Have you had a guitar made for you ?

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  • jhumberjhumber Frets: 238
    edited May 2021
    Quite a few over the years...in roughly chronological order:
    - Brook Torridge: was my main acoustic for a decade, played it everywhere, eventually sold it because I found another acoustic I preferred and it wasn't justified to keep it.
    - Suhr Classic T: custom order spec, really liked it and faultless quality, in hindsight I'd made the neck a bit too slim. Ended up sold as I preferred other teles.
    - A few Warmoth partscasters: not sure if these count, but always had consistently good results. Don't have them anymore but the experience of spec'ing and building was always enjoyable. Will never hold their value though...
    - Eternal S-type: just got this one a couple of weeks ago, very pleased with it, ticks every box I was looking for so far. I wasn't trying to build 'one guitar to rule them all', but did spec it to be a versatile HSS with neck dimensions that I was quite specific on. So far, so good.

    Summary: I've been pleased with them all and don't regret any of them, but the counter to that is that most of my favourite guitars (that I either still have or have regrettably sold) are completely stock models. The advice above is all good too, if you order anything that's overly 'custom' to you, you'll struggle to sell it and likely lose a lot on it.  
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  • russpmrusspm Frets: 436
    russpm said:
    I had one made years back and it is absolutely superb. It was losely based on a Les Paul shape. It has two humbuckers in bridge and neck and the bridge is also a piezo pickup which sounds amazing when switched in and blended with the other pickups. I still own it and play it weekly. I also gigged this guitar heavily and it was just the best gigging guitar I’ve ever owned.
    It was made by Brian Eastwood back in 2000 and it will be going back soon for a much overdue service.
    So for me it was a great experience and I have something that is totally unique and is a ‘one off’.
    Some photos....

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/190691061@N05/51165514023/in/dateposted-public/
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/190691061@N05/51165513993/in/dateposted-public/
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/190691061@N05/51165276856/in/dateposted-public/
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  • GrumpyrockerGrumpyrocker Frets: 4118
    I think what I like tends to vary too much to set it in stone in such an expensive way.

    I guess I'd consider it I found the almost perfect guitar and I wanted a few tweaks to that design/spec to make it what I wanted.

    Otherwise I'm not convinced my own knowledge would really get me the guitar that was right for me. For example much as I love my Les Paul, have lusted after one my whole life, the guitar that's most comfortable and I play the most is my Schecter super-strat type. 

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  • IamnobodyIamnobody Frets: 6887
    spark240 said:
    Iamnobody said:
    spark240 said:
    I see a few posts about folks having hand made guitars to their particular specs etc...

    How many of you have had such a thing and has it turned out to be what you wanted ...is it " the best " guitar you own, ...nothing compares and all that..

    Or maybe it didn't work out at all?


    Ordered in 2016 still no cunting guitar to this day.   

    And that was from a well respected luthier and member here - albeit one who subsequently had massive health problems.

    It wouldn’t but me off getting another custom one build day - but I’d be a lot more picky about who I chose to do business with; and with the benefit of hindsight I’d protect myself better. 
    Are you outstanding any money ?
    Yes. I’ve accepted I’m unlikely to see the dosh or a guitar now and have mostly moved on. Hadn’t thought about it for ages until this thread popped up!  :#
    Previously known as stevebrum
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  • TTonyTTony Frets: 27346
    Bigsby said:
    Personally, I went the built-to-order route with Gordon Smith,  
    Voxman said:
     If I ever had the spare funds though I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Feline that I could play first.
    That's a very sensible, compromise approach - and probably more in keeping with my second custom build.

    With Gordon Smith or Feline (etc), you know broadly what you're going to get.  You can tweak some aspects of the design, finish, or components, but it'll essentially be a recognisable Gordon Smith or Feline guitar, with all of the benefits that brings, including the resale option given their name on the headstock.

    Going for a completely one-off custom build from a less well known name/brand, and you've got a lot more variables (unknowns) to consider, most of which add more risk to the process.
    Having trouble posting images here?  This might help.
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  • goldtopgoldtop Frets: 6101
    I had one that was a long time in the making (mainly due to my wood choice, meaning the luthier had to look long and hard to find a single piece big enough).

    Made in the USA, so no chance to try before buying. Every part of the spec was down to me (aside from the body and headstock shape). The luthier already had a great rep, though, and he's now a master builder at Fender's custom shop.





    What I learned: if I have a very nice guitar, I don't like to leave it out, so I don't play it very often. D'oh! I have a LP DC Standard from 1998 that is my #1 player, simply because it never gets put away. There's a lesson...
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  • earwighoneyearwighoney Frets: 3491
    goldtop said:
    I had one that was a long time in the making (mainly due to my wood choice, meaning the luthier had to look long and hard to find a single piece big enough).

    Made in the USA, so no chance to try before buying. Every part of the spec was down to me (aside from the body and headstock shape). The luthier already had a great rep, though, and he's now a master builder at Fender's custom shop.





    What I learned: if I have a very nice guitar, I don't like to leave it out, so I don't play it very often. D'oh! I have a LP DC Standard from 1998 that is my #1 player, simply because it never gets put away. There's a lesson...
    Is that a Ron Thorn guitar?

    Sounds like your experience is like mine with my Martin 00-21S.

    So beautiful it lives in its case and I play my other guitars more!
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  • jeztone2jeztone2 Frets: 2160
    edited May 2021
    I’ve just had a Feline completed in the last month & it’s amazing. Can’t put it down. 

    I think before you commission a guitar have a good long think about what you want from it. For me I wanted something versatile that I could take to any gig. I think it worked. I took elements of my favourite guitars & put them in one instrument. But I was very specific about things. Knowing what you want helps. 

    https://flic.kr/p/2kMFqJM


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  • AK99AK99 Frets: 1563
    russpm said:
    russpm said:
    I had one made years back and it is absolutely superb. It was losely based on a Les Paul shape. It has two humbuckers in bridge and neck and the bridge is also a piezo pickup which sounds amazing when switched in and blended with the other pickups. I still own it and play it weekly. I also gigged this guitar heavily and it was just the best gigging guitar I’ve ever owned.
    It was made by Brian Eastwood back in 2000 and it will be going back soon for a much overdue service.
    So for me it was a great experience and I have something that is totally unique and is a ‘one off’.
    Some photos....

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/190691061@N05/51165514023/in/dateposted-public/
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/190691061@N05/51165513993/in/dateposted-public/
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/190691061@N05/51165276856/in/dateposted-public/
    It's like the product of a furtive post gig meet-up backstage between an Ibanez Iceman and a Les Paul Studio :)

    Nice though!
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  • joeWjoeW Frets: 459
    I had an archtop made by Steve Grimes and it is totally awesome, and very different to a factory build equivalent like my L5’s.  I have just ordered a Mojo Grande from Ruokangas, so I hope it’s going to be a similar experience.  It’s great to have your own specs but the price hit is significant if you want to move them on.  
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    prlgmnr said:

    Had a deposit with Daemoness but pulled out of it when the opportunity to do so came up as I was starting to have my doubts.
    He does make superb looking guitars
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  • goldtopgoldtop Frets: 6101
    goldtop said:
    I had one that was a long time in the making (mainly due to my wood choice, meaning the luthier had to look long and hard to find a single piece big enough).

    Made in the USA, so no chance to try before buying. Every part of the spec was down to me (aside from the body and headstock shape). The luthier already had a great rep, though, and he's now a master builder at Fender's custom shop.





    What I learned: if I have a very nice guitar, I don't like to leave it out, so I don't play it very often. D'oh! I have a LP DC Standard from 1998 that is my #1 player, simply because it never gets put away. There's a lesson...
    Is that a Ron Thorn guitar?

    Sounds like your experience is like mine with my Martin 00-21S.

    So beautiful it lives in its case and I play my other guitars more!
    Yes, it's Ron's. Now, of course, I'd order a plainer guitar with the exact same tone and playability. He did a few of those, but I was like a kid in a sweet shop with the spec details. :)
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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516
    I've never ordered a fully custom, built from scratch by a luthier guitar, but I do have a Strat ordered from the Fender CS to my specs - which turned out very well.

    Although in many ways I like the idea, I've always had reservations about ordering a custom build because (a) I wasn't really sure about what specs I wanted and (b) there's always the chance it just won't turn out as well as you hoped, as @richardhomer mentioned earlier.

    The last few years I'm leaning more towards the possibility... I do now have much clearer ideas of what I'd want, and there are a number of builders, including several on this forum, whose work I really like the look of.  I think you'd want to go to someone who builds in a style of their own which fits with your taste/ideas, not someone who says they'll "build anything".

    It'd be expensive though, and there are still off-the-shelf guitars which come pretty close and carry less "risk".
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  • spark240spark240 Frets: 2073
    edited May 2021
    I still like these Waghorn Guitars though....




