Fender Masterbuilt Apprentice Ron Jessurun 1962 Telecaster Aged Burgundy Mist Metallic/Relic

A Masterbuilt-quality Tele with Strat-style comfort, TV Jones muscle, and player-first upgrades you won’t spot at first glance.

This Ron Jessurun (Masterbuilt Apprentice) '62 Tele is full of cool details that you might not catch on first glance, giving a great window into Ron's approach to building - upgrade / hotrod the classic Tele with an eye towards the player's experience. Ie, build a better mousetrap.

If you've never experienced a set of TV Jones pickups in a Tele, you'll be pleasantly surprised. An idea that's been around for years, these pickups - with their famous upper midrange chime and top-end clarity - pairs beautifully with an alder bodied Tele. They're fatter, with more muscle behind each note/chord vs the standard single coils.

We've noted the "divide" that separates Fender fans before - players who favor Teles vs players who favor Strats - and Ron has delivered a guitar that will meet those folks right in the middle. The body features a tummy cut, an arm contour, a trem (more on this is a minute), and a very Strat-friendly 60 style oval C profile (.79-87") with a 9 1/2" radius for the Strat fans.



Tele fans will appreciate the body silhouette, control plate layout, 3-brass saddle bridge - though now with more trem! We've seen this design on other Fenders over the years, and on boutique guitars from b3 (Gene Baker) and Micheal Tuttle, though it's still pretty rare - and very cool.

Tonally, you get the chime and snap that brass saddles are known for, but you can join your Strat cousins with the ability to grab a trem bar and add some subtle vibrato to chordal passages, or you can unleash your inner Hendrix and go a little crazier, your call.

Other details include a angled 3-way switch, jumbo frets (6100), and staggered tuners - told you there were details that aren't obvious on first glance.

All in all? This is a very cool build that brings together Masterbuilt quality with an up-and-coming builder's vision for what the perfect Tele can be.