The Fender Custom Shop makes possibly one of the best electric guitars that money can buy. If you like it exotic, relic'ed or NOS fender has a guitar for you. Baxter talks about how he fell in love after he got his first fender!
@@sidestyle05 If you go to the Fender Custom Shop website you can download an order guide that covers all of the options for team built models. I haven’t looked at the 2021 guide, but in 2020 the Starcaster body style wasn’t one in f the body choices for team built models. Personally, I would like the Custom Shop to build me an exact replica of my 1957 Fender Mandocaster. Unfortunately, I am certain that I could buy another vintage one for less than it would cost to get one Master Built by the Custom Shop.
A favorite channel. Covers guitars in a interesting freewheeling 360 degree manner covering the technicals to the emotional, and all in between. Great stuff!
im not big on relics. I like the NOS and then aging it myself. but i do wanna get a custom shop strat mainly cause im left handed and its a nightmare finding a guitar i wanna buy. awesome vid boys.
@@tomguitar1963 that's Awesome yeah I bought a CS last year love it I love all my guitars but yeah the CS r amazing and im actually thinking about buying a new one now for my Bday lol... looking to grab a 64' 3burst strat CS. fiesta red rosewood NOS is another strat i want badly gladly u got one bet its beautiful.
Hey Guys, love your channel. Being a huge Fender fan myself I can feel the love your side. And one day I'll own a Custom Shop (actually many many more lol) Keep it up and keep playing. Much respect from Cape Town, South Africa.
I used to be opposed to the relic guitars too. At my local shop I picked up and played a 1960 faded fiesta red journeyman relic strat with the finish worn off the neck and it felt so good. The feel is 100% the thing with it. I'd get the NOS hardware and the journeyman relic for sure. I'll have that in a 1960 faded sonic blue tele with the heel contour and a 9.5" fretboard please and thank you.
I agree with you on the Journeyman offerings as I am the owner of a ‘60 CS Journey Tele. The feel and look is fantastic as is the sound. It’s “just right” in terms of its appearance.
We couldn't agree more Jimmy! Once you get your hands on one you truly are ruined for the rest of your time here on this guitar playing Earth! Thanks a bunch for watching and for sharing your thoughts.
I have a moderately relic'ed CS strat and I feel like the guitar has organically melded into a single unit., as opposed to parts bolted together. And of course it feels smooth, silky and soft.
I def see the value of a fender custom shop guitar. Selecting your own neck profile,frets, etc is awesome. The build quality is amazing. That being said, i feel that if you have the skills to do so, you are much better off building your own partscaster. I understand not everyone has the desire, or the ability to build something at all, much less to the quality standards of Fender Custom Shop, but its definitely a fun journey. I think... EVH or Clapton when i think of partscasters. Its not rocket science to put together a neck/body. Even the fender custom shop guys are not building these parts from scratch, the rough product comes out of a CNC machine. Def easy to go wrong with one though =P
Casino Guitars I would be interested to know if you believe that the advent of the Custom Shop has caused the quality of their non-custom shop guitars to get better? Another words was their a sort of trickle down effect?
One of my dream guitars is a Custom Shop Stratocaster with scalloped frets, no finish on the neck, Floyd Rose, reliced and several other details that I will not bore y'all with but I cannot afford to spend that kind of money on a guitar.
I have a custom shop Tele and a professional Strat. To me its hard to feel the difference since I am a new player. I love my fender gear. They both are amazing but I love the Strat better on how it looks since every mark that’s on it I put on it.
This was such a good chat. I could not agree more, besides the attention to detail, the acoustics was definitely different..not to mention all my other good quality strats are for sale. CS just ruined me.
I have just got one, the feel is ok, but it plays not as smooth as my ultra that I no longer have, the custom shops are pretty dull in the high frequency, and a bit boomy in the bass...so how can that be....
