gringopig's guitars
2020 Fender Custom Shop
1972 Telecaster Custom
A limited edition from 2020, this is a recreation of all the good bits of an early '70's Telecaster Custom.
It leaves out the bullet truss rod, 3 screw micro-tilt neck plate and the 6 saddle bridge parts. Described on the floor traveller as being a '67 body, this ultra lightweight beauty is a fantastic sounding guitar.
The 1970's are often looked down on in snobby guitar circles and maybe with good reason. The guitars started getting heavy and covered with plastic goop. This was the era that gave Fender the bad reputation that persisted for years.
However, there were some great models released in that decade: the Telecaster custom then the Deluxe a year later and the Starcaster too. Keith Richards played a black Custom for years so they can't have all been bad. He did like a humbucker in the neck position and this model had it from the factory.
The wide range CuNiFe magnet equipped challenger to Gibson's '70's crown. Single coil was out. Hendrix was dead and the heavy years were in. You needed to pump that Marshall 100W head with signal to get the tone!
Click on gallery for larger version
I saw this one at Fender Fever in London and it looked amazing. It has the most outrageous flamed maple neck and a nice dark rosewood board. Kudos to Fender Fever as they shipped really quickly and the guitar was just as they described.
What a sound it has!
The wide range is beefy but doesn't overpower the bridge pickup which is is pretty girthy by itself. Both together and the flexibility of the Gibson control layout and it's hard to beat.
At the top of the pot travel, it has this astonishing sizzle and this might be down to the pickups being microphonic and I'm a fan of that sound. No dullness at all. You can tweak the tone controls too to get a great range of variations on the pickups.
It's reliced too but really authentically. No drill bits and belt sanders touched this one.
Check out the photos above for the neck. What a flame it has. The profile is described as being '60's oval C but it's not like a Stratocaster neck you see on the early '60's re-issues. This one is chunkier with a neck depth of 0.085" at the 1st fret, so more like a mid '60's neck but a bit wider. It feels like my '67 Jaguar actually.
Listen to the demo below to hear the glorious tones!
