Members sleewell Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 As an owner of 2 USA strats and one mim Tele I can easily say they are much better instruments than anything from the custom shop. I mean why spend all that extra money for the same guitar? Maybe some corksniffers can chime in, but be warned your opinion is wrong and will be mocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chriscnb Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 YMMV, the best Fender I've ever played was a Custom Shop '62 RI. I've also played some fantastic USA, Japan, MIM, and MIC models. I think my second favorite Fender was a GC exclusive MIC model with the stacked tone pot. I dunno about easily better, you'll always get dogs no matter what...you shouldn't at the custom shop level though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 As a builder and an owner of both USA and Custom Shop models, I would say you are on to something, but not quite there. I think the Custom Shop stuff is overpriced for what you get, but not for the attention that is given to the instrument you are receiving. For instance, the Custom Shop guitars are consistently phenomenal (at least the ones I have had in my shop) and they should be amazing... They are built by hand and have master Luthiers working on them. There should be no lemons in the bunch. I have yet to see one, but I have seen standard USA lemons for sure. However, the instrument you get really is not a lot better than a good Standard off the factory floor. The difference is the labor (and sometimes custom parts) and that extra cost does not really reflect on the final product when compared to many off the floor USA models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sheik_Yerbouti Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 I'll put my EJ Strat against any CS specimen you can produce. That said, I had a dealer buddy hand-select one for me, and they're NOT all the same. The biggest CS advantage, IMO, aside from all the pretty wood and custom finishes, is that they're going to produce a more consistent product, which they damn well should at the premium they're charging. But yes, you absolutely CAN find a US model that on every practical level is every bit as good as some CS version costing 3-4 times as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nerine Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 I'll just disagree and say no more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members timmyfirst Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 I've only ever owned one CS strat and it was miles better than the USA Standards, HW1's and MIM's i've owned. I think the Fender CS stuff is some of the finest stuff built at the moment, you just dont get attention to detail like that on standard production models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dreamspace Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 Best Fender I've ever owned was a Fender MIJ partscaster...62 CIJ Neck and 62 MIJ body. Featherweight, incredibly resonant and loud, perfect neck and frets.Close second is a 1963/1958 Fender Partscaster I have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chriscnb Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 You can't get a good guitar for under 3k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 Best Fender I've ever owned was a Fender MIJ partscaster...62 CIJ Neck and 62 MIJ body. Featherweight, incredibly resonant and loud, perfect neck and frets. Close second is a 1963/1958 Fender Partscaster I have. Those Japanese Fenders are honestly the best Fenders IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted February 21, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 I'll just disagree and say no more. nerine - y i no get a novel outlining your wrong opinion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarbilly74 Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 It depends. If you are looking for a strat with a modern feel and features and something you can customize to your liking without having to worry about resale value, it's hard to beat the American Deluxe line. But for a classic strat with vintage correct features, tone and amazing build quality the CS is where it's at. The MIM series are probably the best affordable workhorse strats you can buy and with a few upgrades, they can easily be a professional grade instrument so I guess they have the best bang for the buck. So I guess it all depends what you're looking for. But it's safe to say Fender has been delivering quality guitars at any price point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members this is paul Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 Better guitars? No, you're wrong. Sorry...just how it is. My stray is my favorite guitar I've played for various reasons, but CS guitars are in fact better. Now if you're are talking value for your $$$ then I'd agree. I'd much rather pay 1/3 of the price for a USA model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeadNight Warrior Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 As an owner of 2 USA strats and one mim Tele I can easily say they are much better instruments than anything from the custom shop. I mean why spend all that extra money for the same guitar? Your post doesn't make sense. Are they better or are they the same? And don't try pretend you meant better value; you specifically said they're better instruments. :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted February 21, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 more cool people should join the facebook group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ron Burgandy Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 I love my US Fenders but like Billy said, Fender wins at every price point. They're a pretty awesome company, imo. Great QC for a company of their size, innovative models, great updates on classic models, for $999 you can get a US Standard Strat/Tele that will play like a dream and last a lifetime, and very fairly priced all things considered. The Custom Shop stuff is for the most part even better than the US stuff. You'd be hard pressed to find a US Standard that is flat out superior to a Custom Shop, but for the most part you'll find they'll both be nice guitars. Just the custom shop will be more hand made, generally speaking be made from nicer cuts of wood and finished in Nitro which costs money to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TheRymanChu Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 For instance, the Custom Shop guitars are consistently phenomenal (at least the ones I have had in my shop) and they should be amazing... They are CNC machined (they use the Haas VF-4) and have master Luthiers working on them. There should be no lemons in the bunch. I have yet to see one, but I have seen standard USA lemons for sure. However, the instrument you get really is not a lot better than a good Standard off the factory floor. The difference is the labor (and sometimes custom parts) and that extra cost does not really reflect on the final product when compared to many off the floor USA models. Fixed You'd think with the speed and accuracy of the machine, it would have freed the "luthiers" more time to work on the feel of their necks, and they would have gotten better, just saying. How many more models can Fender squeeze out of the 22 fret, 25.5" scale, double cutaway, maple neck, alder or swamp ash body, maple or rosewood fretboard formula? Their prices are still pretty good, all things considered, unlike Gibson with their insane prices for CNC guitars with almost no QC oversight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frankthomson Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 You can't get a good guitar for under 3k. haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OceansBetweenUs Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 You can't get a good guitar for under 3k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frankthomson Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 he gotta be yankin our chains Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sleewell Posted February 21, 2012 Author Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 he gotta be yankin our chains this is hcaf bro, dis cereal bidness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StankNasty Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 this is hcaf bro, dis cereal bidness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chriscnb Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members atrox Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 Fixed You'd think with the speed and accuracy of the machine, it would have freed the "luthiers" more time to work on the feel of their necks, and they would have gotten better, just saying. How many more models can Fender squeeze out of the 22 fret, 25.5" scale, double cutaway, maple neck, alder or swamp ash body, maple or rosewood fretboard formula? Their prices are still pretty good, all things considered, unlike Gibson with their insane prices for CNC guitars with almost no QC oversight. I figured it was obvious (CNC). If you do any research on the master builders in there, they are all luthiers by trade. Working at Fender does not change that. I like their necks a lot Of course they are not going to build from scratch at Fender. they don't need too and they shouldn't. Consistency goes away. I for one don't care how a body is made as long as it's quality. And yeah... I get at least one warped/twisted Gibson neck in a month it seems on brand new guitars. Too many to count have been in my shop. It seems to definitely be a QC issue going on there as of late. Seems to be only the last few years. It's scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members isvoid Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 I don't always buy custom shop guitars. But when I do I make Suhr I order a gooder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pepi Posted February 21, 2012 Members Share Posted February 21, 2012 I don't always buy custom shop guitars. But when I do I make Suhr I order a gooder. Have you ever had a Suhr custom made and didn't like it when it arrived? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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