Custom shop Fenders tend to use quarter sawn necks, that's one definite difference between the models.
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Quality Difference Between Fender American Pro and Custom Shop
- Thread starter BigBadBen67
- Start date
Oh, boy! You didn't answer the OP's question, so there previous posters are going to come after you!
With 8 grand, I would buy 10 MIM 50's Precisions such as Vinnie is suggesting.
I would then start changing necks and bodies to find the lightest, best-balanced pairing, at which I would deem the piece "masterbuilt."
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DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
I was under the impression they were exclusively quarter-sawn at the Custom Shop.
I didn't write something definitive because I figured doing so would invite some wiseacre to rush and correct me.
I have never found a vanilla CS bass to be built any better than the Standard/Pro or Deluxe/Elite models. I've never played a Masterbuilt.
Yes I did. If they both sound and play to your liking and you want them bad enough, you will pay the price, so...... what difference does it make? Really.... when I play, am I thinking, "ooh.. like that quartersawn neck? Not really. As has been written 1000's of times in the annuals of talkbassdom. It's what you think its worth.
In the words of Forrest Gump, " Thats' all I have to say about that"
Thats kind of what I said in my first reply as well and got scolded! Maybe I got scolded though since I didnt think it was personally with it to me to pay the higher price for the additional "quality", and you did.
Not sure why some people seem to be beating up the OP over what seems to me a reasonable question. I don't have experience with CS basses, but I do have a '60 CS Strat. It's very light and has a fine, fat, broken- in neck. The attention to detail is top notch, and it sounds great. That said, I think the Pros, Elites and AVRIs also are excellent instruments. IMO, the differential in quality starts diminishing after a certain price point. You may want to buy a CS bass from a place with a good return policy and compare for yourself to see if you feel it's worth the extra scratch.
As always with anything that's built, as you go thru Squier to MIM to American Pro to Custom Shop to Masterbuilt, the difference is time and materials, and of course you figure in where it's built as labor costs are a big (if not the biggest) part of the price. Better and better grades of wood and hardware and electronics, assembled in more steps with higher quality targets over a longer length of time by more highly trained artisans takes the price upward, and the resulting improvements become finer and finer. And by the time you get to Masterbuilts, you are paying a company the size of Fender to do a 'one-off', which is never cheap.
To some they can hear and see it, others don't, and then you figure in how much of a 'brag factor' do you need, which will drive a certain percent of CS and Masterbilt sales. For me, the MIM's are the 'just right', as they're near-American spec at Mexican labor rates, but Fender CERTAINLY offers the same products at any price point you like.
To some they can hear and see it, others don't, and then you figure in how much of a 'brag factor' do you need, which will drive a certain percent of CS and Masterbilt sales. For me, the MIM's are the 'just right', as they're near-American spec at Mexican labor rates, but Fender CERTAINLY offers the same products at any price point you like.
I bought a Masterbuilt J from a local guy going through financial difficulties a few years back. I told him I'd sell it back at the same price within a year if he could swing it. I actually had it about a year-and-a-half, and gigged it a few times. It played and sounded like a good-quality Fender J, which in my mind (this is a personal opinion only), is nothing terribly special. The guy I bought it from came back to me after about 18 months and I happily sold it back for the same price in the same condition. In short, it was a good-quality Fender, but for me (again, this is only my personal point of view), the money for a Masterbuilt is better spent on another company's product.
years ago purchased a strat for my son at GC they had about 6 of them same different colors. Not a guitar player. but one of them the neck just felt so great compared to the others. So my thoughts their all just a bit different.
Having toured the Fender plant, I'd personally have a hard time justifying the additional price of a standard CS bass over an American Pro. If I had a few grand burning a hole in my pocket, I'd prefer to own 2 American Pro's instead of one CS. Nothing against the CS folks -- they are obviously the best of the best -- but that level of personal involvement from one builder is not important to me. That being said, if you really wanted something highly specific (and outside the stock Am Pro range), or the cache of having a master builder's name on your bass, I wouldn't fault anyone for it. To each his own.
