The Benefits Of A Custom Made Guitar?, ....and its all your fault Audiopaal!!
sted
May 19 2009, 11:53 AM
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Following the droolworthy thread posted by audiopaal on his new Nik Huber Redwood it got me thinking, can I get one awesome guitar to do everything I want?
I know a lot of the instructors use custom models and just wondered on the benefits, can I get all the tones I want from three guitars into one or am I compromising in each area? I really love the feel and tone of my strat neck pickup, but love the dirt and sustain of my Les Paul bridge HB, I love the feel and the neck of my Tele and love the crunchy biting bridge PUP.
Can a British (It would have to be British!) hand made custom model really compete with the technological vastness of Gibson or PRS?
One guitar would certainly be easier for me to handle but any of your experiences, recommendations or thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks biggrin.gif

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Frederik
May 19 2009, 12:14 PM
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I've really been wondering about the same thing

-Frederik

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audiopaal
May 19 2009, 12:20 PM
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Hahaha, I'm so sorry biggrin.gif

Well, my redwood isn't exactly great for metal..
I can change the bridge pickup ofcourse, but..
My custom can do everything else very well. It even has a push/pull switch which turns the humbuckers into single coils for that twangy rock/country style smile.gif
You can't do EVERYTHING with a custom, but I've found that dialing in great tones is muuuuch easier with my Huber than any of the other guitars I've owned smile.gif

So a great bristish handmade customguitar should be better than a Gibson and PRS.
You can also get a Custom PRS and Gibson, so that would also be great although they would probably be just as expensive or more expensive that a less known custom builder.

If you can afford it, a handmade custom guitar is a great investment, just don't believe it's magic smile.gif


edit: You can probably get a custom guitar built for anything you want... But would it be worth the price? unsure.gif

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This post has been edited by audiopaal: May 19 2009, 12:22 PM
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Xuestor
May 19 2009, 12:33 PM
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I guess the most versatile guitar has to be the Gibson darkfire. Multi-tuning options, combined with a hot bridge PU and a P-90 in the neck....

The PRS 513 is a GREAT option aswell.

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AdamB
May 19 2009, 04:01 PM
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I've got one custom, currently in the process of putting together my second. I prefer it to be honest, I get to have a guitar that is exactly what I see in my head (pretty much) and can chose all the parts for it. Then, it gives you more personality, as nobody else has the same guitar as me.

Having got a custom, I think it's probably true that no guitar will ever be perfect for you. I built a 1piece black korina natural finish strat with '57 classic plus gibson humbukers in neck/bridge pos with mahogany neck and brazillian rosewood fretting, and big reverse CBS style headstock and all gold hardware. It looks just like what I wanted in my mind and sounded exactly the way I wanted. However, my tastes have changed since I got that guitar. I'm currently into a steve vai sort of thing, and am building a custom JEM style guitar with flip-flop finish, scalloped neck and chrome hardware with DM evo pups and a lo-pro edge trem, which is obviously quite different.

But although I'll never find a guitar that will cope with every sound and situation, having the option I think I will always go for the custom now, just because once you get a custom job done, it's hard to go back to chosing from a limited range of styles/options.

If for nothing else, it's worth getting a custom just for the experience of doing it.

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lcsdds
May 19 2009, 04:24 PM
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QUOTE (AdamB @ May 19 2009, 04:01 PM) *
I've got one custom, currently in the process of putting together my second. I prefer it to be honest, I get to have a guitar that is exactly what I see in my head (pretty much) and can chose all the parts for it. Then, it gives you more personality, as nobody else has the same guitar as me.

Having got a custom, I think it's probably true that no guitar will ever be perfect for you. I built a 1piece black korina natural finish strat with '57 classic plus gibson humbukers in neck/bridge pos with mahogany neck and brazillian rosewood fretting, and big reverse CBS style headstock and all gold hardware. It looks just like what I wanted in my mind and sounded exactly the way I wanted. However, my tastes have changed since I got that guitar. I'm currently into a steve vai sort of thing, and am building a custom JEM style guitar with flip-flop finish, scalloped neck and chrome hardware with DM evo pups and a lo-pro edge trem, which is obviously quite different.

But although I'll never find a guitar that will cope with every sound and situation, having the option I think I will always go for the custom now, just because once you get a custom job done, it's hard to go back to chosing from a limited range of styles/options.

If for nothing else, it's worth getting a custom just for the experience of doing it.

-Adam


Adam....do you mind me asking you who is building your custom Jem?

I have all custom guitars for the most part. Getting a custom built is a frustrating process at best IMO. LOTS of patience needed....and money as well.. tongue.gif laugh.gif

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sted
May 19 2009, 04:26 PM
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QUOTE (audiopaal @ May 19 2009, 12:20 PM) *
So a great bristish handmade customguitar should be better than a Gibson and PRS.
You can also get a Custom PRS and Gibson, so that would also be great although they would probably be just as expensive or more expensive that a less known custom builder.

If you can afford it, a handmade custom guitar is a great investment, just don't believe it's magic smile.gif


edit: You can probably get a custom guitar built for anything you want... But would it be worth the price? unsure.gif


Yeah, ive been looking at the custom shop models of both Gibson and PRS but they are very expensive and dont seem to offer distinct advantages over the production models.

QUOTE (Xuestor @ May 19 2009, 12:33 PM) *
I guess the most versatile guitar has to be the Gibson darkfire. Multi-tuning options, combined with a hot bridge PU and a P-90 in the neck....

The PRS 513 is a GREAT option aswell.


I could never own a dark fire, probably the worst looking guitar ever built! Although you do have a point in the versatility they offer, I looked at the PRS 513 and would love to try one, the only thing that puts me off is the nasty pickups they use on them which look awful, the McCarty 2 offers the Master Voice control for more tones than you shake a stick at but the 9v batteries put me off that one a bit.

