# A Fender master builder went to China

> John Cruz left the Fender Custom Shop and spent 273 days building a relic'd S-style for Farida, and only 60 exist.
- Title: A Fender master builder went to China · Guitar World
- Summary: John Cruz left the Fender Custom Shop and spent 273 days building a relic'd S-style for Farida, and only 60 exist. A former Fender Master Builder's…
- Keywords: guitars, john cruz, farida, fender custom shop, luthiery, Fender, master, builder, went, China, Guitar World
- Source: Guitar World — https://guitarworld.com/gear/electric-guitars/former-fender-master-builder-john-cruz-joins-chinese-brand-farida-and-unveils-first-guitar
- Published: 2026-09-11T17:00:00+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: guitars, john cruz, farida, fender custom shop, luthiery
## The S-style's next chapter
Everyone has spent the year asking where S-style guitars go next. One answer came out of Farida Guitars in China, as a limited run high-end model.
## Cruz builds his first JC-1
John Cruz, ex-Master Builder at the Fender Custom Shop, has unveiled the JC-1 with Farida. It took 273 days of development to get it out the door.

> It's the first time a Chinese guitar brand has brought a world-class master guitar builder onboard
## They built him a shop
Farida put real money behind the hire, building Cruz his own Custom Shop inside the company and giving him time to work. He walks through the process in the launch video.
## He listens to the wood
Cruz weighs every body blank to hit an exact target weight, then taps each one and picks by ear before it becomes a guitar.

> I like to tap on them and listen to the voice that tells me which one will be used
## Alder, maple, light relic
Two-piece alder body, bolt-on Canadian maple neck in a "JC Comfy C" profile between a Regular C and a Larger C, rosewood board, Olympic White with a tortoiseshell pickguard.
## The blend knob is the twist
Three custom-wound single-coils chase a '60s voice, but the second tone control works as a blend, so positions 1 and 5 mix neck with bridge. Sixty made, around $1,989.

> I know the guitar is a working instrument, something you pick up day after day
## Key takeaway

A former Fender Master Builder's hand-built relic for under $2,000 is the clearest sign yet that the S-style's next chapter may be written in China.