Fender Custom Shop
Encyclopedia
The Fender Custom Shop is a division of Fender Musical Instruments, housed within their headquarters complex in Corona
, Riverside County
, California
. The Fender Custom Shop primarily exists to compete with smaller companies and independent luthiers that, in turn, build products reminiscent of those Fender designed and built in their 'golden era' of circa 1950-65. Indeed, much of the output from the Fender Custom Shop is replicated vintage models, and in the case of the Fender Relic series, legitimized copies of would-be vintage examples, complete with scratches, chips, wear, burn marks, and general signs of abuse. In addition, the Fender Custom Shop produces special-order guitars for customers through a Custom Shop dealer network, creates limited edition 'art' guitars, builds limited edition amplifiers, and does some research & design for the parent company.
corporation. Many players felt that the interests of CBS were at odds with the marketplace, profits declined, and in 1984 CBS sold the rights to the Fender name and designs to an investor group of employees led by Bill Schultz
who launched Fender Musical Instruments. The Custom Shop was begun in 1987, under the supervision of then-CEO Schultz. The initial staff comprised only two Master Builders (John Page, Michael Stevens) and a Haas VF4 CNC machine (modified for woodwork) that cuts three bodies or four necks at once.
The primary intent of the Fender Custom Shop was to create instruments in the tradition of Leo Fender
and his staff at the original Fender facilities in Fullerton, CA
, accommodating famous endorsers and other discerning players who wanted the accuracy, detail, and quality—as well as customization and personal touches—that were widely perceived as omitted under the tutelage of CBS, and considered lacking on the revamped Fender's mass-produced instruments. In 1991, the Fender Custom Amp Shop was created and housed in Scottsdale, Arizona
, Fender's headquarters at the time. Seven years later, the entirety of Fender's US manufacturing and R & D operations, along with Custom Shop divisions, was moved to its present location in Corona. Currently, the Fender Custom Shop employs over 50 craftsmen and produces both custom one-off projects and limited CNC-tooled production runs.
First and foremost, the Custom Shop creates one-off products, not explicitly intended for the public, designed to meet the needs of specific artists. Examples include the tweed Twin remakes crafted by hand by John Suhr
for Eric Clapton
, and later delivered to Mark Knopfler
and B.B. King, the Jag-Stang model designed with help from Kurt Cobain
and later manufactured by Fender Japan
, and the Danny Gatton
Telecaster, a very early Custom Shop effort that eventually mutated into a limited production item.
Closely related, and in some cases a direct result of collaborations with and for specific players, are the artist models that are specifically available to the public. Some of these models are designed to be near-exact replicas of a noted player's trademark instrument - including the "relic" treatment and the various degrees of ageing (patterns of wear, modifications, stickers and abuse) - such as in the case of the Jeff Beck
Tribute Esquire, the Jaco Pastorius
ersatz fretless Jazz Bass
, and the replica model of Stevie Ray Vaughan
's heavily weathered trademark Stratocaster. These models are meticulously crafted by hand, under the supervision of one luthier
as opposed to part of an assembly line
. Fender makes this distinction by tagging these models as 'Master Built' and 'Team Built'. These instruments are designed to closely replicate the original examples and are very limited in number and often extremely expensive. Far more common under the Custom Shop banner are production models commissioned by players and made available to the general public, albeit in more limited quantity than Fender's standard lines. This line includes high-end models in series such as Custom Classics, Showmaster
s and Time Machines. Examples of guitars designed by specific players and manufactured by the Custom Shop include signature guitars for David Gilmour
, Eric Clapton
, Jeff Beck
, Albert Collins
, Merle Haggard
, and curiously, John5, best known as a guitarist in Marilyn Manson
's band.
Some models, such as the aforementioned Jag-Stang and the Venus model, designed with Courtney Love
, are designed by the Custom Shop but manufactured by Fender's Far-Eastern import facilities, and in the case of the Venus model, Fender's low budget offshoot Squier
. For further confusion, several models are available from both the Custom Shop, and made in the USA, and from Fender Musical Instruments' overseas facilities, often in much less limited quantity, and for much less cost.
