# Ex-Fender boss builds the guitar Fender doesn't want

> Mike Eldred ran the Fender Custom Shop. His first guitar under a new brand is an S-style with a message painted on it.
- Title: Ex-Fender boss builds the guitar Fender doesn't want
- Summary: Mike Eldred ran the Fender Custom Shop. His first guitar under a new brand is an S-style with a message painted on it. When a company tries to own a body…
- Keywords: guitars, fender, trademark, luthiers, el cabron, Ex-Fender, boss, builds, guitar, doesn't, want, Guitar World
- Source: Guitar World — https://guitarworld.com/gear/electric-guitars/el-cabron-black-corp
- Published: 2026-09-14T18:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: guitars, fender, trademark, luthiers, el cabron
## Fender won the body shape
A court ruling handed Fender legal protection over the Stratocaster body outline. Cease-and-desist letters went out to Thomann, PRS, Yamaha and others.
## A former insider answers back
Mike Eldred ran the Fender Custom Shop through the 1990s. His new firm, El Cabron, just launched its first guitar, and it is unmistakably S-shaped.
## The message is the finish
Across the body, in all capitals: a refusal to let a corporation set the rules. It echoes Tom Morello's Arm the Homeless guitar, itself an S-type.

> Never let a corporation tell you what the rules are
## More Rampage than Strat
The Black Corp runs a Gotoh 510 tremolo, one humbucker at the bridge, and a single volume knob. Closer to a G&L Rampage than anything vintage.
## Banksy under the trem
Beneath the tremolo sits Banksy's masked protester throwing a bouquet, chosen to put peace and love ahead of anger.
## Not the only one leaving
Ex-Masterbuilder John Cruz teamed with Farida for his own S-style. LsL Instruments, targeted by the campaign, answered with a brand-new shape instead.
## Key takeaway

When a company tries to own a body shape, the people who helped build its reputation are the first to test the boundary.