Lindo bass - why aren't PRS after them?

DartmoorHedgehog

My daughter's just bought a bass - a Lindo Dove. Seems like quite a decent cheapish bass (similar quality to my Cort I'd say) - nothing really remarkable (although she got a pretty good deal second-hand I reckon).

But the reason for the post is I thought it was a PRS at first sight. The fretboard inlays are almost identical to PRS birds - so close that I'm amazed PRS aren't freaking out. How did they get away with that?

Here's one (not her actual one - pinched from the Lindo website)

BillDL

It's all down to whether the instrument is likely to deceive somebody into believing it was made by another named company.  Are there any PRS electric basses that this could be mistaken for?  YES.  The SE Kingfisher and Kestrel.

When I was 15 I was consumed by an interest in birds of prey and an older guy I knew was into falconry.  While doodling in school I drew bird outlines that the PRS ones much later bore an uncanny resemblance to.  I suppose when it comes down to it there are only so many ways you can draw birds in flight .... BUT the 12th fret inlay on that Lindo is definitely not a dove though, it is an eagle or buzzard just as it is on the PRS basses.

I would definitely tend to agree that the Lindo one is sailing right on the edge of possibly legal threats with that.

Winny_Pooh

Good luck suing a company based in China....

BillDL

They are based in Bristol.

Tannin

Well, they have a post offce box in Bristol.

DartmoorHedgehog

@BillDL the whole look is certainly very similar to a PRS Kingfisher - I agree there are lots of very similar-looking basses (my Cort is not far off that shape) but it seems asking for trouble to use such similar bird inlays. Not that I care - I just genuinely thought she'd bought a PRS and surprised they haven't made a fuss.  FWIW it's a nice-looking and playing bass - I reckon she did alright for the £140 she paid for it in pretty much new condition.

@Winny_Pooh fair point!

BillDL

I think the price difference is the most significant indicator of why PRS has not pursued them.  The target market of the Lindo basses is most likely to be fully aware of the difference between an affordable lookalike-from-a-distance bass and a PRS one that they may possibly aspire to in future years, therefore PRS sales are unlikely to be affected.

BillDL

Street View of Bristol Office/Warehouse:

https://goo.gl/maps/3PXB9Xhu41e7LCpWA

Directors are UK nationals living in the UK:

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04750170/officers

DartmoorHedgehog

So if PRS do pick up on it hers will be a "pre-lawsuit" model and instantly worth a fortune 

Tannin

PRS are probably delighted to have been welcomed into the "this is worthy copying" club alongside Fender and Gibson.

Funkfingers

FWIIW, I think that the Lindo bass illustrated in the OP most closely resembles the Cort Action, Ibanez GSR, Squier MB body outline. The headstock would not be out of place on a Harley-Benton. 

It is only the bird inlay shapes that tread on PRS' toes. Anyone who is taken in by ornate fingerboard inlays alone is a fool to him, her or itself. 

Over the decades, various manufacturers have turned out bowlback electro-acoustic guitars, that loosely resemble the Ovation Adamus, for about the price of an ATA-approved protective flight case. Nobody seriously imagines that they are getting a real one.

Right now, a PRS SE bass is nudging towards a grand. The US-made PRS basses are remortgaging prices. The Lindo is under £350.

The acid test would be to make a direct A/B comparison between Lindo and PRS SE instruments. I think I know which would win out. 

As with Harley-Benton, Jet and other brands, the wannabe/lookalike might not as far behind as we imagine.

£140 leaves plenty of budget for component upgrades. (Nut, pots, jack.) 

@DartmoorHedgehog Is this is the same multi-instrumentalist daughter for whom you built a purple electric viola? She's turning into quite the John Cale.

DartmoorHedgehog

OK let's be clear - I never intended to imply it was a "PRS beater" or exactly the same as a PRS Kingfisher. I was merely remarking how PRS-like the bird inlays are. FWIW, I don't think for a minute she was "taken in" by the inlays - in fact when I mentioned the similarity it turned out she had no idea what a PRS looks like.  Yes it's a third of the price of a PRS SE, and not having played a PRS myself I can't say whether it's worth three times the price, but I'd certainly hope it would be at least a bit better!

I'd say the comparison to the Cort Action is pretty fair.  That's what my bass is - I paid just over £100 for it and it's given at least 15 years of service, some of that in constant use when I was the bassist in the band (before we found a proper bassist ). I often get comments from people who think my bass is something exotic and expensive, partly because it's something different from the army of Fender P or J clones, but partly because it's genuinely a very decent no-frills instrument (I actually prefer the feel of it over our current bassist's Aria Pro).

Anyway, inexpensive bass has inlays that are very PRS-esque, makes me curious why they aren't getting legal problems.  NOT "change the pickups and it's better than a PRS"

Personally I'm not a fan of the bird inlays at all - if I had a PRS it would have to be one with dots.

DartmoorHedgehog

Funkfingers said:

@DartmoorHedgehog Is this is the same multi-instrumentalist daughter for whom you built a purple electric viola? She's turning into quite the John Cale.

Yes that's her
She plays guitar quite a bit as well - mostly acoustic "singer-songwriter" type performance.
She's been quite into playing bass for a while (you might remember she scrounged a scrap Sue Ryder bass from school and you sold me a pickup to stick in it). That Ryder bass was a good restoration project for her, but it's really properly cheap and nasty.

She's going to university in the Autumn to study music production and performance and has put herself down as a bassist, so I think she wanted something a little bit better than the bodged-up Ryder (it would at least need a complete refret if she were to use that for anything serious).

I'd not heard of Lindo when she said she'd bought this one, but she reckons she's heard good things about them. As I said, it seems similar to my Cort, which has served me well for years although not being expensive. I reckon for £140 she's done quite well.  And if she decides she needs something better down the line I think she'd not lose anything if she sold it on (or upgrade the components on the Lindo if she loves the body and neck).

I'm quite happy that she spends her money on musical instruments rather than some other throw-away crap.

ICBM

Lindo’s birds look better because they’re facing the right way!

You might find that using the outline of a bird isn’t trademark-able - unless one of them is an exact copy, it may not actually be anything PRS could stop, although I’m not an expert.

stickyfiddle

ICBM said:

Lindo’s birds look better because they’re facing the right way!

You might find that using the outline of a bird isn’t trademark-able - unless one of them is an exact copy, it may not actually be anything PRS could stop, although I’m not an expert.

I would assume that a generic outline of a bird isn't trademarkable, but I wouldn't be surprised if the use of birds in flight as fretboard markers on a guitar may wasn't. Same as the Nike swoosh - they can't trademark the concept of a tick mark, but the use of a rounded tick mark on the side of a sneaker is absolutely protectable

DCS222

BillDL said:

Street View of Bristol Office/Warehouse:

https://goo.gl/maps/3PXB9Xhu41e7LCpWA

Directors are UK nationals living in the UK:

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04750170/officers

There’s only one active director, who is named as Fu Kui Lin... which is close to an ironic homopone.