Fender for sale?

[Ben N]

Hey, Blues--tell where you are going to get that from ANY mfrr at that price?

[Bluesgeetar]

Warmoth

[john1056]

Well first you said that Fenders were just crap.  Now you're comparing a custom guitar to a Fender that doesn't exist  I had a custom Reverend made for about the same price as my strat.  The Reverend is a great instrument, extremely well made, and a great value for a custom made American guitar.  But, I don't think this makes my strat a poor value.   Could Fender charge less?  I'm sure they could, but they are still a great value IMO.  Fender's kind of like Honda.  Very little flash but good consistency and reliability.

[Bluesgeetar]

Please do me a favor?  Please respond to this post and put in quotations the part where I said Fender was crap and please help me find the part where I said Fender "was crap" in my previous post.  

Yeah Reverend is a nice piece of gear, you got my vote on that.  I seen a couple of big hitters using those to.

My fender children:
A 1980s Fender Power Jazz Bass with the P/J pup config.
Fender 1985 Japan made Blue floral telecaster reissue with Fralin Pups in it and custom 7 tone wiring job.
vintage 1962 Fender Jaguar
And I love them all more than anything in the world.

I pride myself in being a super shopper!  I didn't pay much for any of them.

In the process of building a Strat with all the things on it I want and built exactly the way I want it.

When I'm done I'll post the final cost here.
But don't hold your breath!  I'm in no rush.  got plenty of guitars that fit the bill and are getting the job done.   Just taking my time.

Only getting a strat  cause it seems like one of those things your supposed to have lying around.

[Ben N]

Blues:
I wouldn't be surprised if you can get the parts for that guitar from Warmouth for $900.  I would be very surprised if you can get a finished guitar.  Also worth mentioning:  Warmoth sells direct, Fender sells through a distribution network that includes markups for vendors.  That is part of putting instruments in people's hands, too.
Ben

[Bluesgeetar]

Excellent point Ben.  By the time all the middle men tack on their piece of the pie they want it get's that price on up there.  Warmoth doesn't have that problem.

[gtrmac]

I've assembled 2 guitars from parts and although they were as good or better than Fenders I had to put them together and finish them myself. And they weren't cheap. I definately could've bought a Fender with a case, strap and a few picks for a lot less money.

It was once pointed out on another forum that if you consider the cost of inflation Fender guitars are the same price that they were in the early 1960's. You can find the equation for adjusting dollar values on the internet yourself. I paid about $250 for my first guitar which was a 1964 Telecaster. My Dad bought it brand new that year and I remember the price because I chipped in with savings from a summer job. $250 1964 dollars comes out to about $1400 in todays dollars (2002 actually) and this is the price of a top of the line Fender. In fact, this is the price of an American Vintage Series guitar such as the '52 telecaster reissue. The standard models are 1/3 to 1/2 this price. I wonder how Fender does it to be honest.

It is actually more puzzling why someone would want to pay $900 for a guitar that they have to put together themself. :wink:

[Bluesgeetar]

Probably for the same reason folks here build pedals that could be bought cheaper after you factor it all up.

I also don't expect everyone to be a good as a shopper as me.  I don't impulse buy.  I haggle and shop around.  That is how you find deals.

If some of you are paying premium bucks for your guitars or guitar parts well then that's you.  I personally don't have a problem getting the price down.  But then I don't talk down to folks or act like I'm holier than thou.  I know that concept is foreign to some but it works well for me. :wink:

[gtrmac]

Hey Blues- you're the one that brought up the $900 figure and it seems like a believable price for a premium parts guitar from Warmoth.  I just wanted to point out that a Standard Fender Strat goes for about $400 and yes it won't be as good as a premium Warmoth Fralin etc.
but the Fenders are really not such a bad deal.

A top of the line Fender will probably have a much higher resale value also.

especially if the rumours are true and the company gets bought out by a conglomerate.

[Bluesgeetar]

Sorry bro.  Didn't mean to get so oversensitive.  

The guitar I always wanted was a 68 reissue job.  Those are made in Japan now and I went to that ishibashi sushi website and the exchange rate came out to almost $700.  Now you know to get any decent tone I gotta change them PUPS.  Plus buy those premium sealed precision tuners.  Then there is all that neck work that I need done.  And well much other stuff.  It would run me way more to buy a Fender 68 RI strat and then upgrade it than it would to get a piece job from Warmoth.

