Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyrs?

[Empty Pockets]

There have been a ton of threads about this lately and I wanted to gauge the opinion of the crowd.

If you had the kind of money to build a $9,000 dream guitar... would you?

Because in my eyes, $9000 gets me three or four used Gibsons, two or three used Fenders, and probably a Rickenbacker or something like that... which, in my opinion, is way more useful than one custom shop Strat.

I am prepared to catch flak for this statement because I've got a Les Paul Custom and not three Les Paul Studios, but in my opinion that's a different part of the spectrum. The quality improvement from a $700 guitar to a $2000 guitar is substantial. But from $2000 to $9000? Besides exotic woods, Zephyrs, or crazy ornate inlays, I can't think of a single reason for a non-vintage, non-collectible guitar to be anywhere near that price-range. Not to mention, my Les Paul Custom is valued the same today as it was when I bought it two years ago... you'd be lucky to get half of what you paid for a new, one-off Fender Custom Shop guitar on the used market.

So what's the word? When does the law of diminishing returns take over? What's the most you would spend on the guitar of your dreams?

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

Got a piece of wood that me uses for der rockarolla.....three chords and lotsa distortion...chugga chugga.....very very important to have the most pretty and sonically advanced piece of......yeah

 

[Rockstar216]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

I would build my dream rig for less then 9K and still have some left over for maybe a couple guitars. I see my limit at 3 or 4 guitars and thats enough for me and maybe 2 or 3 amps and cabs. Although I did spend a lil over 2k on my custom super strat I built but it was still cheaper then buying the guitar I wanted off the shelf and my amp cost 700. Only thing left for me to invest in is a couple pedals.

 

[Psykel]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

I preffer "cheap" guitars. More bare bones. If you have a custom shop guitar made, most of the custom work will most likely go into the finnish.

 

[925SS]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

$9000?!!...Hell, i'd be happy with a $900 dollar guitar, i'd even be happy with a $90 guitar, as long as it has those fancy wood knobs to improve my tone:biglaugh:

 

[CTN]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

You may as well buy a truck full of cocaine and die in a snow-littered cloud of fantastical 80s gigantic rock star excess if you're gonna actually spend $9000 bucks on a single guitar.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

This fails right at the question of whether they can select a good sounding piece of wood for me. They can't.

I would maybe do it if they allowed me to test 35 unfinished bodies with the same neck and pick one. But then there still is the problem that the neck makes sound, too, and I doubt that cross-testing with 35 necks is a lot of fun.

 

[TheLivingDead]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

Dream guitar? Shiiii- I've done pretty well just finding mid-priced guitars that already feel great and then making them play and sound even better.

 

[ItsaBass]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

for that money, i'd invest in a playable antique. i'd never spend over 2 grand for a new guitar, especially a bolt neck.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

Personally I'd go with 3 $3,000 guitars, or two $3,000 guitars and $3,000 worth of studio gear.

Actually, I already have enough nice guitars, so I'd probably just give pinto79 $3,000 to build me a 12-6 double-neck and spend the remaining $6,000 on a killer recording rig.

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

You may as well buy a truck full of cocaine and die in a snow-littered cloud of fantastical 80s gigantic rock star excess if you're gonna actually spend $9000 bucks on a single guitar.

Is cola that cheap up in the great white north? Here its like 100 euro for a gram. 9k would get you about 1/4th a kg

 

[Edgecrusher]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

This fails right at the question of whether they can select a good sounding piece of wood for me. They can't.

I would maybe do it if they allowed me to test 35 unfinished bodies with the same neck and pick one. But then there still is the problem that the neck makes sound, too, and I doubt that cross-testing with 35 necks is a lot of fun.

I would have fun with that i would tell you that your listening to 35 different bodies then use about 10 and rotate them in and out and giggle as you changed your assessment of the same body cause you cant remember what previous ones sounded like.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

To my way of thinking, a "luxury" Fender electric guitar is counter to Leo's outlook on what he was building.

Also, no two Stratocasters are absolutely alike. There is no single example that will be ideal in absolutely all circumstances. Better, in my opinion, to divide the fantasy nine thou between several instruments.

My personal preference happens to be for early Sixties style specifications. A Custom Shop Relic would be delightful but I am perfectly happy with my Seymourised Fender AVRI. For a modern vibe, a Seymourised Fender Deluxe American Stratocaster would be perfectly acceptable.

 

[tubecrunch]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

No

 

[dominus]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

You could get 30 Squier Strats and customize the hell out of them for that $9000.

 

[MojoMonster]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

With $9k I'd get John Suhr to make me the best Strat he was physically able to.
And with the rest I'd pay Roman Rist to make me some bad-ass LP inspired setneck with 100 year old wood and illegal unicorn bones.
And still have money for a very nice night on the town.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

^ boom.

 

[ratherdashing]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

You could get 30 Squier Strats and customize the hell out of them for that $9000.

Or you could throw the money in a furnace and save yourself a lot of time.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

I wouldn't even pay $1 for a Strat with a humbucker in it, even if it was crafted by hand from the finest materials.

Actually I did buy my dream instrument, from the USA ... a Hamer Studio Custom .... and I never play it. It's awesome, but i prefer playing my beat-up old relics and quirky custom guitars because they're my friends.

I'd take the $9,000 and buy a good cello, Hammond organ, harpsichord or orchestral harp and get lessons for whichever one(s) of those i bought.

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Hypothetical: Have Fender Custom Shop Build The Best HSS Strat with Duncan Zephyr

This fails right at the question of whether they can select a good sounding piece of wood for me. They can't.

I would maybe do it if they allowed me to test 35 unfinished bodies with the same neck and pick one. But then there still is the problem that the neck makes sound, too, and I doubt that cross-testing with 35 necks is a lot of fun.

Hahahaha.... yessss!!

I'll never spend money on a custom guitar for that very reason. It's so rare to find guitars that resonate just right and even more rare to end up with one of those sight unseen. I'll take my chances with standard production and run the racks to find the right one