A Well-worn Throwback to the Tele's Early Era
If you've longed to get your hands on an early Telecaster, here's your chance. The Fender Custom Shop 1953 Telecaster is as close to the genuine article as you can get without taking out a second mortgage. The 1953 Telecaster gives you the twang, bite, and vibe of the original — all without an exorbitant investment and endless visits to your luthier. This axe may look over 60 years old, but it sports a supremely playable modern 9.5-inch radius and 6100 frets on its chunky quartersawn U-profile maple neck. Topped off with superb-sounding hand-wound Custom Shop pickups and custom wiring, the Fender Custom Shop 1953 Telecaster is a music time machine that, once you start playing, you won't want to put down.
Related Videos: 1953 Telecaster Heavy Relic Electric Guitar - Butterscotch Blonde
Real-deal visuals: the Heavy Relic treatment
The Fender Custom Shop's Relic treatment creates instruments that are spittin' images of the originals. Without sneaking a look at the neck heel stamps, you'd be hard-pressed to distinguish the Custom Shop 1953 Telecaster Heavy Relic from the real deal! A period-correct nitrocellulose lacquer finish gives the guitar a timeless, classic look, while the Relic process gives you a guitar that looks like it's seen its share of hard touring. Nitro finishes — standard back in the ’50s — are significantly thinner than today's polyurethane finishes, allowing the guitar to "breathe." Nitro finishes not only look wonderfully vintage, but they also enhance the instrument's tonal qualities.
Custom Shop pickups serve up period-correct Tele twang
The Fender Custom Shop's 1953 Telecaster is loaded with a pair of hand-wound Fender Custom Shop single-coil pickups (a Twisted Tele in the neck position and an Original Black Guard at the bridge) that deliver all the legendary Tele chunk, twang, and bite of a vintage ’53 Telecaster.
Greasebucket tone control rolls off highs without adding bass
Fender Custom Shop luthiers spec’d the 1953 Telecaster with their Greasebucket tone control, which rolls off highs without adding bass or affecting your volume. This is seriously cool because it gives you explicit control over your tone onstage or in the studio without having to compensate for volume loss.
It's all about playing feel
The Fender Custom Shop '53 Tele looks totally vintage and plays like butter. If you savor the feel of a played-in guitar with a chunky neck and perfect fretwork with spot-on intonation, Sweetwater has your axe right here! The ’53 Tele sports 6100 jumbo frets and a 9.5-inch radius so you can bend up high without fretting out. It's the best of old and new!
Fender Custom Shop 1953 Telecaster Features:
- Lively and resonant 2-piece select ash foundation
- Rock-solid quartersawn maple neck in a chunky U-shaped profile
- Modern 9.5-in. radius and jumbo frets serve up slick, buzz-free bends across all 21 frets
- Hand-wound Fender Custom Shop Twisted Tele and Original Blackguard pickups dish out a fiery blend of old-school bridge-position twang and Strat-style sparkle
- Modern wiring package includes a Greasebucket tone circuit that allows you to roll off treble without sending your signal into the mud
- ’51–’54-style Telecaster bridge with old-school brass saddles pays faithful tonal tribute to early-era Tele tone
- Classic slot-in vintage-style Fender tuning machines offer fast, simple string changes and impart a touch of retro flair
- Heavy Relic nitro lacquer finish emulates the broken-in feel and battle-scarred vibe of a played-in golden-era classic
