Chibson pokes fun at the state of the guitar industry with new Cease & Desist knobs
Chibson USA is hardly a company known for taking things seriously. In fact, the brand exists to poke fun at the weird and mockable that exists throughout the guitar world.
Some of its parody releases have included the Cease & Desist pedal – which celebrated Mickey Mouse’s entry into the public domain – the Humbuckle, a humbucker-inspired belt buckle that actually made it to market, and the Chibson Drive, a Google-inspired overdrive pedal made in collaboration with Acorn Amps, designed for the “data-driven results musicians dream of having”.
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Indeed, “cease and desist” is a term a little too familiar in the guitar industry, with some of its biggest players often pursuing legal action to stop competitors making guitars which they believe infringe upon its intellectual property.
Gibson, for example – the company after which Chibson is humorously named – has a long history of using legal avenues to protect its trademarks and intellectual property. After a long and bitter legal battle, just yesterday, it was announced that Dean’s parent company must pay Gibson $4 million in legal fees following a trademark loss. Also recently, Gibson issued a cease and desist to Donald Trump-backed Trump Guitars, saying it had infringed upon the classic Les Paul body shape design.
And a wordmap of most-used terms in the guitar world this year wouldn’t be complete without “cease and desist” front and centre in massive letters, amid an ongoing legal campaign from Fender to reclaim the Stratocaster body shape and stop other builders from making instruments that resemble it. So far, PRS, Yamaha, Thomann, Amazon, LsL Instruments and more have received cease and desist letters from Fender.
Yep, the guitar industry has been a whirlwind in 2026, so what could be better than a little comic relief from Chibson?
Originally conceived for Chibson’s social media pages, the new Cease & Desist knobs were thought up to “celebrate this new lawsuit era”. And they’re now a reality, available in a 3-pack of knobs to customise your guitar.
“If anything can be learned from lawsuits of the past, it’s that guitarists love a little frisky controversy and now with the release of Chibson’s Cease & Desist knobs, guitarists can support their favorite illegal guitar manufacturer while making a bold statement!” Chibson says.
In a not so subtle nod to Spinal Tap, the knobs have also been designed to go to 11. “These are one louder!” Chibson says, reference the iconic line from Nigel Tufnel.
Chibson’s Cease & Desist knobs are available to order now, priced at £16. Learn more at Chibson.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
