Today’s increasingly sophisticated technology is making it easier and easier to identically duplicate
the sound of a particular manufacturer’s instrument, amp, or effect. Once cloned, who then
really owns the produced sound?When Led Zeppelin appropriated
tunes like “Babe I’m Gonna Leave
You” and “Whole Lotta Love,” some people—
including the original authors—called
it stealing. True enough, Jake Holmes’ 1967
composition and recording of “Dazed and
Confused” predated Zeppelin’s version by
two years. Although Holmes settled out of
court with Jimmy Page after filing suit, others
like Willie Dixon—with the same axe
to grind—have been awarded back royalties
and are now credited on Zep albums.
Plagiarism, whether intentional or not,
has always been part of the music landscape.
In fact, the idea of a “traditional”
folk song is itself a tradition. And verbatim
borrowing has been taken to new heights
with the ease afforded by digital sampling
and manipulation—some of the biggest
songs of the last two decades have employed
the cutting and pasting of previous hits.
The issue is more than just credit due. It’s a
financial one that hinges on the interpretation
of copyright law. And as sung by Liz
Phair in her song “Shitloads of Money,”
“It’s nice to be liked, but it’s better by far to
get paid.”
In the world of mechanics and technology,
a system or practical idea can be
protected from unauthorized use by a patent,
which is different from a copyright
or trademark. So what happens when
a musical instrument, effects pedal, or
amplifier effectively clones a sound identified
with a particular manufacturer? We’ve
all seen modeling amps with tongue-in-cheek
setting names that hint or outright
point to their influence and origin. Is it
stealing or merely flattery? Certainly, if a
product used a competitor’s trade name
to describe a setting, it would be a case of
trademark violation. But what about the
actual sound itself?
This has all come to an even more complex
debate with the arrival of new electronics
that are able to analyze and mimic
existing equipment on demand. And this
new technology has provided a way for
touring acts to consolidate their backlines
in order to shave down shipping costs
and reduce complexity onstage. Players
like Brad Paisley, John Mayer, and Joe
Bonamassa appear onstage with a veritable
guitar shop of amps in order to deliver the
sounds they need for performance. The
setup time alone is a factor, not to mention
the wear and tear on vintage equipment. So
why gig with four or five different amps,
cabinets, and a slew of effects pedals when
it can all be copied into a single box in a
few hours time?
All of this begs a seemingly simple
question: Be it a guitar, amp, or effect, is
it thievery to duplicate a sound? In the
world of fragrance, a similar debate has
raged in European courts for decades.
Perfume giants like Lancôme and Gaultier
have sought legal remedies against clone
products with varying results. In the
case of scent, it can be argued that every
individual’s olfactory reaction can be different
and subjective. On the other hand,
computer analysis of the actual molecules
can be accomplished. Although there has
been little consistency in court outcomes,
this sort of intellectual property litigation
is clearly becoming more frequent in areas
that were previously somewhat immune. It
wouldn’t be hard to look at a breakdown of
an amplifier’s sonic signature and then compare
it to another.
What this means going forward for
instrument builders is anybody’s guess. New
technologies open one door and unintended
opportunities and consequences shadow
them right over the threshold. Can we
imagine a time when the “Les Paul sound”
is protected by law? Will SWAT teams with
sound-sniffing technology rush your bar-gig
stage some day? It shouldn’t surprise you if
there are attorneys already working on this
right now.
Jol Dantzig is a
noted designer, builder,
and player who co-founded
Hamer Guitars,
one of the first boutique
guitar brands, in 1973.
Today, as the director of
Dantzig Guitar Design, he continues to
help define the art of custom guitar. To
learn more, visit
guitardesigner.com.