u/D2-Disciple

A letter I am sending to consumer relations at FMIC regarding the recent news regarding targeting S-type guitar builders outside of the U.S. I have included personal contact information in the e-mail but thought it might be beneficial to post the de-identified version somewhere publicly, if this group will allow it:

To whom it may concern,

As a singer, songwriter, guitarist, and active recording and performing musician of over 20 years, Fender products have long played an integral role in both my workflow and my sound. I have owned multiple Fender and Squier guitars. I currently own a Gretsch. I've owned quite a few electric guitar amplifiers in the past, and currently, I use a Fender Acoustic 100 live at least biweekly. All this is to say nothing of the many Fender parts and accessories I have used over the years, nor of frequently eyeing a Princeton as a possible addition to my collection one day.

However, FMIC has, in recent years, given me, as a loyal consumer, ample reason to talk myself down from purchasing new products. My last Mexican Fender Player Telecaster came from the factory with fret leveling issues that I would not expect on the cheapest Squier, let alone a mid-range player's instrument. Thinking it may have been a fluke, I recently picked up a Vintera Tele costing well over a thousand dollars in a local Guitar Center and found it to somehow be even worse. Some Fender amplifiers, most notably the Blues Junior and Hot Rod Deluxe amplifiers, have known build quality and engineering issues that remain unaddressed despite multiple generations of updates to their circuitry. Additionally, FMIC's deceptive marketing practices surrounding the EVH Hypersonic "6L6" Combo, a 50-watt solid state combo made in China lacking any 6L6 tubes whatsoever and sold at a price so obscene that I cannot imagine that less than 50% of every sale is pure profit margin, has begun to make me fear that FMIC has become a willfully malicious entity seeking to maximize profit by any means necessary, rather than by offering compelling and competitive products.

FMIC doubtlessly confirmed my fear this month of May, 2026, by partnering with international law firm Bird & Bird to send numerous smaller manufacturers and builders worldwide a Cease and Desist order against making any electric guitars that "infringe" upon the "copyright" of the Fender Stratocaster. This is following FMIC's notable legal win against Yiwu Philharmonic Musical Instruments Co. for selling unlicensed copies of Fender guitars through AliExpress and other such retailers notorious for hawking fakes and clones, reported in the media on March 10, 2026. However, this most recent legal action is clearly not a good-faith effort to protect Fender's intellectual property, but represents an act of anticompetitive aggression against smaller businesses with intent to establish itself as a monopolistic entity serving the "S-type" market abroad. This is despite the fact that Fender itself lost a six-year battle with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 2009 stating that Fender could no longer trademark the "Stratocaster" body shape, then a 55-year old design and now a 72-year old design. During this period, inquisitive minds were assured that FMIC was merely protecting itself from the proliferation of fakes and clones and that it was not at all planning to use this potential trademark as a means to bully smaller manufacturers. Apparently, that was a lie.

Despite the fact that I or anyone else here in the U.S. can make, market, and legally sell an "S-type" guitar so long as it does not infringe Fender's (or any of FMIC's subsidiaries') name and logo, and it does not bear the classic Fender headstock shape, it's clear that this legal decision has been cleverly devised to muscle small builders outside the U.S. - and potentially sabotage sales of U.S. competitors shipping such "S-Type" guitars abroad - into either legal battles that FMIC intends to "win" through attrition, or into exiting the competitive space altogether.

I am sure FMIC's public relations team has its prepared statement ready for inquiries. I am not of any mind to hear or to read it, just as I am not of any mind to make any future purchases any Fender or FMIC products in the future, be that Fender, Jackson, Charvel, EVH, Gretsch, etc. FMIC product quality has generally suffered while prices and profit margins have risen; meanwhile, competitors including Gibson & Epiphone, Paul Reed Smith, and others have taken measures recently to improve the quality and perception of value in their products across all price points. Indeed, nothing that I have played coming out of Fender's Ensenada, Mexico plant can compare to the quality of the instruments made in Gibson's Qingdao, China plant or PRS's managed Cor-Tek Indonesia plant, despite costing far more.

As a Lean Six-Sigma certified healthcare professional, I implore you to humor the following advice: find out what it is in your processes - whether it is in manufacturing, distribution, marketing, or wherever - that causes consumers to ascribe less value to your products than to your competitors. Are the profit margins too high? Lower them and investigate ways to improve the product without increasing overhead. Are there too many products at each price point? Simplify the product list and focus more attention on improving the ones you do offer. Do you spend too much on marketing with little return on investment? Rethink your target market and find out how to engage them more effectively. Is there a laxity in your quality control in certain factories? Tighten your tolerances and make the necessary equipment and personnel investments to get them right. Etc., etc., etc.

Corporate bullying is a short game that hurts the consumer, who, like me, will just stop buying your products. Process improvement is the long game, which may not look as good on an earnings call quite as quickly, but will buy you goodwill with the customers who, like me, would otherwise like to buy your guitars and equipment for as long as God lets my lungs fill up with oxygen. Which will it be, Fender?