I have only seen 5 or 6 heavy relic Fenders at my local Guitar Center and none of them looked close to real wear patterns. I'm sure good ones are out there though. Regarding those cool vintage neck profiles... I WISH I had known about them growing up. No one I knew had a vintage instrument and new guitars always had slim necks. I feel gipped. Most of my collection is now in the chunkier style and I love playing more than ever now,
GC unfortunately doesn’t get the best of the FCS pieces as that’s not really their bag. And I was the same with neck profiles...I didn’t know about them until way later in life then...the pearly gates opened and I became obsessed with them! It’s a fun world and we love it! Sincere thanks for watching and taking the time to comment and share your thoughts with us! Have a super morning/day!
Having owed 60s Strats in the 60s as well as a couple of 60s Jazzmasters, I'd say that the American Vintage, American Original and Custom Shops of the past few years are as good or better than the real ones. I'm sure they're much more consistently tuneful instruments.
I own a 1995 Custom Shop American Classic in Champagne Burst. It's got a beautiful figured maple neck with a rosewood board, but that's about it. The Texas Special pickups don't sound that special to me and the body wood is so soft that one of the neck bolt holes was shipped stripped and had to be drilled out and doweled and half the pickup screw holes were stripped too. Why I bought it is a long story but price was 1 G back then. I'd much rather play my American Standard that's about 6 years old. It plays great and has a more bright but not brittle jangly distinctive Strat sound.
Get yourself a classic Vibe from about 10 years ago and do some cheap mods, tuners, bridge saddles, pots, nut, switch craft selector, and some caps to your preference. $250-500 in and your blowing those over priced wall hangers off the stage.
@@jsdhesmith2011 Hey, if you don't have the means to afford one, then do what you can. I have played all varieties of guitars and know my custom shop tele is BY FAR the best tele I've ever played. And I played it the first time not even knowing it was a custom shop. You just seem like a bitter person.
I got a question, I’m trying to reach a conclusion about the American vintage. I have a 56’ from 2012 (gen 2 series) , how does that compare to a custom shop equivalent? Is it close to the mark? Or very far off? I love the feel and tone, and I feel like I remember reading somewhere about fender using the original machines to make them for the avri series...was it all just a dream? Lol
Two years late, but I have a CS strat and my brother just got the American vintage 2. The CS is miles away something else. I went with the NOS, rather than the relic.
Markonefifteen ofcourse price is. A standard Gibson guitar is made in a complete different way. A standard Les Paul has more wood, binding, inlays, mother of pearl on the headstock, more pick ups, glew, nitrocellulose laquer... A standard Fender Strat has none of that. It is made way cheaper. Custom Shop Gibsons are most of the time also made with much more extra’s then Fender.
Sorry, but about a quarter of the way through I realised I'd not understood any of the rambling and was diverting my attention elsewhere. I guess there was a point here, but sorry it didn't enter my brain!
I own a Squier Tele custom ii that plays better and sounds better than a custom shop Fender for sale at our local music store. Not hating on fender at all but just because you spend 2k plus on a custom shop doesn’t automatically make it a more superior sounding and feeling guitar. The most important factor in a good playing sounding guitar is setup and your fingers/hands. Custom shop Fenders only exist because there’s a market for it and if you ask me it’s a rip off. I love going into music stores on a busy day and ripping the shit out of a Squier in front of people holding the most expensive guitars in the room. Keep kicking ass Squier!
I fell for a reliced blue gretsch falcon made by the custom shop. I think Mr stray cat bought it and dumped it. It turn up a a guitar show discounted to 6 or 7K, and I could have bought it on credit. What a beauty, but it honestly didn't sound or play any better than the GC store gretschs at that time, some of the best ever made and for a descent price.
Can't do a comparison man. Its not like there is one type of tele or strat. There's a tele and strat for every year, price point and modification imaginable. It not like there is a tele that's the "real thing"
Just a random compliment from North East England - I enjoy all of Casino's videos but the Baxter and Jonathan stuff is like I'm sitting around drinking coffee with the guys and learning about guitars and laughing a lot. Brilliant, guys. Stay well.
Steve Smith sincere thanks for the kind words! We really appreciate that and have a blast making these videos. It warms our wee hearts to hear nice things and again, thanks for taking the time to join us for a bit! Best to you and yours and we’ll see you soon out there!
