Fender '51 NoCaster NOS

I bought my NOS Nocaster because it is an authentic, historically dead-on accurate reproduction of the 1951 Broadcaster during the few months where the word, "Broadcaster" had been removed from the headstock decal, and prior to it being renamed, "Telecaster." While the features are few, they are well done, and easy to appreciate.

The neck is larger (or fatter) than modern Tele necks (such as the 52 Reissue, Deluxe Ash Tele, and Hot Rod Tele), and stands out as my favorite feature. The surprise is that although it is a 1951 design, it is the most ergonomically-correct neck I have ever played, and seems to increase leverage, so that bends and bar chords are easier and less fatiquing than on modern Teles. It fits the left hand so that there is almost no pressure on your thumb joint (which is just the opposite of a skinny neck). It also has a reverse taper, which means that it thins slightly as it nears the body, with the result being that it is very easy to play, even beyond the 12th fret. While nowdays the trend is toward flatter radii and larger frets, the combination of the neck, radius and small skinny frets is sensational.

The first knob is a master volume, and it works regardless of the pickup switch position.

Position 1 (aimed toward lower bout) is tthe bridge pickup, and the second knob gradually blends in the neck pickup, so you can have only the bridge pickup, and any combination of up to 50-50% bridge and middle pickups.

Position 2 is the neck pickup alone, and its wired only to the volume knob, so that the only way to control tone is with your playing technique.

Position 3 is the neck pickup wired through muddiest, most useless tone circuit that you can imagine, and is the reason that I returned mine during the trial period. While it is easy to modify (and not expensive), I wanted both historical authenticity and practicality, which meant that a mod was out of the question.

It sounds great with the switch in postions 1 and 2. The sound is fuller and clearer than modern Teles, and I agree with those who use the term, "grand piano character" to describe it. The ashtray bridge cover increase the grand piano effect.

I play though 50s amps, primary a 1957 Champ, which has only a volume knob, which means that neither the guitar or amp had a tone knob, which is somewhat limiting. The guitar body is ash (really lightweight, high quality ash) and the neck is maple (super white maple), both of which are said to contribute to a bright sound. This brightness, and the absence of a tone knob anywhere in my signal chain made the overall sound a bit too bright for my taste. This most likley would not have been the case if my amp had a tone knob or two.

This was my first Fender Custom Shop guitar, even though I've been playing Strats and Teles since 1967. It was perfect. Really perfect. No flaws. Incredible workmanship and materials. The factory set up was most impressive. It radiated quality. No kidding.

Teles and cockroaches are the only two things that will survive a hydrogen bomb. As to the "backup" question, this guitar was designed and built in the days when nobody, but nobody had a backup, because no one ever needed one.

I've never had a problem with any Fender guitar or amp.

I have a few guitars and amps, and bought this guitar for historical accuracy. Playing a guitar with no tone knob though an amp with no tone knob resulted in the guitar sounding too bright for my tastes. The position 1 "mud" circuit would be very difficult for anyone to like.

In sum, this is a great, historically correct guitar with amazing playability. If you have an amp with a tone knob, thi smay be the guitar for you - - although it might be a good idea to get one on a trial basis just in case.

Nitro finish, re-creation of the '51 classic, I am sure it is faithful in every way to the original.
This one is NOS (basically as new)
This one has a slightly flamed really chunky neck, which I find really comfortable, although I do have big hands.
The body seems 1 piece ash, grain just showing through
5 is not a low rating, it's just this guitar doesn't have a lot of features (which for me is a good thing)

I play jazz / funk / soul styles, and this guitar has a lovely sound for my styles. I have owned many tele's, including custom made jobs and vinatge tele's, this one though just has that 'mojo'. Even unplugged you can feel the sustain and quality of tone, when plugged in I was amazed at the clarity of the tele tone, the neck pickup is clean, warm, bright and open, mid-position has that unmistakable funky JB tone, and the bridge is warm and complex, not brittle like a lot of teles.
It is no more noisy that any other single coiled guitar.
I replaced the vintage tone circuit with the supplied 'modern' wiring option, as I didn't think I was losing any tones by doing so, I don't think there is a better wiring setup for teles.
I really really like this tele, the more I play it, the more I love it.

