Any advice on getting a custom built?

xDaigaijin

daisie_guitar said:

hotpickups said:

... It’ll never be for sale ...

Anyone who has owned one or more "dream guitars" knows this is a fallacy. 

I was reliably informed by my man at GAK that 'the perfect number of guitars is the number of guitars you have + 1', he has proven to be prophetic in the extreme 

Moloch

Daigaijin said:

hotpickups said:

Do you have a budget in mind? Acoustic or electric ?

No budget in mind as I'm not sure what these cost but I have high end guitars, electric, 6 string, trem, HSH, nice woods, super strat style, super thin neck, more details under advice from the builder.

I got one from Dennison Guitars for £1500. About four month turnaround and he was in touch about every step. Needed a bit of a tweak to the nut on arrival, but he actually drove to my home with his tools and did it there and then. Well worth a chat with him, I'd say.

I've also heard good things about Grainger Guitars and based upon the price of one of theirs on Reverb, they are also excellent value.

WezV

Daigaijin said:

WezV said:

Don't try to include everything you ever wanted in a guitar!!

Interesting, how come? I'd hoped to put everything into this one.

It becomes a Homer

daisie_guitar

WezV said:

Daigaijin said:

WezV said:

Don't try to include everything you ever wanted in a guitar!!

Interesting, how come? I'd hoped to put everything into this one.

It becomes a Homer

Like... the car..? 

imalrightjack

I’ve done it twice and will almost certainly get a third. Same builder. 

I commissioned them, absolutely certain that they were keepers, and could only lose value. But it meant I got exactly what I wanted - and no off the shelf guitar was capable of ticking the boxes, to the precise requirements I had. 

The one thing to consider is ensuring you’re absolutely in agreement of what the end product will look like. There’s one feature of my first built which really bothered me, as I hadn’t understood it would be the way it is, and it doesn’t bother me now (much), but I wish I’d known. 

monquixote

The number of times you see a bright orang reverse moderne, through necked, Floyd rose, midi, piezo, with one p90, one single coil and one humbucker that probably cost someone £3k for about £500 and no interest

WezV

daisie_guitar said:

WezV said:

Daigaijin said:

WezV said:

Don't try to include everything you ever wanted in a guitar!!

Interesting, how come? I'd hoped to put everything into this one.

It becomes a Homer

Like... the car..? 

Exactly!

Musicwolf

hotpickups said:

Daigaijin said:

hotpickups said:

Daigaijin said:

hotpickups said:

Do you have a budget in mind? Acoustic or electric ?

No budget in mind as I'm not sure what these cost but I have high end guitars, electric, 6 string, trem, HSH, nice woods, super strat style, super thin neck, more details under advice from the builder.

Well I’ve been here and did commission a custom build guitar for myself. It wasn’t  cheap as you’d probably have guessed. It’ll never be for sale so I never entered that thought process of losing in resale etc. However, I did get built for me an absolute beautiful guitar made by a true craftsman and artist. He was a player too so knows what works and sounds good. He didn’t do different shaped guitars just one design but with variations / enhancements which one pays for. 

He wasn’t going to go out of business
or anything as far as I knew but not sure how one would ever be 100% for sure if he/she wouldn’t? So an element of trust will still has to be had. He isn’t a young man so one could say he could stop dead anytime but then again any one of can at any age  

I waited 9 months for the build process to be completed giving him instalments at each stage. That was two years ago now and I still marvel at the genius of that man and his builds  

Go for it I’d say if you can afford and the children won’t be starving if you did  

A happy customer, good to hear! Not by any chance a gentleman from North of the border? Kids? What's thems then? 

Lol no he’s in Suffolk

It's a Martyn Bloody Booth (as can be seen in the profile pic) and it looks sodding gorgeous.  I’ve only just forgotten about this from a previous thread and now you’ve gone and reminded me – which is very likely going to cost me a fortune.

Somebody please tell me that Suffolk has been placed off limits for the foreseeable due to CV19

webrthomson

These are my thoughts, I've got Manson, Feline, Kemp and Ken Lawrence custom built guitars:

1. Know what you like – within reason
2. Listen to the luthier - there is probably a reason they are telling you things are a bad idea
3. Have a fixed aim for the guitar – you can’t have a strat, tele and Les Paul in one guitar know what you want the guitar to do
4. Be patient
5. Don’t think you can change the spec in mid flight
6. Play as many of the luthiers guitars before you commit

All of the guys I've worked with over they years have been great from my first Manson in the early 90's up to this years one I'm heading back to Feline guitars for

hotpickups

Musicwolf said:

hotpickups said:

Daigaijin said:

hotpickups said:

Daigaijin said:

hotpickups said:

Do you have a budget in mind? Acoustic or electric ?

