Custom shop costs/wait musings

[Tavernor]

Evening everyone, I've got a hankering for another CS but I'm inclined to spec one out to my liking this time (which I haven't done before).

I'm very tempted to go Masterbuilt - comments about 'whether it is worth it' aside, I've got a couple of questions for you guys in the real world before I bother a shop.

Firstly, does anyone know what the current build times/waits are for both TB and MB? Any recent/personal anecdotes would be great.

It'd be quite a normal guitar build wise, the only slightly more time consuming element is I'd want lake placid blue over 3tsb. I just think they look amazing.

Also, what ballpark costs am I looking at for both TB and MB? Price isn't a massive deal (within reason) but it'd be nice to have an idea. As a starting reference point; if a 62 heavy relic LPB over 3TSB pops up (team built) with a shop then it's normally 3.8-4.6K GBP here in the UK.

How much is the premium for it to actually be custom made at either a team or master level assuming the similar cost specs? I'm guessing 5-6K TB and maybe 8-10 MB but I could be way off. Remember I'm chatting in GBP rather than USD.

I'm kidding myself into thinking it'll be the only guitar I ever need. I know that won't be the case but it'd still be cool to go all out while i believe it..!

Any advice much appreciated.

Dave

 

[guitarchaeologist]

A recent interview/vid for the CS said about 18 months for Team Built and up to six years Masterbuilt IIRC. I think it also touched on costs, with a Teambuilt being $4000-6000 and Masterbuilt being roughly 50-100% more.
I'll try to find that vid real quick. and add it to this post if I can find it.

This is it...

 

[Jeepocaster]

 

[CyFan4036]

If I had to know that I had the best guitar that Fender could make, I'd go MB. But six years is pretty ridiculous. The LPB over SB is gonna be sharp either way.

 

[Stratoskater]

Yep Casino is where I bought my two last April. Their orders are taking about 14-16 months Baxter told me.

 

[Stratoskater]

These two arrived in March and April last year to Casino, they were ordered in July of 2021. Waits have gotten longer.

 

[rolandson]

I think fender is probably the best source to answer all of those questions. Just email them.

 

[Stratoskater]

I think fender is probably the best source to answer all of those questions. Just email them.

Actually FCS will direct you to a dealer for build questions, especially on timeframe. It’s different for shops based on their volume. Casino has several videos on CS and ordering and the process. Here is what FCS says on their site about ordering.

ORDERING YOURS​

The process is simple:​

Download the 2023 Design Guide at right and peruse our vast selection of custom options

1. Choose your build level (Masterbuilt or Custom-built)
2. Choose a base model (list begins on page 16)
3. Choose an aging package (page 24)
4. Choose your woods, neck shape, colors, hardware, pickups, wiring, etc.
5. Check your desired options in the design guide (begins on page 60)
6. Take your completed design guide to your Fender Custom Shop Showcase Dealer for a quote and estimated build time

 

[Tavernor]

Thanks for the replies all. I chatted to a shop who says Team Builds are currently circa 6 months, MBs anything from a year to 'lots' depending on the builder preference. 6 months is significantly shorter than I expected if true. They've also said the CS are sorting a system to get a bit more ordered with build slots and potentially more accurate timeframes. I shall keep you posted...

 

[LostPlectrum]

Thanks for the replies all. I chatted to a shop who says Team Builds are currently circa 6 months, MBs anything from a year to 'lots' depending on the builder preference. 6 months is significantly shorter than I expected if true. They've also said the CS are sorting a system to get a bit more ordered with build slots and potentially more accurate timeframes. I shall keep you posted...

Pray tell, who said 6 months? I ordered a Team Built CS in September from GuitarGuitar, and they’ve quoted me 12-18 months!

 

[Tavernor]

Guitar Village!
However, it may be a moot point now, as I've put a deposit down on a Dale Wilson that's due (hopefully) to arrive in May...

 

[Will Lefeurve]

As you're in UK.. have you thought about getting someone like Simon Law building you a Strat? He builds Matt Schofield's guitars. There's a good enough recommendation if anybody needed one.

About SVL Guitars

Simon Law set up SVL Guitars after having worked as a professional guitar repairman and amp tech for 16 years he became more disappointed with the so called ‘custom shop’ and ‘boutique’ guitars he was working on day to day.

www.svlguitars.com

We're all different in our wants and needs I know, but If I had some serious cash to throw at a guitar I'd want it to be a personal thing, and with the best will in the world that's simply not attainable dealing with a huge corporation.. Still.. you pays yer money and takes yer choice. Good luck with whatever road you take..