The guitar falls a couple of points here, the black pickguard doesn't sit perfectly flat, it seems buckled a bit, raised by about 2mm on one edge. The brass saddles also seem to be from a relic, not a NOS. Also the volume pot was loose and needed to be tightened.
The nitro varnish on the fretboard looks a bit messy partly covering the fretwire aswell, but no big deal, I'm sure it will wear soon enough.
None of these worried me too much, and apart from the pickguard, remedied within an hour, but should really be perfect for a custom shop guitar.

I think I read somewhere that Keith Richards fought someone off with his tele, I'm sure minewould be tough enough to do the same, and possibly just look a little more relic'd for the experience.
I would quite happily rely on this guitar, I don't gig much, but would just have a backup for string breakage and nothing else.

I thought about contacting fender re. the pickguard, but as I bought the guitar from A US dealer through ebay and shipped it to the UK, I don't know how well I'd be supported, so can't be bothered phoning them.

I've been playing 28 years, and have owned 70's tele's (pretty horrible), a 63 CC tele (quite nice, but not magic) a custom made tele (still got it) and possibly the best of the bunch (apart from the nocaster) a mexican tele custom (which was actually amazingly nice and sounded great). The Nocaster is by a long stretch the best of the bunch.

2005 NOS Fender '51 Nocaster Reissue. Vintage nitro finish in Honey Blonde...NOS treatment from the Custom Shop.

Will play with any style save Metal, perhaps...A truly great sounding guitar. Very resonant and musical. I play through a '62 Princeton, which is a great amp for this tele. The sound is both snappy and thick...very even tones and definitely has the 50's fender twang. The neck is large and feels great with a set of heavier strings (12's).

The guitar was set up fairly well from the factory...a few tweaks only got it where I needed it to be. As with a lot of new custom shop instruments (both Fender and Gibson) there were minor 'mechanical' issues in the beginning, such as loose toggle switch tips. Fender beats Gibson hands down in the custom shop catagory, however...I really couldn't be happier with the quality of this Nocaster.

I've only had the guitar about 3 months, but it does have a warranty...It seems to be built very well and aside from a loose switch tip, is just about flawless. I believe I could depend on it without any problems.

I've never dealt with Fender, but...they're a huge company and I've heard they can be a bit disorganized at times...hopefully I won't have to deal with them about warranty issues.

I love this tele and would definitely try to replace it. I went from playing a 1963 Jazzmaster to the Nocaster and they are very similar in fit and feel...its a great, great guitar.

A 2004 NOS CS Nocaster. That's pretty much it.

I wanted a 50s sound so I bought a 50s style guitar. The CS pickups are excellent. Sustains like no guitar I have owned or played. Incredible.

Set up was pretty good - well intonated but the bottom string rattled a bit and I had to tweak it to suit my style. Beautiful neck. Control knobs could have been fitted on tighter and the switch tip keeps falling off. I think the ashtray was meant for a closet classic so I swapped it for a friend's NOS. No biggie but come on guys this guitar cost the best part of $2000.

This is one solid axe.

Not applicable.

A guitar with a great sound, a great feel and a great look. The U shape neck and the vintage frets take some getting used to, as does the nitro finish. This is still getting really sticky by the end of a gig.

The thing I absolutely hate is the quality of the cases. The plastic one is a piece of junk. Doesn't close properly, cheap hardware, wouldn't protect the instrument from a heavy impact. I've bought a decent British case to keep the guitar safe in. The thermometer case is a curiosity I suppose - no use as a case. Hey FMI - how about just giving us one good case instead of two crap ones? I'

2004, Custom Shop tele, blah, blah. What features there are have been amply covered. It's a simple and beautiful thing, this guitar. The thermometer case looks OK in the corner, but I won't use it for anything.

I play blues, country blues, funk and soulful rock, and this guitar is great for all of them. I run a simple rig. Tele>Ibanez chorus>Dunlap wah>MesaBoogie DC-2. The sound can be gritty and smoky or clean and sweet. With a little finesse, you can make this guitar suit your mood.

This is really why I'm posting the review. A previous post noted that the body of the guitar overhangs the neck at the pocket joint. I noticed the same thing in the shop, asked the manager and he said it was intentional. To confirm I called the custom shop in Corona and asked one of the builders, who said they spent a lot of time and money mastering the replication of that very imperfection. Go figure. In any event, the news here is that that joint is supposed to hang over between a sixteenth and a thirty-second of an inch.

That said, the set-up of this guitar was pretty good. We put it on the bench in the shop and tweaked the intonation just a hair. Now it's magic. Play all night and basically forget about the tuners...

