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Happy holidays to all!
I currently play a Professional II Tele and it has become my favorite guitar to play. My question is, are custom shop Teles worth the money? I have read here that some members have several Teles and if one is a custom shop, is it that much better than a non CS version?
Thanks
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12-20-2022 10:11 AM
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Hi!
In general, "worth" questions are difficult to measure, since there are so many subjective factors involved! We have players on this Forum who swear by their $300 tele Squiers, and others who enjoy their $5000 boutique luthier teles! Both sides are happy, and that's all they need.
If there's something specific you'd like, and you have the cash to buy it, go ahead!
And have fun!
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I have no experience with a CS Tele, but just wanted to say that the pine Pro II Tele I had for a while was one of the finest Tele or Tele-style guitars I’ve owned and an excellent bargain used at around $1100.
Originally Posted by bluznjazz
You shouldn’t need to spend thousands of dollars to get a decent Tele. If you have one you like, I’m guessing the law of diminishing returns will kick in really quickly when you start to weigh it against a $4,000 plank.
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I just played (briefly) 3 custom shop teles at the house of an acquaintance. One I really liked, the other two were prized by him, didn't do much for me.
None of the CS teles I've ever picked up would win out over one particular parts tele which has been my main solid body for years. In terms of price, my parts tele cost me maybe 25 percent of what I'd have to shell out for a used CS tele. I do understand the marketing and product differentiation philosophy here. Doesn't mean I would go along with it. I just don't see any value in shelling out enormous bucks for such a guitar. YMMV of course.
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Here's the catch:
You're not going to get to play a custom shop guitar that you order before you play it. That's a big deal. It's not like it's returnable, like a "normal" telecaster would be. Custom shop will mean it's a fine instrument, but will YOU like it? There's no way to know for sure, really.
I have a $5000 PRS, it's not a custom shop, but it is that level of quality. And it shows. But in all honestly, with the exception of the eye-boggling finish, I don't feel it's any "better" than my "normal" guitars. Is it "worth" $5000? To someone, it is. To others it is not. I PREFER my old #1 (28 years now) tele, a Fender American Standard from 1993. THAT guitar, which I paid $599 or $699 for, is irreplaceable to me, I wouldn't sell it for $5000.
There are "in stock" Fender Custom Shop guitars out there at some retailers, and at least their return policy would be helpful in that case.
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Thanks for your replies. I enjoy playing my Tele so much that I keep wondering if a custom shop would play better and sound better.
I have owned many guitars through the years and this is the first one I have ever bonded with.
Thanks for clearing my head.
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The custom shop gets you probably prettier wood, maybe a bit stricter QC with finishing and fretwork, but overall to me I have never seen the practical return on investment there. Ed Bickert bought an off-the-shelf regular old Telecaster and played brilliant jazz on it for 30 years, and there is no CS Tele that's going to make me sound better than him- or Ted Greene or Tim Lerch, for that matter. But there is also something to be said for getting a guitar made exactly to your specifications and preferences that I certainly understand.
I have not tried them, but there are some well-regarded compensated brass saddles for the traditional Telecaster 3 saddle bridge, that seem to bring the tone up another notch. I prefer the 6 saddle bridge; I use Graph Tech String Saver saddles on mine and find that it reduces or eliminates the metallic ping at the top of each note that I don't particularly care for. Other people hear that as clarity, so take that with a grain of salt. But there are things that you can do quite inexpensively to tailor the instrument to your preferences. For jazz, I preferred the DiMarzio Area T pickups to the originals; other folks here will have other selections.
The Telecaster is very much like the Ford Model T: a classic in its own unadulterated right, but almost infinitely customizable.
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This. I've put together a pile of plank guitars with high-quality parts over the past few years. As good as better than any CS Tele, IMHO. More importantly, they have specific features that my customers and I wanted, which Fender's CS refuses to offer, including basic things like 1 3/4" nut width. Originally Posted by mad dog
Last edited by Hammertone; 12-21-2022 at 05:04 PM.
