Can you make a less expensive Strat feel/play/sound as good as a Custom Shop?

Jonathanthomas83

Kind of fell in love with a Strat the other day but it was Custom Shop and with that tag comes...££££. So it got me thinking, what made it so good?

What makes a Custom Shop Strat (or any good Strat) play and feel so good?

Can the right upgrades and setup make a MiJ/MiM or standard line Strat play as nicely as a Custom Shop does?

The bridge on this one felt slinky and nice and didn't click like my old USA vintage RI did - would a Callaham bridge tick that box or is it all down to setup? The fingerboard felt played in and the neck smooth and easy.

I know a lot of this is subjective, but it's something that's bugging me and I'd like your thoughts. Ta

impmann

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Kind of fell in love with a Strat the other day but it was Custom Shop and with that tag comes...££££. So it got me thinking, what made it so good?

What makes a Custom Shop Strat (or any good Strat) play and feel so good?

Can the right upgrades and setup make a MiJ/MiM or standard line Strat play as nicely as a Custom Shop does?

The bridge on this one felt slinky and nice and didn't click like my old USA vintage RI did - would a Callaham bridge tick that box or is it all down to setup? The fingerboard felt played in and the neck smooth and easy.

I know a lot of this is subjective, but it's something that's bugging me and I'd like your thoughts. Ta

"Click"?

If you mean the slop between the arm and the trem block... well, give it time. It will clonk, especially if the soppy little spring falls out that sits under the arm.

A Callaham bridge makes a big difference to the feel of the arm - but then, so does fitting a new bridge block from Kev Hurley... and there is a world of difference in prices, and IMHO the Hurley solution is brilliant.

My old Jap Strat held its own against a room full of Custom Shop Strats at Coda Music - I had £4k to spend on a CS guitar, and genuinely it sounded as good (if not better thanks to the Mojo pickups) and felt great to me (years and years of playing that neck). I walked out with a PRS instead... but thats a different story.

SOME Custom Shop guitars are incredible, though... @meltedbuzzbox recently had his wallet sobbing gently after playing quite simply the best Fender Jaguar of any age, colour, creed or description I've ever encountered. Even with a £3k price tag, it had to come home. Its not just about the fittings, or even the fit and finish - they do select some incredible pieces of wood. Whether or not that makes a difference to your playing experience is only something you can decide - and whether paying those sums are justifed to you.

horsehead

I personally think that you can make a guitar as good as a custom shop. My No1 strat is one that I got off here (or the old forum as it was!) and is a partscaster that slays all the custom shops I've played, so much so that it needs a refret now.
You can make any guitar better with tweaks, how good is how much you're willing to put into it, but that's for the makers on here to debate.

What was it (apart from the bridge) that made it spot on for you?

sweepy

You can get a MIJ Strat nearly there but it’s very reliant on how resonant the body and neck are. Hardware is easy to swap out but it’s the fundamentals that are most important here

earwighoney

Jonathanthomas83 said:

Can the right upgrades and setup make a MiJ/MiM or standard line Strat play as nicely as a Custom Shop does?

I think the instrument would have to be pretty decent in the first place. I've owned some MIJ Fenders that were so truly shite no amount of upgrades would improve the dogs they were!

Jonathanthomas83

impmann said:

"Click"?

Yeah, a click upon first movement of the arm, thereafter it seemed ok...until the next use after a break. I thought it may have been inherent in all Fenders until I tried this CS.

horsehead said:

What was it (apart from the bridge) that made it spot on for you?

Fretboard felt lovely, well balanced, good weight - not too heavy, not too light, medium jumbo frets, good mix of pickups (obviously achieveable on a lesser guitar), felt vintage, looked vintage, but yes - ultimately, the bridge was the biggest surprise.

interstellar

easily buy a K-Line 

impmann

Jonathanthomas83 said:

impmann said:

"Click"?

Yeah, a click upon first movement of the arm, thereafter it seemed ok...until the next use after a break. I thought it may have been inherent in all Fenders until I tried this CS.

