This Fender Custom Shop ’50s Telecaster is brought to us by the incredible luthiers in Corona, CA in a beautiful Faded Aged Gold Frost Finish, and with a Journeyman Relic. Based on the original ’52 Tele model, this FCS gem recreates an iconic classic with vintage specs that would make any collector or player foam at the mouth.
The foundation of this iconic instrument is a 2-piece Ash body, sorted for weight to ensure the lightest Tele possible, cut to the exact shape of the original ’52. The body features a control plate which has been reversed, allowing for simpler access to the volume and tone knobs for adjustments while strumming, and less worry of knocking the 3-way pickup selector switch for heavy-handed players. Directly above that, a beautiful stark white parchment pickguard contrasts its gold body color.
The body is attached to a rift sawn, maple neck with a sturdy 4-bolt connection. This ’57-style Soft “V” profile neck features a maple fingerboard with a 9.5″ radius, divided by 21 Medium Jumbo frets, with Micarta Black dots found between them. At the heart of this FCS instrument are its pickups, two relic’d ’51-era single coil Blackguard single-coils that recreate one of the most iconic guitar tones in history. Crafted to match the Journeyman relic’d appearance of the guitar, these pickups deliver a vintage-inspired tone reminiscent of the original ’51 Blackguard Tele pickups, an extremely limited run rumored to be only about 200 sets.
Visually, the standout feature of this Telecaster is its Frost Gold finish, carefully faded and aged to achieve a unique look. Its FCS Journeyman Relic treatment finds a balance between the totally unused appearance of a New Old Stock (N.O.S.) Fender, and the well-worn look of a Heavy Relic. Its nitrocellulose lacquer finish adds to its vintage look, providing a slight touch of checking to the finish, while allowing the wood to breathe and resonate at the same time.
Finishing details on this beautiful instrument include chrome, knurled knobs, chrome-plated tuning machines, and an ashtray-style bridge, all featuring the same Journeyman treatment afforded to the rest of the guitar.
- Reversed Control Plate
- ’57-Style Soft “V” Rift Sawn Maple Neck
- 2-Piece Ash Body
- ’51-Era Blackguard Pickups
- Nitrocellulose Lacquer, Faded Aged Gold Frost Finish, Journeyman Relic
- ’52 Tele Body Shape and Profile
- Medium Jumbo 6150 Frets
- Micarta Black Inlays and Side Dots
