Masterbuilt Fender

FastEddie

I'm not shy when it comes to both waiting and spending to get the gear's for a lifetime. 
For the past couple of years I've been considering a custom made PRS but don't feel that bound to them to spend that amount.

I do however love Fender and am a single coil kind of guy.

As a leftie it's really hard to find that 'boom' guitar so I am considering getting a personally specc'd Masterbuilt Tele. I have the perfect Strat (for now).

GAK thought it would cost around £4k plus. I'm not worried about the waiting time. 

The question is which is best way to spend £4 or 5k

1) Masterbuilt
2) Vintage

These are my choices so nowt else would matter. 
I look forward to your thoughts.

Thank-you.

Whitecat

The Harrisons completely ruined the vintage market IMO. Not worth the hassle. Go Masterbuilt. 

thebreeze

I'd also consider putting one together yourself using just Fender CS parts and having it professionally set up and tweaked to your liking at the end.  I think Stratosphere sell everything separately.  You'll save a heap of money which I'm not convinced the Masterbuild justifies.

bgmartinsbridge

Try and find a used masterbuilt with the specs you want. You'll save a fortune and noone batters or ahem plays a masterbuilt, generally. 

GuyR

bgmartinsbridge said:

Try and find a used masterbuilt with the specs you want. You'll save a fortune and noone batters or ahem plays a masterbuilt, generally. 

This makes a great deal of sense. Also removes the risk of disappointment inherent with custom orders. 

ten77guitar

If you don’t know much about vintage guitars I wouldn’t go down that route. Nowadays £4k isn’t going to get you anything great - people are asking that for 70s strats now. A 60s Strat in that price bracket would probably have a lot of issues.

ten77guitar

bgmartinsbridge said:

noone batters or ahem plays a masterbuilt, generally. 

Doctors and accountants don’t tend to have a lot of free time...

FastEddie

GuyR said:

bgmartinsbridge said:

Try and find a used masterbuilt with the specs you want. You'll save a fortune and noone batters or ahem plays a masterbuilt, generally. 

This makes a great deal of sense. Also removes the risk of disappointment inherent with custom orders. 

Firstly I am a leftie.
I also want the guitar to be exactly what I want.
It's the experience, hence my two options.

Edit: I also want a NOS. Relics are not for me. I care for me guitars very well. 

guitars4you

You will not get a new leftie M/Built for 4K - Custom Shop yes, but not M/Built - For a M/Built you'd be looking at 6K plus today and a 2year order time - C/shop order time around 6 months

A good used vintage leftie will be a rare find as well - Saying that, not sure if you mean 50's/60's for your potential vintage guitar or a 70's model

Used M/Built and whilst you will save on the cost on a new version, will it have the spec you want ? - Again, sorry, but not a huge selection out there you you southpaw guys

I'd tend to go down the new custom spec'd option and get what you want

FastEddie

guitars4you said:

You will not get a new leftie M/Built for 4K - Custom Shop yes, but not M/Built - For a M/Built you'd be looking at 6K plus today and a 2year order time - C/shop order time around 6 months

A good used vintage leftie will be a rare find as well - Saying that, not sure if you mean 50's/60's for your potential vintage guitar or a 70's model

Used M/Built and whilst you will save on the cost on a new version, will it have the spec you want ? - Again, sorry, but not a huge selection out there you you southpaw guys

I'd tend to go down the new custom spec'd option and get what you want

That is my point exactly.
If it costs £6k I might consider it. This is a guitar I'm not going to sell.
If I went vintage again it's more of a lottery. I'd prefer to go to the Master Builders and be sure of the outcome.

It's not me being flash, I'm not. I'm just patient and happy to research for a while and then buy once.

Thanks for the insight, much appreciated.

Lodious

Team Built CS. Preordering a MB is way to much for something which may ultimately disappoint. Researching will not tell you anything about how good the guitar will actually turn out. 

FastEddie

Lodious said:

Team Built CS. Preordering a MB is way to much for something which may ultimately disappoint. Researching will not tell you anything about how good the guitar will actually turn out. 

Hang-on.
For the uplift I get a guitar built, specced, and QC'd by a specific person. How can that be disappointing over one built by an unknown team?
I don't see any logic to your thoughts? Maybe some context could help me....Thanks

bgmartinsbridge

Missed the leftie bit. On that I guess... 