I think that's the spring/slop you're experiencing... an easy fix using a proven engineering solution (nylon sleeve) but so far, Fender have refused to acknowledge it.

crunchman

The MIJ, MIM Fenders don't normally have nitro finish, so I don't think you will normally be able to completely replicate what you get with the CS.

Having said that, the right one can get very close, but as @sweepy said it does depend on the body and neck being good.

Chalky

In my experiments I've made a guitar neck and frets feel much better, and I'd say that is the easiest quickest and cheapest improvement that really delivers a consistent benefit on any guitar.  Another notable improvement is a high quality replacement bridge. And good pots and switches. Pickups are less predictable, they and the guitar need to marry well.

But if the wood of a guitar is not good then there is a limit to what can be achieved with that guitar.

meltedbuzzbox

I've owned far too many electric guitars. I've covered most of the ranges and I've modded/part swapped and done all sorts of stuff. I cant remember a time when I had below 10 electrics at once. 
Since finding the right Custom shop instruments I am down to 3, (well 4 but I never play the mim Telecaster). 
I dont look at the classifieds any more, I dont ever sit and wonder. Yes they were expensive but for that level of mental resolution they have been priceless. 
YMMV and all that jazz

Jonathanthomas83

impmann said:

Jonathanthomas83 said:

impmann said:

"Click"?

Yeah, a click upon first movement of the arm, thereafter it seemed ok...until the next use after a break. I thought it may have been inherent in all Fenders until I tried this CS.

I think that's the spring/slop you're experiencing... an easy fix using a proven engineering solution (nylon sleeve) but so far, Fender have refused to acknowledge it.

This is good to know! Thank you. Felt like a spring thing, to me. Think you're spot on there.

meltedbuzzbox said:

I've owned far too many electric guitars. I've covered most of the ranges and I've modded/part swapped and done all sorts of stuff. I cant remember a time when I had below 10 electrics at once. 
Since finding the right Custom shop instruments I am down to 3, (well 4 but I never play the mim Telecaster). 
I dont look at the classifieds any more, I dont ever sit and wonder. Yes they were expensive but for that level of mental resolution they have been priceless. 
YMMV and all that jazz

This is what worries me. That mental thing is real!

dazzajl

I much prefer my beaten and abused old MiM Strat to any of the custom shop flavours I’ve played. It’s completely satisfied my Strat GAS and I don’t ever look at any others, as I’ve already sold off much better guitars because I didn’t like playing them as much, so they just gathered dust. 

I’d never say it’s as good as a CS Strat though, Its simply not. It just happens to feel and sound right to me. 

meltedbuzzbox

dazzajl said:

...It just happens to feel and sound right to me. 

and thats the most important bit

scalino65

MIJ squires, for me, have some of the best necks ever. I re-fin in nitro myself and fitted some oil city pick ups. It's very,very nice. I have had loads of CS strats and I prefer it to 90 per cent of the ones I had. Owes me 4

scalino65

450quid...

zepp76

Are you able to find somewhere that you could try out the David Gilmour signature Black Strat? Could be right up your street, if I had the spare dosh I'd have one in a heartbeat!

Jonathanthomas83

Interesting stuff indeed, keep it coming.

@Gassage you have any thoughts on this, being a Strat connoisseur?

57Deluxe

there are so many subsets of Fenders new or used over many years, so the answer to the OP is - YES!

Jonathanthomas83

zepp76 said:

Are you able to find somewhere that you could try out the David Gilmour signature Black Strat? Could be right up your street, if I had the spare dosh I'd have one in a heartbeat!

I'm not that into Signature stuff, mate, tbh. It looks incredible, but nah, not really my thing - I'd change a few specs, mainly radius etc. Bet it's awesome though! :-)

mr-mac

Yes and No... If it sounds like a dog compared to other stuff at price range then don't do it...

If sounds a bit better than most at price range then go on to consider how rest looks and feels and if its worth spending on the upgraded.

I'd say that way is a good idea to avoid those guitars that sound no quite as good as they should regardless of upgrades.