Off the Shelf Fender Custom Shop VS Spec your own?

Baxter and Jonathan talk about why your dream build guitar might already be on the way to Casino Guitars, and why you might be worth the wait to have one build for you at the Fender Custom Shop.

[brrblack]

First for the first time ever. So good to have Johnathan back!

[allenmitchell]

I wonder if they’d put a squier logo on a custom shop guitar if you requested it. I think that’d be kinda cool.

[danielphillipsmusic]

I scooped up my CS Time Machine 55 P about 8 years ago in barely played used condition. Best gear purchase I've ever made. However, I prefer 50's correct specs so that made it easy back when Mike Eldred was running the shop and the Time Machine models were plentiful. Now days vintage correct models are much harder to come by. I think whether it's "off the shelf" or "custom one off" when it comes to Fender CS instruments that a player needs to know exactly what specs they want in an instrument and exactly what specs are negotiable. Even used they are an serious investment in yourself as a player and in cash. So get to know yourself as a player first, then window shop and be mindful of the specs and what you're looking for. If you go a couple years saving cash and don't see anything new or used that strikes your fancy, or you know you want something truly off the wall that isn't likely to get made as part of a team build run. Then you're probably better off doing a one off straight from the shop.

[michaelblaney]

It would be nice if Fender expanded their Mod shop . sometimes all you want is a specific color or pickups.

[mcleroy]

I have had 4 custom guitars built, 3 Heritage and 1 Keisel. I loved 2 of them, hated one of them and did a lot of reconfiguring to learn to love the 4th one. It is beyond disappointing to wait for months to get a guitar that I ended up selling or having to gut or have the neck refinished. After all that, my go to is and off the rack American Telecaster.

[paullanglois]

Baxter’s Fantasy Video was the store my mom would never let me go into when I was a kid in the 80s.

[nalukeko]

The giant CS logo on the headstock completely puts me off. Just mark it under the heel. The body is stamped ‘relic’ where it’s not visible too.
Happy with my AO 60s and an ‘08 Standard.

[thecappy]

If the team built has the specs you want why not. I picked up a used 2016 ltd edition ‘58 Jazzmaster is desert sand with black hw pickups and gold guard. It also has the ‘62 c shaped neck and 9.5” radius. That’s close enough for me. Plays and sounds fantastic.

[TheBrizzie]

I never was a big fender guy until recently when I purchased a 60’s reissue aged shell pink custom shop strat and I am blown away. Anyone who is on the fence needs to pull the trigger :)

[jeffsquires]

Thanks guys. Good to hear some light humor and topics.

[JoeKyser]

No wonder why the wait time is 18 months. Casino Guitars has them stacked with orders 🤣🤣
Yo.this is pure genius.

[jowyong]

Just received my custom order tele about a week ago. Totally worth the wait! It arrived a little earlier than expected, took around 10 months, and I was stoked! The build was exactly as I had envisioned, the neck was a little too fat for my liking but I'm getting used to it. The sound however, is absolutely phenomenal! I chose to go with Josephina hand wounds and I must say that they're worth their weight in gold. Also, the guitar has a harmonic resonance that's almost other-worldly, every note rings with a kind of 3-dimensional effect, yet is so well defined and supremely balanced throughout the sonic range. To the FCS, just take my damn money and gimme more of that stuff!!!

[goeldner]

I bought a shell pink 61 Strat online sight unseen at the start of the pandemic. Best guitar I’ve ever played!

[SomeKindOfMadman]

When you fellas said “you like arm wrestling.” Was that a euphemism ; )

[BasswipeNC]

The wait time from when I filled out my order form to pick up was 1 year (that was 2021-2022). It seems like a long time but you get over that part kind of quickly. My guitar was worth the wait. I love it.

[yestoES]

Many times the shops order the one you’ve been looking for. Wild wood had tele custom exactly to my specs. I simply can’t wait nor do I like crazy custom specs. For those that do, I’d say it is worth the wait to get your dream guitar

[Nick-qqnq]

I feel like there are so many shops that keep a good stock of CS guitars. I would never need to spec out my own unless I wanted something very specific. I’m pretty content with the 9.5 radius and 6105 frets that are standard on most custom shops. I’m not picky about neck profile either. I can always adapt to the guitar and I like having guitars with different profiles

[trampley]

After years of scouring the web I was able to get a custom shop telecaster that met exactly my specs and it's the best tele I've ever played. And honestly, there's something to be said for finding a thing you love that you didn't design yourself, since at times something you might not have thought of just works perfectly.

[mitchellstrauss]

If you live near a good shop, it pays to visit on a regular basis to check out "what's new." The newly arrived axes like our hosts describe may surprise you and more than meet your needs... don't forget too, the traded-in preowned guitars that randomly pop up may be your dream guitar at a discount... just this past weekend at my local shop I stumbled onto a pre-owned Martin D-28 Authentic '37 made in 2014... got a killer deal and man what a guitar... visit your shop... a lot...

[biggblak]

My CS is a cheap tele copy modified into an esquire with a hot rail. I did most of the work myself and gave it o a luthier buddy to fine tune. I'm diggin' it the most!