Fender Situation Just Got Worse...

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]Fender should take back what's theirs.

[00:00:02]It's their own design. It's their body.

[00:00:04]You're just now deciding that this matters? So, the Fender situation somehow got even worse. At first, this whole thing felt like legal drama, Fender trying to protect the Strat shape, but now guitar players are turning against Fender. Hard. And honestly, I think this whole situation just exposed a bigger problem in guitar culture.

[00:00:25]21 is new to the channel. My name is Willie boy, YouTube's most adored failed musician.

[00:00:32]And I read your comments and concerns from my previous video. And I have to say that both sides of the table are right. Fender should take back what's theirs. It's their own design. It's their body. And also, Fender waited too long. The S-style body is way bigger than Fender and it belongs to the guitar community. Let's talk about it. So, one of the biggest arguments that people keep making is Fender waited too long.

[00:00:56]And I get why people feel that way. The Strat became bigger than Fender decades ago. And at this point, the Strat silhouette is basically part of guitar culture itself. I mean, it's everywhere.

[00:01:05]Beginner guitars, boutique guitars, custom shops, Amazon guitars, indie bands, shoegaze bands, worship music.

[00:01:17]No shade against worship music. I mean, literally everything. So, now when Fender suddenly tries to crack down on S-style guitars, people are reacting like You're just now deciding that this matters? I mean, because now you got smaller builders receiving pressure.

[00:01:39]People see it as targeting boutique companies. The Fender backlash has been growing online. I mean, everyone's talking about it. I used to make music here on this channel.

[00:01:48]>> [music] [applause] >> And now I'm reporting the news like some [ __ ] But the funny part is >> [music] >> guitar players might actually be the reason why this happened in the first place. This is the part nobody wants to admit. The guitar industry almost entirely relies on nostalgia. I mean seriously, think about it. What sells the most? Vintage reissues, relic guitars, signature recreations, old specs, old pickups, old colors, old neck shapes. The entire industry is basically like, "Remember this guitar from 1962?

[00:02:26]Well, here it is again."

[00:02:28]>> [applause] >> And every company knows it. Even players who say they want innovation buy familiarity. Because the truth is most guitar players don't actually want something new. They want something emotionally familiar. You have the headless guitars staying niche.

[00:02:46]>> I paid for this out of my own money.

[00:02:48]Been wanting to try them for a little bit. You all know I'm a fan of headless guitars, especially ergonomic, you know, multi-scale headless guitars. Futuristic designs are rarely taking over.

[00:02:56]Ergonomic guitars remaining niche. And you have the weird modern guitars struggling commercially. But release another offset or strat-inspired guitar?

[00:03:05]Instant success. Boom. Guitar players want originality. Badabapoom. As long as it looks like A STRAT.

[00:03:11]>> POW.

[00:03:15]AND WEIRDLY ENOUGH, FENDER ISN'T THE FIRST company to go through this. Here's a Gibson parallel because a lot of this reminds me of what happened to Gibson a few years ago. Now just a little bit of background, in 2022 a Texas jury found Dean Guitars guilty of trademark infringement and counterfeiting of Gibson's Flying V, the Explorer ES, and of course the SG body shapes. Plus the dove wing headstock and hummingbird name. Dean argued the shapes were generic, but the jury rejected upholding Gibson's trademarks. Gibson was awarded $4,000 in statutory rape, excuse me, statutory damages per infringing product of $160,000 in legal fees. Now, there was an appeal in trial in 2025. Dean appealed, and in July 2025, a second jury found Armadillo or Armadeo Enterprises, which is Dean's parent, guilty of infringing of the V, the Explorer, and SG body shapes, and the Flying V and Hummingbird and the Flying V and Hummingbird and the Flying V and Hummingbird were marks. The jury also found that Dean did not infringe the Dove Wing headstock, but had infringed the Flying V word mark.

[00:04:30]Gibson maintains a strong trademark protection of the Flying V, Explorer, and SG body shapes. Dean faces ongoing legal and reputational challenges with some trademark claims weakened. And as far as the market goes, the case underscores the ongoing battle in the guitar industry over design protection and brand authenticity. Yada yada yada.

[00:04:48]Cue African-American woman twerking. I'm out of town, [music] thuggin' with my 'round. My coochie pink, my booty hole brown.

[00:04:58]Yeah. [sighs] So, yes, Gibson was protecting their shapes and designs because they had lawsuits against Dean and others. There was backlash from the guitar community, and the internet was calling Gibson out.

[00:05:09]Hey Gibson, come out. But, the reason people reacted negatively back then is the same reason why people are acting negatively now with Fender. These shapes became bigger than the companies themselves. Les Paul style guitars exist everywhere. SG inspired guitars exist everywhere. And the Explorer V shapes copied endlessly. And once a design becomes culturally universal, people stop seeing it as corporate property.

[00:05:34]They start seeing it as a part of guitar history. I mean, at some point the Strat stopped being a Fender product and became the electric guitar. But, here's the thing.

[00:05:46]Fender might actually have a point, too.

[00:05:48]Because if you really think about it, how many companies are actually making slightly altered Strat copies?

[00:05:55]A lot.

[00:05:57]A lot. And from Fender's perspective, they probably feel like, "We created this. Why is everyone profiting from it?" But at the same time, Fender also benefited from decades of this becoming normalized. You have the Squier aftermarket culture, partcasters, mod culture, open-source system. And now the guitar community sees a Strat almost like public language.

[00:06:20]I mean, look. This entire situation exposed something very interesting about guitar culture. We say we want innovation, >> [sighs] >> but emotionally we're attached to that nostalgia. And now companies and players are stuck in this weird cycle where nobody can move forward because everybody's afraid to let go of the past. I mean, who likes change? That shit's uncomfortable. So honestly, I don't even think this is about Fender anymore. I think this exposed an identity crisis of the entire guitar industry. Because if every company keeps recreating the same guitars forever, eventually people are going to start arguing who owns nostalgia.

[00:07:00]Is that making sense? But I'm going to leave you something to suck on. Hold on.

[00:07:04]Do you think Fender waited too late? Or do they actually have the right to protect the Strat shape? I'll see you guys in [music] the next one.