CUTTING-EDGE CUSTOMS

Nearly 40 years on from the Custom Shop's inception, its creations are more ambitious than ever. Find out how the team walks the tightrope between 'canon' and 'cannot', and where its guitars are heading next

- Jamie Dickson

For almost four decades, the guitars that live closest to the edge of dreams at Fender are those built by the Custom Shop. What began as a means to give players the highest-quality classic electrics money could buy has become a place where Fender heritage is studied and venerated but also combined with the bleeding edge of tone-making tricks and mashup aesthetics. And the hill of innovation keeps getting steeper as players become evermore savvy to the options they could order for their dream guitar. Let's find out what the state of the Custom Shop's art is in 2025.

How has the Custom Shop evolved over the past 20 years?

Paul Waller (master builder): "I would say that when I started, we didn't have the amount of limited-edition replica guitars that we're making now. Back then, they were just starting to come into their own, with the Jaco [Pastorius] bass and stuff. But then we really started doing a lot more of that as artists were coming into the fold and seeing what the potential was. So I think it just elevated our status [and showed] how good we've gotten at doing relic guitars and emulating old guitars. It's really a statement, like planting a flag on the hill saying, 'We are really good at it.' That evolution has really helped to boost the status of the Fender Custom Shop, in my opinion."