Wingshooter, I’ll chime in here and give you another opinion based on what I have seen/heard over the years. First, there are some very very very good call makers out there, several of who have been named in the posted replies already. Two of the more respected are Lamar Williams of Starke Florida and Darrin Dawkins of Rock Hill, S.C. You will most likely pay much more than $50 to get one of their boxes, and more importantly, have to get on a waiting list in excess of a couple years if they are to build one specifically for you. Well worth the wait and cost if you want a call that will most likely increase in value and become a heirloom you could pass down to your kids. The trick with these guys is they make a limited number of calls, if it doesn't "play" it does not leave their shop... PERIOD.
Some of the other “custom” call makers are easier to get a call from in a short time frame (usually already have some made up) and their calls sound and look excellent. Two of my favorite call makers are Jerry White, “Dad’s Custom calls in Hazelhurst GA and David Halloran in Great Valley, NY. Their calls look and sound as good as any out there, and again you can normally get one in a timely manner. Their hand made short checkered boxes run around $100 and quite sure they will work with you on the sound and help you select one that you like. The thing to keep in mind, no matter who builds these custom calls….. Lamar, Darrin, Jerry, David, or some other well known call maker, each box has their individual sound and no two are exactly alike. The sound is part of what makes them special, that, and the hand craftsmanship these individuals put into their calls. Again, the main thing with dealing with this caliber of call maker is you can rest assured they will not send a call out of their shops that doesn’t have turkey in it.
Lastly, you don’t have to have a custom box call to have one that sounds pure turkey. The BTD call that Max marketed a few years back was very inexpensive and I played many of them that sounded as good as any call (regardless of what you pay for it) that you could buy. Same can be said of many of the mass produced calls. Case in point, I have been fortunate enough to get my hands on numerous box calls from some of the better known call makers and to this day I still hunt with a field grade Quaker Boy box that I hand tuned many years ago. It sounds as much like a real turkey as any of the custom calls that I have, or have ever heard. It is not nearly as pretty or as valuable (except to me and a few of my close hunting companions) as one of the custom made calls.
Good luck with what ever box you choose!
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? i'm just looking for a good box call, nothing fancy.just a box call that sounds like a turkey dont really care what it looks like,not really a fan of long box's though. im a bit rough on my stuff so durability is a must, if the best box is one thats mass produced thats fine too. im just looking for your feedback and experience, i've always just been a mouth call kind of guy, but im looking to expand and figured that you guys would be the people to ask. Thanks alot!
. together we all could probably buy brand new trucks with the money we have spent in mouth calls, i guess im the only one looking outside the "box" 