An offshoot of Fender's forays into replicating the look of heavily worn instruments was the introduction of the Fender Relic series in the late 1990s. This idea came as guitarist Keith Richards
of the British rock group The Rolling Stones
told the Custom Shop that some replicas he commissioned for a Stones tour 'looked too new', stating: "Bash 'em up a bit and I'll play 'em". His statement catalyzed with the presence of Vince Cunetto and Jay W. Black at the start of the Custom Shop. Cunetto guitars have since become known for their high level of quality and artistry among the Custom Shop Relics. The Relic models aspire to perfectly replicate vintage instruments, both in terms of the parts, design and finishes used, as well in the varying degrees of wear typically found on a 40-50 year old instrument. Fender tarnishes metal parts, purposely marks and scratches paintjobs, yellows and cracks plastic parts, and cigarette burns marks in the headstock (some players allegedly timed jam sessions by cigarette burn time). "Relic=ing" is controversial among players who question the logic of paying a premium for a deliberately damaged instrument. Fender offers grades of wear in the relic series, from light to very heavy 'wear', and has since introduced a line of 'NOS' (new old stock) and 'Closet Classic' instruments that employ period-correct parts, designs and finishes but do not feature faux abuse, weathering, or aging.
Recently, the Fender Custom Shop has devoted much time and resources to creating limited 'Art' guitars and basses. Generally shown off at the annual NAMM conference, these instruments are generally geared more towards guitar collectors than players and are often created to tie in with other industries as collector items, such as guitars created as a tribute to, and under the design influence of Ford's Mustang
automobile. Many of the Art guitars created by the Custom Shop vastly expand upon Leo Fender
's historical decorative innovations, who originally pioneered the use of custom colors on their instruments, which are essentially based on traditional designs but do not strive for accuracy to specific models.
The Fender Custom Amp Shop, a subset of the Custom Shop, has produced several limited-run amplifiers during its existence. Examples include the Tone-Master, Prosonic, Tweed Reissue Twin Reverb, and Two-Tone models.
Corona, California
Corona is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 152,374, up from 124,966 at the 2000 census...
, Riverside County
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The Fender Custom Shop primarily exists to compete with smaller companies and independent luthiers that, in turn, build products reminiscent of those Fender designed and built in their 'golden era' of circa 1950-65. Indeed, much of the output from the Fender Custom Shop is replicated vintage models, and in the case of the Fender Relic series, legitimized copies of would-be vintage examples, complete with scratches, chips, wear, burn marks, and general signs of abuse. In addition, the Fender Custom Shop produces special-order guitars for customers through a Custom Shop dealer network, creates limited edition 'art' guitars, builds limited edition amplifiers, and does some research & design for the parent company.
History
For nearly 20 years Fender was owned and operated by the CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
corporation. Many players felt that the interests of CBS were at odds with the marketplace, profits declined, and in 1984 CBS sold the rights to the Fender name and designs to an investor group of employees led by Bill Schultz
Bill Schultz (Fender)
William Charles Schultz was the CEO of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, and is credited as the "man who saved Fender."-Biography:...
who launched Fender Musical Instruments. The Custom Shop was begun in 1987, under the supervision of then-CEO Schultz. The initial staff comprised only two Master Builders (John Page, Michael Stevens) and a Haas VF4 CNC machine (modified for woodwork) that cuts three bodies or four necks at once.
The primary intent of the Fender Custom Shop was to create instruments in the tradition of Leo Fender
Leo Fender
Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender was an American inventor who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, or "Fender" for short...
and his staff at the original Fender facilities in Fullerton, CA
Fullerton, California
Fullerton is a city located in northern Orange County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 135,161.It was founded in 1887 by George and Edward Amerige and named for George H. Fullerton, who secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway...
, accommodating famous endorsers and other discerning players who wanted the accuracy, detail, and quality—as well as customization and personal touches—that were widely perceived as omitted under the tutelage of CBS, and considered lacking on the revamped Fender's mass-produced instruments. In 1991, the Fender Custom Amp Shop was created and housed in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
, Fender's headquarters at the time. Seven years later, the entirety of Fender's US manufacturing and R & D operations, along with Custom Shop divisions, was moved to its present location in Corona. Currently, the Fender Custom Shop employs over 50 craftsmen and produces both custom one-off projects and limited CNC-tooled production runs.
Personnel
- T. Buyer
- John Page (founder and actual CEO of John Page Guitars)
- Michael Stevens (founder and actual owner of Stevens Guitars)
- Mark Kendrick
- John English (1950-2007)
- George Blanda (Electric Guitar R&D chief project engineer)
- John Suhr (founder and actual owner of JS Technologies Inc.Suhr GuitarsSuhr Guitars is an American company that manufactures electric guitars and basses, guitar amplifiers, and effect units...
