Piers_Williamson Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Clearly they are nose-bleed expensive new and depreciate pretty quickly. I was interested to see a couple of 'sold', apparently second-hand basses recently turn up on an internet dealer and on Reverb. The prices approximated to a slight discount on their 'new' price. Meanwhile the large retailer where these basses had originally been for sale had jacked up their prices for the new ones remaining. It looked suspiciously like the retailer was 'churning' their stock in order to obtain fresh stock from Fender. Any thoughts out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Not really, sorry 😐 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 1 hour ago, Piers_Williamson said: Any thoughts out there? I often wonder just how Sainsburys manage to get the wooden ball inside an avocado 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Thoughts? It would be nice to be in a position where the price of custom shop basses had any relevance whatsoever to my life... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 2 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said: I often wonder just how Sainsburys manage to get the wooden ball inside an avocado They use the same technique as to get a ship into a bottle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miles'tone Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Better off finding a good 70s Fender than pay the current asking on a CS. Far nicer to see the value of your bass increase rather than take a nose dive as soon as you play it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 Most Fender Custom Shop basses are a farce, there are a few gems but the majority as simply of the quality you'd expect a standard factory run bass to be given the ludicrous prices. You can build a bass of equal if not better quality using off the shelf parts from Allparts, Warmoth and sometimes even their lower priced competitors and in doing so you not only get a much cheaper instrument of the same quality but you get to choose your own spec re wood, finish, hardware, electrics etc. I've picked up a few used CS models over the years, I have no idea why anyone would ever buy one new given the prices and the apparent lottery regarding good bass/bad bass 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubinga5 Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 (edited) Ludicrously over priced paying for Fender CS name nonsense. Ive seen some custom shop jazzers selling for over 9 grand. Masterbuilt of course by Vincent Van Gogh or whatever his name is. Ive seen a Strat CS for sale on Thomann for 18 grand. The factory tour for the average worker stamping out metal parts all day long on 50 year old presses is not a pretty site. Edited September 3, 2022 by bubinga5 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 I played a Masterbuilt Strat last year, easily the best guitar I’ve ever played. Whether or not it’s worth the price tag is a different matter, I just know how great that guitar was to play, and the sound, even through a practice amp there was no ice-pickiness, just clear as a bell but with a richness to it I’ve never heard from any other Strat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msb Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 I’ve played a good number of them , some friends have them (and love them). Unlikely that I’d spring for one. I’m quite happy with the selection of basses I have , already have twenty something basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 3 hours ago, miles'tone said: Better off finding a good 70s Fender than pay the current asking on a CS. Far nicer to see the value of your bass increase rather than take a nose dive as soon as you play it. A good 70s Fender?! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 3, 2022 Share Posted September 3, 2022 It was quite late on in the 70's when things started going down hill and the boat anchors arrived. 66 to 74 is the purple patch for me, although the earlier of these are getting pretty pricey now - I paid £260 for my '66 about 1983. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 I'm sure the custom shop stuff is great but there's a certain irony that a lot of it seems to be supposedly reproducing instruments that Leo Fender originally designed to be mass produced in factories. Vintage Fenders weren't lovingly handcrafted by a single luthier. They were bolted together by about 15 different guys on a production line. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeystrange Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 Since when do retailers sell Custom Shop Fenders? I thought the whole point was that they were commissioned and built to that person’s specification? