(ARCHIVE) Fender Custom Shop '64 Telecaster Relic Natural Blonde 2023
- Description
- Guitarchives
Fender Custom Shop '64 Tele, relic natural blonde, made in USA 2023. This is really, really good. The mid-60s era Fender Telecaster was blessed with a rosewood slab fretboard, silver spaghetti logo, pearloid dot markers, a three saddle bridge, two juicy single coil pickups and the classic simple controls. This limited-run beauty gets all those snazzy appointments, with a couple of notable modern twists. Firstly, the neck: it's got a modern style 9.5" radius, which is conducive to quicker lead runs and big bends. The neck is a moderate D style shape: not a baseball bat, but it's a generous carve with a fair bit of meat in the back, and it the rubbed-up satin finish feels perfect in the hand. The neck is paired with a gorgeous lightweight ash body, with all those wonderful wide grain lines on show under the blonde finish. The second modern touch is the pickups: two hot and happening Texas Special single coils, hand-wound in the Custom Shop. They're generously voiced, with heaps of grit and snarl, with a gregarious fat bass response and plenty of complexity and character in the midrange. I'm a longtime fan of Texas Specials in a Tele, and this is definitely the best example of their many virtues I've had the pleasure to play. The relic is tastefully done: noticeable but restrained, and the delightful creme caramel colour of the aged blonde finish is really quite something. If you're going to buy a Tele, you may as well get a really, really good one.
Model: Fender Custom Shop '64 Telecaster Relic
Made: 28 Mar 2023, Corona USA
Serial: CZ569639
Finish: natural blonde, gloss nitro, relic treatment
Body: swamp ash
Neck: quarter-sawn maple, rosewood slab fretboard, 9.5" radius, 25.5" scale, moderate 60s D shape
Weight: 3.5kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Fender CS Handwound Texas Special single coil x2
Accessories: original tweed hard case, documents, bridge cover, brochure and certificate of authenticity
Cosmetic condition notes: relic finish treatment. There's no major damage on the headstock, neck or body aside from the original relic processing, although it's difficult to know for sure.
Overall: excellent condition (9.5/10)
Playing condition notes: action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 10/46 strings.
Fret life: 9.5/10, minor wear only
This listing is an archived entry. We love to look back and remember fondly what characters we've had through the store, so we keep them around for reference.