, who built with Rudy PensaPensa Custom GuitarsPensa Custom Guitars is an American company that manufactures electric guitars and basses in handmade fashion. The company is based in New York City. Pensa Custom Guitars was founded by argentinian luthier Rudy Pensa. Pensa strives to make extremely high quality guitars. They are therefore among...
the Pensa-Suhr MK signature modelsMark KnopflerMark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
for Mark KnopflerMark KnopflerMark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
in 1987) - Jay W. Black
- John Grunder (Sales, Marketing & Artist Relations)
- Larry L. Brooks (co-designed with Kurt Cobain and built the Jag-Stang guitar for Kurt CobainKurt CobainKurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
/ Founder and actual owner of Brooks Guitars, 1981-present)). - Steve Boulanger
- Duane Boulanger
- Art Esparza
- Mike Eldred (Sales & Marketing Director)
- Yasuhiko Iwanade (actual president of Gibson JapanGibson Guitar CorporationThe Gibson Guitar Corporation, formerly of Kalamazoo, Michigan and currently of Nashville, Tennessee, manufactures guitars and other instruments which sell under a variety of brand names...
) - Ronee Pena
- Scott Buehl
- Kenny Gin
- Dave Nichols
- Mike Bump
- Alex Perez
- Gene Baker (founder of Baker Guitars, responsible for the superstrat-style Showmaster seriesFender ShowmasterThe Fender Showmaster is a model of electric guitar made by Fender, and is characteristic of a superstrat.-History:During the 1980s, superstrats were becoming popular amongst the many hard rock and metal guitarists, who needed the modifications to suit their individual playing styles. Soon, many...
guitars, manufactured between 1998 and 2009) - Fred Stuart
- Alan Hamel
- Jay Madore
- Mike Ponce
- Greg Fessler
- Ralph Esposito
- Jason Davis
- Yuriy Shishkov
- John Cruz
- Stephen Stern
- Richard Siarto
- Louis Salgado
- George Amicay
- Dru WhiteFeather
- Todd Krause
- Dennis Galuszka
- Chris W. Fleming
- Jason Smith (son of Dan Smith, one of the employees who bought the Fender companies from CBS in 1985)
- Scott Grant (Production Supervisor)
- Paul Waller
- Dale Wilson
Notable Products
The Fender Custom Shop has produced a huge range of instruments, often limited in number, which reflect its original mission as a link between the needs of specific players and the Fender corporation and their established designs and innovations as a whole.First and foremost, the Custom Shop creates one-off products, not explicitly intended for the public, designed to meet the needs of specific artists. Examples include the tweed Twin remakes crafted by hand by John Suhr
Suhr Guitars
Suhr Guitars is an American company that manufactures electric guitars and basses, guitar amplifiers, and effect units...
for Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, and later delivered to Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
and B.B. King, the Jag-Stang model designed with help from Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
and later manufactured by Fender Japan
Fender Japan
Fender Japan is the Japanese division of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.-History:Fender Japan was officially created in March 1982 and consists of two Japanese Music companies that handle the ordering and distribution. The two companies are Yamano Gakki and Kanda Shokai...
, and the Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton
Danny Gatton was an American guitarist who fused rockabilly, jazz, and country styles to create his own distinctive style of playing. A biography, Unfinished Business: The Life and Times of Danny Gatton by Ralph Heibutzki, was published in 2003. It has a voluminous discography...
Telecaster, a very early Custom Shop effort that eventually mutated into a limited production item.
Closely related, and in some cases a direct result of collaborations with and for specific players, are the artist models that are specifically available to the public. Some of these models are designed to be near-exact replicas of a noted player's trademark instrument - including the "relic" treatment and the various degrees of ageing (patterns of wear, modifications, stickers and abuse) - such as in the case of the Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
Tribute Esquire, the Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
ersatz fretless Jazz Bass
Jazz bass
Jazz bass is the use of the double bass, or in some genres bass guitar, to improvise accompaniment and solos in a jazz or jazz fusion style. The double bass began being used in jazz in the 1890s, to supply the low-pitched walking basslines which outlined the harmony of the music...
, and the replica model of Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stevie Ray Vaughan
Stephen Ray "Stevie Ray" Vaughan was an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He was the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan and frontman for Double Trouble, a band that included bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Chris Layton. Born in Dallas, Vaughan moved to Austin at the age of 17 and...
