I’d love a custom shop strat one day but well out of budget at the moment (c £1200 - maybe just about up to £1500 if it was out of this world).
Where’s the sweet spot value wise, both new and used?
Vintage appointments and/or light relic appeal to me purely from an aesthetic point of view but that’s pure vanity.
Missed the boat on the American Original 60s that was here for £950 which seemed stonkingly good value.
New, I’m guessing the recent price drops on American Elite makes them by far the best value new at the moment for the full budget?
I might even be tempted to look at the cheaper end of the scale at the player series as a stop gap for a couple of years until I can justify spending a bit more on a CS to my tastes.
What would you be looking at in the £500-£1200 bracket?
Peach have a lovely looking 60th Anniversary special from 2014 but it’s ambitiously priced to say the least at about £500 more than a used standard from the same time, though appreciate some of this is dealer mark up.
Comments
I would say this of course, but if you want an absolutely top class Stratocaster, that's almost identical to an original preCBS Strat (I've owned and played them), 7.0 lbs, in excellent condition and just within your budget then you'd be very hard pushed to do better than this:
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/148886/fender-american-vintage-1962-stratocaster-avri/p1
I'm quite close to Bristol too.
I had an 86 MIJ strat which was terrific.
Then find a used version
I also have an old JV Squier - this guitar has seen off the Custom Shop Strats I've had over the years.
None of the CS's I've had ( 63 Limited Edition in LBP, Heavy Relic 60's in Fiesta Red, 62 Relic in Olympic White) have been keepers or indeed anything mega-special
IMO - don't waste your money on CS stuff unless you are really keen on the certificate side of things - there are just as good Strats out there outside of the CS world - as nice as they are, I can't really understand how you are paying a good 1500 more for a bolt together guitar that has been bolted together by someone who has a Custom Shop T Shirt on - unless you buy a named builder's model (which you'll pay a massive premium for), then you are just paying for the "CS ethos" rather than the skill of a particular builder..
My advice is a JV if you want a vintage ride, or one of the earlier CP's (60's or 50's) if you want CS type feel.
You always end up buying the thing you want. I'd wait personally until you have the funds
I'm bringing it back!!