Can you make a less expensive Strat feel/play/sound as good as a Custom Shop?

richardhomer

My CS Strat is a great guitar. I bought it used for not much more than the ‘street’ price of an American Professional Series - and if I ever had to sell, would easily get my money back.

Upgrades on (say) a Mexican Strat may well get you nearer to a CS guitar - but by the time you’ve paid for pick-ups, a wiring harness, an upgraded trem system and a fret-dress, you’ll not be ‘that’ far off used CS money. Add in that the outcome of the upgrades can’t be guaranteed - you can’t evaluate them until you’ve actually done them - I’d rather put my money into a ‘better’ guitar.

I don’t think Fender make bad guitars at any price point - but there is a degree of ‘you get what you pay for’ as you move up the range. I agree that the law of diminishing returns means what some perceive as ‘minor’ improvements can cost ‘a lot’ - but that doesn’t mean the outlay isn’t justified for everyone.

Jonathanthomas83

So pleased with the response to this. We managed to keep it friendly and respectful too...well done, team!

By way of an update and maybe to wrap things up...in  light of the discussion, I'm going to buy myself a nice new Custom Shop Strat. I will say that I was genuinely considering a lower spec strat with the intention of modding it out. But the arguments herein have convinced me that I didn't just imagine how great that guitar I played was, last weekend, it really was great and maybe I should live a little and get what I want.

Thats not taking anything away from anyone who said anything to the contrary, or guitars that don't have the Custom Shop moniker, not at all. If you enjoy it, and it sounds good, it IS good!

Thanks all!

Strat54

I think you are more likely to buy or build a decent partsocaster that is comparable rather than find a non-US Fender that would measure up to a Custom Shop. Find a nice weight neck and body buy the some decent Callaham/Glendale/Rutters hardware, quality pots/jack/switch and a good set of pickups/plastics from like Foley and you'll be well on your way to a Custom Shop guitar. With the Custom Shop prices on the rise all the time you can certainly end up with a great guitar for a whole lot less than the £3k it takes to get a new 2018 FCS guitar. There's a lot of artists out there today who are playing what look like Fenders but aren't. Kirk Fletcher, Chuck Prophet, Julian Lage, Josh Smith, Matt Schofield instantly spring to mind.All depends what you need it to say on the headstock. Whilst I've always had nice Custom Shop Fenders, I have always had a good selection of other makes in the closet too. 

dazzajl

Jonathanthomas83 said:

So pleased with the response to this. We managed to keep it friendly and respectful too...well done, team!

By way of an update and maybe to wrap things up...in  light of the discussion, I'm going to buy myself a nice new Custom Shop Strat...........

Thanks all!

As one of the ‘I wouldn’t swap my POS for any of the CS Fenders I’ve played’ crowd, I think you’ve made a good call. 

Getting what calls to your heart is never a bad plan if you can do it. Looking forward to a lovely NGD post

ESBlonde

Triggers broom.

Fender are very careful to position each of thier tele or strat models in the buyers budget strata. There have been several YOOCHOOB vids where reviewers have worked up from the basic £150 strat to the custom shop. Even with the disadvantage of the compression and computer sound card you can hear improvements in the sound between the price points. Sometimes those differences are more subtle and other times quite noticable. A sub £200 guitar will not sound like a £600 guitar without spending £500 on improved parts and you still have the poorer quality timbers as a starting point plus all the time to experiment and research the upgrades (which fender have already done). But once you get above that mid level giggable guitar the differences get more expensive and the benefits harder to percieve. The likes of Fender are so good at measuring and marketing the quality levels we fool outselves to think we can do it better with out skills and access to aftermarket parts. That doesn't stop us trying!
So a reasonable approach is to buy the best used instrument you can find/afford and ignore colour/endorsee/finish etc. If you later find a better one, trade up, but not too many times unless you are a wiz at deals, it gets expensive too.
Then there is the feel factor, two seemingly identical models might feel different to your hands. The old addage is go try something ready made and if you kiss enough frogs .....

Roysterdoyster

My guess would be if you buy the MIM/whatever to upgrade,you'll probably still drool over a CS. But if you get the CS will you be GASsing for the other??

Rocker

Roysterdoyster said:

My guess would be if you buy the MIM/whatever to upgrade,you'll probably still drool over a CS. But if you get the CS will you be GASsing for the other??

No.  Just buy the CS. Cheaper in the long term.....

crunchman

Rocker said:

Roysterdoyster said:

My guess would be if you buy the MIM/whatever to upgrade,you'll probably still drool over a CS. But if you get the CS will you be GASsing for the other??

No.  Just buy the CS. Cheaper in the long term.....

As long as you know what you want and get a spec you like.  If you buy (for example) one with a 50s V neck, and then discover you don't like the neck profile, you will lose a lot more money than if you buy a Mexican Classic Series 50's with a soft V.

Roysterdoyster

Rocker said:

Roysterdoyster said:

My guess would be if you buy the MIM/whatever to upgrade,you'll probably still drool over a CS. But if you get the CS will you be GASsing for the other??

No.  Just buy the CS. Cheaper in the long term.....

That's what I said??