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Or accept that the point is well made, proven, note it & move along?
I used to hang out on a photography forum, was a lot like this place for a while. Then one day a chap posted very proudly to say he'd just bought himself a Leica. A digital affair that was also available as a Panasonic branded version for about a third of the price. He told the tale of how he'd always wanted to own a Leica since he was a boy and now in his retirement, he'd been able to get his hands on one. He told of how it had reignited his passion for taking photos and how he was out walking in the local countryside almost everyday since buying it. A completely uplifting and joyous story.
But instead of folks posting to congratulate him or pass a kind comment on the pics he posted, they rounded on like a mob trying to get him to admit that he'd been an idiot for not getting the much cheaper Panasonic version. They totally missed the point that he'd fulfilled a dream and spent his money on something that made him very happy. At least until those idiots ruined that for him.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Isn't hindsight bloody marvellous & never wrong ?
Surely buying a CS shop guitar can be in the same league?
The Fessler was not worth more than £2k IMO, especially as Cloudnine's Rocketfire sold for £1300 a couple of weeks ago; I've tried those as well and they're definitely on a par with the Masterbuilt.
A masterbuilt should be an individual item - which comes back to the original thread.
Use a stencil but use it once and throw it away.
what i have issue with is that the fender marketing department have created the aspirational desire in folk based on a lie!... it’s snake oil sales... the guitars are made in the same way as the standard ranges, different finish and hardware but it’s the same basic construction.
masterbuilt is fine IF the individual instruments are individual, IF they are built from scratch by a skilled luthier and not just a trained factory worker bolting premade bits together (which tbh that’s what they are)...
looking at it from the other side, top marks to the marketing bods as they have everyone convinced that masterbuilt, Abby pickups etc are the things we not only desire but need!... job done in that respect!...
sounds like someone who has worked their way up the ladder to me!...
please feel free to put me in my place but had anyone heard of the masterbuilders until fender named them?
again, not knocking the builders... but... deffo marketing bollox imo.
she worked at the fender factory... she wound pickups... the same as any number of other workers at the fender factory...
are we really thinking she had magic fingers that imparted a mystical mojo and made her pickups sound better than any number of identical pickup winders?
Marketing hype at its finest!...
How it sounds and plays is top of the list.
Clearly there are some people with an agenda here. Some people can’t afford the custom shop. Hard luck guys, you’re missing out. I can’t afford a Ferrari either, but it doesn’t mean I’ve got any inverted snobbery about them.
The op found something that was interesting with similar wear on guitars. Good point. Where’s its gone stupid is starting to call the whole thing snake oil. I’m calling bullshit on that, and not to justify my purchases because I don’t currently own a masterbuilt guitar. Rather than jumping on some kind of bandwagon, maybe some of the people here making wild assumptions would like to talk to Fender and the custom shop about different levels so they can make an informed choice.
What they’ll find out is that as you move up the levels, you may not be guaranteed a better guitar, but you are getting better components and builders for your money. Sometimes these don’t add up to a better guitar as guitar building isn’t an exact science, but the fact is, the master builders get the first choice of all the wood fender buy. The custom shop next etc etc. Whether wood adds up to a better guitar is another debate, but that’s what you’re getting. Pickup wise, you’re getting handwound pickups mainly by people fender believe are good at this stuff. Do some of our own members wind pickups as well or better? Yup, but these guys are who fender believes are the best that they have working for them. Can you get a guitar built to your specs from fender anywhere other than the custom shop? Nope. That may not matter to you, but to me, the right neck, the right frets etc make a difference. I don’t necessarily want 9.5 radius and vintage tall frets. Finally, the staff themselves are picked from the main factory because they are the best at what they do. That means the guy who is best at fretwork gets promoted to the custom shop. The guy best at neck sanding gets promoted etc. Can other makers be equally skilled? Clearly, but fender are saying these are the best people we have.
You’re always going to pay more for a brand. I pay too much for apple products even though there are others better and cheaper. I trust them, I like their stuff and I work hard to buy it, same as I work hard to buy a cs guitar that makes me happy.
Theres a few people who need to wind their necks back in, buy what makes them happy and inspires them to play music and be a little less jealous of people like Wayne and Brad who have fabulous collections and like high end and masterbuilt guitars. I personally am not going to pay £7k for any guitar and I don’t like the extreme relics, but I’m sure as heck not going to judge a guitar I haven’t played. A couple of the masterbuilts I’ve had and played have been exceptional, I’m just not good enough to justify that kind of money for a guitar and I’d rather have 2 outstanding guitars than 1 exceptional one.
This wasn’t a thread to knock relics either... you either love em or hate them... that’s your own business...
this thread was to highlight that the masterbuilt fenders seem to be “paint by numbers” and not a unique instrument...
Would be interesting to hear from @MattFGBI on all of this!...