Cancelled Fender Custom Shop order

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Please elaborate. I've been thinking about one of these.

Read this thread > Take note of the dates they were posted.great-things-about-the-usa-geddy-lee-jazz-thread.1493299

 

[franklindayala]

I don't understand why the Fender custom shop don't care about their customers or their reputation. After nearly 18 months of waiting and being straight up lied to by the custom shop I cancelled my order this week.
It was just a 63 Precision bass with a roasted body and a roasted maple neck painted lake placid blue.
It should have been so easy... I have purchased well over $25,000 dollars of custom shop basses and amps from music stores in the past and figured I would get something special but not anymore. They lied when after 8 months they said it would be ready in ten days, then 4 months later they said the neck had a problem and it would be another 30 days... then 3 months later they said the body was bad... So I finally cancelled the order. The music store I was dealing with was lied to as well and they will no longer be carrying custom shop stuff. I will get it done with a local boutique guitar builder instead.
Thanks for the rant....

You should check Wilkins bass or Moollon

 

[IotaNet]

well, Mike is sadly no longer with us …

What?

I have REALLY been away from TB too long. Very sorry to hear this.

 

[Hawaii Islander]

Crappy communication is definitely a bummer...
One, however might consider what has been going on the past 16 months that could contribute to a significant delay.
Again, not excusing poor communication, but if you placed an order pre-covid and expected it anywhere near on time, you're dreaming.

This!

 

[mikeswals]

Since you're in WA, get ahold of Joe Riggio in Tacoma. He does fantastic work. Bounce some ideas off him.

Although a neck painted lake placid blue would look odd to me!

 

[kerrycares]

After reading these comments and having multiple custom bass order horror stories of my own i’m glad I no longer order basses and only buy what I can see first .

 

[Acoop]

"they said the body was bad" ... Gained some weigh just sitting around? ... Funny.

 

[Killing Floor]

As they say in Latin: Bummer to da max :-(

That’s what I love about this forum. I come for basses and I get a Latin lesson for free.

Definitely a bummer about the CS.

 

[phillipkregg]

Call Nino Valenti and have him build you a P-Bass. He does excellent work in a timely manner and offers lots of options you can't get from Fender. Seriously fantastic basses.

I've had several Fender Custom Shop basses and several Valentis.

While I like the Fender CS and love their necks... overall, the Valenti is going to be a much better instrument.

 

[Brich]

There's always two sides to a story...

 

[selowitch]

I’m sorry to hear of your disappointing experience. Hopefully the end result is you will have a bass you with which you are pleased.

 

[Doug4321]

I’ll second the Mercury idea. It’s really been causing a lot of havoc.

We will all have to just wait until the planets are aligned in a more positive configuration.

 

[/\/\3phist0]

I’ve never had a Lull but I’ve heard great things about Mike.

I HAVE had multiple Valentis and can speak first hand - Nino does phenomenal work and he is a great guy to deal with. You can’t go wrong with him.

Mike Lull passed away.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...Vh82MCG0pF4rGz9eL&ampcf=1&cshid=1622177167488

 

[N4860]

I do get your point and yes Covid is definitely throwing a wrench in a lot of things however they could’ve just straight up said due to the current situation our deadline is not gonna be anywhere near but first they say the neck is bad, then the body is bad ...doesn’t seem to do anything with Covid or communication, just a lack of caring really and vast incompetence

What a terrible company. They find a flaw in the neck and notify the customer. Then they find a flaw in the body and also notify the customer and further delay the production. If they truly cared about the customer, they would just ship the bass out regardless of what the wood was like. Who cares if there is a pandemic going on and a huge disruption to the production of wood resulting in much less desirable wood being sent to out to producers. Clearly Fender doesn't care about the customer.

 

[pfschim]

What?

I have REALLY been away from TB too long. Very sorry to hear this.

yeah, sad day when Mike passed. I had worked with him directly when I had my M4V built. Such a nice dude to work with and such a great instrument.

 

[70spbase]

Overpriced and inflated egos have turned that custom shop crap into a joke sorry for your loss

 

[xn34]

About ten years ago I looked into fender custom shop to build me a strat, nothing complicated. At first they were quick to answer, then they lagged, and lagged.... finally got an answer for a 2year wait to start and around $4k.

I l0ookec around the net and found a father & son cloneish builders shop around chicago, they said a 3 month wait, 3 month build, just under $2k. More options, better comunication, personable, like REAL people. They did everything in their workshop no cnc, when i got the guitar I was amazed at the quality.

 

[MaxOctane]

How about Mod Shop? They offer lake placid blue and roasted maple neck with nice selection of pickups.

I got a Bordeaux Metallic PJ just earlier this year, and it arrived about 35 days after I placed order on the site. Apart from the wee detail that the J pickup was completely miswired (which was lame but my plan was to rewire it anyway with a 3-way minitoggle, which turned out great)... I absolutely love it. The build and finish are flawless.

 

[57pbass]

Valenti
Lull
Lakland
G&L
Nash
LEH Guitars
Fodera
Sadowsky

So many great options.

 

[Yonni]

You should check Wilkins bass or Moollon

I was going to mention Moollon. I don’t own one but Scot Devine was gutted when his was stolen (recovered thanks to the SBL grapevine). He also has a heavy relic Custom Shop Fender he lives. But he put the Moollon neck on it as the Moollon was better.

Yes pandemic has affected supply chain. No one would complain if that was given as an excuse. It’s the best excuse in the world right now and it’s affected us all. But it wasn’t and it doesn’t sound like they’ve been 100% honest or quick with their updates. After 2 years searching for a decent off the peg Fender that was better than the competition for the same money I gave up and bought a £600 P that is better spec than MIM (mahogany board, lightweight, slim neck, custom ‘62 style pickups) and easy as well made as a US Fender, but a third the price. I’ll only buy used Fenders now.