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 47 minutes ago, Cato said: I'm sure the custom shop stuff is great but there's a certain irony that a lot of it seems to be supposedly reproducing instruments that Leo Fender originally designed to be mass produced in factories. Vintage Fenders weren't lovingly handcrafted by a single luthier. They were bolted together by about 15 different guys on a production line. And therein lies both the irony and the business model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 29 minutes ago, joeystrange said: Since when do retailers sell Custom Shop Fenders? I thought the whole point was that they were commissioned and built to that person’s specification? Since around the mid-90s 'Custom Shop' has simply been a term meaning 'our most overpriced items generally aimed at people who need to feel that the gear they own is better than the gear most people own'. It's the gear version of flying First Class, in real terms a high price for a small difference in process and emotions, but ultimately arriving at the same destination via the same process s everyone else 👍 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 (edited) ... Same as a Signiture Series... wasnt this just a std bass in whatever colour... different if 'their' bass was a 'custom shop commision' back in the day... Understand if the original was significantly 'modded' and then reproduced... but... Edited September 4, 2022 by PaulThePlug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeystrange Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 56 minutes ago, Beedster said: Since around the mid-90s 'Custom Shop' has simply been a term meaning 'our most overpriced items generally aimed at people who need to feel that the gear they own is better than the gear most people own'. It's the gear version of flying First Class, in real terms a high price for a small difference in process and emotions, but ultimately arriving at the same destination via the same process s everyone else 👍 Really?! That’s really crappy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 11 minutes ago, joeystrange said: Really?! That’s really crappy. Well it’s my opinion, others will no doubt not share it 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestar Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 14 hours ago, bubinga5 said: Ludicrously over priced paying for Fender CS name nonsense. Ive seen some custom shop jazzers selling for over 9 grand. Masterbuilt of course by Vincent Van Gogh or whatever his name is. Ive seen a Strat CS for sale on Thomann for 18 grand. The factory tour for the average worker stamping out metal parts all day long on 50 year old presses is not a pretty site. I visited the Fender factory 19 years ago and was very kindly given a tour during a factory shutdown by the head of QC. Purely on the basis that he picked up the phone when my wife called to arrange it from the UK as a surprise for my fortieth. Which was nice The custom shop was in fact a kind of portacabin inside the main factory not what I expected at all and a bit underwhelming. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 Interesting comparison video here (someone had to post one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegs07 Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 Surely this same debate could be had about any bespoke built limited edition products vs mass produced items? If you want something different and have the money to pay for a limited run item I can’t see the harm. Some people out there pay £1000 for limited run trainers. I think they have a screw loose but it keeps someone in a job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 i used to wonder if they simply picked out the lighter and/or better instruments from the standard-run production line and allocated them to some CS treatment and price hike, but that theory was trashed when I bought a used CS Jazz about 20 years back, as it weighed a tonne and was about as resonant as a sponge. I have to say I quite liked it when I first got it, but as much out of a warped cognitive dissonance as appreciated of the instrument itself (it was after all an FSC instrument, it must be good, I'm just not a good enough player to realise it yet etc). When I sold it and replaced it with an early 90's MIJ Jazz I couldn't believe how much better the latter was, well over a pound lighter, sustained for hours and played, dare I say it, like butter 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 2 minutes ago, tegs07 said: Surely this same debate could be had about any bespoke built limited edition products vs mass produced items? If you want something different and have the money to pay for a limited run item I can’t see the harm. Some people out there pay £1000 for limited run trainers. I think they have a screw loose but it keeps someone in a job. Absolutely, I don't think anyone's saying it isn't 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tegs07 Posted September 4, 2022 Share Posted September 4, 2022 (edited) 21 minutes ago, Beedster said: Absolutely, I don't think anyone's saying it isn't 👍 IMO in the same way as a pair of Nikes made bespoke and collectible because some rapper has added his name to the design or some famous arty type has made them spectacular garish the actual end product won’t be any better quality than the mass produced item. It’s the extra time and cost involved in the limited run that you are paying for. FWIW my thoughts on the original vintage instruments that a lot of the CS shop stuff replicate is some instruments for whatever quirk of fate just play and sound better than others made in the same batch. If an instrument has survived 40 or 50 years it’s likely to be one of the good ones that somebody has loved and cared for. The ones that didn’t get loved for whatever reason have been broken up, burned whatever. Spending 100 hours replicating the 1 in 100 or whatever won’t necessarily make it play or sound the same. It will probably look pretty cool though. Edited September 4, 2022 by tegs07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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