It takes a special kind of stupid...

[veebass]

Dingwall seems to have had some issues too. Apologies if someone else has posted about this. I couldn't see it in my skim of the 8 pages.

"To all our friends and customers,
Due to circumstances beyond our control we are discontinuing the award-winning D-bird model. In it's place we are introducing the D-Roc. The good news is that all the performance features that made the D-bird such a standout will be carried over to the D-Roc, the only changes will be to the body profile and headstock. Early feedback to the new D-Roc has been unanimously positive so we see this as a very positive move. Customers receiving a D-Roc will be getting the first run of a new and exciting design. We appreciate everyone's patience and support as we faced this challenge to steer things to a successful and positive outcome for our customers. We are very proud of the efforts of the entire Dingwall team and suppliers.

Best regards,

Sheldon Dingwall"

Apparently there were other posts from Mr Dingwall that referenced nasty letters from Gibson, which I can't find now.

D- Roc


D Bird

[Jeff Scott]

Dingwall seems to have had some issues too. Apologies if someone else has posted about this. I couldn't see it in my skim of the 8 pages.

"To all our friends and customers,
Due to circumstances beyond our control we are discontinuing the award-winning D-bird model. In it's place we are introducing the D-Roc. The good news is that all the performance features that made the D-bird such a standout will be carried over to the D-Roc, the only changes will be to the body profile and headstock. Early feedback to the new D-Roc has been unanimously positive so we see this as a very positive move. Customers receiving a D-Roc will be getting the first run of a new and exciting design. We appreciate everyone's patience and support as we faced this challenge to steer things to a successful and positive outcome for our customers. We are very proud of the efforts of the entire Dingwall team and suppliers.

Best regards,

Sheldon Dingwall"

Apparently there were other posts from Mr Dingwall that referenced nasty letters from Gibson, which I can't find now.

D- Roc


D Bird

Why can't Dingwall still use the D-Bird name?  Has Gibson trademarked the word bird (watch out Audubon Society)?

[Jeff Scott]

Why can't Dingwall still use the D-Bird name?  Does Gibson own a trademark on the word bird (watch out Audubon Society)?

[Dave W]

Gibson's legal team obviously thought it was too close to Thunderbird. The trademark is for the category of musical instruments, not just any product. It's more overreach. No one would have confused the product shapes, either. The fanned frets and the slanted features set the Dingwall apart. But a small operator like Sheldon doesn't have the resources to fight it. That's a shame.

[westen44]

If Gibson succeeds in stopping or slowing down Dean, I think it's more likely people who would have become Dean customers will turn to a company like ESP which already has a metal image.  It may hurt Dean, but it most likely won't particularly help Gibson.  Not to mention the PR damage being done to Gibson which now seems almost never ending.  Of course this may be just stating the obvious. 

[Dave W]

That Snapchat aging filter has claimed another victim. 

[ilan]

Say what you will about Mark Agnesi, he would never demo an '87 American Standard Strat as Guitar of the Day at Norm's.

[Dave W]

How lame is that! Norm must be running out of rare guitars.

[ajkula66]

How lame is that! Norm must be running out of rare guitars.

Mr. Agnesi must have paid them a visit and instructed them to dispose of all their lawsuit-era instruments...

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Gibson's legal team obviously thought it was too close to Thunderbird. The trademark is for the category of musical instruments, not just any product. It's more overreach. No one would have confused the product shapes, either. The fanned frets and the slanted features set the Dingwall apart. But a small operator like Sheldon doesn't have the resources to fight it. That's a shame.

I like the new D-Roc better anyway. The T-Bird body looked really oversized on the 4 stringers. The new body looks more in keeping with Dingwall's overall aesthetic to me.

...and speaking of missing the point.

[gearHed289]

...and speaking of missing the point.

Well that IS nice. 

[BTL]

It seems that Gibson is following the playbook my friend outlined to a "T":

It's essentially an agreement where they acknowledge: 'Yup, these are your shapes,' and we say, 'you can use them.'"

This is how Gibson is positioning itself for a win against Dean.

[Dave W]

...

...and speaking of missing the point.

Almost meaningless gesture intended to counteract the bad PR. It's nice, but Mr. Oberheim obviously didn't need to get it back.

No, JC, I'm not impressed.

[Dave W]

Detroit-based Echopark Guitars signs licensing deal with Gibson

Lame attempt to deflect all the bad publicity by licensing a boutique maker.

[Jeff Scott]

Detroit-based Echopark Guitars signs licensing deal with Gibson

Lame attempt to deflect all the bad publicity by licensing a boutique maker.

Why can't these boutique builders come up with their own original ideas?