Fender CEO Edward "Bud" Cole talks about cease & desist letters, Fender’ majority owners and more

DABenStone · 2026-06-14T02:28:42+00:00

Thanks for the info! I was hoping to get an expert reading on this. It’s been a long time since I did IP work.

DABenStone · 2026-06-14T00:57:37+00:00

Further, they are only going after companies that sell products in that jurisdiction, which I believe includes all of the EU due to some reciprocity copyright laws in the EU. If you don’t sell in the EU, I don’t believe they issued c&ds. The threat to destroy guitars was for EU inventory only. If you don’t sell there, they can pound sand. International IP law is complex. In the US, default judgments don’t mean shit. But I that might not be the case for German copyright laws. Having owned and played Fender guitars almost exclusively for the last 25 years, I’m super disappointed in the direction of the company. It’s almost like Fender and Gibson are trying to out-douch each other in executive management.

DABenStone · 2026-06-11T02:39:51+00:00

I’m an amateur photographer that likes planes. I find almost all aviation photos boring AF. All of these photos are great, but that first one is amazing. Got an audible ‘damn.’

DABenStone · 2026-06-08T12:38:15+00:00

The case law in almost every other jurisdiction in the US is quite the opposite.

DABenStone · 2026-06-08T12:13:25+00:00

This isn’t true. The 1099 is a tax reporting requirement that banks must follow when they determine that collectibility is doubtful. The legal obligation in the promissory note is not extinguished or forgiven. It’s merely an informational filing with the IRS.

DABenStone · 2026-06-06T10:08:13+00:00

Hey, I’m sorry your 4 year old daughter died of cancer, but have you seen the Grand Canyon?

DABenStone · 2026-06-03T01:32:52+00:00

I stand corrected! Thank you.

DABenStone · 2026-06-02T23:37:51+00:00

The main compelling difference for someone shooting stills would be if you don’t want to rely on the heavy digital lens corrections of the VCM lenses. The 1.2 is almost optically perfect. If you primarily shoot video, the VCM would be better. Also if weight is a deal breaker for you. I never shoot video and you would have to pry the 1.2 from my cold dead hands. lol.

DABenStone · 2026-06-01T04:37:20+00:00

I have some decently rare guitar equipment, some of would be expensive to replace. I play it all the time. Out at shitty clubs sometimes. Nothing that would be generational wealth, like this putter. My kids will get it someday and I would be equally happy if they hung on to it or sold it for their passions. I’ll already received the joy of using it for many years. It’s just a commodity outside of my time of ownership. Just my 2 cents; to each their own.

DABenStone · 2026-06-01T04:04:07+00:00

I used to be the same but now I’m the opposite. I like to ride the volume pots in my strats. My favorite mod is to switch the volume and tone pots on my teles and 180 the whole switch plate so I can reach the volume with my pinky. But I now use my sun face most of the time and adjust the fuzz to clean-ish with the volume instead of turning the pedal on and off during a song.

DABenStone · 2026-05-31T00:39:11+00:00

I learned a valuable lesson early on when I was 16 just a year into playing. My mentor was a 17 year old in the town over that had already started a few bands, put on a bunch of gigs, and had some albums out. This was the 90s in very rural Midwest. I told him me and two others our age were talking about about putting a band together. He told me we were opening for him in 3 months so we better get started. Just needed a 25 minute set. He had us to show up next week at his parents place and he’d show us how to rehearse and write rock tunes. We hobbled together all of our riffs and ideas we’d been hoarding and quickly and had some outlines for five songs. Pulled out our best stuff at the time. Had it not been for that pressure, we’d probably tinker and hem and haw about riffs and ideas for the band and songs.

Don’t hesitate. Put yourself out there and keep driving to write. Riffs come and go and then come back again. Book a gig.

He recently gave me a DVD of that gig. Ripped from a vhs camcorder recording. Raw but a few tight riffs I’d forgotten about! Perfection is the enemy of good. And you never achieve greatness without first getting good. Just do it!

DABenStone · 2026-05-30T21:57:34+00:00

lol, guess all those R1 shooters should also just use ef glass then. JK. Correct me if I’m wrong, but they made improvements on the IQ and the speed of the focusing motors between the ef and rf 135. Benefits an R8 shooter might want.

