Fender custom shop. How do custom orders work?

[sigmafloyd]

What's the ordering process like for true custom creations at the fender cs? Can i just call up and place an order for a 57 style surf green p bass with quarter sawn maple neck, and xyz ( for example), or is it harder than that?

If so, what's the timeline and price like?

[sigmafloyd]

I should note, I read the how to order page. I guess I'm looking more for personal experiences

[stflbn]

Way way more money than you likely expect.

[almightycrunch]

Warmoth is your friend.

[BIGEJ2]

I had a very good experience with the Custom Shop, but won't have my bass for another 8 months.

The price and options list can be found on Fender's CS website. I printed it off and went through all of the options that I wanted. From there, I looked up some dealers names to find someone I felt comfortable using. We went through all of the options on the phone and he called the CS to confirm they could be done and MSRP.

From there, the dealer let me know that all were accepted and came back with a quote and spec sheet used to place the order. I confirmed everything was right, haggled a little bit to make myself feel better and placed the order.

You'll hear a lot of comments on this forum about the obscene price of Fender CS basses, mostly from people that have never ordered one or just assume. Before going with Fender, I talked with Lull, Sadowsky, G&L and Lakland - all highly recommended builders. Fender's price was right in the ballpark (a little cheaper than some actually) with exception of Sadowsky. In this case, an NYC model would have been over $1k more than the Fender.