Liar

There's a video going round. It shows the new Fender CEO, Edward 'Bud' Cole talking to Fender dealers about the recent antagonism between Fender & other brand names who are allegedly copying the Stratocaster body shape. For the most part, it's rather obvious that he's fire-fighting, trying to sedate the hostility. He's also using this opportunity to explain why Fender's actions in the mean time are legit moves to protect the Stratocaster heritage. 

But one thing's for sure, he's lying about Fender not telling the targetted manufacturers to destroy inventory & compensate Fender monetarily for the damages done. These instructions were documented in black & white & shared (online by podcasters / influencers) for all to see. So there; you did something but you are now telling the world you didn't. We are not dumb. It's not gonna go down well for sure. If this is an attempt to Make Fender Great Again, there's an incompetent driver at the helm.

Tokai bag

 This is what you get when you purchase a Japanese Tokai guitar. This bag looks well-designed. 

Ample padding all round (strap included) to make it a very comfortable bag to handle. If you have handled a Kohlman bag before, this is an iteration of that bag with additional trimmings to make it feel / look exquisite.

Neck cradle & ample side cushioning. Notice the black layered areas - these are the spots where the instrument's hardware comes into contact with the fabric. This layer prevents lining adhesive from bleeding onto the hardware over time & causing some nasty reactions, namely that sticky feel.

I'm giving this bag plus points for this design - can you see the zipper material here? Of course not. It's been covered by fabric.

If you undo the zipper & flip it over like this, then you could see the actual zipper material. Why is this important? It means that on rainy days, that fabric 'blanket' protects the zipper from water & prevents rust.

Victory FR

Gibson wants you to know that its Victory model is now available with a Floyd Rose bridge (& locking nut). Will this iteration be able to compete against the super-shredder type guitars by Jackson, ESP, Ibanez et al? The way I see it, it's still rooting for the Gibson heritage - glossed neck, heavy, absence of single coils... Other brands won't be intimidated, to say the least.

Pic: GMusic

Neo-Classic

Something new by Charvel - the Neo-Classic San Dimas Style 1 SD1 HH. That's definitely a mouthful & we have people dissing the lengthy Ibanez model number citations. What's the big deal with these guitars? They are made in the USA.

If you are interested, please be informed that it features the block heel neck joint which they don't mind doing due to the Fender association plus the fact that Ibanez is doing it for the Genensis models & this doesn't impede sales.

The other mouthful - Neo-Classic San Dimas SD1HH HT, which is of course, the fixed bridge version. Pickups for both versions are Seymour Duncan JB / '59. Do also note the absence of a tone knob.

Pics: Charvel

Broken F

This is a major concern in the mean time; Fender putting other manufacturers to legal task for infringing its Stratocaster body design copyright. I'm reading this with interest as an individual who used to be in the legal fraternity here once upon a time. It was a brief stint but an eye-opening experience. I refrained from commenting because my legal knowledge is strictly based on domestic understanding & more importantly, I'm not a lawyer. 

Fender claimed there are enterprises out there infringing the Stratocaster body design copyright. In my opinion, this is the glaring fundamental legal failure that should put Fender's efforts to nought. With reference to intellectual property rights, a design cannot be copyrighted. Copyright protects authorship (Osborn, 1993). Leo Fender invented the Stratocaster body shape & by virtue of this understanding (its capability of industrial application, Osborn 1993), it would move into the patent domain. Until Fender is able to show a definitive legal ownership / registration of the Stratocaster body, it has no case to begin with.

Another important point to note here is the default judgment obtained by Fender (Regional Court of Dusseldorf, March 2026). This judgment type merely acknowledges the complainant's points of contention in view of the respondent's failure to appear in court. There were no damages awarded or entailment rights conferred to the complainant so Fender has absolutely no authority to tell others what to do with potentially offensive inventory (stop production, destroy inventory, pay compensation, etc.). Also, I am not aware of cross jurisdiction in this case; can a judgment in a German court be used as a basis to initiate legal action in the USA? 

Shag's guitar

Dimmu's Shagrath has a signature ESP guitar. He's not known for his guitar playing in Dimmu but he plays guitar with this other outfit, Chrome Division. I sometimes wonder why individuals who are not known for their guitar playing actually gets a signature model. To be fair, Shagrath plays quite a bit in CD but people like Bruno Mars (Fender) & Taylor Swift (Taylor)? Gee...

Pic: ESP