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Fender custom shop..all that?

bassbully

bassbully

Endorsed by The PHALEX CORN BASS..mmm...corn!
Sep 7, 2006
12,760
6,556
Blimp City USA
#1
Bare with me I am venting over a bad dealing in a local shop tonight. I was looking for trade/sale value on my Vintage fender and spied a 57 NOS Custom shop P. Trans white with covers the whole nine yard. I picked it up and to tell you the truth...No love! Notta bit. I was sterile and basic as any plain old P bass MIM etc. It didn't play that great or feel to great and it was setup nicely. There even was some gap in the neck pocket and besides the awesome finish i couldn't see why this thing cost almost $2200.00 bucks!

Maybe its me...but i know a good player when i pick one up. A CV Squier P blew me away way more than this,. Am I alone? What makes a Fender CS so great? The sales guy said a small team of builders and they keep their value????

BTW...bass has been hanging in this shop for awhile and had allot of dust on it...I now know why. I am also a Fender lover and owner so its not a Fender bash. I just don't understand the price and what they are all about.
 
#2
Are you sure it was both a '57 and a CS? I ask because that's not one of their traditional offerings.

I have a CS '59 that didn't blow me away sonically, but the rest of the bass was too good to ignore, so I swapped out the pickups and made it awesome. This bass has no gap in the neck pocket which has led to a small crack in the finish. Same thing happened to a US Glaub I used to own. I'd actually prefer a small gap myself.

While that particular bass didn't trip your switch, I don't think it's a good idea to write them all off. Some are better than others - even at this price point.
 
#6
sneha1965 said:
What shop is it at? Got a website?
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Pm me for the shop ;) It was a 59' on second thought. You shouldn't have to swap out a pup in a $2000+ custom shop bass IMO. Tonight I played a 79 P that i am getting that has an an old Bill Lawrence pup in it that killed that custom shop. It was vintage...pure P bass love and tone city.I'm getting that pup swapped back to the original year thou.
 
#7
Huh. I've played a couple of CS Jazz basses, and every single one has been incredible. I rank them very highly. But then again, I also think the AVRIs are pretty much on par with the CS's as far as fit and finish. The only real difference as far as I can tell is the neck tint.
 
#8
I've owned one CS 64 jazz, and 3 62ri jazz basses and one 62ri p. The CS was nice, but I'll stick with the 62ri's from now on. IMO a way better value since you can find them in the 8-900 used. I just got a nice oly white 62 p (faded to cream) for 840. I swapped in a lollar and it's just as nice and vintagey as a CS. Less than half the price of a CS.
 
#9
Like I said nothing about this bass really said anything to me. I was expecting to be moved by it but wasn't in the least. Tone wise it was the most disappointing. Maybe its me but i expected allot for what a CS is marketed to be. I'm sure there are nice ones but i wouldn't pay the price for this one and judging from the dust on it nobody else was moved to pay it either.
 
#10
Played a custom shop 64' Jazz a few months back. No Thanks. Big neck pocket gap, twisted neck and really poor output on the pickups. I was shocked. I played a skyline Joe Osborne and 90's American Standard Jazz and they blew this thing out of the water. It was really disappointing. I own three fenders and was shocked at the poor build quality and lack of attention to detail. Price tag, and I'm dead serious, $4000. Stupid.
 
#11
bassbully said:
Like I said nothing about this bass really said anything to me. I was expecting to be moved by it but wasn't in the least. Tone wise it was the most disappointing. Maybe its me but i expected allot for what a CS is marketed to be. I'm sure there are nice ones but i wouldn't pay the price for this one and judging from the dust on it nobody else was moved to pay it either.
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it's funny. in 30 years, that bass will probably end up being a 'closet classic' since it'll probably take forever to sell and even when it does, probably rarely get used. i've seen some vintage 60's 'dogs' in my day too (with big neck bows) and the collector's buy them for big $ just because they're in great condition for their age. me, i'd never invest in one, since i value playability and tone over condition.
 
#12
Natropath said:
Played a custom shop 64' Jazz a few months back. No Thanks. Big neck pocket gap, twisted neck and really poor output on the pickups. I was shocked. I played a skyline Joe Osborne and 90's American Standard Jazz and they blew this thing out of the water. It was really disappointing. I own three fenders and was shocked at the poor build quality and lack of attention to detail. Price tag, and I'm dead serious, $4000. Stupid.
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Glad you see my point. how does fender defend its self with putting out a bass called a CS at these prices with such poor build and tone...crazy stupid!
 
#13
johnk_10 said:
it's funny. in 30 years, that bass will probably end up being a 'closet classic' since it'll probably take forever to sell and even when it does, probably rarely get used. i've seen some vintage 60's 'dogs' in my day too (with big neck bows) and the collector's buy them for big $ just because they're in great condition for their age. me, i'd never invest in one, since i value playability and tone over condition.
Click to expand...

I agree.As much as i defend Fender sometimes i tear them down. This is one of those times where you shake your head. I defend 70's Fenders for the most part, defend MIMs and the classic series even Squiers but these things (CS) and some of the MIA's lately leave me numb.
 
#16
Wow.....sucks for you,man.......I got a CS Jazz that is easily on par with the Alleva-Coppolo LG5 that I used to own......and that was a KILLER bass....I have played maybe 5 CS basses and they were all great.....I did play a Pino P bass once at a guitar center that I didn't think was that great, but I'm almost positive it had to do with a lousy set up because I played a friend's Pino less than a week later and that bass is a great one....... right up there with my Uncle LeRoy's infamous '61 P (the king of all P basses as far as I'm concerned).....not quite nailing the tone, but it's in the ballpark for sure......I've played Sadowskys, Alleva-Copollos,Nordstrands,etc and I haven't been dissapointed by the Fender CS stuff thus far.......now if they would only make 5 stringers the same way for a REASONALE price, all my money wouldn't have gone to Jimmy and Carey...!!...;)
 
#18
StuartV said:
Buy the Squier for $300 and the most you'll lose in value is.... $300. Buy the CS and I just about guarantee you'll lose $300 on it as soon as you walk out the door...
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+100

And a Classic Vibe J or P is totally worth it (and then some).

I've played a few of those basses and, man, the quality is just ridiculously good at that price point. I'd love to have one of those fiesta red P-basses - even though I have 2 Lakland's that do everything I need.
 
#20
Ace Of Bass said:
Wow.....sucks for you,man.......I got a CS Jazz that is easily on par with the Alleva-Coppolo LG5 that I used to own......and that was a KILLER bass....I have played maybe 5 CS basses and they were all great.....I did play a Pino P bass once at a guitar center that I didn't think was that great, but I'm almost positive it had to do with a lousy set up because I played a friend's Pino less than a week later and that bass is a great one....... right up there with my Uncle LeRoy's infamous '61 P (the king of all P basses as far as I'm concerned).....not quite nailing the tone, but it's in the ballpark for sure......I've played Sadowskys, Alleva-Copollos,Nordstrands,etc and I haven't been dissapointed by the Fender CS stuff thus far.......now if they would only make 5 stringers the same way for a REASONALE price, all my money wouldn't have gone to Jimmy and Carey...!!...;)
Click to expand...

That's great to hear and to tell you the truth i expected that P bass to feel and sound like the ones you have...but it didn't not even close. I had high expectations and that bass left me flat so that's why i posted. Maybe it was a CS dog but how does something that is considered a CS get out of a "custom shop" and be a dog? With a $2300 price tag to boot??
 

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