design your own fender

[m4rk0]

Sooo.. Fender is doing the Carvin thing!!
but as expected, the options are limited, I put something fairly standard together, and it still came to $2100.
I can get that from W for less than half of that!!!

http://www.fender.com/american-design/configurator/

 

[Day-mun]

I can get that from W for less than half of that!!!

The crummy part about it is that generally speaking, the re-sale value simply isn't there for the W's; -nobody (-'cept us Warmoth-geeks) gives a crap about anything unless it's got the F-word on the headstock... makes it really hard to recoup that $$$ when ya change your mind about whatcha want!  :doh:

 

[Great Ape]

Aaaww, shucks--when ya change yer mind about whatcha want, ya build ANOTHER ONE!! Just ask any Warmoth junkie!! :hello2:

 

[croquet hoop]

Just a few colors, two neck shapes, two radiuses... meh :-\

 

[Day-mun]

Aaaww, shucks--when ya change yer mind about whatcha want, ya build ANOTHER ONE!! Just ask any Warmoth junkie!! :hello2:

...and that is how we end up, racked with guilt over our gluttonous & numerous indulgences, in the "How many Warmoth instruments do you own?" confessional!  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[SustainerPlayer]

Too few options. It's really just mix and match your standard Fender. Boring.

 

[Strat Avenger]

I didn't like how limited the options are.

Warmoth parts are great, but the overall quality of the guitar depends on who assembled, finished, and set it up. I believe that is the main reason for the low resale value; not all Warmoths are created equal. If I see a Warmoth on eBay, I have no idea what I'm gonna get, but I know exactly what was involved in the creation of my own.

 

[Ace Flibble]

Comparing this and Warmoth is ridiculous. Warmoth is a company which, when you get down to it, is basically sending pieces of wood through a CNC machine to order and has a paint booth. Technically, they are in the business of making replacement parts, not guitars. You are assembling the parts yourself, you finishing off the parts yourself, you're setting it up yourself.

Fender is offering you a complete guitar. No, this is not a full custom service, because that is what their Custom Shop is for, and has been for for decades.

Two very vaguely similar systems for two completely different services for two completely different markets. Comparing the two is insanity.

 

[6stringer]

Comparing this and Warmoth is ridiculous. Warmoth is a company which, when you get down to it, is basically sending pieces of wood through a CNC machine to order and has a paint booth. Technically, they are in the business of making replacement parts, not guitars. You are assembling the parts yourself, you finishing off the parts yourself, you're setting it up yourself.

Fender is offering you a complete guitar. No, this is not a full custom service, because that is what their Custom Shop is for, and has been for for decades.

Two very vaguely similar systems for two completely different services for two completely different markets. Comparing the two is insanity.

I've been saying this for years. Warmoth needs a build and setup shop. I just have to believe they put together their own parts on occasion to build complete guitar to see if/how it all works.
Otherwise, the image is just as you said; Good wood through a well-setup CNC. Is pre-levelling the frets that hard that a human shouldn't touch it? My daughter's $100 3/4 scale fender strat came levelled better than necks from Warmoth.

Warmoth needs better PR and more energy. The Gibson thing didn't help either...they made beautiful replicas that surpassed even Gibson. I honestly hope for the best for Warmoth.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

If Warmoth started building guitars they'd instantly lose their Fender licence.

 

[ihavenothingprofoundtosay]

Just a few colors, two neck shapes, two radiuses... meh :-\

Yeah, there's just about nothing totally original possible through this builder thing.

Marko had it right: this Fender thing is more similar to Carvin's custom configurators for each of their models.  It shouldn't be compared to Warmoth's bus model except to show the microscopic range of Fender's "custom" options.

 

[croquet hoop]

I agree with that, I am not asking for all the wild options that Warmoth offer, but come on, a Fender builder with no Sonic Blue, Seafoam Green or other classic colors?

 

[stratamania]

Also the Fender design experience is a US only order at the time of writing. But it does have some limited options but you can get some options together that would be difficult to do if you just went to a Fender dealer.

Sure it's not a custom shop and they clearly state it isn't. It's aimed at a different sector.

Even today compared to a couple of decades or so ago there is so much more choice it's not bad at all for today's customer.

 

[Day-mun]

Is pre-levelling the frets that hard that a human shouldn't touch it? My daughter's $100 3/4 scale fender strat came levelled better than necks from Warmoth.

Warmoth needs better PR and more energy.

