What color is Manabe's strat in the Trip Dancer PV?? It looks like his sunburst at times, but I need clarification. Plus, Sawao's tele is black right? Thanks.

The Strat is black, I believe, but he may be playing a sunburst at a different part of the video. He does this in the Swanky Street PV as well, playing an ESP green Strat and Seymour Duncan blonde Strat. As for Sawao's guitar, it's definitely a black Tele. It would be interesting to know why the headstock is a different shape.

sunburst

[quote="Thinliine"]It would be interesting to know why the headstock is a different shape.[/quote]

Patents? It might be a model that was made BEFORE the whole thing about them being legal duplicates.

I don't know what Culen was talking about with that whole "legal duplicates" thing. It makes a little bit of sense with Fender that they would need legal permission since, after all, the company does have a legal prescence in Japan. But why would they allow a ton of companies to use the exact headstock shape in Japan, and totally forbid it here? In Tokai's case (the company who actually make Fender Japan guitars), they started out using the Fender shape on headstocks, then had to change it some time in the early eighties- but keep in mind, they were selling guitars in the US at this point. Anyway, Jedi's arguement isn't very likely, since Manabe's old Thinline Tele is probably from the mid-eighties at latest, and Sawao's black Tele is probably more recent than that. It could be an export model or something.

There are even more Japanese companies copying the Gibson headstock shape than Fender. Tokai, ESP, Greco, Burny, and more all use the exact shape, so again, I don't know how Gibson would be licensing that. It doesn't seem like they have any legal prescence at all in Japan.

Ishibashi sells Gibson USA products. Anything from the standard LP's to some high end shit. However, they do make guitars for the Japanese market under the brand name "Orville." Orville happens to be Mr. Gibson's first name. The guitars can be branded as just "Orville" or "Orville by Gibson."

http://www.guitargai.com/html_folder/homepage.html

Just because they sell Gibson guitars doesn't mean that Gibson has any legal prescence in Japan. I didn't know Orville guitars were still made, though. In any case, my whole point is that I won't believe Fender or Gibson have any legal authority over Japanese companies that copy their guitar designs- there's no other reason why they would not license their designs in the USA for a nice profit, but would in Japan. Though in Fender's case, it is much more likely that they have some control over this area.

My guess is that, like many other Japanese manufacturers, Orville is a name that is produced by a factory making other brands as well.