Rarebird Custom Telecaster Copy

This is a follow-up to my original post. Since then Mr. Clay has been pretty good with the business end of things. He still needs to be more "business like" but he tell's me that he has, and a believe so.
The guitar was and still is great, and I will be getting a refret soon enough from him. Sorry Mr. Clay for the bad remarks, but that was how I felt at that moment in time.
Recommendations?? If you don't mind waiting for a long long time for a really fine piece of work then by all means. But, if you're like me and prefer things to be prompt and professional, you're better off with Fender Custom Shop or Warmoth parts. Mr. Clay does great work, but you must have the patience to put up with him, or else go somewhere else and leave him in peace...

If he does a better job next time I'll give him a better score...

This was a custom thinline Telecaster copy made out of mohagony with a curly maple top, F-hole, and a set-in 22 fret birdseye maple neck with a rosewood back stripe and fingerboard. Ordered in May of 1996 but did not recieve the finished product until June of 1998 (Too long!!!) The neck specs are vintage late 50's early 60's shape, net width, and fret size. The bridge is a modern Tele bridge that fits a full size humbucker. The tuners are Sperzel locking in a PRS syle three on three configuration. Pickups are custom made-to-order Seymour Duncans: a special alinco Tele neck and a special "Stag Mag" humbucker that splits to sound like a Tele. Light amber/natural finish. The controls are rear routed in standard thinline configuration. Mother-of-Pearl pickguard with three-way-switch, tone and volume controls (coil split on tone push/pull). $1750 w/case + shipping

This guitar sounds fantastic for blues or blues/rock. It has a fat LP sound combined with that Tele twang in the bridge. It sounds great through my Mesa Boogie Blue Angel 1x12 combo. Good bass and treble bite. You can hear that solid mohagony ring forth. No complaints here...

The finish looks great, but after a month of playing it the neck's finish started to wear off. This bothers me greatly since it is a custom made-to-order instrument. Bruce Clay (owner/Luthier of Rarebird) does a under par job in setting up his guitars. I had to restring and readjust the action when I finally recieved my guitar. The fret job was okay if this was an "off the rack" instrument, but for a custom guitar in this price range I would think that the fret job should be nothing short of perfect -- it wasn't.

This guitar has been my main blues axe for countless gigs now! It is the sturdious guitar I've ever played (and I've owned alot of guitars!). Hardware is good and had lasted so far. Finish is like I stated above. I know Clay can do better, because I recently had him do a finish job on a self built Tele and it was superb. The finish on this one though has some problems.

this was the first time I dealt with Bruce Clay and his Rarebird Guitar Lab. Nothing against the guy -- since he is a great guy! However, he does not know how to run a business. He can do great work because I've seen it, but sometimes for some reason he slacks. He is friendly and talkative, but the man cannot run a business. I would suggest that he hire somebody to help him with the business side of thigs so that he can concentrate on his guitar building. As far as warranty? Well he take so long to get back to you I'm not sure about that one. I can and does do great work, but you have to almost beat it out of him. I will still do business with him, but with a little more learyness next time.

This is a great guitar except for the finish, fret work (which has been repaired), and some minor nicks. It is my main guitar and would be impossible to replace if ever stolen. The best sounding and playing Thinline I ever had -- and I've owned alot of Teles. If the guitar was better looking as far as finish and wood nicks it would be a perfect 10.

custom ordered in august 1996. FINALLY got it yesterday (july 14 2000). semi hollow alder body with maple top. 22 fret set-in maple neck. barden bridge pickup s. duncan alnico 2 pro humbucker neck pickup. volume control for each pickup. master tone control. 25.5 inch scale. sperzel tuners. tele string through body bridge. transparent gretsch orange finish. (that's what i ordered anyway).

sounds loud , agressive and meaty. can handle country, blues or rock. no complaints here. but, read on.

set-up was good. action was a little higher than ordinary, but that's how i like it. construction-wise, this thing is solid and very well put together. there were, however several finish flaws. two small dings on the back of the neck near the third fret. nothing to hamper playability, but still noticeable. also on the neck, there were 3 sticky smudge marks, two of which had lining from the inside of the case stuck to them. these were almost impossible to get off. the finish on the fret board was uneven in several places like it had not been buffed out properly. finally on the maple top near the neck joint, there is what appears to be a fingerprint in the finish. not on the finish, IN the finish. must have happened while the finish was tacky. construction was great, the finish not so great. kinda like a really good cake covered with sub-par frosting. very disappointing for a guitar costing this much and the wait being so long. the transparent gretsch orange finish that i ordered is very dull and lifeless compared to others i've seen. not very transparent either.

like i said before, this thing is very well built and solid. i never gig without a backup.

ok here we go- this is the worst guitar buying experience i've ever had. bruce clay(owner of rarebird guitars) is a nice guy- nothing against him personally. but having to wait so long for what i received... let's just say i'm extremely disappointed. although he has offered to fix any problems or defects, i ask myself do i want or should i have to wait even longer for him to fix the defects when they should'nt have been there in the first place? i think i'll opt for someone else to do the job if it comes to that.

been playing for 15 years. various fenders, prs etc. there are a few good things to say about this instrument. it's well-built and solid and the neck joint is great . very strong and sturdy. excellent access to upper frets. i wanted a custom made guitar and that's what i got. too bad it took me four years to get it. it was'nt worth the wait or the money. i took the chance and paid the price. i've learned my lesson. i don't think i'll do business with rarebird guitars again. i can't speak for any other rarebird customers, but as for me- this was a total waste of time and money.