FYI I just spent about 1 hour doing the math at Warmoth site and calling Guitar Center for hardware and after all it is said and done it came out to be about $801 plus or minus about a hundred depending on my luck.  That is with the Fralin PUPS and all.


The reward is that you have the strat you always dreamed of fit just for you and your dimensions with everything you ever wanted.  SO what does that mean?  I never have to look at another strat as long I live with the thought of maybe buying it.  Once it's done it's done.

Also bro, I'm a redneck rebel from Alabama.  Resale value and all that collectability stuff is the furthest thing from my mind.  I just love music and good tone.  I don't care how I get it I just need to get it.  Value and name brand and resale is not in my vocabulary.

(edit)- yeah so I just rechecked that thang and it was 68,000 yen.  Ain't that a asskicker for no more than what you get.

[gtrmac]

I guess you have to pay shipping on the Ishibashi Fenders too. I think it comes out to around $150. Coincidentally, I live in Japan and I often visit the Ishibashi shop here in Osaka looking for bargains. My favorite guitar right now is a Fender Japan '58 copy that I bought used for under $300. I changed the pups to Fender Noiseless eventually after getting sick of the hum from the single coils. I've been considering a Warmoth neck for it but it might be cheaper to have it refretted. The guitar actually has a nice flame in the maple.

Anyway, I was just playing devil's advocate. I'm bored here at work. Wish I was playing guitar!

I've been dreaming about a Jazz guitar recently too so consider yourself lucky to be satisfied with a solid body. Damn Jazz boxes can get really expensive.

[lovekraft0]

The guitar I always wanted was a 68 reissue job.  Those are made in Japan now and I went to that ishibashi sushi website and the exchange rate came out to almost $700.  Now you know to get any decent tone I gotta change them PUPS.  Plus buy those premium sealed precision tuners.  Then there is all that neck work that I need done.  And well much other stuff.  It would run me way more to buy a Fender 68 RI strat and then upgrade it than it would to get a piece job from Warmoth.

From one Alabama boy to another , have you played any of the Japanese Custom Shop stuff? IMO, it's as good as any Fender production in the last 15 years or so, and better than some of the US custom shop stuff I've played. The Japanese reissues I've played don't need upgrading, unless you're looking for something special, in which case it's custom shop or build your own anyway.
Just my two cents, don't kill the messenger.  

[Bluesgeetar]

How you doing brother!?  
No but I got a 1985 Japanese Blue Floral tele I love more than my mother.  I'd kill anyone who touched my blue baby.  When I bought it, it came with a set of older EMG Tele pups.  SO I had to get something to go in there so I went with Fralin on the advice of pretty much everyone on the guitar playing earth.  The EMG are cool and a unique sound but they don't give me that 60s blues/rock sound.  And I can't get my Waylon sounds out of the EMG either.  They are very cool but different.  They suit more like a Irish tree hugging save the world type band than my style.  

[Bluesgeetar]

yep gtrmac, Warmoth makes a hollow body strat.  Probably could pull off some nice Jazz sounds.  I don't know I ain't ever heard one in action.  And the guys at warmoth are kind of assholes.  Even though they are only 3 miles from me they will not let me come down and try out different stuff.  I think the excuse they used was they had some secret machinery they don't let the public see.  Rubbish!  :evil:

[gtrmac]

I think the excuse they used was they had some secret machinery they don't let the public see.  Rubbish!  :evil:

Maybe the necks aren't made out of real wood.

[john1056]

Please do me a favor?  Please respond to this post and put in quotations the part where I said Fender was crap and please help me find the part where I said Fender "was crap" in my previous post.  

Sorry my mistake!  I was working while I was posting, I got you mixup up with muizac's post.  D'oh!

[Bluesgeetar]

No problem.  

[Eric H]

I also don't expect everyone to be a good as a shopper as me.  I don't impulse buy.  I haggle and shop around.  That is how you find deals.

If some of you are paying premium bucks for your guitars or guitar parts well then that's you.  I personally don't have a problem getting the price down.

But then I don't talk down to folks or act like I'm holier than thou.
 I know that concept is foreign to some but it works well for me. :wink:

You ever read this stuff before posting?

[Hal]

Actually, there is no setneck competition for Gibson because they have lots of lawyers, and for no other reason.

I find this particularly interesting, as Fender itself has purchased many failing guitar companies.

Im still pissed about that whole thing with suing PRS over their "singlecut" being too much like a Les Paul.  I guess thats what you're refering to also.  BOYCOTT GIBSON! MWAHAHAHA!