The age old question... Vintage or Custom Shop Relic? We give you the scoop on our all original 64 Bootleggers Flame Stratocaster and how it stacks up to one of our favorite Custom Shop Stratocasters!
Lesley Les Paul in 1964 Fender started using enamel wire for their pickups replacing formvar. This gave them a scooped mid, mellow tone. They switched to polysol wire in 1965 and back to enamel in 1966 and upwards. It is my favorite Strat tone and to my ear gives them that quintessential Hendrix tone.
Agreed, it really was a joy to play and we know we are super lucky to get to work in a place where we get to see and play them! Thank you so much for watching and for your thoughts!
Really like these custom shop vs old-school comparisons. Mostly because you guys say it the way I say it- they're both worth it and neither is there to replace the other. Each did it's own thing, but both sounded amazing to me. Keep it up
Thank you and and thank you for watching! We love them both for completely different reasons as well. That vintage one makes you work for it but man she's fun. But hot darn we get excited whenever a custom shop shows up, Xmas every day here:)
That old Strat is one of the most beautiful sounding Strats I’ve ever heard in my life ….. holy smokes!! Great playing too !!! Some of the better chops I’ve seen Baxter throw down !! Haha great stuff , love the channel guys!
I like the vintage one more as I know it’s vintage and it looks way cooler, but if I’m honest in a blind sound test I wouldn’t have a clue which one was vintage they both sound great
Thanks a bunch Lee! And thank you for watching and commenting. It is a tough one to hear the difference sometimes. We agree there. That neck pickup on the 64 though is something unworldly:)
My '62 strat sounds like the '64. It has that chewy midrange (and no ice pick highs even with the tone knob fully open, including the bridge). Mine has the original pickups. Got it refin, player grade. The CS sounds like a great strat, but it sounds a lil bit "smaller" and more "refined". The vintage sounds like a "big" strat somewhat.
I’ve heard some amazing Custom Shop guitars. The craftsmanship has been amazing from A to Z, but this face off goes to the 64” Stratocaster! It took me back to hearing Hendrix and even Johnny Cash, for the first time. That sound was so crystal clear, and glassy, indeed. Even though I personally prefer the larger frets. I would simply make believe it was Summer of 64’, each time I picked her up. She’s worth the trip back in time. Simply Majestic.💎💎💎
The 64 is just awesome... I ever wanted a guitar that sounds like this but never found one. Maybe the best Strat i ever heard!? I could kill for her....
The Fender Custom Shop pickups have come a long way in recent years. They’re the best new pickups I’ve heard, especially the hand wound year specific Stratocaster pickups. I own a 57 Mary Kaye CC, 59 Journeyman “Transitional” and a 62 relic.
Yea man, the vintage sounded soooo much better to me, especially overdriven! IT WASSSS PERFECTTT! THAT HAPPENS TO BE A GOOD ONE! BOTH MINT! BUT THE 64 IS AMAZING!
Recently picked up a 2020 CS Strat w/Handwound 64’s (GT11 Dealer Select). Has some great specs but was surprised by the mid-forward character of those pickups. Took some getting used to but now loving them.
I own a 2015 Custom Shop Stratocaster 1969 by Gregg Fessler and a 2018 Custom Shop Stratocaster 1963 Fiesta Red. Both are awesome. Trems even stay in tune (mostly). Have owned all the boutique Strat brands, including James Tyler (once had three). The Fenders have the feel, the sound and the mojo. Makes you want to keep picking them up. The masterbuilts do have their own thing, whether that is worth an extra thousand bucks is an individual choice. Kind of like if an added accessory to a new car is worth it.
That custom shop guitar sounds great. I don't get vintage or relic guitars, ill take new every day over either of these. still, that custom shop looks and sounds very nice despite the relic work.
Love your content, always great, honest discussions between you two. Also love how Baxter was ahead of the curve having quarantine hair well before it was a thing.
That made me (Baxter) smile. I feel very sorry for my wife...shes been stuck with this for far too long:) Thanks a bunch for watching and be well out there!
I was out of the room when the playing started and I guessed right that it was the 64. The Custom Shop one is a fantastic sounding guitar no doubt but the 64 jocks it.
@@CasinoGuitars For sure, fantastic vintage strat, I have a nice 62 reissue in the same color scheme, and it is a great guitar, so I wasn't lusting after the 64, not too much anyway! Great content so I subscribed.