You can play this guitar forever, and use it to fend off attackers besides. You always want a backup, but with this guitar you shouldn't need one.

My only call was directly to the custom shop, where I got an actual luthier, not a marketing flak, and he was super helpful.

I've been playing 20-plus years, though I'm still decidedly amateur. I have an American Lone Star Strat, Gretsch G6118-T120, Tele-sonic, two Larrivee acoustics (dreadnought and orchestra) and a 1951 Burl Ives Gretsch acoustic.

If it were stolen, I'd need my insurance company to be helpful; it's a pretty spendy replacement. But I'd do it regardless. I've found the neck super comfortable. Just a very playable guitar

A 2004 CS NOS Nocaster nuff said. Minor gripes - the ashtray that came in the case seemed to be from a closet classic not a NOS. No biggie - could be a problem from the supplier. Main gripe is with the cases. The tweed thermometer one seems to be made of cardboard - I don't know if that is just like the original or not but it's rubbish. The plastic hard case is nearly as bad. Made in China, made as cheaply as possible with loose fasteners and the lid distorted in some way so that it never closes properly. Very poor for a guitar costing nearly $2000. Obviously this is mainly about the guitar so I won't mark it down that much.

The U shape neck takes some getting used to if you've not played a baseball bat sawn in half before. But neck shape is an entirely personal thing and you can't fault the authenticity or the craftsmanship.

A great vintage vibe from both pickups. Not sure if I'll keep the vintage wiring - the "neck position" is useless but I do like the blend between pickups on the tone knob when on the bridge. Endless sustain and ringing tones plugged or unplugged.

Well made, moderately well set. I tweaked the bottom string saddle screw to stop the bottom two strings buzzing. It's no guitar for shredders so why have it set up like one? I suspect the neck pocket is slightly too deep as there is a bit of lip between the bottom of the neck and pocket towards the lower bout. On a $2000 custom shop guitar? Surely not!

Built like tank.

No experience of this.

Playing for 30 years. Started on teles been through the rest and come back to teles. Next time I might specify a 9.5 inch radius neck with a C profile cos they are just the most comfortable for me, but that is just a personal thing.

features as listed above in the other reviews--a straight forward custom shop version of the nocaster. cases are kinda of lame. I rather have a nice regular tan Fender case than the cheapo plastic one and the 'cute' but not too usable original style one. not real sure what to do with them. Fender should give the buyer the option of which way to go.

wonderful sound from both pickups. of course there is some hum from the single pickups, but the tone is just amazing. very rich on the neck and great twang on the bridge. I play it thru a Bad Cat class a amp (Hot Cat) and it is magical on the clean channel--it almost has a natural reverb to it, if that is possible. it is really hard to explain how this simple guitar sustains notes. the 10's that came with it contribute to the tone.

perfect. there is a review above complaining about the way the neck joint is done--trust me it is done right eventhough it looks like a mistake. the store i bought it from had a real nocaster and several early 50's tele. we carefully compared the custom shop version and it was dead on in every little detail of the body--including fit 'problems' mentioned. i spent an hour comparing the two and the custom shop did their homework. the only exception was that maybe my neck was made of a better grade of wood than the original early 50 models.

it will last longer than me. like i said, the store had a perfectly playable nocaster...so in 50 yrs mine will look the same. problem is, I won't be around to play it! the included strap is vintage style but won't last too long--will throw it in a drawer and use a better one. I purposely bought this version instead of a closet of the more beat up one--I am hoping to put my own miles on this baby.

never dealt with them. I assume they will stand behind it, but come on, it's just a simple tele. not sure what can go wrong here except some weird neck warp, which I don't expect.

playing forever. my first fender was a 1972 tele bought new, so that explains 'forever'. btw, this tele is way better than that post CBS model was. I would buy it again in a heart beat. I have owned PRS, vintage strats (57 and 65). all great guitars, but this one has its own vibe. Like someone else said, if I could only have one guitar for the rest of my life, this one fits the bill. I know these things are expensive but you have to give the custom shop credit--they are building fenders today that are probably the equal (and is some ways better) than they did when the company was small in the 50's.

This is a 2004 NOS Nocaster from the custom shop with a light weight ash body and a one piece maple neck. Two single coil pickups and vintage tuners. The neck is wonderful and large and fits in your hand perfectly. The weight is just right and the guitar feels good over your shoulder.

