Having a guitar made... who would you pick to do it?

Teetonetal

@nickb_boy that alpha is stunning

Loobs

This is also the dogs bollocks. 

webrthomson

SquireJapan said:

Also if you're thinking of resale when buying something truly bespoke - you're doing it wrong.

Have a wisdom - you are correct if the buyer is thinking about selling it before it's evening their hands, custom built is not for you

Sync

Crimson guitars are making some nice looking ones these days and they have a decent range of headstock designs which don't look out of place. 

Given how the company is growing recently and its YT presence it will undoubtedly help residuals in the future.

But, buying a custom UK made guitar is a very very personal experience. 

You need to get to the builders which means a fair bit of effort and try their products and importantly let them talk you through what the options on woods and spec will mean for comfort and playability.

Gassage

SquireJapan said:

A timely thread for me actually.

I've owned a Masterbuilt Todd Krause, Cunnetto, Gibson LP customs, Jems, PGMs, J Customs, Jacksons, Custom
I would say though, if you want a Fender Strat (or Tele, LP, etc.) then buy that ... if you're trying to get someone to make a good copy of something that already exists, you're kind of wasting your time. The best strats I've ever played have been masterbuilts (and the Cunetto I got from @gassage).
.

That Cunetto is a very wonderful thing.

Loses nothing compared to my pre CBS ones, other than age and the coolness factor, but it's still darn cool.

Blueingreen

ArchtopDave said:

Jack_ said:

Many of the custom builders want near CS prices for a Fender build, with the catch that resale is so much harder.

This is just the reality of life. It costs that amount to make a high quality guitar by hand. Boutique guitar making is a pretty marginal business in terms of profit for most guitar makers. They are making a guitar for you to play; not one for you simply to sell on. The only guitars with a reliable resale value are the ones made by the big, well known, companies.

This is all true, but equally it's overly simplistic to say you shouldn't buy a custom guitar unless you know it will be a keeper.  Tastes change: which of us hasn't had a guitar we thought was the bees knees only to decide a year or two down the line it wasn't really what we wanted?  Decided we prefer chunkier frets/a trem/no trem/single coils/humbuckers/a shorter/longer scale after all?

If you can't predict whether a guitar you've actually played and love is going to be a keeper how can you be sure about one that doesn't exist yet?  It may be a disappointment from day 1.  The specs you thought would be perfect for you may not be, and even the finest luthiers will have some variation in quality and you may just be the unlucky one.

As long as you can't be sure whether a guitar is a keeper resale is going to be a consideration for anyone who isn't spendthrift, gung-ho, or too rich to care.

I'm not knocking custom makers, indeed I'm tempted myself, mainly because my own spec preferences (not individually but taken together) mean that only a small percentage of stuff made by well-known companies appeals to me.  But I would have to buy knowing it might NOT be a keeper and in the knowledge that I'd probably get a fraction of my money back, and that's a pretty big disincentive.

armitaan

Boys at Alpher building me a guitar. I think as has been said before if you're worried about what it's gonna sell for in used market then custom built probably not for you. Completely understand why resale big factor for a lot of people but means you pretty limited in options available and may end up settling on something that's more of a compromise. 

Teetonetal

Hmm, so somewhat amazingly the wife has agreed that I can do this

Will be selling off a few guitars as make weights, LP custom, LP Junior and Schecter will all be going. As will 2 cheaper acoustics that I teach with.. they are still in decent playable state but not worth any effort to service..

Pink Paisley gets a stay of execution as my daughter loves it - so it's earmarked as a hand me down, should she ever start playing.

So now I have to really think about what I'm going to get.

Eggle and Feline at the top of the custom list... Feline edging it as he appears to be more flexible and my parents live close by should I need to visit

Jazzmaster at the top of my off the shelf list...

Really ought to see if there are any Swiss makers about - just for ease of trying / purchase reasons..

Boromedic

Sounds good, always lusted after a Feline they are beautiful guitars if you're a Les fan especially.

TTBZ

I'd definitely have a Feline lion if I had the cash!