I recently got to play a real '64 L series that looked just like that one and WOW! Sounded as good as any Strat I've ever heard! It's too bad the price tag was >$20k 🙈
Agree completely. Had many vintage Fenders sold many years ago but I actually prefer my Custom Shop 60 Stratocaster and my American Vintage 60s Stratocaster.
Baxter, revisiting this video (I'm a lefty and am fortunate to own a few Fender Custom Shop Strats and Teles) and I've only had the chance to play a vintage 65 Lefty Strat once at the Guitar Center on Sunset in Hollywood. It was only there a week before it was bought. And while I agree completely that Fender Custom Shops play and feel amazing, with rare exceptions. But the tone of those pickups in that vintage Strat...is why people play guitar. Just unreal.
As we all know, Hendrix used 64 at the time of its debut, and my favorite Robert Clay used 64 through the 1980s. And the pickup Clapton had installed on that famous blacky was a gray bobbin with enameled wire. Anyway, it must have been the legendary model.
Thanks for watching and yes oh yes...there is something magical about the 64. But that being said...Love the 61, 57, 54...oh shucks I need a larger bank account:)
I have a 63 with all black bottom pickups and a 64 with all grey bottom. The 63 is pure magic in the neck and middle position. The 64 has a fantastic neck pup but the middle and bridge can be a bit thinner. I have found vintage strat pickups (or the guitar) just sound warmer and “bigger” to me than any modern repro. There are great repro pups out there and I have tried the best of the best. But they still don’t 100% have the warmth with clarity that vintage ones seem to have.
Recently picked up a late 90s AVRI 62 that has been played a lot. It’s amazing, better than a lot of custom shops that I’ve played. I can only imagine how a true vintage instrument that has been doing this for 30 more years must feel.
I'm a little late to the game. But, I loved this video. It is a subject very dear to me. My first electric guitar I received back in 1983 was a 1961 Strat. Got it for $300.00. I had already been "'Tinkering" with guitar for a good 4 years at that time. I only owned a P.O.S. acoustic from J.C. Pennys and always seemed to borrow other friends guitars. Everything changed for me in my playing when I got my Strat. And Yes. I still own it. Per my daughter. It will always stay in the family. So I do not care about it's monetary value. But it is FAR from anything of allot of value as it was quite abused in the 70s. Only thing original is the body, neck, HT bridge, input jack, neck pick up and the finish. I also think the case might be. This guitar has been to Hell and back. And I wasn't real nice to it in the early 80s either. There is allot of "Baddness" about it. It is a very hacked up guitar. But I have never had a guitar that plays like this one. And I have had quite a few. As of right now I have a Gibson Les Paul (Finally but that is another story) a 65 Gibson ES330, an 86 Charvel Model 2 and an 85 Model 2B bass (That I bought new) and just got a cheapo Squire Bullet Strat to have some fun tinkering with. But my 61 has been and always will be the first one I grab. There is just something magical about it. I am for sure not someone with the means to ever buy a vintage guitar like the one in your video. Not even a modern custom shop one. So I am very grateful for this one that I have. It is one of my most prized possessions and I am so glad that my daughter holds the same feelings for it and to one day pass it onto her son. And at the age of 2. He loves to strum it. Yes I do let him at his age handle my guitars. I did with my daughter when she was young. Maybe that is apart of why she feels that way about all of them.
I have a real ‘73 with veneer rosewood that’s been planed to 9.5 and refretted with bigger frets. Everything else except one pot and the switch are original including the case. It’s got the most unique neck shape I’ve ever played. It’s a pretty fat and took some getting used to, but now I love it. I’ve got a buddy with a maple one from the same year and it feels completely different. Having a real vintage guitar is definitely a completely different experience.
Nice review and comparison!! Both are as different as adults and children. I love Fender strat. My main guitar is custom shop 60 reissue. If I were rich, I would get...
Thanks a bunch Bluesy! We had so much fun playing both of them. They have now flown off to their forever homes but we have very fond memories of both. Thank you for your thoughts and thank you for watching!
@@CasinoGuitars Thanks for a kind reply!! Vintage under excellent condition is a killer!! Fender strat is not all rounder, but the coolest tone made in history. Jimi Hendrix, EC, SRV, and so on. I especially love the tone of neck PU.
@@bluesysamurainao4557 Agreed 100% and thank you again for the kind words! Love these guitars and we consider ourselves very fortunate everyday to get to come in and play these beauties!
