| Author |
Message |
Bluepill
Username: Bluepill
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 11:53 pm: | |
Hi Guys
I just bought this: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&item=150029502493&rd=1&s spagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1
couldnt find much info except there korean, and apperantly vester got a lawsuit slapped on them soon after they made these (93ish i think).
I know vester have carried a pretty bad name for the hairmetal cheapies, and i have an ar300 re-issue (korean) which is def lacking something, but this guy looks good...very much an ibanez rippoff though!!
anyone got any info on these, its a vester mod 700 (i think), would be appreciated. |
Gemberbier
Username: Gemberbier
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 3:58 am: | |
A lawsuit? For what? For not using Mickey Mouse ears? Several brands used pointy horns to avoid a lawsuit from Gibson, or just to be original. Ibanez, Aria ProII, Vester.
If you may not make them round or pointy... you'd have to make them sqare!
The fretboard inlays perhaps? They're more like an Epiphone Sheraton II than Ibanez AS200 or AS120.
Your guitar is a mix: horns of Ibanez ArtStar/Aria ProII Titan Artist type, fretboard inlays of the Sheraton II and the Gibson open book headstock.
Well, the headstock has been a matter of legal discussion in the 70s. But I don't think Gibson today would a problem with a cheap guitar using the open book headstock. Gibson's budget line (Epiphone) uses other headstocks. (Fender would make a problem of cheap headstock copies, because Squiers use the same headstock, which means competition in the same segment of the market).
This is no competition for Gibson, it's just a compliment. What they really fear is competition in the high end market, like PRS. They've been really trying to ruin Paul Reed Smith, who even managed to get good old Mr. McCarthy on his side before he passed away. Paul had to stop the production of all single cuts in 2004, waiting for a final verdict in 2006.
The actual problem was that PRS's single cuts were better than Gibson's. Gibson showed they're just bad loosers.
Chicago hasn't changed that much since All Capone...
What Gibson will do about the headstock copying depends on the relationship between Gibson and SaeHan. If they need them for Epiphone production, they will either do nothing about it, or solve it with phonecall. If a big customer asks you to change the headstocks, you change the headstocks. More effective and cheaper than hiring lawyers.
Ginger |
Bluepill
Username: Bluepill
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 10:34 pm: | |
gemb...im am only going by what i read here regarding the vester lawsuit: http://nzguitars.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1536
of course this is a fairly generic forum soo...anyway i could not find much info on these guitars, would be appreciated if anyone knows a little more
i havent reviewved it yet btw |
Bluepill
Username: Bluepill
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Thursday, September 07, 2006 - 10:38 pm: | |
sorry, meant to write 'i havent recieved it yet'
hey, what do you guys think of the pickup screw's - 2 on top 1 on the bottom, who else other than ibanez use this? |
Johns
Username: Johns
Registered: 02-2001
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 1:35 am: | |
The shape of the horns reminds me more of a Yamaha than Ibanez. Although it does resemble these Greco semis:
http://lngngo1009.ifdef.jp/photo/p10-11.jpg |
Gemberbier
Username: Gemberbier
Registered: 05-2006
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 9:30 am: | |
The Scarecrow on the nzGuitars forum writes:
"I recently found out that Vester, traditionally known for their awful-looking 80's hairmetal style superstrat copies actually had a cutom shop some years ago that produced a heap of VERY good copies, i.e. to the point where the it became lawsuit time again."
The questions we should ask, is:
-Was there an actual lawsuit, or were there just threats?
-Who was sueing or threatening them?
-What was it about?
-How was it solved?
On Harmony Central I found the following information:
"vester sold out after a tiff with fender heres the story i found on the netI saw several people have had questions about the origin and history of Vester guitars. Vester was a company formed as a part of Samuel Music Company in Effingham, Illinois (USA). Samuel Music owns a string of stores that sell pianos and are best known for school band instrument rental programs. They decided to introduce their own brand of guitars. Instead of importing cheap crap (as so many companies do), they agreed to import the best line of guitars they could afford, covering a range of middle to upper-end guitars.
The guitars were manufactured in Korea by the Sae Han Corperation. Design specifcations were dictated by the guys in Effingham, revolving around most of Sae Han's top-of-the-line guitars. Through contacts they already have in the instrument sales industry, they got good distribution of their guitars. They had some contacts n the recording industry, and in just a few years had Alabama members and other bands beginning to endorse their guitars
All was going great until Fender began preparing a lawsuit based on the accusation that "Vester" was a sound-alike name for
"Fender". Without ever making it into a courtroom, Vester surrndered and sold out remaining stock. Vester (Samuel Music) simply did not have deep enough pockets to go to court against Fender."
(Source: http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Guitar/product/Vester/Custom+Concert+ Series+II/10/1 )
And I must say, Fender had a point there. The name sounded a lot like Fender and the made damn good Squier imitations (Stage Series).
I still have a Stages series Telecaster with an excellent maple neck (I replaced the pickup selector).
So the brand disappeared totally. That's what I saw in the second half of the 90s. The new brand of Sae Han became RockAxe. The made mainly superstrats in matt natural or stained versions with Floyd Rose imitation tremolos, for very little money (about $150.=). Incredible at that time! They were cheaper than the original tremolo alone!
I'm glad I've kept my two old Vesters.
The other one is a Concert Series II, which was a mix of a carved top 2HB Telecaster and a Jackson, with a finetuner tremolo with a hardtail lock, very nice design.
I have an original catalog. But not all types are in it.
I read someone wrote Saehan had made Korean Squiers from the end of the 80s until mid 90s. I didn't verify that yet, but having all the Squier specs it would explain the nice quality of the Vester tele neck. (But they don't fit into a Fender pocket! They're a few millimeters too slim like the Japanese Sakai).
So, it's possible that Saehan used specs and features of their customers to produce guitars under their own brand names. I believe Hoshino is or has been one of their customers.
Kind greetz,
Ginger |
Bluepill
Username: Bluepill
Registered: 07-2004
| | Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 11:34 pm: | |
hey gemb...thanks for posting that info!!!
i only read the mod 700 reviews on harmony central....oh well, thats really cool stuff seems like even though they carried one of the cheesiest name guitars ever, perhaps the quality will be really good...i will do a quick post when it arrives
ps. ibanez 335 project guitar on aussie ebay (the cool 60's ones!!) i love this model but dont have room for a project guitar
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Old-IBANEZ-335-PROJECT-GUITAR_W0QQitemZ150031207970QQihZ0 05QQcategoryZ33043QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem |
Ibnzplyr
Username: Ibnzplyr
Registered: 03-2004
| | Posted on Saturday, January 27, 2007 - 2:47 am: | |
BluePill: What do you think of your Vester 335 copy? |
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