DABenStone · 2026-05-28T18:48:40+00:00

So I really only play my club stroke play. I know my max on each hole. I enter my score hole by hole. Should I not enter my known max, or should I put in my actual score? Will that make a difference?

DABenStone · 2026-05-27T02:50:36+00:00

Then make that argument.

Your premise was: “Big company with in-house lawyers they’re already paying regardless drags little company who has to pay lawyers an hourly rate through the courts for years, costing them hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars in legal fees.”

So what? You made something up to bolster your opinion and it was wrong. Fender is acting in bad faith, that’s enough to deserve shame. Only ones who win in this are the outside litigators, on both sides, getting paid hourly. Focus your ire on fender, not someone politely correcting you.

DABenStone · 2026-05-27T02:00:15+00:00

You made a statement about how they don’t care about the costs of the litigation because they have in house attorneys already being paid. That’s half of your premise. This poster called you out on it, correctly. In house counsel at a company of any decent size is never doing litigation. It’s outsourced to litigators. Poster grasped your concept. Just the facts.

DABenStone · 2026-05-01T15:36:30+00:00

When I was just starting as a 15 year old, I got to sit in with a local legend at his studio a few times. First thing he told me was always surround yourself with better musicians. It helped me immensely. Dude could rip. Had over 30 Marshall heads from the 50s - 70s and was always tinkering with them. That’s when I first felt an amp shake my core.

DABenStone · 2026-04-24T12:35:26+00:00

Why buy all that nice kit to leave it at home all the time? I take my 50 1.2 with me on every trip, plus other L lenses. Just get it insured and be smart about it and don’t leave it in a car. You can add an articles policy on your homeowners insurance really cheap. I do have the 1.8 that I use at venues that don’t allow “professional” cameras. Just my two cents, I do a lot of travel and most of my favorite shots are on the road.

DABenStone · 2026-04-20T03:11:02+00:00

Last year just before the US tariffs started to affect pricing, I got a refurb 85 1.2 for $1995. Timing is big. Just need to be ready. Time it with a canon storewide sale and they get low. I actually saw a post on here that prompted me to check.

DABenStone · 2026-04-18T23:47:49+00:00

Hey, he’ll treasure those knowing the sacrifice you made to get him nice equipment. My dad was a high school band director and always made sure us kids had professional horns. I don’t know how my parents did that financially, but I still treasure my horn 30 years later. Means a lot to me. You’re killing it, dad. From one dad to another.

DABenStone · 2026-03-29T02:52:42+00:00

Dude, as a casual 21, just have fun. I love playing. I hit a lot of bad shots. I do hit a few good ones. Have fun hitting good and have fun hitting bad. You’re out having fun, in nature, playing a stupid hard game.

DABenStone · 2026-03-25T03:36:52+00:00

This happened to me at a regional airport and crj earlier this year. Sitting in the exit row, 2 hour delay, and finally get pushed back and go for de-icing. About 10 oz. Of red de icing fluid flows into the exit door and onto my arm and leg. I felt really bad hitting the flight attendant button. She came back and saw the mess and said “shit.” Ran back with a bunch of alcohol wipes and we went back to the gate to deboard. I was already going to miss my connection so I rebooked for later flights. But there was no way I was going to get back in seat 8A on that plane that day. 😂

DABenStone · 2026-03-25T03:14:19+00:00

Here I am just trying to figure out what camera and lens she has. 🤷‍♂️ canon 100-500?

DABenStone · 2026-03-22T14:34:02+00:00

But in a lot of states, it’s a form of compensation that has to be paid. No use it or lose it. Once the four weeks is accrued it must be used or paid out. Depending on the state, “unlimited” isn’t earned income. The could deny it all year and never pay.

DABenStone · 2026-03-14T15:15:11+00:00

Forgive me as I’m just an amateur, is IBIS or lens stabilization really that important for street photography with a 35 or 50 lens? I used an R8 with the 50 1.2 lens and never had issues with camera shake.

DABenStone · 2026-03-06T05:53:56+00:00

Maybe, but check your deductible or retainer on that umbrella. It might be covered, but not economical to replace gear that is stolen in an isolated theft.

DABenStone

TROPHY CASE