No budget in mind as I'm not sure what these cost but I have high end guitars, electric, 6 string, trem, HSH, nice woods, super strat style, super thin neck, more details under advice from the builder.

Well I’ve been here and did commission a custom build guitar for myself. It wasn’t  cheap as you’d probably have guessed. It’ll never be for sale so I never entered that thought process of losing in resale etc. However, I did get built for me an absolute beautiful guitar made by a true craftsman and artist. He was a player too so knows what works and sounds good. He didn’t do different shaped guitars just one design but with variations / enhancements which one pays for. 

He wasn’t going to go out of business
or anything as far as I knew but not sure how one would ever be 100% for sure if he/she wouldn’t? So an element of trust will still has to be had. He isn’t a young man so one could say he could stop dead anytime but then again any one of can at any age  

I waited 9 months for the build process to be completed giving him instalments at each stage. That was two years ago now and I still marvel at the genius of that man and his builds  

Go for it I’d say if you can afford and the children won’t be starving if you did  

A happy customer, good to hear! Not by any chance a gentleman from North of the border? Kids? What's thems then? 

Lol no he’s in Suffolk

It's a Martyn Bloody Booth (as can be seen in the profile pic) and it looks sodding gorgeous.  I’ve only just forgotten about this from a previous thread and now you’ve gone and reminded me – which is very likely going to cost me a fortune.

Somebody please tell me that Suffolk has been placed off limits for the foreseeable due to CV19

Lol you are correct Mr Wolf. Unfortunately I can’t help you on the Suffolk Covid lockdown either  

Just order one lol 

jeztone2

I ordered a Feline in December. A T-type. 

I spec’d the guitar out based on my favourite instruments. So a contoured alder body, maple neck. Jumbo frets,Rosewood board. I wanted two humbuckers and a Floyd. I was going for a Suhr Alt-T on Steroids vibe. But with a 10” radius, A 60’s C style neck. But comfort contours and a smaller scratch plate. 

Jonathon made some suggestions on practicality. I sent him a mood board of ideas for how I wanted it to look.

Then I went down to pay the deposit and we had a good long chat. I was there a good couple of hours. We went over every aspect and I’m looking forward to playing her when she’s done. 

In terms of spec. I think it’s important to get that nailed before you proceed. You need to have a very very clear idea of what you want. I spent months thinking about that. 

hotpickups

jeztone2 said:

I ordered a Feline in December. A T-type. 

I spec’d the guitar out based on my favourite instruments. So a contoured alder body, maple neck. Jumbo frets,Rosewood board. I wanted two humbuckers and a Floyd. I was going for a Suhr Alt-T on Steroids vibe. But with a 10” radius, A 60’s C style neck. But comfort contours and a smaller scratch plate. 

Jonathon made some suggestions on practicality. I sent him a mood board of ideas for how I wanted it to look.

Then I went down to pay the deposit and we had a good long chat. I was there a good couple of hours. We went over every aspect and I’m looking forward to playing her when she’s done. 

In terms of spec. I think it’s important to get that nailed before you proceed. You need to have a very very clear idea of what you want. I spent months thinking about that. 

Her! It’s a her?  

ThePrettyDamned

monquixote said:

The number of times you see a bright orang reverse moderne, through necked, Floyd rose, midi, piezo, with one p90, one single coil and one humbucker that probably cost someone £3k for about £500 and no interest

For real, if you saw that, pls let me know  

HAL9000

jeztone2 said:

...I’m looking forward to playing her when she’s done. 

Fail!

xDaigaijin

WezV said:

daisie_guitar said:

WezV said:

Daigaijin said:

WezV said:

Don't try to include everything you ever wanted in a guitar!!

Interesting, how come? I'd hoped to put everything into this one.

It becomes a Homer

Like... the car..? 

Exactly!

Good point, my needs are modest by comparison... Or are they? 

prowla

Daigaijin said:

daisie_guitar said:

hotpickups said:

... It’ll never be for sale ...

