Custom Shop Fenders are Unplayable

[sylvanshine]

I was just over at the Evil Empire checking out their high end Fender room. Probably 2 dozen Custom Shop Stats and Teles, including Masterbuilts. I tell you, not a single one of them is playable. Awful action. You had to fight every one of them to bend a note. And not a single one under $3k. A couple at an astonishing $5k. And that's sale price people, not list!

Thank God I play Andersons.

[Woodash]

To each his own...

[robberns]

I've had the same experience, but some are better than others.
I have a Custom Shop Players Strat in Cobalt Blue with a nicely flamed maple neck that had a seroius case of sharp frets (from these dry New England winters) at the store. I had my tech work the neck and do some truss rod adjustment and the thing plays well now. Not as nice as my HDT, but hey, it's a Strat.
Some of the $3k and up CS Strats are horrible out of the box, but a little love and attention can make them very usable. You'd think at that price they would play well from day one, but not always the case.
This is all IMHO of course.

[sylvanshine]

You'd think at that price they would play well from day one, but not always the case.
Exactly my point.

[sean]

I'm not sure of these figures but,I remember reading that Fender and Gibson's custom shops make several thousands of their guitars a year,at least.How many TAG's are built a year?800?Well,there it is.Tom has chosen to stay a small guitar building company and concentrate on building the finest quality guitars out there.I have played many TAG's and all played and sounded great.How many dogs do the others build!I wish all guitars(amps too)were less expensive but,I must say Tom charges a very fair price for his guitars.Not overblown IMO.I am a faithful Gibson player too for 20 years now.Honestly though,TAG's have proven to be above the rest in quality.They are all made great,set up great and the attention to detail is great.Well,that=Great.I just bought my second TAG yesterday.I bought a used '99 Cobra Special w/P 90's. :D I also own a Hollw T Classic.I will buy more TAG's in the future.I know they will be just as great as all the other TAG's I have played.
P.S I did not mean for this to sound like a ad but,it is my opinion. :)
Hey Tom,when can I call for my free guitar?Ha Ha. ;)
Regards,
Sean

[knockonwood]

Yes, I too have had the same experience with the F word. I'll walk into a store and over to the Custom shop rack, all hopeful. I always leave disappointed, and grateful for my Andersons. It seems that the staff of these establishments simply havent taken the time to set these instruments up. If they come to a dry area, and hang on the wall for any length of time,those necks are bound (no pun intended :D ) to move somewhat. The small frets dont help. Andersons, on the other hand, always seem right, on the wall or in the case. Its true that every instrument has SOMETHING to offer, but my Andersons always seem to deliver, IMHO, no matter where we play, or where I happen to be in the mix. Truely a pleasure -

[dannopelli]

Sorry to be the spoil sport, but I must respectfully disagree.

I own six Anderson guitars of varous styles. I have played I think all of the models for extended periods of time and through all kinds of amps. I do agree that my Anderson guitars are the best playing and best sounding and highest quality guitars I own. And without a doubt the folks at TAG are a DREAM to work with. If given a choice to play a gig between an Andy Classic and A CS 60's Strat I would naturally choose the Andy. And Andy's, like PRS, do come out of the box set up VERY well.

I must disagree about the Gibson and Fender CS stuff. I have six CS Strats and Teles, and a CS 57 gold top LP. The Fenders are all 50's or 60's. I also have two 57 Strat RI's, a 62 Strat RI, and two Tele RI's a 52 and 62. And I have a very nice mid 90's 335 and niceley flamed 94 cherry sunburst LP. All my lp's have 57' in them. They play and sound awesome and suprisingly authentic. I have also played MANY MANY CS Fender and Gibson products, again for long periods of time through all kinds of amps.

I do agree that they often need a better set up than what comes out of the box. But that is your retailer's fault. Once set up I find them to be great guitars. In fact, my go to guitar for those questionable venues is a CS 60's Strat that I once dropped and chipped up. Great neck on that one.

Again this is just my opinion. I am sure it does only apply to my experience. However I feel I must give credit where credit is due. Andy's are AWESOME, but the Fender CS and Gibson CS do put out fine guitars too.

[sylvanshine]

The people so far that disagree (which is to be expected and encouraged, BTW) are all saying one thing...once you get a Fender Custom Shop set up they are great. I'm sure that's true.

And I guess that is my major gripe. On a $7,000 retail ($5,500 sales price) Masterbuilt Stratocaster I shouldn't have to adjust a thing. I pop a chubby when I see those limited edition black relic 60's Teles that are out now. And they had two of them. Apparently both set up for slide. I'm talking about fitting a pencil underneath the strings on the fretboard. Hardly a retailer set up problem.

