Fender ModShop, an area we are familiar with.

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I think sometimes we forget how small of a consumer niche we actually are. IME most guitar players aren't tech savvy guitar geeks the way we are. Fender's business model is so different from that of Warmoth I'm not sure why people even bother to draw a comparison. I think that what Fender is doing is great. What other manufacturers are doing it?  I don't really get the hate for Fender having different models of Strats. That's a pretty basic MO for everyone. How many variations of a Les Paul are there? Ibanez RG? Schecter C1? The list goes on and on. The way I see it Fender did the hard work, Warmoth came along and added a twist and some polish and is making it work. Fender is a mass produced, assembly line factory. Warmoth is a bespoke boutique builder. These are two completely different things.

I get this, and I don't let Gibson, ESP, Ibanez, or Schecter off the hook either.

If it's a new model, it is a new shape/design, not just a new option on an existing one.

I have many friends who are Ibanez or ESP endorsees, and time and time again, they have some creative ideas, but unless your Steve Vai or James Hatfield, your options are to pick from the lineup & put your own pickups in it if you want to call it a "signature" guitar. 

Few mainstream manufacturers have gone the extra mile to reinvent themselves.  Ibanez did this big time when Vai joined them, but only a handful of body true changes and offerings since then.  Same with ESP, same with Schecter, same with Gibson.

 

[pabloman]

How many times can you reinvent the wheel? Even the JEM is basically an RG. ESP used to be a parts company that turned into a complete guitar manufacturer. Schecter was a boutique Fender copy cat. BC Rich was probably the most progressive with their body designs but even that ship has pretty much sailed. I mean they are basically making guitars for 15 year old boys at a paper boy lawn mowing price point. Again, we are much more sophisticated, much more demanding, and much more knowledgeable than average guitar consumers. We are also a tiny sliver of the overall customer base. The big guys are actually providing very cost effective options for consumers with the Diamond series, MIM/Squire, Epiphone, LTD etc. In fact it's getting harder and harder to buy a bad guitar. There's nothing wrong with the big manufacturer's marketing. It's just not for us.

 

[amigarobbo]

BC Rich was probably the most progressive with their body designs but even that ship has pretty much sailed. I mean they are basically making guitars for 15 year old boys ..

we are much more sophisticated

Well, Kinda...  :guitarplayer2:

 

[stratamania]

I think Fender did something similar a couple of years back but it was called something else. And it appears like before that it is a US only offering.

Also if you do a tour of Fender's museum I believe you can also order something in a similar way. 

Personally if someone wants a Fender but wants to choose a few things without having to go Custom Shop then fair play to Fender for offering it.

 

[DangerousR6]

So, basically I wanted a candy apple red Strat w/ gold hardware. Wang bar. Locking tuners. Like that.

I ended up at $2K and didn't get the neck wood, fretboard, frets or pickups I wanted. Figure it'd run me another $500-$600 to take care of those issues once it was delivered, so I'd be at ~$2,500.

Go to Warmoth, pack My Cart with everything right down to the pots and pickguard screws out of the builder and get my CAR SSS Strat w/ a Wilkinson vibrato mated with a no-inlay black African Ebony over Brazilian Ebony neck fretted with gold 6100s and an LSR nut. Add a set of Bill Lawrence "Microcoil" pickups from Becky, and we sit at $1,024, but I gotta assemble and set it up.

Hmm... decisions, decisions... what to do?

I don't know, that's a tuff call... :toothy11: