Anyone ever ordered an actual custom guitar from the Fender Custom Shop?

fretfinder

1nten5e said:

My 2 most recent purchases were a Jason Smith Tele Custom, which I waited 18 months for and cost 3800, and even more recently a special order team built '62 Jag, built to my spec, ie same neck dimensions as the tele etc, this was a 6month wait at a cost of 2700.

Isn't that a Custom Tele rather than a Tele Custom...? 

johnonguitar

£3.5k for a strat :')

Fuck that

1nten5e

fretfinder said:

Isn't that a Custom Tele rather than a Tele Custom...? 

oops

musteatbrain

I think the special order team built is the way to go if you aren't too far off a standard spec, but your list might be too specific for that route. I had a chat with Doug at Coda about this sometime ago, but ended up buying a tele off the shelf elsewhere before I had put a deposit down. I was convinced I wanted a certain spec until I got to a shop with a large stock and picked what I thought was the best from one of about 20 CS guitars. I'm a bad sitter when it comes to waiting times though

MattFGBI

@bingefeller Most people want the vintage trem so that's what shops want to stock.  It's rare to see a hardtail but they do get made - generally to customer orders so those don't ever see the shop floor! 

24 frets is probably Master Built only but I'll check tomorrow. 

littlegreenman

Philly_Q said:

SNAKEBITE said:

No, but when I come home from the pub drunk on a Friday night I ring up and order one in a fake accent for the cockwomble who lives down the road.

Sounds as though you're more likely to end up with a heavily reliced chicken tikka.

That's what he ends up with in the toilet on the Saturday morning after the night before!

Philly_Q

musteatbrain said:

I think the special order team built is the way to go if you aren't too far off a standard spec, but your list might be too specific for that route. I had a chat with Doug at Coda about this sometime ago, but ended up buying a tele off the shelf elsewhere before I had put a deposit down. I was convinced I wanted a certain spec until I got to a shop with a large stock and picked what I thought was the best from one of about 20 CS guitars. I'm a bad sitter when it comes to waiting times though

I had been contemplating a visit to Coda because they have a couple of things I like the look of, and I also have a part-exchange in mind.... but what I really want is a '70s hardtail (ironically the "real thing" is quite easily available on eBay, but I don't want to be dealing with vintage frets, thick poly finishes and 9lb weights...)

If nothing else it would be a good opportunity to try the different neck shapes.

UnclePsychosis

koss59;673372" said:

Can't be arsed...it's a black Strat. Pictures don't show tonez :-)

I'm sure your guitar is fantastic and I absolutely mean no disrespect, but if someone I knew ordered a proper-custom-shop strat and asked for it to be black I'd have to slap them. I know you didn't order it - but cmon, surely customs should have a more exciting (custom) finish? ;-)

guitargeek62

I've been quoted ~£2.3k for a special order team-built Tele recently, which didn't seem terrible at all imo when compared to the normal "off-the-shelf" CS'. That said, this time around I've decided to go down the partscaster route, however, next year I might well order a nice CS Strat to replace my old one.

Philly_Q

UnclePsychosis said:

koss59;673372" said:

Can't be arsed...it's a black Strat. Pictures don't show tonez :-)

I'm sure your guitar is fantastic and I absolutely mean no disrespect, but if someone I knew ordered a proper-custom-shop strat and asked for it to be black I'd have to slap them. I know you didn't order it - but cmon, surely customs should have a more exciting (custom) finish? ;-)

You'd better slap me too, because black's what I have in mind.  I love the look of a black Strat or Tele with a maple board.

I do like those finishes which are one colour over another, like the Ocean Turquoise over Olympic White above, or black over sunburst, but that wouldn't be very 1970s.

gordiji

3k & all beat up. Am i the only one who sees bad value here ?

MattFGBI

I based the one I spec'd on this JC Strat: 

I will get one eventually but there are so many choices! We had one in a while back - a black '69 with a Floyd that I think I saw in a NGD post recently - it was fantastic.  I'd be tempted to get something very similar. 

Philly_Q

This one?

That's pretty much the look I want, but without the Floyd and bridge HB, and with a maple board.

MattFGBI

Yes, that's the one!

jd0272

gordiji;673921" said:

3k & all beat up. Am i the only one who sees bad value here ?

Yes. You're in the wrong thread on this occasion;)

BloodEagle

Philly_Q said:

This one?

That's pretty much the look I want, but without the Floyd and bridge HB, and with a maple board.

That is unbelievably cool

koss59

UnclePsychosis;673865" said:

[quote="koss59;673372"]Can't be arsed...it's a black Strat. Pictures don't show tonez :-)

I'm sure your guitar is fantastic and I absolutely mean no disrespect, but if someone I knew ordered a proper-custom-shop strat and asked for it to be black I'd have to slap them. I know you didn't order it - but cmon, surely customs should have a more exciting (custom) finish? ;-)

[/quote]

I agree, I got it purely based on how it sounded and played. To be fair it has gold hardware which is a bit different. It's gonna look great after it's been round the world a couple of times :-)

ThePrettyDamned

koss59;673354" said:

I didn't order one but do own one that I bought secondhand.

I can't tell you how much it'd cost new though sorry.

I will say it's the best Strat I've ever played/ heard.

Mine is based on a 62 slab board with 10.5 radius but with 65 thicker neck and Abby handwired pickups.

No ageing either.

Oh my god, a custom shop strat that's not aged?!

Do they even know how to do that anymore?

Seriously though, it sounds like a cracking guitar.

UnclePsychosis

At the risk of asking a stupid question, given the number of Fender licensed parts out there, and the likes of warmoth, custom pickup makers, custom body finishers etc, surely you could make your own truly custom Fender-a-like for significantly less than £3k?

koss59

Of coarse you could build one for less, there's no guarantee it'll sound any good when put together though. ( same for a custom ordered job though which is why I always play them first ) If you then want to sell your partscaster then you lose a fortune. And it'll never be a real Fender if that matters to you.