I just picked up a '64 after spending an afternoon playing a '57, '58, '59, '61, and a '65. The '64 was just bigger, fatter, juicier than anything else I played. I do not have dainty fingers and typically play jumbos, so the frets will be a fun project to get used to, but it's all worth it for that neck pickup. Lord almighty!
The Custom shop sounds every bit as good. I have several Pre CBS strats and three custom shop creations which I prefer. I am a professional guitarist and dont buy into this vintage is better because it's not the case. A fantastic guitar is a fantastic guitar.
I totally agree bro, I’m also a professional and my custom shop sounds incredible and plays incredible and I didn’t have to pay 20,000+ for it but don’t get me wrong I love those vintage guitars but with touring my custom shop is just perfect 👍
Cool comparison. I have a 1960 Time Machine CS strat (light relic Fiesta Red with vintage frets) that actually sounds closer the 64 in this video than the 63 CS. I will say that I am not disappointed by that, and no offense to the 63, it also sounds fantastic, but I prefer the glassiness of the older strat.
I have a 78 strat with a Dimarzio SD in the bridge position, a Mexican 93 with a Dimarzio SD in the bridge slot, with Floyd Rose, and a 64 Custom shop arriving soon, that I won in an auction for 368 bucks.
Hello, Nice and fair comparison, i am a french guitar player and collector in my country in France, On the last 30 years i have owned more than 200 strats, and i think i have a good knowledge about strats. Take some strats from the same area, they won't exactly sound the same, among my 200 and more strats i have owned exactly 10 pre cbs strats, all with a L number from december 63 up to June 65. On these 10 strats 2 of them were not really good, not more than average, 1 was bad, but the 7 other strats were just between reallly really good to amazing strats, i am talking here only about the sound of these guitars. And if i take only my top 5 i 've never seen a newer strat that comes closed to this top 5 nothing. I remember an indredible beautifull master built strat with amazing brazilian rosewood, the sound was disapointing in my opinion because of these ugly custom shop pickups on this guitar. I would say that all these top 5 strats from my collection were the best sounding strats, no doubt, but this is not proportionnal with the price gap and here is the big question, these top 5 strats were the best sounduing strats ever but if you have to pay 10 times more for these guitars it doesn't mean it sounds 10 times better. So it is a question about ratio between quality and price. according on my collecting experience, the best strats ever made for the price are the JV strats from 82 to 84, far better than any custom shop, all my custom shop strats were really disapointing ( i only had 4 or 5 custom shops, even some cunettos area). Early fullerton strats are special strats, they have a kind of trademark sound but a very thin neck, ) So my conclusion would be that for the price a jv strat, or a strat plus from the 80 s or 90 s are really good guitars, early corona from 88 and 89 are amazing too but nothing in my knowledge beat my best pre cbs strats even if i sold all of them because i am getting old, Sorry fot some mistakes i should make with my english best regards
@@oggythebug Those are amazing ones and we have played a few! Wow to that number of guitars as well! Proper collection and sincere thanks for watching and sharing your stories here. Amazing collection once again:)
@@CasinoGuitars Hy yes but my collection was made on these last 30 years with turn over, no more than 20 guitars at home at the same time, and about the vintage strats, i am still always surprised about the neck pickup, just playing a simple chord on the neck pickup is another world, unmatched on reissues....regards from france and big support to américa in those difficult times with the coronavirus
@@oggythebug Hi, from your experiance what would be the price for a good JV strat? I was planing to buy a custom shop in the near future, but after reading the comment I've start to think , am I on the right path? :) Tanks!
@@oggythebug Hi, from your experiance what would be the price for a good JV strat? I was planing to buy a custom shop in the near future, but after reading the comment I've start to think , am I on the right path? :) Thanks!
Bax…. You should play more on the newer videos! I personally loved the sound of BOTH guitars and for different reasons. Now for the price point… I would have to sell 3 or so guitars to buy (afford is the WRONG word for a player like myself) the vintage instrument. It’s just wrong for me on a number of levels. Number one, being that I would feel terrified to take it out of the house to play, and more so to leave it home while on vacation. The Custom Shop…. No brainer, I have a 63’ that has both a roasted neck as well as body that sounds incredible and feels even more so than I would have ever expected.
