Fender Custom Shop Reverse '50s Telecaster Heavy Relic Electric Guitar, Aged India Ivory

It's a real celebration around here with this Fender Custom Shop Reverse '50s Telecaster in a regal Aged India Ivory. Coming in hot from our friends over in that legendary West Coast workshop, this Tele is Fender royalty with its clash of a soft and pristine India Ivory finish and the Custom Shop's Heavy Relic finish treatment. Offering a visual and audible feast for Fender fans everywhere, this Custom Shop Telecaster goes a couple extra miles for a royal yet undeniably off-the-wall experience.

This Fender Custom Shop Reverse '50s Telecaster begins in an alternative fashion to many similar Custom Shop models. The body of this particular Tele is shaped from two-piece guitar ash, sorted for weight. A special consideration on this ash selection is its off-center treble side seam, resulting in a rarely-seen yet nonetheless impressive example of body shaping. This body contributes to a respectable weight in hand and a distinct tone off the bat.

Across this cut of ash, the Fender Custom Shop took the liberty to splash an Aged India Ivory lacquer finish with their classic Heavy Relic finish treatment. The combination of these elements produces a piece with clear wear, but with an undeniable and one-of-a-kind look. This particular Heavy Relic treatment grazes away some of the body's lacquer, revealing some of the natural wood grain hidden underneath. Delivering a real, multi-dimensional aesthetic to this guitar, this combination of visual elements makes for a great balance between a pristine color and the Custom Shop's rough-around-the-edges charm.

The two-piece, off-center ash of this Tele comes together with a riftsawn maple neck in a 52 Style "U" profile. Across the back of the neck, the playing experience is consistent and smooth with a key difference from many other Custom Shop necks. This Custom Shop's riftsawn maple is unfinished, resulting in a closer and textured feel in the left hand when playing. Effortlessly playable yet translating a unique touch to the palm, this Tele's unfinished neck is one-of-a-kind.

This Custom Shop's riftsawn maple fills out to a fingerboard lined with twenty-one frets. These frets are fitted with comfortable and familiar 6150 Medium Jumbo fret wire for an easy experience on the fingers. Along the fingerboard, this Tele measures with a 7.25" to 9.5" compound radius that starts with a rounder, vintage feel near the nut that flattens moving toward the body. Perfect for players seeking the best of both styles, this fingerboard matches classic and modern sensibilities. Micarta Black face and sidedots line the fingerboard while a 51-style headscoop headstock bears six Vintage-style tuning machines for easy string changes. The neck of this Telecaster is topped off with a real kicker of a specification. Across the length, the neck measures at a consistent .990" thick for a unique grip in hand from the lowest to highest registers.

The party only keeps rolling with this Custom Shop's electronics setup. In each position, this Telecaster fits a hand-wound 50-51 Blackguard single-coil that plays with outstanding Tele twang. This is where things get truly inverted, however. Onboard, this Tele is designed with a reverse-angled bridge pickup route and a set of reverse 51 Mod Nocaster controls. This pair of specifications flips the overall control interface on its head for an alternative angle on the traditional Tele formula. The whole experience comes together with a number of fine hardware specifications to tie this Tele together. A reverse Nocaster bridge matches with a bone nut measuring at a shorter 1.625", grounding strings across the full scale length. A Vintage Disk 50-55 string tree lands at the headstock while an Electro Socket output assembly appears at the body's base. Like the royalty it is, this Telecaster travels in style in a Fender Custom Shop Strat/Tele Tweed hardshell case.

For those seeking a regal and inverted Fender experience in equal measure, this Custom Shop piece parts crowds and demands attention. A truly alternative Tele – what could be better?