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Hopefully nobody expects there to be conventional Challenger parts in the NASCAR vehicle. Presumably, however, Dodge have some level of involvement in the NASCAR vehicle. I'm guessing they don't build the breaks, gearbox, engine etc, but there is presumably a Dodge skunkworks that produces these vehicles? Or do they simply sponsor a 3rd party to build a vehicle in their likeness?
I suppose this raises the issue: is it really a Fender instrument if somebody in the Custom Shop nursed the instrument into existence every step of the way? Say I get John Page to build me a Strat, and I pay the full wazoo and only he has a hand in it. He chooses my wood, sprays my lacquer, fits my frets... he hand-casts all my metal hardware (alright, this is getting silly). John Page I still going to put a Fender decal on the headstock, but it is surely a John Page? What you are ultimately buying in an instrument with a much higher level of attention paid to it than the factory Joe Lunchbucket model. Yet the power of the decal insists that it says Fender on the headstock and, in a small wee way, you are still promoting Fender when you play your John Page Strat.
So then, is there an elephant in the room? Production line Gibson and Fenders are just not good enough for the best players. Somewhere their performance is not up to scratch; perhaps in terms of build quality, reliability, fit finish and feel? A guitar grabbed off the racks in Guitar Center wouldn't survive the sort of punishment Clapton puts it through... eh what? Or are off-the-shelf guitars simply too ordinary, and it doesn't make sense for Clapton to play a guitar worth a tenth of the value of his watch onstage?
Er, sorry, I may have missed something...
Are you saying that Dave Bunker built Thundercat's Ibanez-branded bass?
(I'm not doubting it, just thrilled that perhaps now I know who to go to to get one of those basses!)
NASCAR racing cars not stock? Say it isn't so!
First time seeing this thread...glad it got resurrected. It's very interesting from a historical standpoint. Do I think it's yet another sign that the world is controlled by a secret Illuminati society whose main goal in life is to make you play inferior basses and guitars while they point and laugh? No I do not. You may safely remove your tinfoil hat.
Time to get over the fact that celebrities and wealthy people can get whatever they want done if they're willing to pay for it or it can make someone else money to do so. Jimmy Page using a private luthier to clone his favorite guitar as a backup? Prince playing "Hohner" guitars built by Roger Sadowsky? You can get it done, too, if you have money. I know people who have. But Prince didn't rip that solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at the Harrison tribute because he had a Sadowsky Hohner clone.
First time seeing this thread...glad it got resurrected. It's very interesting from a historical standpoint. Do I think it's yet another sign that the world is controlled by a secret Illuminati society whose main goal in life is to make you play inferior basses and guitars while they point and laugh? No I do not. You may safely remove your tinfoil hat.
Time to get over the fact that celebrities and wealthy people can get whatever they want done if they're willing to pay for it or it can make someone else money to do so. Jimmy Page using a private luthier to clone his favorite guitar as a backup? Prince playing "Hohner" guitars built by Roger Sadowsky? You can get it done, too, if you have money. I know people who have. But Prince didn't rip that solo on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" at the Harrison tribute because he had a Sadowsky Hohner clone.
I don't know that there is a difference between someone building a Fender guitar while on the payroll there or being paid by Fender as a contractor.
On the other end of the spectrum, almost 2 decades ago when Chuck Rainey endorsed Warrior Basses, they gave him a prototype to try out. They told him to play the heck out of it for a while, and figure out exactly what he wanted. They would then build him one however he wanted it. Back then Warrior was just getting started and built one hell of an axe. A few weeks later they talked to Chuck and asked him what he wanted them to build for him. He told them, "No thanks, this prototype is just fine. I don't think I'd want you to change anything. I'll keep this bass if you don't mind." Now that is funny if you knew him at the time, because he is the world's nicest guy, but damned picky about his basses. Ibanez had just finished asking him to if they could build a Chuck Rainey Signature Model. He told them "No. I don't want you guys to put in a cheap preamp and a lower grade set of pickups than what I play, and then put my name on it. I just couldn't live with that." A bassist of true integrity.
Some of it is made by Dodge. The body panels (side, front and back) are specially made by Dodge for NASCAR, and Dodge provides the engine block. Of course, Dodge hasn't been in NASCAR for quite a while now. Just Ford, Chevy and Toyota now.
I'm not surprised at all that world famous bassists and guitarists like Ozzy Osbourne and Paul Young simply are not satisfied with what Fender, Gibson or their custom-shops etc. have to offer. Only world-class ghost-builders can build instruments that come close to their playing abilities.
Aye, but all that NASCAR dodge has to do is take one giant left turn at speed, and not turn into a fireball.
I guess we're talking about this thing?
I'm guessing it is Charger-shaped plastic draped over a fairly generic frame with a rager of a powerplant, custom tires/brakes/clutch, roll cage etc?
That Dodge has to do a job that a stock Charger never has to do, and has to conform to safety standards a stock Charger never has to do. This is like an order of magnitude difference between what is required of a stock Charger and what is required of the NASCAR plastic Charger-like vehicle pictured above. I just don't believe that a similar step-up is required for Billy Gibbons' touring axes, Clapton's, et al.
Having said that, Gibbons has been very creative with his guitars over the years. There are the eye-candy guitars with all the fur and stuff, and then there is the stuff that basically just yanks the chains of guitar nerds. Like this mystery Gibson Moderne with a 'G' on the headstock:
Gibbons claims to have a Moderne somewhere in his collection, but he can't be pinned down on the details. And this is a skunkworks Gibson design that either never existed in the wood, or did and was modified beyond recognition, or was some sort of time capsule mystery guitar.
No, they just want everything else that comes with having the name on the headstock.
In fairness, Tony Iommi is famous for playing an SG, but he ran to John Birch/Jaydee/John Diggins when they modified built the guitar he was after. He wanted a 24 fret SG that could be tuned to C# standard and use a really thin gauge of string. And smack his Laney amps with massive output! His Gibson couldn't do that, even with mods. Yet Gibson give him a signature model, all these years later. And they build Slash a replica of a Les Paul that they never built in the first place (some dude in a garage in LA did). My head hurts!
Rodger lives about ten minutes from me. I've thought about looking him up and getting in touch. Just had an idea, perhaps the local British pub is where I'll find him!
You know, I meant to reply to your earlier post just to tell you how much I enjoy reading your input here on the forum. You have a very eloquent, but efficient use of words for seemingly everything you write. Every word seems well thought out and I usually agree with what you're saying. Just thought I'd let you know.
I was just joking about Paul Young and Ozzy as guitarists...
Well, none of them will build anything for ME, so.... meh...
Sure we will. We Luthiers will build for whoever has the money. And our prices are about the same, whether you are a private player, a rock star, or a guitar company. A complete custom instrument, with paint and all, starts at around $2500 and goes up to $5000 or more, depending on how much extra R & D fancy work is needed. That's what it costs in labor and materials.
When a guitar company hires us to build up a complete near-replica of one of their standard models, it's usually a couple thousand bucks. Even though their standard model may only cost them a few hundred. That's because they have a million dollar factory that turns out a thousand guitars a month. But it might cost them twenty thousand in tooling and production delays to make one oddball. And any custom job that they do in-house is going to be at a much higher composite hourly rate than we charge. So they hire the little Luthier shop down the street. Like I said, it's just business.
Exactly. If you have the money, you can get it done. If you don't have it, then you can't.
If we could edit out all the whining, it would be even more interesting
But then again, some of the whiny posts did amuse me. Some...not all.