I just picked up a Custom Shop LE '63 Strat from Carters, and OH MY GOD this is the best guitar I have ever played. Not just best Strat, best guitar! 10/10, will save up and get another Fender Custom Shop guitar!
Great video! Fender really relic this guitar (some like, some don't) and then go put a new looking *green* pick guard that looks all wrong Imo and would someone please lemon-oil that fingerboard it looks as dry as a desert especially next to that gorgeous dark fingerboard on the '64 strat. Personally I think Fender have lost it with the way they relic their guitars they used to look a lot better and more realistic years back. The '64 strat for me everytime! Thanks!!
relicing is so silly.they have these beat up looking guitars with beautiful necks.even when they relic the fret spaces of the fret board it still looks fake...but I am in two minds
both really great ... not so long ago I was lucky enough to play a couple of 50's Strats , 56 and a 58 ... I was very excited to play them, after I came to the conclusion it felt just like a Strat I was left feeling a little deflated, I dont know what I was expecting lol ... I remember thinking that my CS felt just as good if not better . . . I agree fender CS is pretty good ..
My current favourite strat is an avri 62. They aren't custom shop guitars but they're still amazing guitars. It has its own mojo as.the previous owner has had it on a guitar stand and melted the nitro finish.
Thats perhaps the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me (I'm that guy)! I love both of their bands and thank you thank you thank you:) And thanks for watching!
@@CasinoGuitars Sir I'm the one is most thankfull for this wonderfull video. İts good to hear some nice guitars especially in this quarantina times. Used to go local guitar shop for test some old vintage guitars and one of the most spectecular guitars are old epi casinos and gretsch. I hope someday ı can watch a video about those guitars in your hand. Only guitar ı have kinda vintage 94 squier strat with 60s specs that can not handle but at least makes me feel like playing guitar you played in the video.
@@berkyerlikaya2579 Were trying to keep things up and positive during this time. Check out our video on the new taylor case...we had officially lost our minds that day and had had enough I think:) Sincere thanks for sharing your positive energy as well!
Episode Suggestion, Best Rig 1 Guitar, 1 Amp, 3 Pedals For Yourself and For the Other. Performance Quality Rig, at least 20 Watt Amp. Set Limit of No One Item costing more then a 1/3 of total cost and $500 limit on pedals like most struggling musicians might start with. Then One I would love to see, An Acoustic Board Shoot Out, and how to include things like acoustic DI, VoceLive or Vocalist Live into such Things, as No One is doing Acoustic Pedal Boards or how to integrate D.I's and other acoustic and Vocal interfaces into the mix, or How and Where each belong in Loop or in front or back of signal etc
I own a pre CBS June 1965 rosewood neck strat. I own a 2018 ''Classic Vibe'' Squire as well. The Squire sounds and plays better. The neck, by random chance no doubt,is quartersawn maple with very tight grain.The rosewood fingerboard is of equal quality, though darker .The body is poplar I think.The factory pickups have that 'glassy 'sound and the bridge pick up is hotter than the '65 bridge p. u. And best of all ,no 7.5 inch radius neck. Can,t bend anything hard past the 12th fret on the '65. I pretty much just play the Squire now.🤠
Very interesting observations. Lots of people won't like reading them though. Perhaps the '65 pickups have lost some magnetism? As for the neck, I have a '57 Reissue Strat, which can present some challenges, but the Eric Clapton Stratocaster solves those issues with it's much flatter profile, but still with the same width as '50's Stratocasters, and vintage fretwire too.
@@russellparratt9859 The Clapton Strats are my favorite modern Strat. I'm building a generic one with a Squire body and a Mexican Fender pau ferro neck. I actually like the pau ferro fingerboard .Seems brighter than Rosewood but warmer than Maple. Twilight Music sells a loaded pickguard made to Clapton specs with all Fender parts, including the mid boost pre amp. So you could pay 1,600 bucks or more for one.. Or build a generic Clapton Strat that says Fender on the headstock for about 550 to 600 bucks. 🤠 .
@@jearly5859 Well, I bought it 12 years ago. Funny though, I used to look at this Clapton Strat in the guitar shop, not really interested. It hung here for a few years. Then, in the middle of a recording session, frustrated by coil hum, I decided that noiseless coils were a must. Did some research, and decided that the Clapton Strat was the best option. Went in, bought it, changed the fencing-wire-like old strings, and was recording with it in a couple of days, even before having it set up properly. But, I use my '57 reissue as the benchmark for authentic Strat sounds. The Clapton Strat gets close, but can't nail that trebly twang on the lower strings. But, no guitar has everything.
@@russellparratt9859 The '57 Reissues are a really good example of that trebly quacky Dire Straits thing. But I love the versitility of the noiseless p. u. and the pre amp. The sound is reasonably close to the single coil,the closest of any 'singlebucker' that I've tried. And I can crank up the mid boost and play Duane licks. 🤠
Both sounded very nice, but when the overdrive was on, the vintage in this case was the winner. I love custom shop Strats and relics, but not personally into the heavy relics that have THAT much paint removed. Also not into Fender pre-rusting the metal parts.
Vinatge frets make a guitar sound different. I’m surprised more people don’t talk about this. It’s a woodier, more organic sound esp on a tele. Not better or worse...just different. I like them on a tele sound...on a strat I like both sounds but very different
@@hgostos hardtails resonate so much better and double stops stay in tune its preference if I was to spend that type on a vintage would be a hardtail but that's what I like
Was waiting to Hear Buck Owens Kick in during Country Licks, Love the Original Tone and CS Look, Building a Sonic Blue 62 Reissue, using 69 Custom Shop Abby Strat SSS Pickups and added a Super Flamed Neck, although looking for a Maple Ebony Neck, and most likely going Sperzel Lockers although have a set of D'Addario Auto Trim Locking tuners in desk. My Dilemma is although leaning towards Red Tort Pickguard a Mint Green Pickguard is just as bad ass as a Red Tort. Already rebuilt a 94 MIM into Super Strat with Custom White Pearl/Red Tort HSS w/Rosewood board and a 1983 Fender Elite in Rose
I have a '64 sunburst that I bought that sounds.....awesome. smokey bell tone and huge when cranked? I also have a CS'55 heavy relic which is fantastic, very close to Gilmour's 0001 but much more worn. The sound of the '64 is better, but the CS is slightly easier to play partly because of the frets and radius I suspect, but ultimately subjective? I bought both guitars after inheriting some money from a very dear friend who passed away and although neither were cheap I have no regrets in having both......the vibe you mention is worth the extra bucks.
64 sound awesome. which strings did (do) you set them up with? pure nickel? the bass-side of the pickups seem to be further out than the treble side...thanks
Matan Elmalem thanks for taking the time to watch! We feel so lucky every day here at “work.”...:) Right now we’re prepping to do some vintage fender custom shop and PRS demos...it’s never a bad day in this world and it really is great to hear good feedback like yours to help us do this better!
Hearing is only half the experience. You have to feel how it plays. I always think that the custom shops are like really high quality new cars. They do everything perfectly. Often vintage guitars have something that’s kinda wrong but makes it an incredible player. Something soft and mushy in the sound and feel where the new guitar often feels a little sterile and too perfect.
@@javierservigon I've owned 6 MASTERBUILT Strats ( 3 JC ) at once + a lot of CS during the years, when I played a - 64 Strat on the first time in London I sold all of the MB, bought the - 64 and never looked back again. Now I own 3 - 64 and one - 65. I can tell you that: do not rely too much on YT clips, there are things that are not translated very well when you listen like that and not many people know the art of recording these days, only when you play it yourself you can understand. You can never get dynamic range, sensitivity to touch, volume, feel on the neck, the focus of each not and the way the instrument respond to what you throw at it, you also do not get the sweetness. When you may think here that the original Strat is dull, in the room it's actually fatter, meatier, woody, dry, focused and super responsive. Not all Vintage Strats are the best of the best but if you will play a very good one, you will understand after - 30 seconds that you have been fooled for years...
yep...with Strats I always tended to play either neck or bridge exclusively, which is probably why it was so easy for me to switch to a Tele recently. I'm a Tele guy now - a lot less mucking around on those! :)
Very cool comment and thank you for bringing that up. I tend to also live in the three for live playing and what is funny is that I never really thought about that:) Sincere thanks again for watching and great thought!
All I ever play is bridge/middle or neck/middle. If I'm not playing the 'in betweens' it does not sound like a Strat to me. Usually, unless a song calls for a glassy, Dire Straits Strat kinda sound ,I'm sticking with my blackguard Tele.
@@superflea72 same here. so much so that i'm getting rid of both my custom shop strats because I don't play them. I use all 3 positions on the Tele and don't have deal with the stupid volume knob getting in the way all the time.
