New Nacho Day

stickyfiddle

That's really special looking. 

There's almost nobody doing it at this level and they really do make FCS look a little daft. Nacho, along with Danocaster and MB are the only other ones on this sort of level. 

slawler

This looks very very nice.

How long is the waiting list and did you just go for the standard spec offered or did you ask for anything specific to be changed?

I have looked at these for a few years now and may need to get an order in!

chris78

slawler said:

This looks very very nice.

How long is the waiting list and did you just go for the standard spec offered or did you ask for anything specific to be changed?

I have looked at these for a few years now and may need to get an order in!

There isn't a specific waiting list. 
You have to join the club and then request a build slot. He only releases guitars twice a year and will have a very limited number from the newsletter which again is every six months. The last batch, 6 guitars were available and sold within hours. 

There are very few options you can change. From memory you choose the style (this is early blackguard), ageing level (mine is medium), neck profile (this is soft round v) and pickups. You're effectively buying a replica, which is why options are limited - they're designed to be as true as possible to those originals, which now cost £60,000-£100,000. 

mo6020

@chris78 What pickups does he use? Are they custom wound for him?

Octavio

Congrats @chris78 I'm usually not fussed by NGD posts, but I've been keeping an eye out for this one. It does look amazing! Sounds like it worked out roughly about £1,400 for customs. Top money but I'm sure it's worth it. 

Schnozz

What radius did you go for?

chris78

Schnozz said:

What radius did you go for?

I don’t remember that being an option, but it’s 9.5.
Most of the early ones are 9.5 according to Nacho’s book but like so much early on at Fender, the specs are all over the place as they were learning about how to build them.

fretfinder

Looks amazing Chris, great score. Look forward to having a play on it sometime, maybe…. 

Strat54

mo6020 said:

@chris78 What pickups does he use? Are they custom wound for him?

He previously used Ron Ellis but they had a parting of ways over something I can't post here. Not sure who winds for him now. 
Julian Lage still has Ellis pickups fitted to his Nacho's but only once they land in the U.S. 

chris78

Strat54 said:

mo6020 said:

@chris78 What pickups does he use? Are they custom wound for him?

He previously used Ron Ellis but they had a parting of ways over something I can't post here. Not sure who winds for him now. 
Julian Lage still has Ellis pickups fitted to his Nacho's but only once they land in the U.S. 

On his site there is very little info, other than they don’t sell them separately. 

dangriffiths

When I had one (2019 I think) I asked about them and he said they were made by 'his guys at the shop'.

Guitar looks great Chris!

*Aaron*

That looks incredible Chris. You get some great gear mate..... congrats. Hope you enjoy it 

mo6020

Strat54 said:

mo6020 said:

@chris78 What pickups does he use? Are they custom wound for him?

He previously used Ron Ellis but they had a parting of ways over something I can't post here. Not sure who winds for him now. 
Julian Lage still has Ellis pickups fitted to his Nacho's but only once they land in the U.S. 

I had heard he used Ellis’. I have some to go into a partscaster build I’m working on atm, and honestly it’s the only thing stopping me trying to source a Nacho lol

dean111music

That is stunning! 

Have you got a picture of the back of the neck to compare with the customshop?

chris78

dean111music said:

That is stunning! 

Have you got a picture of the back of the neck to compare with the customshop?

Sorry for the wait on this.
I’ve taken 3 pics here - 

The first is a comparison with the broadcaster
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mjuyb30wtq5tss1a9zj1l/IMG_2458.jpeg?rlkey=jeutywg5pqo11wg0ves9wem79&st=wd7d6kqi&raw=1

Then a comparison with my Todd Krause masterbuilt 
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/s1o1dwaaerf05rhkd97u3/IMG_2460.jpeg?rlkey=60qxd8k4e6eyrs42gcdoge1sp&st=xb1jzx50&raw=1

Finally, the nacho, the Krause and a Vincent Van Trigt masterbuilt Strat 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/njhb040dedlcnqqswf60m/IMG_2459.jpeg?rlkey=zablr8uskjs9vqnlk5mtapay4&st=mvrmaili&raw=1

Night and day isn’t it?

ThePrettyDamned

That is all kinds of cool, and the neck wear is on another level. And what you'd expect for this kind of guitar, if it was old. Hngd! 

mo6020

Considerably better relic work, and the difference in neck is huge. 

Strat54

If anyone wants one there are six new ones to choose from at Guitar Point in Germany.....

https://guitarpoint.de/en/shop/?availability=%5Bstock%5D&q=nacho

thebreeze

That is such a cool guitar Chris.  I love the weight of it too, everything seems done with a lot of care and attention.

A point I would make about comparison with CS/MB reissues is that there are all kinds of versions of the originals to study and replicate (albeit there are probably only a limited number of those very early ‘50’s ones).  So you’ll get some that have just sat in a case since new under the bed and they will still look virtually new now, and then you’ll get the ones beaten to buggery and left out in the rain….and anything in between.  So I think the CS ones will probably look like a version of some old guitar somewhere.  Having said that, I’m not sure about the way they do the back of the necks but maybe there are some old originals that look like that?

chris78

thebreeze said:

That is such a cool guitar Chris.  I love the weight of it too, everything seems done with a lot of care and attention.

A point I would make about comparison with CS/MB reissues is that there are all kinds of versions of the originals to study and replicate (albeit there are probably only a limited number of those very early ‘50’s ones).  So you’ll get some that have just sat in a case since new under the bed and they will still look virtually new now, and then you’ll get the ones beaten to buggery and left out in the rain….and anything in between.  So I think the CS ones will probably look like a version of some old guitar somewhere.  Having said that, I’m not sure about the way they do the back of the necks but maybe there are some old originals that look like that?

I think to be fair to the custom shop, their aim now isn’t historic accuracy but modern, ultra playable versions of old guitars.
We as consumers have told the custom shop we like the feel or bare wood on our necks so it’s not sticky when we sweat and they, therefore, sand the finish off.
Personally, I still like to feel a bit of finish underhand, but you can’t be the feeling of a warn neck. I’d certainly rather a fully sanded neck to full gloss though.