aren't even pretending they're not ripping off G&L ASAT Classic.

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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by scottT » Sat Jul 13, 2019 5:32 pm

sooooo close the bat wing headstock. You've been put on notice, G&L.

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Re: In light of Gibson's copyright battles, was the Hendrix Strat just a joke?

Post by Danley » Sat Jul 13, 2019 5:39 pm

parry wrote:
Fri Jul 12, 2019 10:52 am
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What is going on with the pickguard?
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