I have been looking for a custom strat and saw this one on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/FENDER-CUSTOM-SHOP- ... 45f129fd28

$1200 seems like a cheap price for it but no one is bidding on it. Can anyone school me on why there is little interest in it?

Thx,
Dave[/code]

Hi djphaneuf: well, I guess it stands a slightly better chance of bids now you've brought it to a few more people's attention.

I don't suppose it's really your sale - is it? If so, I'd run back and change some of the wording. Guff like this doesn't inspire confidence in prospective purchasers:

Doesn't exactly appeal to grownups, does it?

Still, if you are really chasing it let's hope nobody here now bids against you. I expect that price will change in the crucial last five seconds...

Good luck - C

in fact, I hesitated to bring it up for the reason you mentioned. I am interested in it and it is located close to me. In the end, I thought it was more important to learn something than to win a guitar on ebay. Seller does not seem to know much about the guitar because when I asked them about the contoured heel neck plate they had no idea what it was about (I found out from this forum). Anyway, thanks for the info. I am trying to learn before I buy and am suspicious at a low price. Also would want to hold the instrument in my hands before I buy it.

DP

I don't know about that guitar specifically, but it's reasonably common to see items not get bids until late in the auction.

I am embarassed to admit that the wording you pointed out did not strike me as horrible. It did seem like a lot of mumbo jumbo about string tension.

Hi again djphaneuf: mumbo jumbo it certainly is - in fact, the whole thing comes across like an overly pushy second-hand car salesman in a shiny suit. He's telling you so hard about how fantastic the headlights are you start wondering if there is some rust somewhere he's trying to divert your attention from.

So here's a thing. I don't know that model near well enough to stick my neck out on it's features. For example, I have no idea whether the Custom Shop fits vintage/staggered Gotoh tuners to necks with LSR roller nuts. Maybe they do - I couldn't say.

What I can say is that any production line worker in the regular factory can fit vintage tuners more evenly that the ones we see in that not very good picture. Are those tuners a user mod? I bet they are.

And suddenly his wording about the tuners looks very coy and misleading. The kind of phrases that aren't exactly a lie - but don't reveal the whole truth.

So what else isn't he telling us? Nothing - or something?

Be clear, I don't know any of that for sure. But just the way the oily sales pitch sets alarm bells going in my head makes me decide to walk on by. And I guess the fact there's no bids yet might mean others feel the same way.

Cheers - C

PS Anyone who wants to know how to write the perfect Ebay sale blurb should consult Forum user Nikininja. A recent sale of his was the job done to perfection, to my eye...

I thought the whole bit about the tuners was a bit strange too but I am even less knowledgeable than you about this model and I figured anything is possible. I did look at current models that are called custom shop 'Pro" and they have the same locking tuners that my Fender "Plus" model has.

I am a late starter (at age 48) but have been at it for 2 years now and love my strat. The people here are very knowledgeable and appreciate the feedback they give.

Thx Again,
DP

Wow...that seller sounds like he's full of crap.

"Recalibrated string tension"....hardy har har

It's been covered, but I can't resist butting in... that would be a very decent price to pay for a CS guitar, but it's fairly high as far as starting prices go. Often nobody will commit to an auction like this until the very last minutes (or seconds), as there's no sense in showing your hand early. Chances that the seller will withdraw due to lack of interest are small. When an auction starts out at a negligible price, someone will always jump in immediately just on the off-chance that they pick up a ridiculous bargain. Doesn't take long before others come along and think "No way am I going to let X have it at that price" and it's on, with bidders often getting carried away by their emotions.

As to the guitar itself... I'm no expert on the more contemporary offerings from the Custom Shop, but it seems OK on the face of it. I don't know whether or not the CS generally does large headstocks on that model, or (as Ceri said) LSR nuts. The seller doesn't appear to have much of a clue, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're trying to pull a fast one. I'd be very surprised to find a Brazilian rosewood fretboard on a guitar built as late as 2007, but I suppose it is possible. I think that they're trying to talk up some standard features in the fanciest possible terms, and hoisting themselves by their own petard in the process.

My God those tuners look awful. Not a single one is in line with the other. My 4 yr. old could have installed them straighter than whever did those. I seroiusly doubt it came from the Custom Shop like that.

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"Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul..."

-Emily Dickinson

The seller would appear to have auctioned off the original Sperzel locking tuners recently:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 500wt_1018

I can't think why anyone would do this.

I'd say it's a bargain. Afterall, "It's been professionally setup!". Ooooh.

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MIM Std Tele, MIM HSS Strat, Homemade Mongrel Tele, Blues Jr, Champ600, coupla pedals...sweeeet!

Sorry I've got alarm bells ringing.

Look at the state of that neckplate on a three year old guitar. What have they done to it? A 4 digit serial no'? No close up of the COA despite loads of pictures?

Another thing is the neck wood. It's very plain Jane for customshop isnt it?

I'd repost this in the Ask Mike Eldred section. He's the man as far as customshop goes.


Ceri did you really think the blues jr advert was that good?
You wouldnt have believed I hated the amp would you.

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No no and no

Nick, it was a model sale. It told us exactly what we needed to know, including how the amp had been looked after - and didn't waste our time with airy twaddle we didn't need. Concise and to the point. It came across as one adult talking to another. Ideal.

On amp sales, soon as someone feels they need to tell me that this unit will give me "clear bell-like tones" or "classic grunt" or any of that guitar magazine verbiage, then I'm outta there!

And the worst on any type of gear is when the seller starts explaining what types of music he thinks it is good for. A bit like the seller in this thread trying to educate us about rosewood. P-lease...

Cheers - C

Okay, here are my thoughts on this ...

1) Overall a nice little git. It appeals to me for sure ...
2) The large headstock is a big turnoff to many people. Personally, I think it looks great on this guitar.
3) Someone else mentioned the neck plate. I thought the same thing. Is it really that messed up? Or does it just look that way in the photo? If it is really like that considering how good condition the guitar is, something may be very wrong ...

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...