Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition '51 Telecaster - Aged Nocaster Blonde, Super Heavy Relic

Super Heavy Relic - It's not everyone's cup of tea but there's absolutely no denying that the ageing work done on this instrument is absolutely exceptional.

Why all the wear? Is there a benefit? Well, yes there's a few actually. There's practical benefits like not worrying about denting or scratching your expensive guitar. There's feel and playability benefits because it's got that worn-in comfort in the neck. There's the resonance benefits because there's less nitrocellulose lacquer layers holding the high-grade ash body back from it's maximum amount of resonant vibrations.

When this guitar arrived we quickly realised it's got that spanky Tele thing going on. You know, the American country rock type thing that a lot of guitarists find useful to layer into almost any type of music.

This guitar features a hand-selected piece of swamp Ash for the body that was chosen for its balance between lighter weight and maximum tone, and the voice carries through a set of Fender Custom Shop handwound '50/'51 Blackguard single coil pickups.

The quartersawn AA-grade flame Maple neck feels amazing AND it isn't the shape you might have guessed you'd find on an early '50s style Tele. On this model, Fender has gone with the popular 10/56 V--shape which is still chunky but is widely considered more playable than a giant '51 neck. The fretboard is sanded to a compound 7.25" to 9.5" radius and is fitted with narrow-tall fretwire.

Serial: R111977
Weight: 3.41 kg / 7.5 lb