Fender Custom Shop '60 Relic Telecaster

(Originally written by tratrawood/translated from Audiofanzine FR)
Made at the US Custom Shop

20 vintage frets (very slim), 2 single-coil pickups (bridge pickup with chamfered black polepieces).

Vintage bridge with three slotted saddles like the models of the 60's.

Volume and tone controls, 3-way toggle switch.

Toggle switch positions:

- Bridge pickup

- Neck pickup

- Neck pickup with low-pass circuitry

I'd strongly recommend you to change it for a "modern vintage" configuration:

- Bridge pickup

- Bridge + neck pickups

- Neck pickup

This configuration is more common... simply better.

Picture:



Very high quality maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. "'61 Strat" neck profile (C profile) with the typical Fender roundness and thickness of the 60's.

Relic finish with less wear marks than on a Relic Strat (very worn out under the forearm). The paint is in a very good condition there, except for some wear marks and scratches. The cracked varnish looks great and gives it a vintage feel... High-class finish!

The varnish on the back of the neck is intact and it slides perfectly.

UTILIZATION

Many people say this neck has the perfect profile, but it is too small and slim for my long hands... I like folk guitar necks!

The hand slips easily, the nitro varnish feels very pleasant.

The guitar weights 7.7 lb. so you can carry it for a long time without getting tired.

Typical Telecaster playability.

You immediately hear the instrument produces an excellent sound. The acoustic sound is powerful considering it's a solid-body guitar. The whole guitar vibrates with each note.

You feel its vibrations in your body... this instrument is almost alive!!!

To get a good sound out of this guitar you first have to be a good guitarist because it reproduces absolutely EVERYTHING you play... including every hesitation. That's what I call high fidelity!!!

Our ears are not used to such a sound anymore, so it's a bit shocking in the beginning. Every note has a soul and cuts through the mix... it's very impressive.

I would give it 20/10 if it were possible.

SOUNDS

You can play every music style, you only have to be a versatile player. Just listen to Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine to understand what I mean.

You'll need a tube amp to get the best out of this great sounding guitar. I love this guitar when it's plugged into a Marshall or a Carvin amp.

It doesn't sound that good with a Fender Roc Pro 1000, but it's still very good considering it's a solid-state amp.

- The bridge pickup sounds... very sharp, biting and powerful. It can hurt your ears if you don't decrease the highs on your amp. But it sounds very musical and powerful with a very good amp !!!!

- The mix of both pickups is less "sculpted" than with a Strat but it provides a typical out-of-phase sound. The volume difference is very marginal, unlike with a Strat. It's THE position for funk rhythm parts, rock, Texas blues, etc.

- The neck pickup sounds as deep as the one of a very good Strat but provides more highs, in other words a better definition... It sounds amazing. With adequate tone setting, you'll get a perfect jazz and blues sound.

OVERALL OPINION

I've been owning it for a short time and I will sell it again because I prefer very thick Nocaster necks.

I've already had a '72 Telecaster and a '52 US Reissue (amazing neck) but they couldn't reach the fantastic sound of this one. The Fender Custom Shop produces amazing instruments with its Time Machine Series, even though they are mass produced (for hand-made instruments, take a look at the Masterbuilt Series).

The guitar was very expensive.

But it was still half the price of the original.

Passion has no price...

Don't try it out if you don't want to buy it because you might never get over it. It's like testing a Ferrari and driving back home with your normal car... more affordable but without personality.

Impossible to give it less than 10/10 in any aspect.