[jstream]

I'm still relatively new here, so I almost feel like I have no business posting on this one... But that's never stopped me before :)

I see valid points on both sides... A lot of them. Having seen and played acouple of old custom shop guitars, a gold flake strat (in the strat book i believe) - complete with the story that 10 years later the guy who painted it saying that damn gold flake was
still all over his shoes, and the gorgeous rockabilly red, f branded, b-bender thinline in the tele book - both owned by a friend of mine. The work that can come out of the custom shop can be truly exceptional.


But then some of the guitars I've seen here appear to be the equals of any makers custom shop. On my build, my goal is to, at very least, equal fender's regular-line standards. And that would reflect the care of a single, new builder. Isn't it possible then, that some of the guys here can not only equal the masterbuilts for fender or others, but possibly exceed them? Some have been building for years, with a level of care and expertise that I would call the work of a master.


How then do we educate the general public that these guitars are works of love and exceptional skill are thus would be worth prices equal to the custom shop works of the large, well-known brands?


I asked the concert master of the orchestra here if he thought it was at all possible that, given modern techniques, and the knowledge of centuries, a modern builder could build a violin the equal to the stradivarius he plays. His answer? Why not? It should be possible, and has probably been done, but it's sitting unknown in the hands of the builders' 10 year old. But will the elite of the world ever allow themselves to admit that it exists?


It seems to me that we're the ones who need to work to change the publics views on this.


Just my thoughts, and I hope they make some kind of sense.

And I for one, think it's very cool that the Fender Custom Shop is represented here.