:icon_scratch: Hey, big-talker! -Dems fightin'-werds!  :icon_jokercolor:

 

[Red Rocks]

We are a replacement part company. Setting up guitars is very much a personal preference deal my idea of low action might be different than yours. The amount of balling I like on my frets ends will most likely be different than yours and so on. We do not go into these areas because it is a very subjective area that is best left to the end user to adjust to their personal preferences. Fret leveling is another area that is impossible to be done on a replacement part. An instrument needs to be strung up and allowed to acclimatize before a proper fret level should be done which is why we don't offer a fret leveling service. What we strive to offer is a solid high quality replacement part with a large selection of options that is 100% made in the USA at a fair price. My guess is that even that brand new $2000.00 Fender would need some setup work done on it to perfectly dial the guitar into the players playing style. 

 

[MikeW]

I agree with that, I am not asking for all the wild options that Warmoth offer, but come on, a Fender builder with no Sonic Blue, Seafoam Green or other classic colors?

This! This exactly! The first thing I did was dial up a Strat in three color sunburst, white and chrome. Looks good.

Next up was Sonic Blue with Tortoise shell..  Huh? Wha? Wait.. Where's Sonic Blue? Fiesta Red? Seafoam Green? Shell Pink? Antique White or that funky yellow from Malmsteen's Strats? I guess I don't mind the lack of the ability to get the contoured heel from the American Deluxe Series or the new compound radius fretboards on the necks, but not having the 'classic' Fender colors just seems wrong.

As others have said, I'm sure that for the market they're targeting this will work, but it falls short of what I would expect when ordering a 'custom' instrument.

 

[Jumble Jumble]

As a first step into the world of customisation it's fine. But they've got a hell of a lot of catching up to do. My guess is that they'll see how it does, and if it's popular, they'll start to expand it out a bit.

 

[stratamania]

The American Design Experience, is I understand it a spin off of being able to order something similar at the Fender Visitor Center, but it's not a custom shop it's basically out of limited parts options they will build a guitar for you and you can have your name on the neckplate. It's a bit of a souvenir if you will.

But if you want Fender to offer you a custom instrument they do have a Custom shop, already. Now if I wanted a scalloped neck from them I am looking immediately at a Masterbuilt instrument. So the custom shop is either for the person who is an enthusiast and has the cash or a player who has specific needs and wants. It wouldn't make a lot of business sense for the ADE to compete with the custom shop.

I am happy to buy parts and put things together myself and that's what I think Warmoth provides very well lots of custom type options for the DIY builder or someone getting someone to put it together for them.

 

[Tony Raven]

the re-sale value simply isn't there for the W's; -nobody (-'cept us Warmoth-geeks) gives a crap about anything unless it's got the F-word on the headstock...

Resale values on Big Name guitars are kinda weird. The Blue Book makes clear that -- for "collectibility" at least -- one-off factory custom work actually reduces value below that of a stock unit (unless you've got hardcore proof that it was made for SRV or suchlike).

More usually, a new axe is like a new car: cut the SRP in half (at least) as soon as the register rings.

Or worse. A year ago, a local Craigslist ad offered a Fender "Standard Stratocaster HSS" Floyd Rose model for $450, with molded case. That's $940 SRP for just the guitar, $700 street. My friend got it for $350, because he was the only caller!!

FWIW, the setup was somewhere between terrible & nonexistent. Compounding this was the wonkiness of an unadjusted Rose. The buyer probably got it on the Internet & was all proud of how it saved him a few hundred bucks from his local shop... until the as-is crappiness of the axe got him.

(Actually, higher-end Squier are better investments. They're sometimes a little odd, & often go OOP just as demand's starting to build, so you can often get them at closeout discount AND there's a few people willing to pay higher now that it's "collectible.")

When you buy Warmoth, you're paying at least "street" price, NOT some kind of deep discount. Given the huge sweep of options, there's no "standard model," & what's out there is hand-assembled all over the map, so playing one double-cut s-s-s Warmoth has almost no bearing on how another double-cut s-s-s Warmoth will play.

But it DOES have some cachet. Right now on eBay, there are 139 warmoth hits. 24 are for neckplate gaskets & pickguards, & I often spot a guitar where the only Warmoth stuff is brightwork (pg, knobs, etc.) yet the name's featured in the headline. And when you find a Warmoth on MGR or GC, it's usually going at $650+. (Huh -- there's two Warmoths on GC for more like $1,000!)

 

[Day-mun]

...so what's your point?