Latest about Fender Custom Shop
“It was found in the trunk of a car. They had sanded it to make it look like it wasn’t mine”: Tyler Bryant's stolen Pinky One Strat was played by Jeff Beck, inscribed by Steven Tyler – and, miraculously, returned to him five years after it was taken
The blues-rock guitarist recalls the loss – and remarkable recovery – of his most significant six-string
“Start building your dream bass”: Ernie Ball Music Man launches The Custom Design Experience – allowing players to customize every single spec of its StingRay Special bass
4 and 5-strings, changeable pickup configurations, neck profiles and 30 finish options. Could customizable electrics be next?
“This is an intensely crafted ‘Super Guitar’ with a separate piezo output…”: Dweezil Zappa’s huge gear auction is full of utterly unique guitars, including his Hot Rats Gibson Les Paul, a Madonna-clad Jackson and a true one-off custom PRS
The inimitable Zappa is selling off some of his most unusual and prized guitar possessions in order to raise funds for his forthcoming tour dates
“I was playing a gig with Jack Bruce and one of my amps suddenly burst into flames!” Robin Trower's onstage disasters and famous firsts
The genius behind Bridge of Sighs talks flaming amps, favorite Strats and why he still practices every day – even if he didn't do it all that much when he was younger
“He didn’t just work here – he lived and embodied the spirit of the brand”: Mike Lewis, the head of Fender’s Custom Shop – an industry legend who played with Chuck Berry and toured with the Rolling Stones – has passed away
From sideman to session player, retailer and 30-year Fender employee, Lewis worked on everything from the firm’s amps to revamping Gretsch and launching the first mass-produced humbucker Strat
“I got to play one of the prototypes through my actual touring rig. It sounds really good”: Foo Fighters’ Chris Shiflett is working with Fender on an affordable signature version of his Masterbuilt Telecaster – and it’s already been road-tested
Shiflett has put a Charcoal Frost-finished prototype of the P-90-stocked build through its paces, so a full-scale production might not be too far away
“A very endearing, characterful instrument… a guitar that looks and feels old, played-in and used but is perfectly fit for purpose”: Vintage Proshop V72 Custom Build review
With guitars seemingly getting more expensive by the day, is a bespoke build now just a thing for the very well-off? We go in search of a more affordable route from the UK…
“It’s the higher-profile artist associations that tend to attract the big money – things like your Pearly Gates and your Jimmy Pages”: Why Gibson’s replicas of famous Les Pauls are commanding almost as much as vintage guitars
Gibson’s highest-tier replicas are seriously sought after on the collector's market. We find out what all the fuss is about and examine a rare recreation of Jimmy Page’s fiendishly complex #2 Les Paul Standard
“The higher end the guitar, the more robust the demand is”: Why are guitars getting more expensive? We spoke to the world’s biggest guitar companies to find out
From $50k acoustics to eye-watering ‘premium offshore’ prices, the cost of big-name new guitars has felt like it’s spiraling. So how did we get here? And how do we get out of it?
“He is the fastest and cleanest and has more technique than any other”: Jimmy Bryant was one of the very first Telecaster heroes. Learn how his trailblazing playing shaped the guitarists who followed
Effortlessly mixing jazz, country and blues, Bryant was one of Albert Lee’s great influences, and his style remains a white-knuckle ride of technique and imagination