 

[Intune]

As you're in UK.. have you thought about getting someone like Simon Law building you a Strat? He builds Matt Schofield's guitars. There's a good enough recommendation if anybody needed one.

About SVL Guitars

Simon Law set up SVL Guitars after having worked as a professional guitar repairman and amp tech for 16 years he became more disappointed with the so called ‘custom shop’ and ‘boutique’ guitars he was working on day to day.

www.svlguitars.com

We're all different in our wants and needs I know, but If I had some serious cash to throw at a guitar I'd want it to be a personal thing, and with the best will in the world that's simply not attainable dealing with a huge corporation.. Still.. you pays yer money and takes yer choice. Good luck with whatever road you take..

No offence or a dig at SVL guitars but what’s the difference between these and Nash guitars? These look much better but essentially a copy of a fender with over the counter parts. Doesn’t say anything about if the bodies or necks are made in house.

You can get 7.25 - 9.5 radius or 9.5 radius, kinda dark rosewood board, kinda light alder or ash, 2 choices of fret size and a bone nut cut by hand. Not sure how personal that is.

At €3200-$4200 there’s not much to me that’s personal. Not saying the custom shop is the best but you can definitely get real personal at that price point with loads of options.

The SVL stuff definitely looks amazing and I wouldn’t turn one away if giving the chance to play one but very limited options and a high price tag isn’t really a selling point.

 

[Tavernor]

As you're in UK.. have you thought about getting someone like Simon Law building you a Strat? He builds Matt Schofield's guitars. There's a good enough recommendation if anybody needed one.

About SVL Guitars

Simon Law set up SVL Guitars after having worked as a professional guitar repairman and amp tech for 16 years he became more disappointed with the so called ‘custom shop’ and ‘boutique’ guitars he was working on day to day.

www.svlguitars.com

We're all different in our wants and needs I know, but If I had some serious cash to throw at a guitar I'd want it to be a personal thing, and with the best will in the world that's simply not attainable dealing with a huge corporation.. Still.. you pays yer money and takes yer choice. Good luck with whatever road you take..

Maybe I'm part of the problem, but 'the heart wants what the heart wants'!

Nobody sane spends five figures on a guitar with value in mind. The dimishing returns are so miniscule after a certain point that it's always going to be a heart purchase

The head may care about value propositions, the heart certainly does not.

100% nothing wrong with either train of logic though. I'll save the background story as its long and probably irrelevant but trust me that I appreciate and cherish these things more than you can imagine

 

[Will Lefeurve]

Oh I'm well aware of what your saying, and its admirable that you appreciate and cherish your guitars. Its a good job if you're going to spend a fortune on them.

No, I'm coming from a slightly different place I think, and I do speak honestly when I say that if I had five figures to put on a guitar I most certainly wouldn't be putting it with a big builder, especially a corporate.

I've felt for a long time that with the swallowing up of small companies, the small man, the individual, by the big money corporate enterprises we actually lose something of ourselves. We are swallowed as they are swallowed.. to be part of a homogeneous grey zone. No.. my money would go to the artisan who I could have a one to one relationship with during the build. Someone I could visit and have real human contact with. A real person as it were.

Why you may ask.. probably because I myself have been an artisan all my life, on the tools, creating things. A practical man! I was in the yachting game where you were talking tens/hundreds of thousands in capital spending available to some of my clients over the years. Getting a phone call of an evening from a client who was almost in a childlike state of excitement talking about the work on his boat, and his longing to get down and see it. Some of those people I'm still in contact with and get photo's from.. their boats anchored in a beautiful lagoon somewhere in the South Seas.

I'll leave it there, or it'll start to get a little tiresome and probably a little political.. haha.. Anyway, I sincerely wish you well in your quest for a guitar..

 

[Will Lefeurve]

No offence or a dig at SVL guitars but what’s the difference between these and Nash guitars? These look much better but essentially a copy of a fender with over the counter parts. Doesn’t say anything about if the bodies or necks are made in house.

You can get 7.25 - 9.5 radius or 9.5 radius, kinda dark rosewood board, kinda light alder or ash, 2 choices of fret size and a bone nut cut by hand. Not sure how personal that is.

At €3200-$4200 there’s not much to me that’s personal. Not saying the custom shop is the best but you can definitely get real personal at that price point with loads of options.

The SVL stuff definitely looks amazing and I wouldn’t turn one away if giving the chance to play one but very limited options and a high price tag isn’t really a selling point.

I gave SVL as an example.. there are quite a few individual builders in the UK who do exquisite work, and not just Strat copies. The personal comes into being personal with someone you're dealing with. Read my new post and you should be able to home in on where I'm coming from..

