Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy Recard
I guess Im interested if people would mainly go for choice of woods, cosmetics, or dimensional specifications.
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For many people you are correct. In my case, when I first ordered the Olde Mac, in the late 90s, finding a guitar with a shorter scale (24.9" or 24.75") AND a 1 3/4" nut was actually a bit difficult. That plus I could specify the neck profile that I wanted.
To a lot of folks, a custom order also means wild, highly figured woods. Neither of mine has such, although they are pretty enough. Heeding advice from a friend with experience in custom orders, when i talked with my builder I did not even specify wood type, but rather tone and playability. Strong clear fundamental, with good string to string separation on the first one. (The builder choose Mahogany, which I had thought of but did not specify) and Adirondack top. I also wanted very responsive to a light attack.
But the main reason that I made the order was that I had played a custom guitar from the builder that my friend had. And that guitar just seemed to have another gear that my current guitars did not (Santa Cruz 000-12 fret. 70s Guild F50 and XL-212). Both custom builds that I have from that builder have that. A good custom builder can vary their top plate thickness and bracing to bring out the absolute best in responsiveness. (And as has been noted in the thread on very responsive guitar, made the Mac a bit difficult to play when I first got it, as it showed every mistake, clearly and loudly. Every clam. Every mis-fret. Every mis-pick. I had to learn to play that guitar to get the best from it. But I did, and it made me a much better player on everything else.
That does not get spoken of as much in threads about custom guitar. And upgrade in responsiveness and playability. Another gear. Maybe two.
OMMV