The Last Bass Outpost
Gear Discussion Forums => Gibson Basses => Topic started by: Dave W on December 28, 2017, 10:20:07 PM
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GIBSON Sues FUNKO Over Unauthorized Use Of Guitar Designs In METALLICA, KISS, GUNS N' ROSES Figures (http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/gibson-sues-funko-over-unauthorized-use-of-guitar-designs-in-metallica-kiss-guns-n-roses-figures/)
Yes, I'm sure consumers will think those little vinyl figures are holding real Gibson guitars. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
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Tugbars.
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...and the irony over the James Hetfield figure is that it is actually an ESP Explorer copy anyway. Metallica begged Gibson for an endorsement deal after they hit it big with 'Master of Puppets' and stodgy Gibson refused and lost arguably THE highest profile instrument endorser in music history.
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Their legal dept is obviously desperately trying to maintain their "own" worth or has been threatened with cuts... pathetic... truly pathetic...
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Gibson wrote in the complaint: "The misuse of the Gibson trademarks by Funko was intended to cause, has caused, and is likely to continue to cause, consumer confusion, mistake or deception including the misleading of consumers into mistakenly believing that the defendant's unauthorized products are made directly by Gibson pursuant to Gibson's strict quality control standards or Gibson has authorized or licensed the use by Funko of the Gibson trademarks for those products."
That quote is flat out hilarious. They are turning it into a plot against Gibson. Like Dave wrote ironically, nobody will ever think Gibson had anything to do with those figures. Not even Gibson has that bad quality control that they'd put only four strings on Slash's signature Les Paul.
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If those miniatures had "Gibson" reading on those tiny headstocks, I could (barely) see their point, but they don't. If I was the judge, I'd throw their case out. Yes, Slash is known for playing "Les Paul shape guitars", a plastic figurine of him playing a Les Paul-shape guitar merely states the public domain truth.
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That quote is flat out hilarious. They are turning it into a plot against Gibson. Like Dave wrote ironically, nobody will ever think Gibson had anything to do with those figures. Not even Gibson has that bad quality control that they'd put only four strings on Slash's signature Les Paul.
I'm glad I wasn't drinking coffee when I read the phrase "Gibson's strict quality control standards."
A poster at MLP started a thread a few weeks ago about ordering a particular LP variation from Sweetwater that was out of stock at the time, with more on the way. Sweetwater inspects all guitars and basses before listing them. His sales rep called and told him that the order had arrived but every one of that model had to be returned to Gibson b/c the quality was unacceptable to Sweetwater. He said that Sweetwater has to return 13% of all the Gibsons it receives, higher than any other manufacturer.
Based on my personal experience, no surprise. So much for "Gibson's strict quality control standards."
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The headstocks on those miniatures are a good deal more shock-resitant than the real thing, just sayin'. :popcorn:
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... So much for "Gibson's strict quality control standards."
These days, maybe that just means they have to ensure shoddy finishes and generally poor QC to maintain their steady roll down the hill towards mediocrity the ditch... missed that shift on the long decline... long may you ruin... (sic)
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These days, maybe that just means they have to ensure shoddy finishes and generally poor QC to maintain their steady roll down the hill towards mediocrity the ditch... missed that shift on the long decline... long may you ruin... (sic)
Most of them are still problem free. 2017 and 2018 guitars I saw at GC recently all looked great. Still, if Sweetwater's rejection rate is accurate, it's way too high, and makes Gibson's claim of strict quality control standards laughable.
That thread I mentioned at MLP had the most bizarre example I've heard of: somebody bought an Memphis ES-LesPaul with Bigsby that had got past Gibson Memphis' QC inspectors even though they forgot to install the center block. The guy had photos of the interior taken at the top and bottom of the f-holes, you could see that it was a full hollowbody. How does that even happen?
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"Gibson's strict quality control standards"
That made me snort too although in complete fairness the quality on my G3 and NR are first rate.
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And of course Slash became famous with a Derrig LP Copy, so his signatures are a copy of a copy of an LP. The headstock of the miniatures should read Derrig :)
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Funco should pay the licensing fees and then have all their employees have their kids choke on pieces of the guitars and sue the crap out of Gibson for it. 🤡🤡
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Most of them are still problem free. 2017 and 2018 guitars I saw at GC recently all looked great. Still, if Sweetwater's rejection rate is accurate, it's way too high, and makes Gibson's claim of strict quality control standards laughable.
That thread I mentioned at MLP had the most bizarre example I've heard of: somebody bought an Memphis ES-LesPaul with Bigsby that had got past Gibson Memphis' QC inspectors even though they forgot to install the center block. The guy had photos of the interior taken at the top and bottom of the f-holes, you could see that it was a full hollowbody. How does that even happen?
If it wasn't for the fact that it's accidental (and glaringly appealingly so) that would actually make me want it more.
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Probably a collectible by now.
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Here's part of the guy's post.