From what I saw, CS means one master builder completing the bass from beginning to end. If I remember correctly, all the wood comes out of the same pile. The CS builders may hand select certain pieces for their builds, but then again, they may not be that selective for every build. Down the hall, Fender produces approx. 350 instruments a day, built assembly line style by a skilled work force. While those folks on the assembly line may not personally have all-star reputations, they do handle hundreds of instruments a week under tight quality control. I would venture to guess that they get pretty good at it after a while. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't perceive a 100% difference in quality commensurate to the price.
Also, I'm pretty sure each individual builder does not wind their own pickups. However, I believe there is one master pickup maker, as discussed in this article... Fender “Pickup Artist” Abigail Ybarra Hand Winds an Esquire Bridge
From what I saw, CS means one master builder completing the bass from beginning to end. If I remember correctly, all the wood comes out of the same pile. The CS builders may hand select certain pieces for their builds, but then again, they may not be that selective for every build. Down the hall, Fender produces approx. 350 instruments a day, built assembly line style by a skilled work force. While those folks on the assembly line may not personally have all-star reputations, they do handle hundreds of instruments a week under tight quality control. I would venture to guess that they get pretty good at it after a while. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't perceive a 100% difference in quality commensurate to the price.
Also, I'm pretty sure each individual builder does not wind their own pickups. However, I believe there is one master pickup maker, as discussed in this article... Fender “Pickup Artist” Abigail Ybarra Hand Winds an Esquire Bridge
You can figure that they are using the best wood they get in the custom shop instruments. The hardware is what you ask for, so it could actually be the same.
I'm guessing they use the same or equivalent CNC devices on the custom bodies and necks; it's not like there's a savant gnome whittling your custom shop body from a tree stump with a pocket knife.
There are probably a couple more steps in the QC process but I wouldn't count on it being night and day different from the line instruments. Maybe a dedicated team but probably similar QC steps.
We haven't mentioned ordering flexibility as a large lever on the custom price. If you want a '59 burst body with a rosewood neck and a tort pickguard, Fender can sell you a good one much cheaper than a custom shop bass because they manufacture a ton of those and spread their costs across the runs. If you want a purple bass on top of a koa body with a fretless wenge neck, that's a one-off that costs them more to make.
Plus they know you'll pay more for to be able to say you have a one of a kind Fender.
I've seen quite a few Custom Shop (not necessarily Masterbuilt) guitars and basses pop up for sale used locally, and they don't seem to sell that fast, and my guess is when they do sell the seller takes a pretty big hit, while the American Pro's, older American Standards and AVRI's seem to go fast and are very desirable. Of course, there are also many more of those out there than Custom Shop models, but could be a reflection of quality vs. perceived quality of those in the real world.
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Buying a Pro and getting it Plek’d will give you a better result.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
Just for some clarity, the Custom Shop has two levels of production. One is the team builds, where a team of builders work together on instruments. The other, is the Masterbuilt level. In this case, one single person builds your instrument from start to finish and is engaged with you from design to construction. Masterbuilt costs considerably more money and is required if you select certain options for your buildsheet. The Masterbuilt upcharge is more than a whole American Pro bass, around $2,400, if memory severs me right.
Abigail retired a few years back but she did do all the pickups.
+1. This is probably something a buyer would want to think about when they purchase any custom version of a product also sold mass-produced. Your idea of a perfect bass is your idea, and there's little chance another buyer will be willing to pay the premium you paid when they can pay a lot less for a more mainstream version that will be equally, or more, appealing to them.
I see this in the Porsche communities as well - you can get Porsche to do just about anything you want them to if you're willing to pay, but you're not going to get back your investment on the the bright orange 911 with red seats the way you do when you buy a black or silver one for 20% less.
Maybe less an issue with a product only made as custom, like a Skjold or a Fodera or something.
Sadowsky does a good job here - there are identifiable, objective differences between the NYC and Metro basses, even going beyond the country of assembly, that help them command much higher prices for the NYCs. Chambered bodies, for example.
Thanks for the clarification on Team vs. Masterbuilt. I toured the factory a couple years ago (the day before they shut down the visitor center). In my mind, I just don't see much tangible difference in quality a CS Team build and a factory build -- except you probably have access to more options through the Custom Shop.
