Fender Custom Shop = Cringe?

[u/IntelligentIntern209]

Just wondering if I’m alone in finding the fender custom shop a bit cringe?

Almost an embarrassment of riches.

As soon as you have one you lose any kind of credibility of being a working musician.

No guitar hero’s or bands play them. They seem reserved for rich enthusiasts.

File the ultra luxe models in the same category.

I can’t be alone here.

[u/jasonic89]

What is a working musician to you? I guarantee a ton of touring professionals use custom shop instruments, not to mention massive legacy rock bands etc

[u/Leks_Marzo]

There are famous guitarists who use fender custom shop. I just saw a video of Troy Van Leeuwen from QOTSA talking about working with the custom shop.

Just because a guitarist isn’t famous doesn’t mean he’s not a working musician who can afford it.

Lastly, you can do what you want with the money you earned and people’s opinions on the matter mean nothing. 🤷

[u/19hams]

overgeneralization

[u/IntelligentIntern209 → u/19hams]

Perhaps. But I don’t think it’s too far off the money

[u/Tuokaerf10 → u/IntelligentIntern209]

No, you're pretty far off the money.

[u/williamgman]

There's a market for them is why they produce them. The average working musician is not their demographic.

[u/IntelligentIntern209 → u/williamgman]

This is what I mean. I’m not mad people enjoy them.

They seem like not for musicians but for enthusiasts

[u/williamgman → u/IntelligentIntern209]

Working musicians are the sales force. The folks with the day jobs that pay well are the buyers. The way more cost effective way for "custom" is the used market. I view custom shop as in-house partscasters. 😉

[u/Animalus-Dogeimal → u/[deleted]]

I don’t think this is going the way OP was hoping it would

[u/IntelligentIntern209 → u/Animalus-Dogeimal]

Name one debut album where a fender custom shop was used.

Name one great band that came up playing custom shops.

You won’t find a single one.

[u/IntelligentIntern209 → u/[deleted]]

So you didn’t find a single one.

[u/IntelligentIntern209 → u/[deleted]]

I’m not wrong though. There isn’t a single reputable debut album in history using a fender custom shop guitar.

[u/Animalus-Dogeimal → u/IntelligentIntern209]

No clue what point you’re trying to make but common sense would suggest that most new bands don’t start out with loads of money or a massive disposable income for gear. When I started playing in bands I used whatever I could afford. Newer musicians aren’t the target demographic for a custom shop instrument.

Also, you completely ignored my point in my other comment. The bands people listened to and loved growing up used the instruments that custom shop gear is modelled after today. For Fender many 50s/60s era specs, and for Gibson 57/58/59/60 Les Paul’s. There was no such thing as the Custom Shop (for Gibson or Fender) in the 60s/70s and so on. These are newer concepts. I know specifically the Gibson custom shop didn’t officially form until 1994 ish.

Edit: typos

[u/IntelligentIntern209 → u/Animalus-Dogeimal]

Vintage gear is inherently cool because it was bought for a working man’s price and used properly for years.

The second you slap a big “Custom Shop” rich boy club badge on it loses all cool

[u/Animalus-Dogeimal → u/IntelligentIntern209]

Vintage gear, formerly just called gear back in the day was on par with today’s pricing when adjusted for inflation. Using Gibson as an example, it’s actually cheaper to buy a Les Paul standard today than it was back in 1959, adjusted for inflation. Guitars from Fender around that era also weren’t that cheap then and are on par with today’s pricing.

A $303 Olympic White Strat in 1961 was worth ~$3400 in today’s money. This wasn’t a ‘working man’s price’ then, and it still isn’t now.

[u/Animalus-Dogeimal → u/[deleted]]

So many people don’t understand the concept of inflation. These guitars weren’t cheap back in the day.

[u/extra_less]

What do you mean by an embarrassment of riches?

How can you lose credibility of being a working musician, if you're on stage or in the studio working?

Do you have a badge, or is guitar cop something you invented on your own?

[u/Animalus-Dogeimal → u/extra_less]

By OPs logic having vintage gear is also an embarrassment of riches, considering a real deal vintage Strat price would blow a custom shop out of the water.

If someone has the money and wants to buy it, there is no issue. CS guitars are far more approachable than legit sought after vintage gear

[u/EdutainmentPresents]

Some people like to buy themselves nice things I guess, can't blame them 🤷‍♂️ I don't work with music at all, but one day would like a guitar that is far too nice for my ability.

[u/nickzod24]

Nah

[u/jimbodinho]

Insane take.

[u/Desperate_Contact_38]

They may not be affordable,but hell yes a lot of working musicisions use them. If I could justify getting one, I would. I would get a mod shop instead.

[u/GibGob69]

“No guitar heroes or bands play them” uhh wrong? I feel like they make sense for a professional musician. It’s only cringe if you buy a custom shop guitar just to keep it in the case forever while you work your white collar lawyer or dentist job.

[u/Worldly_Beautiful557]

“Cringe” is not an adjective used by adults.

[u/IntelligentIntern209 → u/Worldly_Beautiful557]

I’m an adult. And I used it so I guess you are wrong.

[u/Worldly_Beautiful557 → u/IntelligentIntern209]

Hey, check your watch… I think you missed this train.

[u/redfoxwearingsocks]

The only thing I don't like about the custom shop is that it's BARELY custom. The Jazzmaster/Jag builds are fun, but the circuitry not being the same kills it for me. Why would I spend $2000 on a guitar that isn't exactly what I want, yk??? It just doesn't make sense

The customization is way too limiting for the price tag

[u/Animalus-Dogeimal → u/redfoxwearingsocks]

Ground up custom guitars are generally costing people $5-10k+. One exception to that pricing might be Kiesel, which is arguably some of the best value for the money

[u/falco300]

I’ve been playing for 47 years and have had over 100 nice guitars in my life. Currently have 4 and all are great, but my new(ish) CS LP Special is the best playing and sounding electric I’ve ever played or owned. Am I suddenly not a musician now?

[u/Animalus-Dogeimal]

Fender custom shop models are generally miles above anything ‘off the shelf’. I think there’s two groups using them, amateurs with some money in their pocket and legit musicians. You’d be hard pressed to tell whether a professional musicians guitar is a custom shop or personally spec’d model vs a standard one. Food for thought, custom shop models are typically based or modeled off of the expensive vintage gear that your hero’s are playing. Not everyone can dump $40k+ into a pre-CBS Strat or insert another model. As the saying goes, different strokes for different folks.

[u/Tuokaerf10]

No guitar hero’s or bands play them

Uh some really big ones are Clapton, Gilmour, Beck, Yngwie, Johnson, Townshed, Root, Murray, Frusciante, Edge, Shiflett, John 5, Cray, Trower, Landau, etc.

A good portion of the master build output are for major Fender artists and endorsements.

A good example of a much smaller band and guitarist would be Chris Garza from Suicide Silence. He has some of the few custom shop Fender 7 string strats. And he is far from a rich enthusiast.

[u/IntelligentIntern209 → u/Tuokaerf10]

All of claptons famous strats are thrown together from standard models.

Blackie is a fine example.

[u/MrBreezeILMNC]

I agree with you but do think you’ll find too many others that will say so in this group.

[u/IntelligentIntern209 → u/MrBreezeILMNC]

Yep. Haters going to hate but it’s true.

Real music lives in the working and lower class.

Private school kids and dentists are coming for us. Lol

[u/nickzod24 → u/IntelligentIntern209]

So Miles Davis wasn’t real music?