Let me tell ya a quick and sad story. Few months ago I ordered a Memphis ES-Les Paul with a Bigsby. Price was around 3K. Guitar was brand new, and this is what I've found when opened the damn case;
The guitar had no f....g center mahogany block. Was empty. Yes you are reading right. THERE WAS NO MAHOGANY CENTER BLOCK. But the guitar left the factor that way.
The guitar, without its center block, had the ABR1 bridge screwed into the thin top and every time you were using the Bigsby, the entire bridge was wobbling back and forth. But again, the guitar left the factory that way.
That same guitar had the Bigsby completely crooked at an angle, off axis, so there were a mental tension pulling string on a side. And yes, again, the guitar left the factory that way.
Checklist was all "all good to go". This means nobody EVER checked this guitar, so that checklist was totally fake. I'm not saying that is the standard, but that is not about "the mistake of a man". This is more than that...there is some very shabby approach overall that allow crap like that happening.
Here's his inspection camera video of the insides, showing no center block.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3mknyazz0nzf6qh/No_CenterBlock_Inspection.MOV?dl=0
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Ouch - a sure sign of a place to work where people are so unhappy they just don't care anymore.
Perhaps, somewhere out there ... there is now a Memphis hollow-body with two center blocks (kinda crowded)?
It all averages out in the end. :mrgreen:
OTOH, how do we know the center block didn't get lost during shipping? I suspect sloppy logistics behind all of this. :rimshot:
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The pictures show the same sort of semi center block that the Les Paul Signature and Jack Casady Signature have. The length grooves and all.
If you ask me, it is a feature rather than a failure.
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The pictures show the same sort of semi center block that the Les Paul Signature and Jack Casady Signature have. The length grooves and all.
If you ask me, it is a feature rather than a failure.
Isn't that just the underside of the top? According to Gibson, it's a semi-hollow with a center block. Or at least it's supposed to be.
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Yeah the view inside that Les Paul reminds me of the view inside my Jack Casady. Maybe it was an experiment, prototype or other one-off? It looks too intentional, and surely way too big an oversight to have missed it?
I've read of ES-355s built with the center block the wrong way round. As such the wiring holes for each pickup is on the wrong side, feeding nicely into the bass-side cavity.
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Most definitely intentional. You don't make it this way by accident. :mrgreen:
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Isn't that just the underside of the top? According to Gibson, it's a semi-hollow with a center block. Or at least it's supposed to be.
Look at it again. There is a block, maybe 3/4" thick on the underside of the top. If you pause the video at 11 sec. you will see one end of it and at 13 the other end.
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Look at it again. There is a block, maybe 3/4" thick on the underside of the top. If you pause the video at 11 sec. you will see one end of it and at 13 the other end.
That's the spruce kerfing that's attached to the underside of the top. There should be a solid block attached to the back, with no space in between it and the kerfing, but it's just not there. It's no wonder that the bridge wobbled when he used the Bigsby.
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I don't have one of those little cameras, but my ES Les Paul bass looks like it is constructed in the same manner.
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I once assembled a motor and somehow forgot to install piston rings. Took me a whole day to figure out why I had no compression.
If someone really did forget to install a center block I'd like to buy him a beer and commiserate.
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Mine does have the mahogany center block glued between that block & the back of the guitar. Shaped a bit like the LP Sig, but it goes all the way to the strap button.
I tried taking a photo with my Borescope, but it doesn't work with ISO-11. So here is the best I can do with my phone. You can see the "T" shaped bottom of the block of mahogany.
(https://i.imgur.com/IcpJ2Pc.jpg)
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Keep in mind that the tops and backs of ES-series are molded, not carved. Their undersides aren't flat, but the center block is. The kerfed wood fills the gap. It's flat on its underside. If the model is a full hollowbody, it's there to help support the top. The ES-LP guitar and bass are both center block models, so the center block should definitely have been there.
Fast forward to the 8 minute mark:
https://youtu.be/zEiiDa0twNM
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Mine does have the mahogany center block glued between that block & the back of the guitar. Shaped a bit like the LP Sig, but it goes all the way to the strap button.
I tried taking a photo with my Borescope, but it doesn't work with ISO-11. So here is the best I can do with my phone. You can see the "T" shaped bottom of the block of mahogany.
(https://i.imgur.com/IcpJ2Pc.jpg)
Using a mini LED light I see it. It is thin from the neck to the bridge and widens out to support the bridge.
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Keep in mind that the tops and backs of ES-series are molded, not carved. Their undersides aren't flat, but the center block is. The kerfed wood fills the gap. It's flat on its underside. If the model is a full hollowbody, it's there to help support the top. The ES-LP guitar and bass are both center block models, so the center block should definitely have been there.
Fast forward to the 8 minute mark:
https://youtu.be/zEiiDa0twNM
At the 6:08 mark you can see the type of center block it should have. Someone did screw-up epically. The kerfed wood is there but it was never shaped to meet the center block. At that point the top should not have been glued to the body.
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Thanks, John. I didn't know which variation it should have had, but obviously it needed to be at least long enough to support the bridge and Bigsby. Epic fail.