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What Hammertone said. I've built a bunch of them - used Bill Lawrence Keystone PUs or Fender "No Caster" PUs. I've swapped the same two All Parts necks back and forth on, probably, 25 of my builds - they are the closest to a real '68 that I bought for $120 back in 1971 and played for 30+ years and pretty much wore out. Since then, I've built my own and made a lot of money with them - didn't need any fancy 'CS' labels. Put together a nice Warmoth the way you want it if you don't have the woodworking skills and experiment with PUs, bridges, capacitors, etc. until you get what you like. Whole lot cheaper and I guarantee a CS will not sound all that much better. Just my $0.02.
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I think you answered your question yourself. If this is the guitar you bond with – why bother finding another one? Enjoy! Originally Posted by bluznjazz
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The off-the-shelf Telecaster that Ed Bickert and many others bought is the real thing: a mass-produced guitar that sounds like that because it was made like that. It is not hand-built. It does not have options. It is like the Willys Jeep or the Douglas DC-3. It works. If it stops working, it can be replaced.
The Custom Shop Telecaster is a replica for rich men, who can afford special features that make them feel superior to ordinary Telecaster owners.
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sometimes some people forgot that it's not the guitar that is making the music to a point where money can make everything ...magically. Originally Posted by Litterick
They are wrong I think.
Some people will buy a top collector guitar cause they fall in love with the sound or/and the look (and some of them forgot that it's not the guitar that is making the music, again !)
The most important thing in a guitar is the musician who is playing it.
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The beauty of the Telecaster--in my opinion--is that it is the one guitar in the whole wide world where price correlates least to quality. My Tele isn't even a Fender. It's an old lawsuit-era Tokai Breezy Sound that I bought in Japan for $600. I wouldn't trade it for most "real" Telecasters.
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Methinks thou dost protest too much. Originally Posted by Litterick
What's nice about a CS instrument... the "C" standing for "custom" of course, is the ability to have it built how YOU want it. With your personal preferences. You know... just like when alot of JAZZERS order from custom builders... ahem.... maybe everyone should just buy an Ibanez or Gibson archtop and shut up & play, hmm...????
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I don't speak for a lot of jazzers, or anyone but me. The archtop ordered from a luthier is a bespoke instrument. A Telecaster is a mass-produced instrument. A Custom Shop Telecaster is a copy of the Telecaster design modified to the customer's tastes.
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A telecaster ordered with personal specifications is a bespoke instrument. Saying it is [merely] a copy is like saying any archtop ever made is merely a copy of a vintage D'Angelico modified to the customer's tastes. Sure, there are exceptions... to both. Originally Posted by Litterick
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Buy a guitar that inspires your playing whether it is a 50K Pre-CBS Tele, a 5K CS Tele or a used $150 Squier Tele.
It is about the music, not the guitar.
And diminishing returns are a real thing....
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That is a false analogy. The archtop is a generic type of guitar. A D'Angelico is one of the type, as is a Gibson archtop; both share the characteristics of the type but one is not a copy of the other. The Telecaster is Leo Fender's patented invention. Telecasters made by other companies are copies of it. A bespoke Telecaster made by Fender is a modification of Leo Fender's design, a copy with variations. Originally Posted by ruger9
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ok. sure. whatever you say. Originally Posted by Litterick
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Not really. They will NOT build one to suit personal preferences unless those preferences fit into their standard production process. They will DECORATE one to suit personal preferences, for a huge upcharge. Otherwise, they are simply factory-made models that have more time spent on them, more decorative detailing, a bit more attention paid to specific features, and a lot of clever marketing. Fender has created a hierarchy with the CS offerings that allow them to maximize profit - "Masterbuilt," "Teambuilt," "Limited Edition" ... and so forth. Well done, Fender! Gibson has done the same thing. Originally Posted by ruger9
I think this is great for those who are interested and who have the resources to purchase them. What those customers do with them and how well they play them (if at all) is of no concern to me.
