Airgun Tuning - Guitars/Airguns - OEM vs. Custom Shop

Hey Guys,
After spending the last two months learning about Electric Guitar Building/Customizing, I have come up with (what I think is) a very good comparison with OEM Airgun quality and the benefits of Airgun Tuning.

Specifically, using Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars as an example ... we have the quality hierarchy as follows:
- Squire Affinity Telecaster/Statocaster - $199+
- Squire Classic Vibe Telecaster/Strat. - $430+
- Fender Player Telecaster/Stratocaster - $850
- Fender Professional Tele/Stratocaster - $1,800+
- Fender Custom Shop Tele/Strat. - $4,500+

What I would say, is the Best Airguns are made to the standards of the Fender Professional guitars.
Good enough quality for the average consumer, but not good enough for folks who scrutinize it everyday (or use it to earning a living .... professionally).
I know this maybe an exaggeration (You Tube videos), but most veterans (Guitar Players) scoff at a stock, Fender Professional - saying it just doesn't Feel or Play good enough in their hands.

They want something more broken in or Worn in ................ and that has some other Customized Tricks done to it - they often use.
-> Sound Familiar ????

Enter in the Fender Custom Shop - :)
For roughly an additional $2,500+, a professional Luthier can make a guitar with (somewhat) standard specs - that has special wood, made everything broken in for smooth playing, and included the best pickups/controls you can get. I'm sure the paint is special too, but most videos seem to show it's their feel or play-ability that is paramount.

This is tantamount to having Motorhead, Paul Watts or maybe Michael Nitsch work the gun over.

The Custom Shop is like an excellent "after-market" Tune to enhance the guns shot cycle, efficiency or tweak accuracy a bit.
This is not to say an OEM gun is bad at all, just not ideal - further, many home/professional tuners can do the same - (mubhaur).

Using the Fender Custom Shop example, this is proportionally how much it would cost airgun manufactures to custom tune a gun.
Guitars are a different animal vs. Airguns .... there is a vast market for Custom Shop guitars, whereas most folks already complain about high Airgun costs. Guaranteed, only the top 5% (my guess) would buy an OEM, Custom Shop Airgun - meaning an idea domed to failure -> right now.

But I would suggest, this is a great way for folks with some basic skills to get close to a custom shop Airgun.
Again, were not all Motorhead's with a lathe, Mill and other stuff ..... but it's silly to settle for a Standard Airgun when a somewhat, Custom Shop alternative is available with a little $$, leg work and Tinkering Time.

Many will say a OEM - RAW HM1000x
doesn't need to be tuned, but why not try to achieve a Custom Shop version!(y)

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Your HM isn't exactly like your sunburst Tele, but its close. Good job on the burst. Nitro?

I have a lot of respect for guys on AGN that are able to fabricate a nice looking wood airgun stock are on par with a luthier that confab a guitar without using parts from Warmoth or StewMac.

I've thought about trying my hand at stock making. The I came to my senses.....I'll stick with guitars

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The Tele is a Wilkinson Modern Kit I received from Santa for $399+ at Christmas. So the only thing I really had to do was to dye stain the burst, and finish the body and neck to make them very playable. Coated body with Varathane Poly and rubbed out by hand with Mother's Mag Polish. Finished the neck with BLO, added some '64 Vintage Fender pickups, made a bone nut and added a 4-way switch to get pickups in series. Hopefully the Fender neck sticker doesn't look too bad or egregious. This was my first guitar attempt as I still can't play cords ......... :p

The RAW HM1000x, I added a adjustable butt pad, LDC, CFT shrouding for barrel, Peek valve, regulator seat and hammer tip parts, SSG and barrel polish. Actually spent considerably more time leaning the mods for the RAW vs. anything on the Tele. The Tele was more of a woodworking project with a little soldering.
 
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i have been modifying 99% of all of my electric guitars for about 50 yrs tuners ,pickups (also changing magnets in the pickups ,tone & vol pots ,shaving necks ect, some i wish that i didn't, they would be worth a lot of $$ now, also few yrs ago was modding my air guns also..now don't have time to (barely even shoot much, heck I'm too lazy to change guitar strings unless i have to..
 
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Your HM isn't exactly like your sunburst Tele, but its close. Good job on the burst. Nitro?

I have a lot of respect for guys on AGN that are able to fabricate a nice looking wood airgun stock are on par with a luthier that confab a guitar without using parts from Warmoth or StewMac.

I've thought about trying my hand at stock making. The I came to my senses.....I'll stick with guitars

View attachment 434884
looks like PRS style body's
 
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In 2020 I sold my '04 VW Golf MK4 Tdi 5sp to a younger fella - with a stage 4 chip tune - in a turbo diesel ;)
When he was driving away I had to teach the guy how to clutch shift to start moving, because that beast was spinning tires in 3rd gear :love:
Car mechanic is not my trade but I was maintaining and modding my cars and motorcycles since early '80s....
Btw, here around my place close by I have a full size race track, also several Euro Brand tuning shops, all good stuff :p
Last time I visited one shop to buy a car wax, one owner just put a $27K chip upgrade in a brand new WRX STi...
 
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SG's and LP's mostly here.


That was originaly an audio presentation recorded in 2001. I did all the tracks on a 4 track cassette recorder. Ten years later I coverted it to digital, and added video, so that I could share it.
Thanks for watching.
👍
 
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