The Last Bass Outpost

speak for yourself - warren/lowe

he only sells dimestore novelties, all kinds of crap a to z
not happy with the prices he’s getting, time for major bloodletting
half the day spent in apologies, kill the dog just to rid the fleas
feeling stronger, feeling quite prophetic, you’re not a prophet, you’re pathetic

don’t waste your breath preaching to the choir
don’t try to tempt with heaven or threaten with hellfire
freeze up with fear or surrender to desire
you just speak for yourself

dreams of servitude without condition, little tyrant in your own little world
one man’s vision coming to fruition, your machinations are so absurd
household rules to be obeyed without question, spare the rod and spoil the child
he only sells dimestore novelties, all kinds of crap a to z
not happy with the prices he’s getting, time for major bloodletting
half the day spent in apologies, kill the dog just to rid the fleas
feeling stronger, feeling quite prophetic, you’re not a prophet, you’re pathetic

don’t waste your breath preaching to the choir
don’t try to tempt with heaven or threaten with hellfire
freeze up with fear or surrender to desire
you just speak for yourself

dreams of servitude without condition, little tyrant in your own little world
one man’s vision coming to fruition, your machinations are so absurd
household rules to be obeyed without question, spare the rod and spoil the child
as for the mrs, she’s in the kitchen, she won’t be coming out for quite a while

This is how the trademark game is played (in the US).

I have a good friend who is an IP attorney and we've spoken at length about how (for example) Fender might have chosen to regain the trademark rights it lost on its body shapes. Gibson seems to be traveling down a road that Fender (for whatever reason) chose not to follow.

I suspect one reason for the differing strategies is that Fender is more "comfortable" or even somewhat "stuck" with the level of counterfeiting that occurs in the market (due to headstock licenses) in relation to the strength of the remaining Trademarks they choose to defend. 

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=2401e83a-44de-4b3b-8957-7b83ed5f98cf

Proof of life: 8-string & 10-string base plates.

Just amazing work Brad!

Thanks, Scott! I'm still working to find the most ideal path forward to make this enterprise more of a business than a hobby. Necks and bridges seem to be what's most popular (and profitable), so that's where I'm focusing my energy.

Complete builds will always be part of the portfolio, but I'm going focus more narrowly on what I want to keep for myself over the next year or two (graphic finishes). When finished, I'll price those to sell at a profit, and if they don't move, I'll just hang onto them.

The last of the traditional finishes will go up for sale over the next few months and they will be priced to move, with price reductions occurring the longer they stay in inventory.

That's a bummer. It's always a surprise when something weird happens with paint, but maybe it shouldn't be...chemistry is difficult and the rules and formulas keep changing.

Next up, my custom rings and plates as they arrive to me...laser-cut from 0.059" mild steel.

I really love how these okoume bodies look with cream plastic front binding. Moe at Moecolors really crushed it on these two.