Description

We've always had a soft spot for a great Tele Custom - perhaps we're alltrying to be as cool as Keith Richards? Maybe it's that a lot of us come from a rock background as players? No matter, the bottom line is that the Tele Custom embodies a lot more rock n roll swagger than it's twangier Telecaster brethren. 

The black relic'd finish paired with the beautifully aged maple neck certainly helps with the sexier vibe, as does the Gibson-style 4 knob control layout and Wide Range humbucker in the neck position. No question Fender was trying to appease the players of the day buy pulling in some decidedly Gibson elements (Seth Lover, who designed Gibson's humbuckers, also designed Fender's Wide Range humbucker). 

In keeping with that idea, the current Fender Custom Shop is also appeasing modern players by utilizing a 9 1/2" fretboard radius, 6105 frets, and an ingenuous volume and tone pot setup. The bridge pickup is assigned to a 250K pot which helps retain that classic Telecaster snap and top-end response while the neck pickup is assigned to a 500K pot which keeps the neck pickup open and clear (a 250K pot on a humbucker would make it sound too dark and muddy, a 500K pot on a Tele bridge pickup would be too bright). 

Beyond the talk of specs, in hand this guitar is incredibly fun and rewarding to play. It's very lightweight (7lbs 3oz) and the playability is quite a bit better than the vintage Tele Customs we're used to. There's a lot of snap and sustain on tap and the aforementioned wiring setup ensures you can pull a wide range of tones (oof, no pun intended) from your setup - be it classic Tele twang (don't let us fool you into thinking this is a "rock guitar" only, it isn't) or Stones-esq fat neck pickup tones.

Most importantly for us? This limited run Tele Custom is just a joy to play. That's really the whole point, right? 

Priced with hardshell case. 

Specs

• 2 Piece Ash Body, sorted for light weight, no belly cut
• Quarter-sawn AA flame maple neck, 4 bolt 
• 9 1/2" radius
• 1.65" nut width, bone
• 60s Oval C neck carve (.85"-.92")
• 6105 narrow / tall frets, 21
• Fender Wide Range CuNiFe pickups
• 2 Volume, 2 Tone - black skirted amp knobs
• 250K pot (bridge pickup), 500K pot (neck pickup)
• Hardshell Case
• SN CZ558771
• 7lbs 3oz