Honestly I think at $2000 the non-Fenders I would be wary of. The really good builders are likely going to be $3000 and up, so you're looking more at smaller builders, and that can be a nightmare.
20 years ago when I was still a drummer, I wanted a custom drum kit. I didn't want to drop $2500+ on a high end kit at the time so shopped around and found a builder who would finish and build the kit if I sourced the parts. I think at the end of the day I was going to spend about $1500 on the build, and he was a reputable builder.
So I order all the parts and give him the money, and things are moving along. He sends pictures of the drums in progress and they look good! But a few weeks later he says the humidity ruined the finish, and they need to be redone. Then a few weeks later he says they can't be refinished and he needs to order new wood.
Several more weeks go by, and it's a list of delays...family is sick, tools are broken, etc. Finally he finishes them and ships them out. I get them and they are not what I was hoping for...wrong color, dull finish instead of glossy, not the best overall. I tune them up and they don't sound good. Not the big sound in my head but they were just blah.
I was really heartbroken and disappointed after all that. I spent close to $2000 and waited an extra six months on top of spending a year designing the kit and sourcing the parts. I don't even think the builder tried to scam me or anything, I think he legit ran into a lot of issues and ended up building something subpar. Nobody was happy.
A year goes by and they just aren't working at all, so I sell them. Of course nobody wants to buy them because it's an "off brand" (not a custom build). I think I sold them for like $700 plus shipping. Just a complete waste of money.
Then I ended up buying a mid-level drumset from a big brand that was on clearance. I think it was about a $1200 kit I got for $800. It was amazing! It sounded massive, way better than expected. The finish was flawless. It tuned up perfectly. And a few years later when I got out of drumming for good, I sold it for what I paid originally.
Moral of the story for me - if you want a high end custom instrument, get it from a highly reputable builder whose instruments have a solid track record on the used market. If you want a high quality instrument but don't want to spend the money, get a mid level instrument from a big brand on sale or lightly used.
Back to guitars, the $2000 mark is kind of weird nowadays. Five years ago you could get a ton of really high quality USA guitars for $2k. Now with inflation that's closer to $2500-3000. I was in the same boat and got an Ibanez AZ2204 which is a high quality made in Japan guitar for under $2k, new with a blemish. G&L is in that range too.
One guitar I would look at for $2k if you like vintage Fenders is K-Line. New Springfields are $3k but used ones could be available for $2k.
Here's my MIJ Ibanez. Again, stainless steel frets, high end fret finishing, locking tuners, high quality Gotoh bridge with brass block, came stock with Seymour Duncans, I put in Suhr pickups. Also includes a high quality hardshell case.
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