I was wearing a pair of jeans with holes in the knees and a guy stopped me and said "you must do really hard labor..." I replied: Yeah, being a blues lawyer is rough.
Just ordered my first custom made Fender from the Custom Shop. Basically it's going to be a Clapton Strat with my choice of neck wood and profile, light lacquer finish with a custom color. Should arrive around Christmas and my 66th birthday. After all these years I still get jacked up about this stuff.
@@anonymousforensic Un-believable! Out of the thin blue air I got an e-mail from Wildwood Guitars that said my guitar is done and on the way! Placed the order last July so it was only a 4 month wait.
For years I was in the camp of "why would I spend that much money, I love my Mexican-made Fenders even more than the American-mades I've bought, isn't Custom Shop just a fancier American?" Turns out, no, absolutely not. Long story short, my most magically awesome guitar is my Custom Shop Strat. And I also own a higher priced Gibson Custom Shop R9 LP (which I also love but I play my Mexi-Strat more often). I was even inspired to write a letter to the Fender Custom Shop guys and thank them for changing my life. It's that good. Needless to say, that's the one guitar I would keep if I had to liquidate all but one. No hesitation.
I just got a ‘65 CS strat. Rosewood ‘65 “C” neck with a lacquered fretboard, walnut finished body black 3-ply pick guard. No relic, NOS is what it’s called. Hand wound Diablo pick-ups. It’s beautiful. I also have a ‘68 CS ES-335 VOS vintage sunburst. The strat blows it out of the water. Don’t get me wrong, the Gibson is fantastic but the fender is on some other level of guitar I never knew existed.
Relic guitars are in just like classic cars with patina. The best ones really are really resto-mods with modern brakes, engine, trans, etc. if you're going to drive it all the time. Custom shop guitars are great for a players to take on stage.
I too, love the Custom Shop. My dealer told me to expect the Tele I ordered in about 6 months. It showed up 18 months after I ordered it. Likely a dealer issue rather than the CS. BUT, I do love my Tele. Great guitar.
It’s not worth the money. I have many customs and there double the price for only few bells and whistles. Why would you relic your guitar or pay to relic…just play dude…it’s a guitar.. not an antic
I was offered an original 1966 Sunburst Stratocaster for about 11,000 🇬🇧 Pounds. It had its issues after years of sweat and beer poured into the pickups. It stank of ciggies and the bridge was rusted to fuck and was badly set up, needed a refret. It looked awesome because it was just old but once plugged it, it sounded terrible. So what’s my point? I decided to leave the old vintage original and ordered a Fender Custom Shop Journey Man relic in faded Fiesta Red for 4000USD and am happily ever after.
I love this format! It's like getting drunk with a few friends at the bar and chatting about guitars. It just turns out that y'all know a lot more about guitars than my friends do :)
Tried a Fender Custom strat shop recently & was really disappointed. The low E strings almost falling off the fretboard & the frets ends are quite sharp. It was a brand new guitar, 2021 model. Quite light actually but can’t really justify $5700 sgd for the quality.
LOVE your channel! To weigh in, I just cannot stomach a relic’d guitar. The sole reason I haven’t purchased a NOVO is that. Man, I hate wear on my American Pros and Elites. LOL.
Thanks so much for the discussion! Having lusted after a Custom Shop 63 (my birth year) Tele for decades, and after having seen countless online discussions "debating" the "value" of the relic process, I appreciate your sharing your insights about what makes the Custom Shop relics special. So nice to hear experienced voices for a change. Keep rocking guys!
Thank you Scott! We absolutely love the pieces they make and there is an unreal level of magic in their pieces as well! Having been lucky enough to watch them work it really is an artwork to create what they do. I hope you get that 63 one year and if you ever need any help let us know!
I too just celebrated my 60th year and my long time plan was to treat myself to a ‘63 CS Strat. But I just couldn’t bring myself to spend the cash, even though I can afford it. I’m just a home player, and although it’s my passion, I just can’t bring myself to pull the trigger on one. But I still love all the videos you guys make. Some very good unbiased information as always.
