Cancelled Fender Custom Shop order

[Quatschmacher]

Valenti
Lull
Lakland
G&L
Nash
LEH Guitars
Fodera
Sadowsky

So many great options.

Add Shuker - Handcrafted Bass and Electric Guitars | Shuker Guitars to that list too.

 

[Leonid Nidis]

It's for the best.
Fender custom shop its bolt on simple construction,you are paying mostly for the sticker and even that they can't deliver in months?

 

[Mastermold]

I have a friend who works in the Fender CS. Haven’t spoken in a while, been thinking about reaching out and this thread reminded me.

 

[lamarjones]

Right. In brief my experience (three custom orders in recent years), that is exactly what Fodera does. For me, Fodera is a benchmark for how to properly manage a custom instrument order.

They used to not be that way all.. Then they really got their business side down, so happy for those guys and all involved.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

I have a friend who works in the Fender CS. Haven’t spoken in a while, been thinking about reaching out and this thread reminded me.

Please report back . Curious to their point of view.

 

[75Ric]

+1 for the Lull. I have a P4. It's a phenomenal instrument; one I'd never consider selling or trading.

 

[tvbop]

Never understood the overpriced custom shop stuff. Played a few RW P's and they were super....ha even my Squier CV P is stellar for a few dollars.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Sign O' The Times, unfortunately, and not limited to Fender. The overall state of customer service and communication is abysmal. The Covid excuse only goes so far, I think some of it is just cost cutting due to lowered expectations.

 

[Joeykun]

Imagine a Custom Shop that has bad necks and bodies…

Call Roger Sadowsky. He will make you a Custom P Bass that will blow away anything out of that “so called” CS!!!!

Home - Sadowsky Guitars

 

[Rick_Bass]

I will never understand paying the extraordinary price for a Fender Custom shop guitar. Congratulations and good luck on your next endeavor. It may have been a blessing in disguise and has brought some light to the biz going on over at Fender for people.

 

[John Webb]

It's a management problem......it's always management.

 

[Shlabotnik]

Get a Sandberg instead. Done!!

 

[andare]

Probably a blessing in disguise. Just buy a lake placid American Original 60s p bass. I don’t see anything special about the custom shop that causes it to be twice as much as the original line.

to me their custom shop is just another production line with slightly more options.

It is just that, the ability to choose every single detail. It makes sense if you want unusual specs, otherwise just buying a production model and having it perfected/refinished/modded by a skilled tech is going to be cheaper and faster.

 

[groooooove]

man, when you feel they take your business for granted it's such a bad feeling.

you did the right thing, cancel that bad boy and order from someone else. there are some really exceptional makers that do vintage fender stuff - and i bet if those makers took a job at the custom shop the work would hardly change aside from the headstock. oh and the price...

seriously, electric guitar/bass making is such a competitive field. if you are buying new, its such a buyers market. it's great that we get to choose who to give our money to, and our options seem limitless.

that, or watch out for what you wanted to pop up pre-owned! it's not impossible.

 

[baileyboy]

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.

Actually, it sounds like you are excusing poor communication. Making a phone call or sending an email takes very little time, and should be the norm if a business expects to retain customers.

I have developed a pretty solid way to determine if someone will get my business... simply call their customer service department first. If you keep getting passed around, put on hold, sent to voice mail, etc... go elsewhere. As far as I'm concerned, a business is only as good as their customer service.

Alas, the only exception are those businesses that have no competition, and so you have to put up with poor customer care. Thank goodness this happens seldom because you have choices in the market place.

 

[andare]

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.

I ordered a bunch of pedal kits from Musikding in Germany. They already have a disclaimer on the website warming that orders take 3-7 days to process. After one week of sitting in DHL notification limbo, today they told me it's gonna be another 2-3 days and they apologized and gave me 15% off my next order. That's a company that I can support.

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

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.

You should check Wilkins bass or Moollon

I was going to mention Moollon. I don’t own

I'm a very happy Moollon owner, but I'm not sure that their customer experience fits what the OP is really looking for.

 

[Killens84]

I bought a used Fender American Professional P Bass last year for $1,000. I swapped the pickup for a Lollar, and I had Joe Glaser in Nashville PLEK the bass. No exaggeration, that bass is now equally as good as my Lakland and Sadowsky custom shop basses. I have maybe $1,500 in that Fender now, and I’d put it up against other P basses 2-3 times its price. It turned out that good.

 

[Hankenstein]

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.

Nino's the man!

 

[wmhill]

ah, Fender... they are consistently awful at all price points. So for your aggravations.