I really wish Fender had a 335 style, humbucker equiped offering, because I am days away from ordering a Schecter Corsair. I sold my Epi Sheraton to my son now I have sellers regret. I liked my Sheraton, but like most Epiphones the neck pup was a little muddy sounding.

Fender did have a guitar in the 70's that was a 335 type/style Called the Starcaster.

Niki, no disrespect intended, but to run a manufacturing facility isn't cheap and yes tooling does eventually wear out on CNC milling and turning machines and will need to be replaced when they can no longer keep parts in spec. This is why you still get guitars with problems. Decals cost more than the price of ink and transfer. I remember our CNC turning and milling machines costing well into the millions of dollars in the early 80's. I'm still in contact with people in the industry who talk about four and five million dollar machines that need programers to keep thing going. These things don't run on Windows and the programs are extremely expensive.
What changes everything is labor and production line changes.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

mate you aint gotta worry about that stuff. Not my bag baby.

I'll either defer, disagree or stay quiet. Still I get a good read.

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No no and no

Why did the concept of a '65 Single and Dual Showman and '67 Dual Showman Reverb come instantly to mind...?

Niki as always a pleasure my friend.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

However, I was serious about eliminating any mention of the Slipknot guy...if Tab Benoit and Roy Buchanan don't have signature Teles, that douchebag shouldn't.[/quote]


+1 I can't stand Balloon knot er I mean Slip knot .

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

a new hot rod strat:
hss version: 2 texas sp, 1 sd sh-4 hb
hh version: sd '59 sh-2, sd sh-4

other important featurs: compound radius 12-16", roller nut, rose wood fingerboard, jumbo frets, shape soft c, 2 point trem stainless steel, 5 way switch

fave colors: olympic white, surf green, sienna sunb, aged cherry sunb

dream...

cheers

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It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting - paulo coelho

1, Someone tell the customshop there is more to it than just making only relic guitars & very expensive collectors pieces

2, Start using Green & Blue colours again..

3, Re-issue guitars that there is an actual demand for in the used market. I'm not talking pre CBS either..

4, Listen to us.

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If anyone ever has the chance, take the Fender factory tour. It is well worth it. First you see the Ensenada plant. And then you go to thier American plant. Anyone who ever actually takes the tour will see why the American series are so much more better and why they cost more. I have some pics I can share that show this. One example I remember is that the Mexico plant doesn't discriminate as much whith their wood, so as I have seen on sunburst MIM models, huge inperfections in the alder are just sprayed over, and not given second thought. Also the necks are more scrutinized in America. Alot of people don't understand this, but you DO get what you pay for, unless of course your'e buying a Gibson.

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1965 Fender Precision Bass, 1994 Fender '54 Reissue Precision Bass, 2007 Applause Celebrity, 2011 Fender American Special Jazz Bass, 2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster, 2013 Fender American Special Stratocaster, 2013 Gibson LPJ

Last I heard Fender discontinued their factory tours due to "insurance issues".

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal

Oh well I did mine in '06, guess I'm a little late with the info, I'll see if Fender maybe still offers them, I would love to go again. And I don't know why that would be, because you are not really that close to the machenery. Go figure, overexcited lawyers....

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1965 Fender Precision Bass, 1994 Fender '54 Reissue Precision Bass, 2007 Applause Celebrity, 2011 Fender American Special Jazz Bass, 2012 Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster, 2013 Fender American Special Stratocaster, 2013 Gibson LPJ

The Dual Showman Reverb was announced in July of 1968 and began shipping to dealers the following month. It is revision AA768, where the "7" indicates the month and the "68" indicates the year in which the circuit was designed.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

OK...
But that is a Strat clone with a Carvin clone body. It is up to AXl to meet the bar, not Fender, Axl is chasing Fender not the other way around. Competitive price point but then again I would not buy it.
Price points are important but one can find a great quality Fender Strat for around $500 on the preowned market or even discontinued, clearance whatever.
IF I want another Strat, or Tele, I will buy a Fender or build one. As far as buying a clone, no thank you, the market is awash with competitors version of a better mousetrap. Those imitations have depressed resale value's on the 2nd hand market whereas a Fender will retain and return a decent price.

This is sort of a Catch 22 argument since the demand was " Hey fender...I want a Strat with this particular feature but just like those ".
So Fender listened and offers a wide range of Strats and Tele's with minor changes. That is the Caveat since the option is to order a strat with a particular custom feature which means the Custom Shop. There goes the affordable price point for most of the public.
The reality is that most musicians or young (or older) aspiring musicians cannot afford a $2000.00 and up guitar since their budget only allows them to buy One guitar, an amp, accessories etc...etc..
Just for the guitar and peripherals, we are in the $1000.00 and going up range.
I do not recall at 15 or 17 years old having had the rescources to spend thousands of dollars on musical instruments. A few hundred.. Yes, but it took a lot of work and sacrifice of other things to get what I wanted.

I just looked at Guitar World buyer's guide while shopping for food this morning.....
What happened to form follows function...
I like porcupine's and think there kind'a cute but I wouldn't want to hug one....
Most of the guitars in that pub resemble porcupine's or fragmenting comets. Sure they are going to dazzle under the lights with all the reflective bling but are we to buy a musical instrument or just an oversized beltbuckle...

The rest... are ( Yawwnn...) Fender or Gibson copies....

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"C'est parti mon Kiki "

Another one for Fender to do:

Give me a brand new Pawn Shop Mustang and a new AVRI Jaguar

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Favorite bands:

Melvins
The Jesus Lizard
Cows
Big Business
R***man
Minutemen
Flight
Minor Threat
Big Black
Shellac
Karp
Scratch Acid
Wipers
Pixies

How about a BF or SF Champ/ Vibro Champ/Bronco reissue using a high quality board and components and leaving out the stupid mods and DSP effects? That would be badass and reliable.

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Life...... It's sexually transmitted and always fatal