Who has ordered a custom guitar..

  • Thread starter Thread starter midnightlaundry
  • Start date Start date
I’ve ordered several. Reading between the lines I keep ordering different ones because what I thought I wanted either changes or wasn’t as good as I thought it would be. Or I can never satisfy my GAS.

But take a jump if you want it. It’s a fun process.
 
I’ve ordered a few, generally speaking they have taken double the time frame promised. Only go with a well established company that will still be in business, we’ve all seen these single luthier stories go bad.
 
I think about doing this A LOT; like to the point I've considered building one myself because I've read so much about the different options and techniques.

Definitely terrified of finding out the reason no one makes the guitar I want is because it doesn't sound good and then I'm out like $5k.

I do try to keep an eye on Craigslist for free parts to do my own assembly but people just aren't that nice/lazy to give stuff away these days.
 
ners said:
I think about doing this A LOT; like to the point I've considered building one myself because I've read so much about the different options and techniques.

Definitely terrified of finding out the reason no one makes the guitar I want is because it doesn't sound good and then I'm out like $5k.

I do try to keep an eye on Craigslist for free parts to do my own assembly but people just aren't that nice/lazy to give stuff away these days.
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For what it’s worth I’ve had a lot of high end guitars (3 PRS private stocks were probably the priciest), and I sold them all. And took a fat loss. It was a cool process but you don’t know if you’ll love the actual guitar when it’s said and done. I had prs core guitars that looked less fancy but sounded better. It was a bummer. That said I am waiting for another custom suhr now so I’m still chasing the dragon
 
I think it is a lot of fun to order a custom guitar but it seems like it takes a few tries to dial it in right lol. I think I have done around 9 -10 custom builds and probably sold 4 of them over the years. You do take a hit when that happens but it is the cost of doing business I guess. Waiting is the bad part as usually lead times are over a year now. A lot of times I forget I ordered something until they contact me and then its a nice surprise.
 
I kind of think the best thing you could get would be whatever guitar you want, everything wired up, but with no pickup. Because thats the thing that I want to be able to tweak in the end and try a few options.
 
Erock said:
DM @WizardSouth-JP, I can't even remember the amount of high end customs he's had, from tons of respected makers. I want to fly to his place just to try his collection, it's not stuff you find in shops.
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There's plenty of good custom guitar builders out there, depends on the style you're after (specs, wood, hardware, shape) but first and foremost is to have a real expectation of build time and if the builder holds to that timeline. All builders can run into snags and delays for many reasons - but whether they estimate 6 months, 12 months or whatever - communication is key. I've had good results with Suhr, Anderson, and a local luthier in Houston. I've been curious about Gibson M2M builds and think they're 6-12 months last time I checked.
 
I ordered a pair of basses from Spector to be identical, except one was fretted and one was fretless. Both have a blank plank (no inlays) and the same specs. I was going to change the pickups out to run passive Bartolini soapbars, but the EMGs sounded so good that I never wanted to "fix" it after I got them. I'll never get another bass, unless it's another custom Spector.
 
As been asked: what level of custom are you after? It truly is an awesome experience, but I do see many custom shops these days just give you a "set in stone"list to order from.
You may be ok with that or not.I did some truly one off orders from the fender masterbuilt,charvel masterbuilt,and Tom Anderson factories in the past.All were beyond my expectations and I was picky on the fine details because of what i was paying( on purpose).
 
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SoooRad said:
I kind of think the best thing you could get would be whatever guitar you want, everything wired up, but with no pickup. Because thats the thing that I want to be able to tweak in the end and try a few options.
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Can't find it I want a Baritone 7-string Hum-Single.. Even a Hum Single Single..
I want Metal in the bridge but Trower in the neck..
 
midnightlaundry said:
Can't find it I want a Baritone 7-string Hum-Single.. Even a Hum Single Single..
I want Metal in the bridge but Trower in the neck..
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honestly...save yourself a ton of money and just build it through warmoth or some similar service if those are your only criteria

just my 2 cents

if you really want a dream guitar and money is no object, reach out to GuitarsRebellion in Paris and have them do a custom build for this via ESP Japan. You won't be disappointed at all....but truly money has to be no object for said build.
 
Elliot Rubenstein(owner of Thoroughbred Music and later Dean guitars)allowed idiots like me and others on the Dean guitar forum to run rampant at Dean headquarters, including the wood shop. We could pick our own tops, custom finishes and even allowed me to alter the MLF cad design system for the first direct mount pickup (now standard on a couple of models) and a larger volute on the back of the head stock joint. Custom paint? No problem...here's the number for the painter. Wanna use Dan Lawrence, give us his number. Elliot was an absolute legend. Great guy. I used to order a custom every year for pickup at the D.O.A. party at Dean HQ. Those were the days.

Obviously, that kinda stuff isn't standard operating procedure now days. But I can tell you that those guitars are badass motherfuckers. The ONLY other custom order that smokes the custom shop Deans is my Brent Gutierrez custom. And tho it is a plain jane bitch, it is a whole of other breed of guitar...as anyone who has played a Gutierrez Juggernaut can tell you. He took a moulding of my favorite Deans V neck carve and nailed it...by hand! And his stainless steel fret work is beyond anything I've ever played.

I will only give you this advice on a custom order. Just know that it may be a letdown for you. They may get something wrong, or you might forget something. The finish may not be exactly the color you dreamed about. You might find some tiny flaw somewhere. You might feel cheated when you pop big coin and don't get exactly what you want. That's the problem that can arise when ordering thru a third party like a music store or even just over the phone. Between the time you order your guitar and the time it is finished, it goes thru so many hands and has so many places where things can go wrong. Big companies don't have the same touch with regular people like they do with the big players. A smaller company or a single luthier building a single guitar one at a time is far more likely to keep you up to date and be available if you have questions during the build. Big companies don't have time for that shit.
 
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