Hearkening back to the exciting period when the Telecaster was a “new-fangled” instrument with surging popularity, the 1953 Heavy Relic Telecaster combines the sound and style of the past with modern features and playability. The lightweight two-piece ash body wears a carefully aged nitrocellulose lacquer finish, giving it the look and feel of a road dog that’s only seen the inside of a case once or twice during its service.
A pair of hand-wound Custom Shop single-coil pickups provides the classic Tele tone—the Twisted Tele neck pickup is joined by a fat-sounding “Broadcaster” bridge pickup for an unbeatable combination. Modern wiring, including a Greasebucket tone circuit that preserves volume when rolling back the tone control, shapes the pickups’ voice.
Other sterling features include a tinted quartersawn maple neck with “U”-shaped profile, 9.5”-radius maple fingerboard, 21 6100 jumbo frets, single-ply black phenolic pickguard, ‘51/’54 bridge with bend brass saddles, vintage-style tuning machines with Fender logo, bone nut and round string tree. Includes a deluxe hardshell case, strap and Certificate of Authenticity.
Condition: New (heavy relic); Body: Ash, 1-ply black pick guard; Neck: One-piece maple,52 Style U carve, 9.5 radius; Nut: 1.650; Color: aged copper metallic; Pickups: Custom Shop handwound Twisted Tele and Broadcaster; Scale: 25.5; Orientation: Lefthanded (of course)