Maybe it's this one time, at this particular Guitar Center and I was having a bad hands day. Who knows. There are a million guys who play better than me using these very guitars I'm calling unplayable, so take what I say with a microscopic grain of salt.

My only point is, it's a damn shame to walk into a room with $100,000 worth of a company's best work and not find a single one you can play.

[olectric]

I'm not sure it's the retailer's fault that they are set up like poo poo. I think it's Fender's and Gibson's faults. TAGs arrive in nearly perfect playing condition, and they may need just minor tweaks at the buyer's discretion. It's ridiculous that a $5,500 (!) Fender arrives at a store with crappy action and a bad fret job.

For that price tag, each CS Strat should receive at least the attention (before it leaves for the retailer) that a TAG gets. But I guess that's part of what makes Andys special.

[dannopelli]

Again I have to respectfully disagree. I have been at my local shop when new CS Strats and Tele's arrive. In fact a double bound Tele ordered for me arrived while I just happened to be in the store. They come out of the box just fine. maybe a little tuning needed. I would not say as perfectly as Andersons or PRS, but not horrible. I think much of that has to do with them bouncing around in the G & G case, rather than the snug fit cases that TAG and PRS use.

So when after hanging on the rack and settling in, if the retailer does not take the time to adjust them as needed, what do you expect. I know I have yanked a few Andy's off the wall at my local store that were around for a while, that had gone a bit weird. Same for PRS and Gibson. My sales guy Dave justs goes back and tweaks it up a bit. He knows I can wait five minutes for him to dial it in. Especially for such an expensive purchase.

Think about it this way. How often do you tweak your own guitars, especially if you live on a variable climate region? What would they be like of you NEVER touched them?

I don't know, maybe I'm wrong or just lucky that I shop at a place that I really never have an issue with the guitars I try?

[tom]

i'm not disagreeing with anyone here. and yes danno, you are lucky to have someone like dave as your local dealer. having someone who cares in the store is a top priority for us. no matter how good a job any manufacturer does, we are all at the mercy of mother nature and the conditions in the store. we do go the extra mile to give our guitars time to get used to being a guitar before sending them out into the cruel world, probably more time than most. but there's nothing like have a great human like dave, jack, brian and all the others who care enough to make sure the guitars are as they should be when you all get to play them. we make a small number of guitars, and it is hard for us to find enough of these guys to represent us. how the heck can someone who makes zillions of guitars find enough to service all those guitars and customers. i'm not saying it's right or wrong, just hard, and i'm glad we don't make any more than we do.

[sylvanshine]

Here's something we can all agree on...

It's fun to be an Anderson player. This is a great forum and I'm glad all of us spend time here. :)

Peace.

[jisham]

I just sold a Fender Custom Shop Tele that was a killer axe right out the box. I'm not really a Fender guy but I am a Gibson guy and as much as I love my Historic LPs, only two of the four were in good shape out of the box. The other two needed setups badly. But overall, the build quality on them is top notch.

Having said that, although I'm a TAG newbie, the two I have impressed me enough that I custom ordered another one today. Of course a large part of that order was because I love the tone, looks and playability. But my guy at the dealer knows the Andersons inside out and since I'm doing this long distance, that means alot.

[tom]

i'll agree with that jay. and aside from what i do during the day. i love being an anderson player on the weekend.

[jimmieb]

I got to thinking, after reading this thread, that we all are biased in many ways by what we value. Me included! All these comments are valid and make sense and are especially true to the one writing. Not to get too philsophical, but I for one am so fortunate to own even one amazing guitar, not mention 20 or so. Playing any guitar is so cool, but being able to afford a CS Fender or Gibson or even an Anderson is really beyond cool. So I don't want rain on anyones parade. If you enjoy your guitar and it gives you pleasure... More power to you. Thanks Jay for reminding me what's important, Peace right back to you.

[shadco]

Having said that, although I'm a TAG newbie, the two I have impressed me enough that I custom ordered another one today. Of course a large part of that order was because I love the tone, looks and playability. But my guy at the dealer knows the Andersons inside out and since I'm doing this long distance, that means alot.

/hijack on

Cool from Brian or Rick??

Like your color choice

http://www.pbase.com/shadco/image/53911772/medium.jpg

/hijack off

back on topic. my limited experience with TAG's has spoiled me for what you get dollr for dollar from other builders.

[dannopelli]

Here's something we can all agree on...

It's fun to be an Anderson player. This is a great forum and I'm glad all of us spend time here. :)

Peace.

AMEN BROTHER!

[jisham]

/hijack on

Like your color choice

http://www.pbase.com/shadco/image/53911772/medium.jpg

/hijack off


Awesome! It's that exact guitar that made me choose the color. So thanks...