Recap: 2019 Fender Custom Shop Road Show!

A big thanks goes out to everyone who joined us last night at the 2019 Fender Custom Shop Road Show! The Fender Custom Shop team and yours truly at the Zoo both saw plenty of familiar faces and if it was your first Road Show, we hope you enjoyed it!

We got to hear from Masterbuilder Ron Thorn and Paul Waller about their history at Fender, their favorite guitars, and how they came to be builders. We were also treated to a behind-the-scenes look at how the Custom Shop operates. Congrats to our giveaway winners as well, a Fender Custom Shop Heavy Relic Strat found a new home last night!

Paul Waller joined Fender in 2003. He spent two years working closely with master arch-top craftsman Bob Benedetto, and became steeped in the many facets of building techniques from all the Custom Shop’s Master Builders. After an extensive seven-year apprenticeship, Waller became a Master Builder in 2010.

Ron Thorn brings decades of expertise in guitar luthiery, namely inlay work, to the Fender Custom Shop. Thorn’s relationship with the Fender Custom Shop team stems from his wildly successful inlay business, Thorn Inlay — which has been the sole inlay provider for the Fender Custom Shop since the mid-90s. He’s built more than 800 custom instruments under the name Thorn Guitars, and will now build exclusively for Fender Custom Shop effective immediately. Thorn is among the first to assume the title Principal Master Builder — one of the highest honors at the Shop and in the guitar building community.

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