Anyone who has owned one or more "dream guitars" knows this is a fallacy. 

I was reliably informed by my man at GAK that 'the perfect number of guitars is the number of guitars you have + 1', he has proven to be prophetic in the extreme 

I just bought 3 barebones body+necks, so I'm planning ahead!

SpankThePlank

Daigaijin said:

WezV said:

Don't try to include everything you ever wanted in a guitar!!

Interesting, how come? I'd hoped to put everything into this one.

Hi

I have had a few custom guitars. The first two were literally fabricated by the luthier, the last was assembled by a tech. I thought there was a mystery to the latter, tho it was pre-inter web and things are waaay easier now.

If assembling, you could do this yourself. You can even lacquer it successfully with cans of Nitro but obviously if you have no interest, tools nor space then I guess this won't appeal. But it is massively rewarding.

Regarding those I had made, the first one was great at the time (I was v young and didn't have much input).  It was very solid and had a certain class but had some quirks which only became evident later when interfacing with the real world factory-made standards.  Also, I had my name inlaid - another way to lose money should you ever attempt to sell!

The second luthier axe design was almost literally scrawled on a beer mat and sent with cuttings from various Guitar Player mags showing the various luxurious (& some dated) ideas I wanted incorporated.

I may have overdone it with all my options, inc the electric blue paint job but when I received it (maker was in a different UK country), the main reason I have never really used it in 30 years was that although I had stated the nut width, I had completely underestimated the effect of depth and so it has always felt too small.  Lesson learned.  I still have it and it sounds great but I have never gigged nor really recorded with it. There is still time, though, as selling seems a shame.

Be cautious and bear future use/trends/sale potential in mind. I don't think I would buy a custom again but that's just me. You will have your own perspective.

i have a friend who is a very experienced musician yet still ended up in that eternal quest for the amazing guitar, recently spending a couple of grand on a custom-fabricated vintage-style strat and hating the instrument. At least I never hated mine.

Have fun!

breezytele

I made the mistake of paying in advance for a custom tele build... 
It’s  still not arrived.  

I’ve actually been fascinated by the string of excuses over the years !

I’ve read countless tales of others waiting ages as well

My tip to the OP is therefore this:  place as small an amount of cash up front as possible .

Jalapeno

Daigaijin said:

I've been looking for 'the final one' for ages and there is aways some compromise, so I thought this might be a solution.

Hahahahahahaha !

GAS is a cruel mistress.

I've had a couple - one truly boutique ("3-4 months" became 2-3 years) can't remember the last time it came out of the case, the other was a reknowned acoustic builder - and it was finished on time (3 months) - gets played and gigged regularly.

xDaigaijin

SpankThePlank said:

Daigaijin said:

WezV said:

Don't try to include everything you ever wanted in a guitar!!

Interesting, how come? I'd hoped to put everything into this one.

Hi

I have had a few custom guitars. The first two were literally fabricated by the luthier, the last was assembled by a tech. I thought there was a mystery to the latter, tho it was pre-inter web and things are waaay easier now.

If assembling, you could do this yourself. You can even lacquer it successfully with cans of Nitro but obviously if you have no interest, tools nor space then I guess this won't appeal. But it is massively rewarding.

Regarding those I had made, the first one was great at the time (I was v young and didn't have much input).  It was very solid and had a certain class but had some quirks which only became evident later when interfacing with the real world factory-made standards.  Also, I had my name inlaid - another way to lose money should you ever attempt to sell!

The second luthier axe design was almost literally scrawled on a beer mat and sent with cuttings from various Guitar Player mags showing the various luxurious (& some dated) ideas I wanted incorporated.

I may have overdone it with all my options, inc the electric blue paint job but when I received it (maker was in a different UK country), the main reason I have never really used it in 30 years was that although I had stated the nut width, I had completely underestimated the effect of depth and so it has always felt too small.  Lesson learned.  I still have it and it sounds great but I have never gigged nor really recorded with it. There is still time, though, as selling seems a shame.

Be cautious and bear future use/trends/sale potential in mind. I don't think I would buy a custom again but that's just me. You will have your own perspective.

i have a friend who is a very experienced musician yet still ended up in that eternal quest for the amazing guitar, recently spending a couple of grand on a custom-fabricated vintage-style strat and hating the instrument. At least I never hated mine.

Have fun!

I'd not even considered I might not get on with it, hmm