Jim Roseberry
If you pickup a Fender custom-shop guitar... and compare it side-by-side with a Squire, the difference in quality/playability is pretty obvious.
It depends on what Squire. The Classic Vibe series is tough to beat out of the box.
But the only
great strat or tele you'll ever own is the one you build yourself. The custom shop guitars aren't really very "custom" at all. They're mostly just custom colored bodies. Try to order one with a neck size or body size other than what's on their regular store bought guitars. They won't do it. But you can order a tele body that'a a full inch bigger on every side from Rutter's Guitars. I can (and have) ordered necks with a 1 3/4" nut widths from Northern Redfish Guitar Parts. The only noiseless pickups worth owning in my opinion are the Dimarzio Area series. You won't get them from Fender. I like using linear tapered pots for quick staccato pinky-round-the-volume knob swells and tone-wahs. You won't get those from Fender either. (I also open up and remove most of the dampening grease from the pots so they'll turn easier.) I also use a specific size Orange Drop .047uf cap to get a better wah sound from the tone control. I'm not sure, but I don't think Fender will do that for you. I use HIPSHOT O-Ring Knobs which have some concentric rubber 0-rings around them that give your finger something to grip hold of when doing swells and wahs. I only use 5-hole 3-Ply parchment pick-guards so I don't have a bunch of screws ruining the looks of my teles. I like the way early 50's headstocks look with a circular string retainer and a 53 style logo in the same place they put them back then. Fender won't do that logo for you, but you can find them on eBay and apply them yourself. Lastly, like a lot of guys from Roy Buchanan to Danny Gatton, I won't use any saddles but the original 3-barrel brass. Nothing else has that thick meaty sound. You can still get those from Fender, but their American made teles have the bridge holes cut in a different spot to accommodate their newer (and worse) bridge / saddles. I'm not sure if the custom shop will make a body cut for the older bridges. if not, you have to find a used MIM body somewhere (they still use the older bridges) or have one custom made.
I just don't see where the custom shop is much good for anything other than ordering over-priced guitars that won't have much of anything custom about them. But to each his own. I've been building partscaster teles since the 90's.
This last one I built cost me right at $500 and is better than anything you'll come close to getting from the custom shop, but they won't even do 1/4 of things I would like to have done, so it's a moot point. I kept track of my parts:
Neck: Northern Redfish Guitar Parts "Fatboy" wide Tele neck $89.00 + $30 shipping - (From Canada but made in Korea to the shop owner's specs from beautiful Canadian Rock Maple.)
Fingerboard: maple
Number of Frets: 21 (I like the look of 21 frets. 22 fret Fenders look like they have a hangnail in my opinion.)
Fret Size: 6230 leveled, crowned and polished
Neck Shape: Modern "C"
Neck Material: Canadian Rock Maple
Neck Finish: 400 grit sanded, Vintage Tint, Poly-Gloss finish
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5
Scale Length: 25 1/2
Nut Width: 1 3/4" (44. mm)
Position Inlays: Dot
Truss Rod Adjustment at Front
10 mm Standard Tuner holes straight bore through
Body: MIM Sunburst Fender: $95.00 (Shipping was supposed to be an additional $21.70, but was refunded because the seller was late shipping it.) Immaculate condition. Came with strap buttons, ferrules, jack and cup. I just waited patiently till one came up on eBay in my price range. It came with shielding spray in the pickup / control plate cavities, so I didn't have to buy any shielding tape.
TUSQ Nut Blank: $10.11
Control Plate with angled selector switch: $30.00 (I turn them around backwards with the volume knob at the front and selector switch at the rear.)
Control plate wiring parts: CTS Linear 250K pots, Orange Drop .047uf cap, CRL 3-way switch, Switchcraft input jack, resistor $33.40
Chrome Neck Plate w/screws: used - $3.41 + $2.95 shipping
Circular String Retainer from Guitar Fetish: $4.25
Chrome Gotoh Style 14:1 Tuners from Guitar Fetish: $25.95, shipping $5.00 (includes above item)
Chrome Pickguard Screws from Allparts: $5.00
3-Ply Parchment Pickguard from Allparts: $16.00 + $8.00 shipping (includes screws listed above)
HIPSHOT O-Ring Knobs CHROME: $17.58 + $3.98 shipping
Dimarzio Area T pickups (used): $97.50
Total - $477.13
If the custom shop would have even done all that, it would have cost me somewhere between $3,000 - 5,000. No thanks.