QUOTE (AdamB @ May 19 2009, 04:01 PM) *
But although I'll never find a guitar that will cope with every sound and situation, having the option I think I will always go for the custom now, just because once you get a custom job done, it's hard to go back to chosing from a limited range of styles/options.

If for nothing else, it's worth getting a custom just for the experience of doing it.

-Adam


Well i wont be building it myself, but i do like the idea of choosing the way a guitar is built and speccing it up myself, on the back of this i have sent e mails to Rob williams guitars and Vanquish guitars today to just get some idea of price etc if anyone can recommend any other builders then please chip in!

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AdamB
May 21 2009, 09:30 AM
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Adam....do you mind me asking you who is building your custom Jem?

The last custom was one I did myself. The JEM I'm doing now SIMS custom shop did the body, still waiting on it to be delievered but it's completed already (they had pretty much exactly what I wanted already on ebay). I'm still looking into the neck, was thinking of asking jaden rose for a quote on it. I was going to get a custom shop to build the whole thing, but it pushed the price up a bit too high for me and would take much longer to complete, so I'm doing the assembley myself.

-Adam

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lcsdds
May 21 2009, 12:20 PM
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QUOTE (AdamB @ May 21 2009, 09:30 AM) *
Adam....do you mind me asking you who is building your custom Jem?

The last custom was one I did myself. The JEM I'm doing now SIMS custom shop did the body, still waiting on it to be delievered but it's completed already (they had pretty much exactly what I wanted already on ebay). I'm still looking into the neck, was thinking of asking jaden rose for a quote on it. I was going to get a custom shop to build the whole thing, but it pushed the price up a bit too high for me and would take much longer to complete, so I'm doing the assembley myself.

-Adam

Patrick Sims? How long have you been waiting? I've heard good things about Jaden Rose... smile.gif

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AdamB
May 21 2009, 02:12 PM
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Yea I think it's patrick sims. Only been waiting a few days, I've heard some terrible storys of it taking a lifetime for him to get stuff sent, so hoping it'll turn up soon. It's already built and finished so he only has to ship it. He said it'd be about a week to pack/ship, so we'll wait and see...

-Adam

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lcsdds
May 21 2009, 02:53 PM
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QUOTE (AdamB @ May 21 2009, 02:12 PM) *
Yea I think it's patrick sims. Only been waiting a few days, I've heard some terrible storys of it taking a lifetime for him to get stuff sent, so hoping it'll turn up soon. It's already built and finished so he only has to ship it. He said it'd be about a week to pack/ship, so we'll wait and see...

-Adam

Good luck!!! I hope it works out well for you. I've had 3 guitars painted by him and I can tell you he does excellent work. smile.gif

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AdamB
May 21 2009, 03:32 PM
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Thanks yea his work does look pretty good, can't wait for it to turn up! I'll post some pics etc. of it when it comes and of my progress with the build. I wish I'd of taken pics of when I built the last one but I was too lazy and now I regret it, so I'm going to take loads of pictures this time.

I was thinking of putting all chrome hardware on this, but the evo pups are an extra 40 quid for the chrome versions, hrm...

Sure am looking forward to having the edge trem though, haven't ever really been able to abuse the vibrato arm before.

-Adam

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Sensible Jones
May 21 2009, 03:42 PM
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QUOTE (sted @ May 19 2009, 04:26 PM) *
on the back of this i have sent e mails to Rob williams guitars and Vanquish guitars today to just get some idea of price etc if anyone can recommend any other builders then please chip in!

Rob's guitars are simply amazing for the price!!!!!

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AdamB
Jun 30 2009, 09:23 AM
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Just thought I'd say, that SIMS never shipped the body I bought from them. It has been about 2 months now since I paid them for it, and they simply didn't ship the item. I e-mailed a couple of times, but simply got no reply. I've put in for a claim for my money back from paypal, they said that i'm fully covered so I should get it back (I put in my claim just before the 45 day cover period expired on paypal). If I had paid directly I'd be very angry around now, but I'm glad that I used paypal.

Instead I bought a second hand RG1570, which I'm waiting on. Gonna use the body from that, stick the new neck on it and get the body refinished and upgrade the pickups.

I'm on the waiting list for jaden rose for a neck, he's very good at communication and seems pleasant to deal with so far, so hopefully it'll all go well smile.gif

Once I finish up this project I'll put a proper post on the forum, just thought I'd put a note about my experience with SIMS.

-Adam

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Bogdan Radovic
Jun 30 2009, 10:59 AM
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Hmm my thoughts on customs are that they can be a gamble.First you have to make sure that the well known top builder is making it.Many people make customs (here in Serbia too) but they vary in quality a lot and many of them can't even match a good new instrument from Fender, Gibson.With customs you can make demands on what to use where (neck, pickups etc) and that is very cool(though it may lead you to some unnatural results) and you will see if guitar fits you only when its finished and then its over for any major modifications.If I was going for a custom I would go for one from Fender, Gibson as they have a technology and tradition that luthers can rarely match and top.Also when you are buying a guitar, you need to try it out - so getting stock ones is cool for that.You can try hundreds of guitars if you want and find one that fits you perfectly.If you go for such a search I'm sure that you would find it(perfect guitar), more likely then in a custom.

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This post has been edited by Bogdan Radovic: Jun 30 2009, 11:00 AM


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Ivan Milenkovic
Jun 30 2009, 11:55 AM
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Best way to check out the quality of a custom builder is to go to see him, talk to him and tryout some of his works. If he is serious about his work he will provide all the necessary equipment for trying out the gear, and you will see there if it is good or not.

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