A leftie sixties strat or tele will be nearly impossible to find in decent condition and more importantly originality. 


I'd suggest if you were going to spec out and buy a masterbuilt new then go and try every variance available at a big guitar shop (sorry @guitars4you but you may help too). 
My point being you can spec it on paper to what you want but when you get it back a tiny point may make a huge difference.

Ash versus Alder - easy one but what about weight and impact on feel and tone. 7lb 2oz versus 7lb 6lb.
Handwound Pups - all the different variances plus impact from the wood.
Neck carve and again, slight variances. 

The list goes on - if you know what you want and have experience of actually playing all the variables then spot on, if not then I think you may get something slightly different to expectations. 

bgmartinsbridge

And you've waited two years for the privilage 

barnstorm

The MB guitars I've played generally had a more unusual spec than the TB ones, but none of them was thousands of pounds better than the TB guitars in terms of build quality.

Unless you're ordering something that is uniquely in the wheelhouse of a particular builder (e.g. I could see why you'd go to Shishkov if you wanted a sparkly ornament of a guitar), all you're getting in practical terms, IMHO, is the opportunity to have some back-and-forth with a particular bloke about your guitar.

That's not to knock the service, because that back-and-forth is worth a lot to plenty of people. Obviously, though, you can get a personal service and a brilliant guitar from any number of luthiers for much less than £6k.

ten77guitar

FastEddie said:

Lodious said:

Team Built CS. Preordering a MB is way to much for something which may ultimately disappoint. Researching will not tell you anything about how good the guitar will actually turn out. 

Hang-on.
For the uplift I get a guitar built, specced, and QC'd by a specific person. How can that be disappointing over one built by an unknown team?
I don't see any logic to your thoughts? Maybe some context could help me....Thanks

Because no two pieces of wood are the same. Even MB guitars will vary in quality to some degree although they will be more consistent than say US standards. It’s very unlikely you’d get a complete dog with MB but you might find you just don’t gel with it, in which case you’ve got a very expensive guitar that may be difficult to sell without taking a huge hit.

Boromedic

Have you considered a Luthier in this country? I know it's not strictly a Fender but you could order a custom SVL for less money than a Teambuilt possibly. Completely custom made for you.

thebreeze

Boromedic said:

Have you considered a Luthier in this country? I know it's not strictly a Fender but you could order a custom SVL for less money than a Teambuilt possibly. Completely custom made for you.

FastEddie loves Fender though.  Which I can understand and is why, in conjunction with a decent luthier, I would get all the CS parts and put it together myself.

Boromedic

thebreeze said:

Boromedic said:

Have you considered a Luthier in this country? I know it's not strictly a Fender but you could order a custom SVL for less money than a Teambuilt possibly. Completely custom made for you.

FastEddie loves Fender though.  Which I can understand and is why, in conjunction with a decent luthier, I would get all the CS parts and put it together myself.

Yeah I figured, just thinking it would save a bit of cash, especially as the resale drop wouldn't apply as he is saying it's a keeper. I can see how going the whole hog on a Teambuilt, the experience and the wait and everything would appeal if you're a massive Fender fan. I'd love to the same with Gibson, down in their new shop in London.

ICBM

Team built CS.

I've never played one single masterbuilt that was as good as any team built I've played. Not just not worth the extra, not as good. Small-ish sample I know, and I also know some people will disagree, but that is my experience.

Teetonetal

FastEddie said:

Lodious said:

Team Built CS. Preordering a MB is way to much for something which may ultimately disappoint. Researching will not tell you anything about how good the guitar will actually turn out. 

Hang-on.
For the uplift I get a guitar built, specced, and QC'd by a specific person. How can that be disappointing over one built by an unknown team?
I don't see any logic to your thoughts? Maybe some context could help me....Thanks

Just wondering, what do you think "masterbuilt" means for Fender?

Also consider that the Tele is just about the easiest thing in the guitar works to setup and build, almost any can be made to play like a dream.

I have a masterbuilt Tele. I also have a very well setup MIM one. Quality of the paint job aside, you would be hard pressed to tel the difference.