Fender Custom Shop History

THE FENDER CUSTOM SHOP

Since 1987, the Fender Custom Shop has been a "dream factory," producing guitars that are to playing what Ferraris are to driving. The skilled craftsmen in Fender's Corona, Calif., Custom Shop are known worldwide for their artistry in making guitars that range from the fine to the fantastic. Whether it's building a new custom instrument from the ground up or modifying an existing one, their best is the best. Fender's finest is the world's finest.

Fender Custom Shop instruments have been crafted for and with the input of the world's finest players—names like Clapton, Beck, Burton, Cray, Gilmour, Townshend and Vaughan, to name just a few. One could be yours.

"You can have your guitar built at the same factory where Eric Clapton's guitar is built, by the same people," said Mike Eldred, Custom Shop Director of Sales and Marketing. "Nobody else does what we do."

OUR PEOPLE

The Fender Custom Shop's people are hand-selected, uniquely trained individuals with unparalleled excellence and experience in the company's main production lines and some of the world's most prestigious instrument shops. Each builder is trained and then trained again, and each one is constantly learning new techniques, be it hand selection of aged Brazilian rosewood or a different way to fret-dress a fingerboard. Every person in the Custom Shop is a valuable asset who imparts the "Fender family" feel to every single instrument we produce.

And it truly is a family—some members of which have been with Fender since the '50s and '60s. Herbie Gastelum, Abigail Ybarra and others are truly experts on how it was done in the beginning because they were there at the beginning, and their continuing presence and fantastic institutional memory serve as a window through which we can experience and preserve Fender's rich history and heritage.

Since its inception in 1987, the Fender Custom Shop has been a testing ground, R&D facility, artist model producer, prototype shop and premier "dream factory." Indeed, some of the guitars that appear in today's regular production lines were once available only from the Custom Shop, a concept that can be traced to former Fender CEO William "Bill" Schultz that still echoes today.

The people of the Custom Shop come to work knowing that they will make a difference in Fender's history—today. Whether they've been with Fender for the past 45 years or with the Custom Shop for the past five years, they have one common goal—to build history.

MASTER BUILDERS

In every art form, there are those who, through years of training and experience, have mastered their craft and developed that "magic touch". The magic of the Fender Custom Shop lies in the hands of its luthiers — the Master Builders. They are known the world over for their skill and have built instruments for the likes of Jeff Beck, Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Clapton, Dick Dale, Mike Dirnt, Bob Dylan, Robben Ford, Buddy Guy, Merle Haggard, Reggie Hamilton, Mark Hoppus, John 5, Keith Richards, Sting and U2... just to name a few!

Meet the Master Builders

OUR HISTORY

Through the mid 1980s, Fender filled orders from artists for custom guitars through its R&D model shop. Craftsmen had envisioned a larger and more specific custom operation in the early '80s, but the business climate just wasn't right.

But by late 1986, Fender was ready. Dan Smith, then marketing vice president, recalled that during the early '80s, "We looked at various ways to elevate Fender's image from the 'working man's guitar' to that held by some of the most respected boutique builders."

Bill (Schultz, Fender Chairman) made it his personal mission to see to it that we made this happen," Smith said. "Other manufacturers had custom shops for custom-built products, and so why not Fender?"

Smith recruited well-known Texas builder Michael Stevens and John Page, a former Fender R&D engineer. The idea was that they'd build a few custom instruments for artists and some showpiece instruments for trade shows. Little did they know what the very near future held in store for the fledgling operation.

Stevens and John Page opened the Fender Custom Shop in 1987 in a small, 850-square-foot space next to the main Fender factory. The first instruments drew rave reviews, and Stevens and Page soon found themselves deluged—more than 600 orders poured in that summer.

The operation was expanded immediately. Bruce Bolen, brought his expertise to Fender around that time. Offerings were expanded to include special limited-edition and price-list models, making the Custom Shop a viable marketing option in addition to being a true custom operation.

Page became manager, and new master builders were gradually enlisted. Builders were "in the trenches"—working with artists hand-in-hand on a day-to-day basis, keeping Fender on the cutting edge and producing instruments of unbelievable beauty and startling originality. "From the beginning, the Custom Shop built some of the most stunning guitars ever produced," Smith said.

The Custom Shop embodied a new attitude at Fender—a commitment to responsiveness and to meeting the needs of the customer, be it a Clapton, a Beck, a Vaughan, or the man on the street. Indeed, features and production techniques that were devised in the Custom Shop for the greats sometimes found their way to Fender's lower-price production lines, improving quality across the board.

Today, the Fender Custom Shop continues its rich tradition of the finest craftsmanship and personal attention to detail. Its team-built and master-built guitars are among the most sought-after instruments on the market; indeed, many are considered "instantly collectible."

"The Custom Shop was created to push the envelope for Fender," said Mike Eldred, Custom Shop Director. "We build dreams—we take your dream and transform it into a guitar."