I just received my first custom shop 63. It's hard to articulate, but it feels different, sounds clear and alive. Do I think it's the pinnacle of Stratocasters,NO but it's definitely special. I don't feel they are worth the money, cool but upon reflection I'd rather spend that money on a boutique S type guitar if you buying not as an investment
Jim Haubert here, I have a Rory Gallagher Custom Shop Strat and you are absolutely correct, you cannot go wrong with the Custom Shop!! Mine is pro quality, just fits in my hand, feels real natural the whole way up the fretboard!!! It has a 25 1/2" scale length but feels like 24 3/4", great strat honk to it, went through a bunch of Fender strats in my life but this one is just different, comfortable like an old pair of shoes!! Don't care that it's a relic, just the best guitar that I have ever owned or played and I have gone through a ton of them!!!
Yeah - you may as well go the whole way and get hand-wound pickups if you’re going to the lengths of getting a CS. If I ever get one, they may be Fat 60s......then they’d also be different from my other Strats!
@@kcd2120 The 57 Mary Kaye and 59 Slab Board Strats I have both have hand wound “57” and “59” Josefinas. I don’t think they could be beat for what I need them for.
I went to my local store and paid down every month for almost a year and a half for a mint FCS George Harrison 61 Closet Classic Strat. Its just a different feel about these guitars. I am so lucky to have it.
I would like to get a custom shop J bass , Ive seen them at CME , I could see having a relic bass too . The only thing that Frosts me though is when they have collector / investment only instruments like the Phil Lynott bass a custom shop level bass $15,000 , a little excessive .
It's weird how you guys say you picked up a CS and that was it for you. I've picked up a bunch of CS guitars and there's only one that comes to mind that I actually liked. Every one seems to have a massive neck that's brutally uncomfortable. The second part is I've never been able to justify the cost/value ratio of a CS guitar. I've just now gotten a couple of the AO60s series and those to me are friggin phenomenal guitars.
MinivanMegafun100 first we have to agree with the American originals! Live those pieces:) they are perhaps the best bang for your buck in the electric guitar world. Larger necks have been popular for the past 5 years it seems and we both love them but the funny thing is bitch of my necks are rather small. Sincere thanks for sharing your thoughts and congrats on your guitars as well!
Yes, most likely a US...:) Thanks a ton for watching and of course sir John is a master. We feel like he perfected the reliving process and made it happen for the whole team.
I say to the younger audience, make your own guitar mods, make the guitar you want…then when your Famous, the builders will be making Your guitar……….don’t long for someone else’s fame. They’ve already been there /done that. Be better…
Thing abt fender td is that they are just as much of a replica of the real deal pre cbs strats as the non fender guitars. The custom shop is where they’re supposed to be making the real deal but its rly only at the master built level do u get that. They also dont rly sound like 1950’s fenders ive never heard a modern strat sound resemble anything close to those pre cbs strats w maple boards. Thats why those vintage guitars are so expensive bc its an acc fender. Its like picassos family recreating his works w master built being hand painted. Its still not like the original.
After escaping the jaws of death from Coronavirus, I bought a Fender custom shop telecaster. No buyers remorse here. It's freaking awesome!! Life's too short to play firewood.
Master built? Probably 4500+ but that's just based off of some basic knowledge of the market so I might be way off. A custom shop guitar that fender sells through their custom shop is usually below 4000 but they all retail for somewhere around that mark. Again, though, the master built guitars are a bit more expensive.
@@christiandiehl6804 Masterbuilt (first hand) for ONLY 4500+??!!! I doubt that very highly.. A “first hand” MB Has got to start somewhere around 7G area...
@@learnmusic488 I said 4500+. I'm aware most would be significantly more than the regular custom shop models, but with a relatively general, non spec'd out model, it probably goes somewhere around there (I could be wrong I've never ordered or owned a masterbuilt.)
@@christiandiehl6804 I’m not sure what the current starting price is for a Master Built Fender Custom Shop guitar, but I know a few years ago the starting price was $5,000. As you said that was just for a basic model that could have been Team Built, but the buyer wanted a specific Master Builder to build it. My guess was a that now it is closer to $6,000. Anything outside of the Team Built options will be considerably more expensive depending on the specifications.
