Fender Custom Shop '63 Telecaster Relic - USA 2015

What makes a relic Telecaster worth owning? The Custom Shop applies the wear before the guitar ever leaves the building, so you get the lived-in look of a 1960s Tele without waiting sixty years for it. This ‘63 Relic was built in May 2015, serial number R81288, and the finish is the star. It’s Iced Blue Metallic, aged back at the edges, the back and the forearm contour, with the metallic flake still shining through the nitrocellulose lacquer.

It’s part of Fender’s Time Machine series and was only made from March 2015 to July 2017. It comes with a letter from Fender Consumer Relations confirming the serial number, model, finish and full factory spec.

The body is alder, with a mint green 3-ply pickguard. The bridge is an American Vintage strings-through-body Tele bridge with threaded steel saddles, and it has the same aged look as the chrome control plate. The quartersawn maple neck has a mid-’60s oval C profile and the amber tint of a vintage neck. The round-laminated rosewood fingerboard has a 9.5" radius, 21 narrow jumbo frets and aged white dot inlays. The headstock has the Fender logo, a single wing string tree and the Custom Shop signature decal on the back. The rest of the hardware, down to the American Vintage tuners and the top hat switch tip, is aged to match, so nothing on the guitar looks too new.

The sound is classic Tele. It has a pair of American Vintage ‘64 grey-bottom single coils. The bridge pickup is bright and snappy, with plenty of twang and bite, and the neck pickup is warm and round for smoother leads and rhythm. The tone control is Fender’s Greasebucket circuit, which rolls off the highs without making the sound muddy, so it stays usable through its whole range. A Custom Shop Tele like this needs no breaking in, because the wear is only skin deep and the feel is already settled.

It comes in its original black hardshell case with orange plush interior, plus the case candy it shipped with. The original certificate of authenticity isn’t included, but the Fender letter documents the guitar, and a replacement COA can be arranged through Fender.

Iced Blue Metallic never goes out of style, and a bit of wear only improves it.

Specifications:

Weight: 3.4kg / 7.5lb

Action at 1st Fret: 0.25mm

Action at 12th Fret: 1.5mm

Neck Depth at 1st Fret: 23.18mm

Neck Depth at 12th Fret: 24.25mm

Nut Width: 41.83mm

Width at 12th Fret: 51.86mm

Model: Fender Custom Shop ‘63 Relic Telecaster, Time Machine Series

Year: 2015

Origin: USA

Serial Number: R81288

Finish: Iced Blue Metallic, Relic, Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Body: Alder

Neck: Quartersawn Maple, Mid-’60s Oval C Profile

Fingerboard: Round-Laminated Rosewood, 9.5" Radius, Aged White Dot Inlays

Frets: 21, Narrow Jumbo

Scale Length: 25.5"

Headstock: Fender Logo, Custom Shop Signature Decal, Single Wing String Tree

Pickups: American Vintage ‘64 Grey-Bottom Single-Coil Tele

Controls: Master Volume, Master Greasebucket Tone, 3-Way Blade Switch with Top Hat Tip

Pickguard: Mint Green, 3-Ply

Bridge: American Vintage Strings-Through-Body Tele, Threaded Steel Saddles

Tuners: American Vintage

Hardware: Aged Nickel/Chrome

Case: Original Black Hardshell, Orange Plush Interior, Case Candy

Documentation: Fender Consumer Relations Letter Confirming Serial and Specification

COA: Original Not Included, Can Be Arranged Through Fender