's heavily weathered trademark Stratocaster. These models are meticulously crafted by hand, under the supervision of one luthier
Luthier
A luthier is someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. In the United States, the term is used interchangeably with a term for the specialty of each maker, such as violinmaker, guitar maker, lute maker, etc...
as opposed to part of an assembly line
Assembly line
An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods...
. Fender makes this distinction by tagging these models as 'Master Built' and 'Team Built'. These instruments are designed to closely replicate the original examples and are very limited in number and often extremely expensive. Far more common under the Custom Shop banner are production models commissioned by players and made available to the general public, albeit in more limited quantity than Fender's standard lines. This line includes high-end models in series such as Custom Classics, Showmaster
Fender Showmaster
The Fender Showmaster is a model of electric guitar made by Fender, and is characteristic of a superstrat.-History:During the 1980s, superstrats were becoming popular amongst the many hard rock and metal guitarists, who needed the modifications to suit their individual playing styles. Soon, many...
s and Time Machines. Examples of guitars designed by specific players and manufactured by the Custom Shop include signature guitars for David Gilmour
David Gilmour
David Jon Gilmour, CBE, D.M. is an English rock musician and multi-instrumentalist who is best known as the guitarist, one of the lead singers and main songwriters in the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. In addition to his work with Pink Floyd, Gilmour has worked as a producer for a variety of...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Albert Collins
Albert Collins
Albert Collins was an American electric blues guitarist and singer whose recording career began in the 1960s in Houston and whose fame eventually took him to stages across the US, Europe, Japan and Australia...
, Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
, and curiously, John5, best known as a guitarist in Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
's band.
Some models, such as the aforementioned Jag-Stang and the Venus model, designed with Courtney Love
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
, are designed by the Custom Shop but manufactured by Fender's Far-Eastern import facilities, and in the case of the Venus model, Fender's low budget offshoot Squier
Squier
Squier is a musical instrument brand name owned by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.-History:Fender, under the ownership of CBS, acquired the Squier brand name in 1965 when it bought a USA based string making firm , but it lay dormant for many years...
. For further confusion, several models are available from both the Custom Shop, and made in the USA, and from Fender Musical Instruments' overseas facilities, often in much less limited quantity, and for much less cost.
An offshoot of Fender's forays into replicating the look of heavily worn instruments was the introduction of the Fender Relic series in the late 1990s. This idea came as guitarist Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
of the British rock group The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
told the Custom Shop that some replicas he commissioned for a Stones tour 'looked too new', stating: "Bash 'em up a bit and I'll play 'em". His statement catalyzed with the presence of Vince Cunetto and Jay W. Black at the start of the Custom Shop. Cunetto guitars have since become known for their high level of quality and artistry among the Custom Shop Relics. The Relic models aspire to perfectly replicate vintage instruments, both in terms of the parts, design and finishes used, as well in the varying degrees of wear typically found on a 40-50 year old instrument. Fender tarnishes metal parts, purposely marks and scratches paintjobs, yellows and cracks plastic parts, and cigarette burns marks in the headstock (some players allegedly timed jam sessions by cigarette burn time). "Relic=ing" is controversial among players who question the logic of paying a premium for a deliberately damaged instrument. Fender offers grades of wear in the relic series, from light to very heavy 'wear', and has since introduced a line of 'NOS' (new old stock) and 'Closet Classic' instruments that employ period-correct parts, designs and finishes but do not feature faux abuse, weathering, or aging.
Recently, the Fender Custom Shop has devoted much time and resources to creating limited 'Art' guitars and basses. Generally shown off at the annual NAMM conference, these instruments are generally geared more towards guitar collectors than players and are often created to tie in with other industries as collector items, such as guitars created as a tribute to, and under the design influence of Ford's Mustang
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
automobile. Many of the Art guitars created by the Custom Shop vastly expand upon Leo Fender
Leo Fender
Clarence Leonidas "Leo" Fender was an American inventor who founded Fender Electric Instrument Manufacturing Company, or "Fender" for short...
's historical decorative innovations, who originally pioneered the use of custom colors on their instruments, which are essentially based on traditional designs but do not strive for accuracy to specific models.
The Fender Custom Amp Shop, a subset of the Custom Shop, has produced several limited-run amplifiers during its existence. Examples include the Tone-Master, Prosonic, Tweed Reissue Twin Reverb, and Two-Tone models.