Could be because saying Team Built was just another way of saying built in another part of the factory in a smaller assembly line Master built to me should apply to a Master luither and maybe a apprentise helping build a guitar not a assembly line of people putting together the parts thats how the regular models are done. It shouuld be on the bench of a builder and built by him to what he thinks is perfection which I no some are. That is what custom shop should mean. Thanks for the link fhop My friend semantics is right way to put it.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I wonder what a 50 year old Warmoth would be worth? Not to put down good quality products but a Fender guitar will always have value attached to the name.I personally love my fender CS guitars and really would never consider getting a guitar anywhere else (maybe PRS or Taylor in the far future)Ihave no knowledge of Warmoths Custom Shop, and who knows someday they may share the same reputation Fender has but until then I see no tangible comparison

I'm torn...if going for pure investment value down the road, then it's Fender of course. But for me, a lot of the fun and satisfaction is in putting it together myself...

_________________
The mind is like a parachute; it doesn't work unless its open-FZ

C.V Consider if you will fenders business practice of bringing builders up through the ranks and ask me where master builders come from. Their directly from customshop the majority of the time. All guitars undergo a certain amount of production line work. No matter who its made by company or builder. That usually just the basic shaping of the neck and body leaving the finer details to be sorted out by hand, as it is with all fenders instruments. You could hardly expect tod krause to go whittling every clapton neck with a whittling knife from a maple blank.

The customshop builders today are tomorrow's masterbuilders waiting to happen.

_________________
No no and no

See, that's why I would go with a partsoctaster... I don't care what it's worth 50 years from now. I care how much utility I get from it for the money I spent. Because I'm not a guitar owner. I'm a guitar player.

Though to deal with this from a purely practical angle: we've heard here of people having trouble getting instruments built to their dream specs by the Custom Shop (I'm thinking of the likes of Forum user Shreddin, for instance).

That's because, when all's said and done, they regard their job as creating Fender guitars, within the range of features that implies. They mostly just make guitars pretty comparable to production line Fenders, albeit with superlative workmanship. They are not "blank sheet" luthiers for hire.

Warmoth have a much broader spec base. So if it is something unusual you are after they may be a better place to look.

Mr Shreddin's experience was that he wanted certain extras added to a Strat platform, such as deeply contoured cutaways for better high fret access. He wanted a soupy paint job too. Nothing completely crazy, and he was prepared to pay accordingly - but the Custom Shop said no to many of his specifications. Not their idea of a Fender.

Perhaps he'd have got what he wanted more easily from Warmoth. And if not then I suspect a good local luthier would be the place to look - and it would probably have been cheaper than the budget he was offering the CS. And quicker!

Cheers - C

Though we we all have seen Custom guitars built by Master builders. That are real Custom built. Thats the difference between custom and customize.
http://www.griffinguitar.com/
http://sparrowguitars.com/about
http://www.zionguitars.com/
These are custom guitars to me not just in name thats what I meant by custom built by a builder.
Now if you fill out a build sheet and have fender agree to build it for you thats a custom built guitar to me, the models that they say are CS to me are just smaller assembly line built guitars with higher quality parts and over site doing the process to see that details and high atandards are met.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

As are all mass produced guitars. There all machine made to a degree.

_________________
No no and no