Out of interest how much does your typical custom guitar cost? I wouldn't really want anything fancy just a nice plain top LP that isnt a boat anchor in weight, with decent pickups and switching options.

webrthomson

TTBZ said:

I'd definitely have a Feline lion if I had the cash!

Out of interest how much does your typical custom guitar cost? I wouldn't really want anything fancy just a nice plain top LP that isnt a boat anchor in weight, with decent pickups and switching options.

@FelineGuitars can comment with specifics, but Feline do a number of variations of the Les Paul shape – Cub (LP Junior), Lion flat top, Lion, 25th anniversary etc. they come in from about £2K - £4K.

In general custom built is about that sort of region as well depending on options, however there are exceptions as Ken Lawrence custom built start about £6K!

Andinio

crunchman said:

If I do get another guitar in the near future it's likely to be a Tele or a slightly tweaked Tele.  I associate Feline more with the Lion and Lion Cub, likewise I associate Eggle more with humbucker guitars as well.

Does anyone know anything about Eternal guitars in Chichester?  Or does anyone know anyone else who builds decent guitars based on the classic Fenders?

I've had a Tele-style guitar made by Eternal Guitars.  I cannot recommend them more highly - the quality is higher than Fender CS guitars.  In particular the finishes are significantly superior.  Check them out...

PolarityMan

Whatever happened to Morgan guitars? I remember them being hugely popular in the muscradar days and then he built mastodon some guitars and I never heard much else.

artiebear

H J Williams for both electric and acoustic instruments, the guy is seriously talented and has a helluva lot of experience. He chooses to do his work in rural North east Cumbria which maybe means he gets overlooked by some

Jack_

Do Jersey Girl do custom orders? If so, them.

Philly_Q

Certainly Feline, I've been able to try a number of Jonathan's guitars and they're always very impressive.

I also like the look of Paul Richardson's PR guitars - never actually tried one, but I know people who have and the build quality looks faultless.  Martyn Booth guitars look great too, and more recently I like what I see on the Probett website. 

kennedydream1980

Another shout out for H J Williams. He just did a re-fret on my Bro-in-Laws 80's Les Paul and done one hell of a good job. Took a guitar that was basically unplayable to one of the best playing guitars I've had my hands on.

The Purple Burst Mojo he has up on his website at the moment is a thing of beauty, oh how I wish I had the spare cash to buy it :-(

TheMarlin

I'd wait for the £ to recover Vs $, then get Marc Rutters to build the guitar.  His guitars are incredible.  

FelineGuitars

Andinio said:

crunchman said:

If I do get another guitar in the near future it's likely to be a Tele or a slightly tweaked Tele.  I associate Feline more with the Lion and Lion Cub, likewise I associate Eggle more with humbucker guitars as well.

Does anyone know anything about Eternal guitars in Chichester?  Or does anyone know anyone else who builds decent guitars based on the classic Fenders?

I've had a Tele-style guitar made by Eternal Guitars.  I cannot recommend them more highly - the quality is higher than Fender CS guitars.  In particular the finishes are significantly superior.  Check them out...

Dave at Eternal does make some tasty guitars and he seems to have the same fondness for Fendery types as we seem to have for LP types.

Having said that we do make teles etc:

This one not painted yet

Bobcat model

The Tabby Special a few of you may have tried out



Even making a Tabby MadCat (prince guitar)

Strat54

TheMarlin said:

I'd wait for the £ to recover Vs $, then get Marc Rutters to build the guitar.  His guitars are incredible.  

Yeah me too! Far too many 'makers' these days buying everything in and do a bit of finishing and assembly then charging £3000+ for the privilege. Pass! Their resale is dreadful too. Least guys like Marc Rutters build everything...cuts his bodies and necks and actually makes all his own hardware the old school way. Have some of his parts on various Tele's already and they are incredibly high quality...and Patrick Eggle? My friend wasted good money on one of his 90's guitars which was a poor mans...no make that a poor pastiche of a PRS and sold it eventually for £600! Fast forward 20 years and people are paying £4k for Les Paul look-a-likes and £3k for Super Strats....good luck guys!