Fender Custom Shop Artist Inspired 52 Tele in Butterscotch

The Fender Custom Shop have let us get our hands dirty and have a go at designing our own little series of guitars using their Custom Shop spec sheet. We all have a couple of famous strats in our head played by legendary guitarists and the Artist Inspired range is our take on some of the world's most iconic guitars. These are not official signature models just our interpretations of some of the best guitars we have ever seen.

The Blonde '52 Tele

This heavily modified Telecaster inspired so many guitars after it originally came out that when the Artist Inspired range was created we knew we had to work on this. Finished in the original Butterscotch Blonde with a black pickguard this guitar is a reall classic looker. Take a look a bit deeper through and you will notice some odities like the use of a humbucking pickup in the neck position.

Construction

Finished in Butterscotch Blonde you can really see the detail of the Ash underneath especially after it has been aged further by you playing it for a few years. The Ash used in the body was hand selected to be light and was matched up with a quality all Maple '52 Telecaster neck but with a later Mid 60's Oval 'C' neck shape which is a bit more playable than those really old Telecasters.

Electronics

Int he bridge position you have a single '51 style Nocaster single coil pickup as you would expect. In the neck position however this guitar has the classic Seymour Duncan SH-1 humbucker pickup. Also known as the 1959 this PAF style humbucker has all of the smooth humbucker tones you will every need. This combination opens up opertunities for different sounds that 2 single coils cannot give you. Warmer cleans and slightly higher output on leads make the humbucker a great addition.

Journeyman Relic

Before Fender introduced their Journeyman relic you had the choice of New Old Stock (Fresh out of the factory), Closet Classic (aged but not worn) or their standard Relics, which even when done lightly still looked quite battered. Now the Journeyman finds a nice spot in-between Relic and Closet Classic. A good amount of ageing with some small marks and dings to show it has been played give this guitar a great bit of character.

Specifications

• Body: Telecaster
• Wood: Selected Lightweight Ash
• Neck: Plain Maple
• Fretboard: Maple
• Pickups: Nocaster '51 Single Coil and Seymour Duncan 1959 Humbucker