Fender Custom Shop S23 Limited Edition 1950 Double Esquire Heavy Relic Guitar, Aged White Blonde

PLAYER'S PERSPECTIVE

We're stoked to bring you another beautiful creation from our friends over at the Fender Custom Shop! This stunning 1950 Double Esquire Heavy Relic is part of a group of eleven very special one-of-a-kind instruments we took home at the Fender Custom Shop Spring & Summer 2023 Event.

Based on a "double" (two-pickup) version of the historic Esquire model that predates the Telecaster, this gorgeous guitar has all the ingredients that make a '50s instrument incredible and the aesthetic touches that truly make it a convincing vintage recreation, along with a few other tricks up its sleeve. It's finished in a a gorgeous aged White Blonde, our favorite finish for a '50s Tele, and comes with a gorgeous one-piece riftsawn maple neck, a classic vintage-accurate black pickguard, and an excellent heavy relic pattern that remains tasteful whilst having the worn-in look and feel of a guitar that has been toured and taken through the ringer.

The resonant ash body and riftsawn maple neck come together for the familiar tonal recipe found on all of your heroes' favorite '50s Teles. The aging on the nitro lacquer is simply perfect. The neck profile on this one is an absolute beast - it's one of the heftier shapes we've put our hands on, which is accurate to early '50s baseball bat-esque profiles. Starting at an already beefy .925 and going up to a colossal 1.00 at the 12th, it's perfect for the big benders and aggressive bluesmen out there who really love to dig in and get their hands around the instrument. This profile works great in combination with the unique 7.25 - 9.5" compound neck radius and 47095 frets. Part of the aging on this guitar is the sanded neck back, which allows for a more natural-feeling, smooth playing experience without the usual stickiness of a new gloss finish.

Stock, this one features a modified Nocaster wiring configuration. This unique vintage-accurate wiring setup has the 2nd knob as a blend knob instead of a tone control and is a very interesting system that allows you to blend the neck pickup in with the bridge pickup in the back position, the neck pickup to go straight from the volume to the output jack in the middle position for a balls-to-the-wall clear attack, and a rolled-off neck position tone in the forward position. This allows for a ton of possibilities usually inaccessible with a modern Telecaster.

However, this may not be for everyone, so the Custom Shop also went ahead and included an extra pre-wired control plate inside the case for a more conventional setup if you so wish. This one is a bit more familiar and straightforward, with a standard master volume/master tone and 3-way switching. The "Fat 50s" wiring changes the way the volume and tone pots interact with each other, giving you an enhanced degree of functionality to the knob sweeps than you would usually get on a modern setup. This allows rolling off of the volume or tone pot without losing body to your sound. This would definitely be the way to go for players used to a regular Telecaster, but we love the stock off-kilter Nocaster wiring as well!

To go along with either configuration, this guitar features an absolutely gorgeous-sounding '50 - '51 Blackguard pickup set, which captures all the twang, muscle, warmth, and brightness of those original-era pickups.

You know you're getting a special instrument in your hands any time you pick up something built by Fender's Custom Shop team, and this guitar is sure to not only meet but exceed your expectations.

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