You’d think that ordering a guitar custom-built to your exact specifications might cost you a princely sum of cash, but with free upgrades that can offer massive savings of up to $400, the Fender Mod Shop just made designing your dream guitar a little bit cheaper. With all the popular Fender models available to be chopped and changed to your desires, this is one early Black Friday guitar deal that’s well worth a look.
I went and had a look at the Mod Shop to see what was available - not at all because it’s great fun designing your dream guitar - and put together my ideal Jazzmaster to see what the price came out at. Opting for a Skyburst Metallic color scheme I added a Rosewood neck, American Vintage II pickups, a set of deluxe locking tuners, and a 6-saddle bridge with Panorama tremolo, all of which were free upgrades from the sale.
It came out at $1,999.99, which is really not bad for a guitar made to my preferred specification. It’s less than the brand-new American Ultra II range of guitars, making it a great option if you're a bit tired of the standard Fender models. Free upgrades are available on a huge range of parts too, meaning you can get your dream axe at a significant discount.
Although there are not too many body wood options for the Jazzmaster (you can only choose between alder and pine) other models in the lineup have plenty of free upgrades. You can go for a Mahoganyor chambered ash on the Strat and Tele models, as well as classic Alder if you prefer the gold standard for a Fender guitar. Alder also gives you the most color options as the others are a bit lacking in that department.
Neck’s also have an array of free upgrade options so you can select between Mahogany, rosewood, or roasted maple. As arguably the most important part of any guitar, this is a crucial choice when designing your dream instrument. There are also free upgrades for more aesthetic choices available, like a black-painted headstock or block inlays of the fretboard.
There’s a wide array of pickups available too, and you can select pretty much any configuration when putting together your axe. Free upgrades can get you a Shawbucker humbucker, V-Mod pickups, and Gen 4 Noiseless if you like your sounds more modern. For classic Fender tone lovers you can also upgrade to the American Vintage II pickups in a range of classic configurations.
“I sold all my Dumbles. Then 2020 rolled around and I said, ‘Man, I've been missing the boat!’” Joe Bonamassa explains why he sold all his Dumble amps — and why he’s now got more than ever
“I was wearing a ring and did a Pete Townshend windmill.... It was never the same." Myles Kennedy says an onstage disaster forced him to buy a PRS guitar he couldn't afford
