Were do chop shops get all their parts. Someone on another post told me about "Stratosphere"

Are they buying complete new guitars and selling them as parts making more money than the sum of the whole, like old car parts? Hence the slogan chop shop?

Or are they just buying them from Fender and operating like a distributor.

Just interested.

OL

_________________
I remember when we were free!

^ That sums it up for Stratosphere. They pretty much have a hold on the market for parted out Fender bodies and necks since there are no distrubuters anymore for official Fender labeled necks and bodies.

There are dozens and dozens of good distributers out there on the net (or even your local guitar store) for anything besides necks or bodies, like official Fender bridges, tuners, knobs, pickups, pickguards, etc, etc. I wouldn't waste my time with Stratosphere for any of these hardware type items.

_________________
Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

+1

Matt Gibney doesn't exactly have the best prices -- but he always seems to have a diverse selection of necks and bodies. And he's honest about describing the condition of his furniture.

He and his wife pulled down a cool million for '08 so obviously his "products" are in demand.

Arjay

_________________
"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

I have never understood why Fender does not sell replacement necks and bodies in that manner. If there is a proven market for such.

_________________
I remember when we were free!

I have used the Stratosphere (reliablefender) a number of times. They are a bit pricey, but they are a reputable dealer and you can be sure that the parts are new and genuine. I don't think that they are "An Authorized Fender Dealer", but they have a lot of good Fender products. I don't mind paying a little more to be sure of the quality. If you check often enough, they do have some deals.
.

Fender used to do that, but stopped in the early 2000's. I remember when Guitar Center used to stock replacement Tele and Strat necks and bodies. The necks came in a nice velvet bag inside a cardboard box and just had the "Fender" decal on the headstock with no other markings or serial number if I rember correctly. I think some naughty people kept taking advantage of Fender and used these necks and bodies in guitars that didn't represent what they truly were. tsk tsk. The few bad apples ruined it for the rest of us.

So now if you want a replacement neck with the Fender logo you buy a parted out one, or send the old one back to Fender via warranty claim and get a new one.

For bodies, the only route is to get one parted out.

Aftermarket Fender "licensed" necks and bodies are available from places like Allparts, but the necks of course will not have a "Fender" decal on them since they were not made in a Fender facility. But they have the correct headstock shape since Allparts is licensed by Fender.

_________________
Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.