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  • Jez6345789Jez6345789 Frets: 1756
    I had this conversation recently with a good playing friend and we largely came to the same conclusion as younger men locally there were endless stories of the better local players getting a custom-built guitar and it always seemed to us that most people parted with a lot of money for either a guitar that never arrived or had endless delays and loads of dog ate my home work type of excuses as to why their custom widdlecaster was not ready yet. Or what was actually delivered was a gold and pearl boat anchor that looked like a piece of G plan furniture.

    So I have largely a pretty cynical view of custom builds at least around my parts this was thorugh the 70's anbd 80's

    These days we have a far higher quality of lutherie but despite now being able to afford if not justify throwing cash I truly struggle with the absurd business model of the current crop of luthiers. Many seem to produce a handful of guitars a year have a 24-36 month waiting list and that's fine if that's what they want but to me, that's simply a broken business model. So i sort of struggle with the idea of  pushing upwards of 10k and the trust into a modern luthiers hands.
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  • russpmrusspm Frets: 436
    AK99 said:
    russpm said:
    russpm said:
    I had one made years back and it is absolutely superb. It was losely based on a Les Paul shape. It has two humbuckers in bridge and neck and the bridge is also a piezo pickup which sounds amazing when switched in and blended with the other pickups. I still own it and play it weekly. I also gigged this guitar heavily and it was just the best gigging guitar I’ve ever owned.
    It was made by Brian Eastwood back in 2000 and it will be going back soon for a much overdue service.
    So for me it was a great experience and I have something that is totally unique and is a ‘one off’.
    Some photos....

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/190691061@N05/51165514023/in/dateposted-public/
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/190691061@N05/51165513993/in/dateposted-public/
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/190691061@N05/51165276856/in/dateposted-public/
    It's like the product of a furtive post gig meet-up backstage between an Ibanez Iceman and a Les Paul Studio :)

    Nice though!
    I’ll take that
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  • Danny1969Danny1969 Frets: 10357
    I had mine made for me around 2008  / 2009 ish ... At the time it was exactly what I wanted and I still love it. Basically I was gig'ing an Les Paul but wanted an LP build in the shape of a Strat with the attack of a bolt on neck. Martin at Sims in Kent made it in less than a 3 months by building a Mahogany body with a maple cap then profiled the neck of the LP I was gig'ing and copied it into a Fender style neck but with Gibson scale length. Pickups were chosen for the ability to cut through a dense live mix and safety outdoors with generator gigs. The trem only goes down VH style so breaking a string isn't a problem with tuning or heavy palm muting. 

    Paint job was an ode to my fave beer ... not to everyones taste but everybody remembers this guitar and loads of random punters have had their photo taken with the guitar. 







    Have to say, never seen a better paint finish on any other guitar and never seen a tougher finish. It's now done close to a thousand gigs since I got it and the finish is still immaculate. The volume pot has been changed because I wore the original out and so has the jack socket for the same reason. 

    I'm not the same player I was when this was commissioned though ... my tastes have changed pickup wise and I prefer the more organic passive pickup sounds. However the engineer who mixes me says that no other guitar cuts through like this one so he prefers me to play this. My own taste indoors is more standard Tele or Strat these days but playing live is a different thing and the EMG's are unequalled in their ability to be heard. 




    www.2020studios.co.uk 
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  • FuzzdogFuzzdog Frets: 839
    I had a custom 5 string bass made for me years ago by a local luthier, paid quite a slab of cash, detailed all my specifications, and... It was complete and utter crap.  As in, borderline unplayable, fretboard edges that actually cut you, low B that was so floppy it may as well not have existed kind of crap.  Got a big chunk of my money back on it, but that experience still puts me off having something custom made!
    -- Before you ask, no, I am in no way, shape or form related to Fuzzdog pedals, I was Fuzzdog before Fuzzdog were Fuzzdog.  Unless you want to give me free crap, then I'm related to whatever the hell you like! --
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  • spark240spark240 Frets: 2073
    Do all of these horror stories suggest that the mainstream guys are not doing such a bad job ?


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  • SquireJapanSquireJapan Frets: 696
    edited May 2021
    Just to be contrary, I’ve had very outlandish ideas for custom guitars, and gotten _reasonably_ close to pulling the trigger. 

    Right now I’ve chopped and changed partscasters (strat based and Ibanez based) and ended up with some really special guitars that are pretty much perfect for me. 

    The caveat being I need to pay to get the fretwork fixed, good setup/fettle etc. 

    To be clear, the guitars I have aren’t cheap “bitsa” guitars, they’re fairly high end components that get taken up several notches with some serious fettling. 

    I’ve traded through a LOT of guitars, and really know what I want.  

    I still want a 27” through neck hardtail with ridiculous cutaway, but that’s still in the “maybe someday” pile :)


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