Fender Custom Shop = quality electronics?

[Tommy Tourbus]

What are they puting in custom shop models? good pots n caps or junk?

[Polynitro]

Is this a trick question? The guts i've seen have cts pots and orange drop caps and crl switch...Lemme guess you found an Alpa pot?

[Tommy Tourbus]

just wondering if i'd need to factor an rs kit into the price of a custom shop or not

[Sniper-V]

I'm big supporter and user of upgraded electronic kits from RS Guitarworks and so forth but I didn't feel the need to do so with my CS Strat, it plays and sounds great from the factory!

[Polynitro]

I think it's safe to say that the top of the line Fender's don't have "junk" parts.

[Tommy Tourbus]

Originally Posted by Polynitro

I think it's safe to say that the top of the line Fender's don't have "junk" parts.

gibson's do, so just thought i'd ask.

[Polynitro]

Originally Posted by Tommy Tourbus

gibson's do, so just thought i'd ask.

Wow I didn't know that! The only Gibson I ever owned was a '94 SG and that thing kicked ass...I never checked the guts though. I wish I still had it, I payed $500 for it then broke the headstock had it fixed and sold it for $500.

[whoismarykelly]

I think the RS stuff is more meant for new builds and upgrading MIM/CIJ fenders.

[Polynitro]

I put one of their paper-in-oil caps in my Esquire but later swapped it out for an orange drop, I could'nt hear a difference(not that I thought I would) and it was so enormous it was silly.

[whoismarykelly]

Parts like caps and resistors usually only make a difference in high voltage circuits where you change many of one type for another type.

[John Hurtt]

AFAIK the electronics used in the CS stuff is the same as the production line.

[justonwo]

Gibsons don't contain junk pots, by the way, or at least they aren't really any different than most "upgrade" pots out there. The production Gibsons simply contain a pot with a lower resistance than the vintage circuits. So when you "upgrade" to a 500k pot, all you're really doing is changing the resistance. The CS Gibsons have higher resistances, but the construction is the same.

Most pots that I've taken apart are pretty cheap little mass production parts anyway, even the CTS stuff. The Alphas I've disassembled are really no different than the CTS in terms of construction quality.

Now you can get different tapers and things like that so the volume roll-off characteristics are better, but you still have the same essential construction quality.

And the caps . . . well, that's another story, but I don't use the tone knob that much anyway, so I don't care that much. But in the case of Orange Drop caps, we're talking about very minute cost differences (you can get an Orange Drop for less than a buck), so that's not something I'd fret over.

To answer the original poster's question, no you won't need to upgrade the electronics. Fender CS uses quality parts.

[Deacon Blues]

Which custom shop model are you talking about?

If we are talking about a time machine strat then you have nothing to worry about. These models use 250k CTS pots, a CRL Switch and one capacitor for the neck and middle tone controls. Not sure of the brand of capacitor used but I have never felt the need to replace mine. Like justonwo said even if you did want to change it out one measly capacitor is not going to cost you much.

Tele's are another story but that is more to do with some players not liking the vintage wiring configuration rather than the quality of the parts used.

[HeeHaw]

My cs strat came with cts pots and with the perfect taper. All I did was add a treble bleed cap. Best strat I've owned to date.

[HurricaneJesus]

No problems with mine. Been using it constantly 2+ years now and have never felt the need to change anything.