I like Fender Custom Shop guitars a lot - I generally prefer the way they sound, play and feel much better than other Fender guitars. I've played many of them, owned a few, and sold those off simply because I prefer some other plank guitars that better suit my preferences.
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All I can add is that: some of my favorite Tele's were inexpensive. But when handed 3 Tele's to select one from, for a friend, the CS Tele lost the contest (it was twice the price of the same "production model" 52 RI). But it didn't sound or play any better than the other 2, in fact it came in 3rd in both categories. My friend bought the Production '52 RI, and I (surprisingly or not - when you play a great guitar!!!) bought the '72 that was part of the trio.
So....you have to play them to find the GOOD ones.
Go out and play a bunch, and have some "Tele" fun.
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I totally understand people that are into ultra high quality variations of Fender design guitars. It’s a fun craft. I get that. It is also fun to dial that down and do it at level that takes less commitment than that. We live in great times where you can do that and everything in between, sideways, and upside down. We also live in a time where you can purchase the variation without participating in the craft part. And we also live in a time where you can find a brand for all of that if you want a branded instrument and not participate in the craft part. What’s so wrong about any of this?
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When Bill Schultz took over Fender from CBS, he really rationalized and improved the factory process. The average factory made Fender guitar takes about 3.5 hours to make, from absolute start to finish. That’s why they can set up factories in other countries. It’s turnkey.
Are there people out there who paid 20K for a Jimmy Page custom Tele? They sure painted it up nice.
I guess there must be.
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The requested specs have to be something they do, yes. Neck radius can be 7.25, 9.5, or even 12. I doubt they'll put a 16" neck radius on a tele. Originally Posted by Hammertone
They won't install Gibson pickups in a Fender.
They won't put a Les Paul headstock on a tele.
But if you want a custom TELE, yes- they will CUSTOMIZE their tele to your preferences. Thinline SPRUCE body but I want a 22-fret neck and 7.25" radius. And I want a 50's bridge pickup but a 60's neck pickup. And I want the pickup sector switch in the upper bout, not on the vol/tone plate. Oh, and make the top quilted maple, finished in trans black. No problem. That's not a guitar they sell (or have ever sold), but they'll make you one if that's what you want.
Also you're paying for perfect work: perfect fretwork, perfectly cut net, perfect fit, perfect finish. Those are things the "shelf" guitars aren't insured to have.
I can tell you this- the $5000 DGT I bought is the only guitar in my life I've ever taken out of the box and never had to do one thing to. Not one. Everything was literally perfect. I can recut a nut, set intonation, ignore a slight finish flaw, etc. But with a custom instrument, you don't have to. And yes- you pay for that.
AND I will reiterate: this is coming from a guy who's favorite guitar is a beat-up 1993 American Standard tele that I bought new for $700. I swapped pickups. Put in a treble bleed. replaced the nut (when it wore out). It's been refretted twice. Replaced the tuners when the low E stopped holding pitch. You couldn't PAY ME $5000 for that guitar. But this entire discussion isn't really about MONEY: it's about finding THE ONE guitar that speaks to you, melds with you. You can't "build that" from a spec sheet. But sometimes, you can. I wouldn't order a custom shop guitar simply because it came from the custom shop. But if I wanted a fender tele with my personal specs, then yes I would: because that's the only way to get it... unless you go partscaster, and even then you're not guaranteed you'll love the guitar, in the end. You'll be happy with the specs since they were your specs, but there's more than that going on in a truly wonderful instrument that speaks to you.
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Originally Posted by Cunamara
I own a 1999 MIM Tele with maple neck. I also installed the Graph Tech String Saver saddles and the string guides on the head stock. I really like it. I think it cost $399 at the time. I bought it to use when teaching, but it's become my #1 guitar for solid bodies. Even with having a nice archtop, this Tele still gets played daily. So if you can find one that you really like. Save the Big $$ and make upgrades if needed.
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