Changing guitar name?

I have a friend, a drummer, who took his drums in to be refinished (lacquer black, like a baby grand) and he had the guy put the 'Steinway' piano logo on them. People have to look twice and quite a few make the comment "I didn't know that Steinway made drums." Which, of course, they don't. They're quite the conversation piece, though, and definitely unique. (Don't know how Steinway would feel about it, though!)

Hehehe, if he makes a name, Steinway'll probably be getting drum catalog requests. I can almost see the board meeting one Monday morning.

Chairman: "I'm sorry, what did you say Mitchell? Drums?"

Mitchell: (a nod)

Stunned, puzzled silence from ALL.

Now that I think about it this would be bad for the industry if peeps start doing this and selling cheap 100 buck strats or whatever and putting on a fake Fender logo and selling them for 500 bucks.

Similarly, some companies are paranoid about things like truss rod covers. If you manage to break your truss rod cover, Rickenbacker will happily sell you one... provided you send in the broken pieces of the old one. This prevents someone from slapping a RIC logo on some homemade POS and passing it off as the real deal, (potentially) giving them (RIC) a bad name.

I've been thinking about sanding off the "Johnson" logo on the head of my guitar and spray painting a "Fender" logo on instead just to fool some folks, has anyone ever done this?

I did this on my fake Telecaster. In my case there was no logo to start with and no finish on the headstock so I had a head start. I used and adhesive backed transparent film and ran it through a laser printer to create a "Faker" decal. I created the logo using a file of the Fender logo and modifying it. I don't think I saved it but I'll look around.

Once I had the decal I cleaned the surface of the headstock and applied the decal. Then I clearcoated the headstock. Now you can't pick off the decal and you really can't even see the edges of the decal.

This isn't a very detailed image but here is what it looks like:

If you need a workable eps file of a logo, try this site:
http://www.brandsoftheworld.com/

That's where I found the Fender one that I modified

I understand what you're saying in reguards to free advertising, but perhaps leaving the logo on is just a testament to how good the product is and to kind of... thank the company for making such a great piece of kit which makes you sound great. Advertising is a way of thanking them. you bought the pieces of kit because they're the best, they're the ones you wanted, now let the public know what it is you're using so they can get the great sounds you produce. Who cares about the company getting profits if their products make you sound great.

What made you buy them in the first place ?

Well, electric guitars are different than other instruments. They can be pretty much any shape and size imaginable (or practical). So I more or less see the branding as not what's on the headstock but what it looks like.

Now, if you see a Stradavarius violin you're not going to be able to tell if it is or not. They all look the same, violins all have the same dimensions, size, color, shape, ect, ect.

If you see a Strat from a distance you'll immediately think of "Stratocaster", and most probably "Fender". Doesn't matter who makes it. I generally assume it's a Fender unless I can see a logo on the headstock that says otherwise. If I see a Les Paul from a distance I'll assume it's Gibson till I see another brand name on the headstock. The image, the look of the guitar is tied into the brand name that first made it, for most people.

Indeed, those shapes are often registered trademarks.

Gibson recently got a ruling against PRS in federal court for making guitars that looked just like Les Pauls.

Rondo Music has been selling inexpensive guitars that look just like Gibsons. One of them, the Agile AS-820, was a carbon copy of an ES-335. When the PRS judgment was announced (which may well have coincided with a "cease and desist" letter to Rondo from Gibson's lawyers), they pulled the AS-820 out of production and blew the remaining stock out cheap. They've just brought it back with the shape of the headstock changed a little and the "horns" of the cutaway upper bouts shortened so it doesn't match the Gibson registered shape exactly. I've just gotten one of those, and it's a fine guitar.
:D

I don't know what they've done with their Les Paul clones, several models of which they sell. I think if you look closely at them you'll see they all differ in some small way that's just enough to keep them from violating the Gibson copyright.

lol my mate at work got one of those PRS Copies for about £300 i think. In fact i'm not sure, but i think they can still sell them over here in england because of the ruling, dont hold me to it though.