It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!
Base theme by DesignModo & ported to Powered by Vanilla by Chris Ireland, modified by the "theFB" team.
Comments
25 years ago I'd bet most people didn't even know most of the specs of their guitar. I think that's the best way, I feel that my focus on them (or occasional bouts of obsession) have just been a distraction.
You don't have to be totally pragmatic, it is an emotional as well as a logical decision, but either way you still have to ask yourself whether the upcharge is worth it to you.
My own Strat is a heavy, clunky '77 so there are obviously "better" ones out there, but it suits me to a T and I like having a proper Fullerton Fender which I aspired to as a teenager.
So although it brings me pleasure in ways other than simply as a tool (as can CS Fenders) I'm still capable of balancing what that costs against whether I'm being a bit silly.
Mine was stupidly cheap so it wasn't an issue, but I can still ask myself whether I would have still bought it if it had been "X" amount.
FWIW I've previously owned a couple of AVRI Teles - a '62 Custom which I immediately traded for a '64, which I refinished from LPB to Shoreline Gold and reliced and then sold soon after. Both were very good players but neither had the "oh wow" factor in comparison to MIM that you get when e.g. going from an Epiphone to a good USA Gibson. I've had dozens of MIM Fenders, some good, some great, never bad.
I would of course go try a bunch of CS before buying anything - I'm thinking Strat on this occasion as I do own an exceptional first-run Roadworn Tele, however it depends on what's out there. If that Aztec Gold Custom Tele in the classifieds is still there when my cheque clears I might have to get naughty. I'm also looking at a Cunetto-era 1960 relic strat. The main AVRI contender is a '65 strat in Shoreline with matching headstock, but I haven't tried one yet so don't know if it'll be another also-ran. I am in any case looking for a reissue with vintage specs but colour choice is important because I'm a big tart. I would also very much like a relic. I did originally think I'd be picky about necks but as long as it's not a toothpick the other factors will take precedence.
• Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@Goldeneraguitars
Sometimes you just gotta scratch the itch and if your sensible with what you buy you shouldn’t catch too much of a cold.
Si
Try a few before you buy and try to make an honest rational decision.
Don't get into debt over it.
Don't let "common sense" get in the way of making a decision.
Enjoy it.
My Gibson has tiny frets and my strat has jumbo. Love playing them both. Very different guitars really.
These days the CS examples seem to have lighter woods and thinner finishes, but I do agree with the fact that Fender guitar designs in general are such that there can be exceptional and poor examples of any type, from Squiers to Masterbuilts.
So I guess the one thing that CS guitars can do that regular production stuff can't is "be custom".
If you are not married to the logo on the headstock (front OR back!) then get yourself to Coda and play some K-Line models. I think they are actually superior to any of the Fender stuff I've played, esp with his new home-wound pickups which are nothing short of stellar, and they cost less than entry-level CS stuff. If I were going to buy another Strat or Tele it would very likely actually end up being a Springfield or a Truxton.
I don't think anyone expects him to be playing through a £50 practice amp, but I'd rather play my bog stock Mexican Strat with my Lazy J than a Custom Shop through a Blues Junior.