 

[Tavernor]

Oh I'm well aware of what your saying, and its admirable that you appreciate and cherish your guitars. Its a good job if you're going to spend a fortune on them.

No, I'm coming from a slightly different place I think, and I do speak honestly when I say that if I had five figures to put on a guitar I most certainly wouldn't be putting it with a big builder, especially a corporate.

I've felt for a long time that with the swallowing up of small companies, the small man, the individual, by the big money corporate enterprises we actually lose something of ourselves. We are swallowed as they are swallowed.. to be part of a homogeneous grey zone. No.. my money would go to the artisan who I could have a one to one relationship with during the build. Someone I could visit and have real human contact with. A real person as it were.

Why you may ask.. probably because I myself have been an artisan all my life, on the tools, creating things. A practical man! I was in the yachting game where you were talking tens/hundreds of thousands in capital spending available to some of my clients over the years. Getting a phone call of an evening from a client who was almost in a childlike state of excitement talking about the work on his boat, and his longing to get down and see it. Some of those people I'm still in contact with and get photo's from.. their boats anchored in a beautiful lagoon somewhere in the South Seas.

I'll leave it there, or it'll start to get a little tiresome and probably a little political.. haha.. Anyway, I sincerely wish you well in your quest for a guitar..

Yeah, I actually agree with most of this!

Nice to have an actual conversation with someone despite seemingly different opinions though. Angry keyboard warriors do my head in.

The bulk of the time I do exactly what you suggest, I prefer to use local craftspeople for everything from guitar stuff to furniture, or local businesses for legal stuff etc.

Thing is, five years ago I'd been an alcoholic homeless mess for a decade through my 20's. I got a squier copy when I scraped a job stacking shelves at a discount store which I loved (the guitar, not the job), but figured I'd never even be able to afford a a MIM. When I had an internet connection, CS Shop stuff was the guitar porn of dreams!

My life is unrecognizable now, I started a company which has been kind to me and all of a sudden I've been able to obtain all of the things I never thought possible. I've got a wife, baby boy, silly watches, a couple of lovely houses, its surreal.

But a Fender CS was always the grail. I've had a couple now, but naturally when I realised I could justify a MB it made me giddy.

Maybe it sounds weird being sentimental about something from a 'corporation', but the story runs a little deeper for me and it is a personal purchase. More than just a guitar.

Counting down the days...!

 

[Will Lefeurve]

Maybe it sounds weird being sentimental about something from a 'corporation', but the story runs a little deeper for me and it is a personal purchase. More than just a guitar.

Counting down the days...!

Well we've all got stories.. and its heartening to hear yours has had a silver lining.. its virtually identical to that of an old friend of mine from way back.. uncanny! Enjoy that guitar, you obviously will, and may your life continue in the vein that brings you joy..

 

[uncle daddy]

Evening everyone, I've got a hankering for another CS but I'm inclined to spec one out to my liking this time (which I haven't done before).

I'm very tempted to go Masterbuilt - comments about 'whether it is worth it' aside, I've got a couple of questions for you guys in the real world before I bother a shop.

Firstly, does anyone know what the current build times/waits are for both TB and MB? Any recent/personal anecdotes would be great.

It'd be quite a normal guitar build wise, the only slightly more time consuming element is I'd want lake placid blue over 3tsb. I just think they look amazing.

Also, what ballpark costs am I looking at for both TB and MB? Price isn't a massive deal (within reason) but it'd be nice to have an idea. As a starting reference point; if a 62 heavy relic LPB over 3TSB pops up (team built) with a shop then it's normally 3.8-4.6K GBP here in the UK.

How much is the premium for it to actually be custom made at either a team or master level assuming the similar cost specs? I'm guessing 5-6K TB and maybe 8-10 MB but I could be way off. Remember I'm chatting in GBP rather than USD.

I'm kidding myself into thinking it'll be the only guitar I ever need. I know that won't be the case but it'd still be cool to go all out while i believe it..!

Any advice much appreciated.

Dave

You need this!

Fender Custom Shop '63 Reissue Stratocaster Relic | Reverb UK

Reverb is a marketplace bringing together a wide-spanning community to buy, sell, and discuss all things music gear.

reverb.com

 

[Tavernor]

You need this!

Fender Custom Shop '63 Reissue Stratocaster Relic | Reverb UK

Reverb is a marketplace bringing together a wide-spanning community to buy, sell, and discuss all things music gear.

reverb.com

View attachment 633802

Ha, looked at that quite a lot! Came very close to asking more about it, and close to actually just pulling the trigger a couple of times too.

Now I've got money down on what is a MB version of it, that is where my enthusiasm lies.