Fender Custom Shop '52 P90 Telecaster Closet Classic Electric Guitar, Faded Chrome Red

Oh, what a good day it is. Our favorite day, even. Today is the day we welcome another glorious Fender Custom Shop into our lives—ready to be offered to the very lucky you. Here, we'll examine a '52 P90 Telecaster Closet Classic in a Faded Chrome Red finish, a superb stunner of aesthetics, tones, and every minute detail that makes a Tele a "Tele". Excuse the shakiness in my voice text, I'm just excited.

Birthed in Corona, California, this '52 Telecaster boasts its impressive build from the very first pop of the case latches. Upon first glance, it's impossible not to be caught in awe by the Closet Classic Faded Chrome Red finish—sported on an ash body with checking adorning every surface. Ash makes for a perfect palette for tonal shaping, allowing for piercing articulation and harmonic density that has been trusted and utilized for decades of storied musicality. When lifting the guitar for the first time, you'll notice the remarkable weight (or unweight for that matter) clocking in at an impressive 7lbs 1.5oz. That's that sorted for lightweight magic!

We could get lost in the dazzling body all day; let's move on. Supplying the Tele play-range is a beautiful quartersawn maple neck—offered in a '52 "U" profile with a gloss medium tint finish. Smooth and comfortable is a given when it comes to Custom Shop, but this neck is sincerely inspiring. The "U" shape fits seamlessly in the palm, allowing for gliding and sliding across the entire 25.5" scale length. This '52 Tele doubles down on the maple with a fingerboard touting the same material, adorned with micarta black dot inlays and 21 narrow tall inlays. Producing that signature Tele snap, and intuitive for chords and bends alike, there really is nothing like the feel of a Custom Shop Telecaster.

But no masterclass guitar is complete without the proper hardware to support it. A '51-'54 era Tele bridge supplies fantastic vibration transfer, fulfilling all resonant tone demands for a guitar of this caliber. Additionally, the bridge features adjustable saddles for an ideal setup and perfect play. On the other end of the instrument, a bone nut supports intonation, and vintage style tuning machines (with Fender logo) keep all pitches secure—always ready for writing sessions, recordings, and on the fly noodles.

How could we forget? You probably want to plug this guitar in, right? Well, you're in luck, because this '52 Tele outputs like no other. Starting with the bridge, this Tele offers a Custom Shop Original Blackguard single-coil pickup, supplying the Tele twang we're sure you already love. Crisp and concise, this pickup does clean better than most, and even lends a bite when performing the proper pick digging. Now, let's move on to the neck pickup. A rich Fender Custom P-90 adds a different flavor to this guitar—beefy, loaded with character, and blends nicely with the bridge pickup when in the middle position. This Tele sports classic controls, where every setting is a profoundly applicable tone. No, your ears don't deceive you. This is the best Tele you've heard.

Packaged in a tweed Fender hardshell case for secure travel to-and-fro gigs, the studio, and everywhere else you want to show off this special guitar, we promise you'll shine just as vibrantly with this Fender Custom Shop '52 Telecaster.