This is the original solidbody guitar and it sounds truly wonderful. The pickups are very sweet sounding not harsh like some tele's I've owned in the past. The sustain is the main feature that grabs you, the notes will hang on forever and lead lines can be very expressive on this guitar. This guitar has a great tone and could be used for any style of music from jazz to rock to country! I play this guitar into a 63 fender reverb unit then into a 59 tweed twin by victoria and the sound is unbelieveable. Tweed amps and tele's are a marriage made in tone heaven!!!!

The workmanship and setup was perfect!

Old tele's are the most durable instruments ever made.

I've been playing for 30 years and I find this very basic and simple instrument one of the most expressive and toneful that I've ever owned and I've owned probably 50+ over my lifetime. I owned a 52 tele reissue in the past and this is in a whole differt class. If I had to chose only one guitar to have the rest of my life this would be it!!!

Fender '51 Nocaster reissue: 2003 guitar made in USA of lightweight ash for body and huge U-shaped neck with 21 frets and 18:1 Grover Kluson-style tuners. Of course the guitar has two pickups as is standard for a Telecaster, custom shop issue, not the same as those on the '52 vintage reissue. This particular guitar was ordered from
a Fender Master dealer with a limited edition upgrade of the neck, a deep and beautiful flame and a flatter radius of 9.5 inches which is definitely a modern feature that, considering the heft of the neck, makes the guitar a bit more difficult to barre but stems "clipping" when bending strings. The finish is a beautiful translucent vintage butterscotch through which the grain is visible.

I have played Telecasters from the start and this is by far the best I've owned. I play rock, country rock, folk and some jazz and the tones this guitar produce cover the gamut between the two pickups
and the tone control. The bridge pickup is excellent, rich and warm to hot, not at all shrill. The neck pickup is superb for rounder sounds including a fine jazz tone. The body is so light it quivers with response and the neck is rigid. I play it primarily through a 1965 Deluxe Reverb both clean and with an array of effects.

This Nocaster came from the factory with a fine setup that required just a bit of tweaking to get the relative volumes of the two pickups
exactly the way I like them. The action was perfect. I appreciated the perfect routing of the bridge cavity so that none of it showed at the edge of the bridge, a common Tele flaw. The neck was fitted to the body less than perfectly; a very slight gap shows on the bass side of the neck pocket which irks me. This is a very expensive guitar for one that is really so simple in design. The tuners, which are excellent, were also not fitted correctly and hesitatingly turned
until the dealer refitted them.

This guitar will be making music for a long, long time. My only complaint is that the lacquer finish on the body is quite thin and
a little patch on the butt edge of this particular instrument crumbled from a very light impact. The finish will wear down with use. On the other hand, that's part of what contributes to the guitar's beauty, the visible grain of the two piece body and it's lightness.

The warranty is reliable but extremely short for an instrument of this cost.

I own only high-grade instruments. A Gibson 335, Stratocaster 1960 N.O.S., Blackface Fender Deluxe Reverb, Maxon and T.C. Electronic effects, an Alembic bass, two superb Collings acoustic guitars.
If I ordered this guitar again with a custom neck I would choose a profile with a little taper...and possibly one fret size larger although that's getting away from the vintage thing.
One last comment: the cases that accompany this guitar are inferior.
It's not clear to me why they insist on a nonfunctional "thermometer"
case, although kind of cool, and a standard thermoplastic case too,
instead of providing one great rectangular custom case (Fender's already departing from tradition here) of the likes provided with a
Stratocaster N.O.S.

This fine guitar was produced in 2002. Great butterscotch colour with the baseball bat style neck. I think the guitar is great to look at but the best thing about it is the sound but I'll talk about that later. The guitar comes with two cases I agree with the other reviewer about the thermometer case it is not practical as it is top heavy. You also should receive fender custom picks, custom certificate, plus a few other goodies.

This is where the Nocaster comes into its own the SOUND I'm a big fan of Springsteen, Rolling Stone, plus many blues players such as Muddy Waters, BB King, Clapton etc. Having taken up the guitar 5 years ago this was one of the best purchasers I have ever made. The guitar sound amazing apart from the obvious twang sound it is also a very smooth sounding guitar and very versatile to boot. I sold my Gibson Es335 to get the Nocaster and although the Gibson was a fine guitar it does not compare to the Nocaster.

This to me is the best Custom shop guitar that Fender produce, as although the guitar is of simple design the style and look is just the best and I know I'll never sell it. The guitar was fantastically setup as soon as I picked up the Nocaster for the first time the sound brought a grin to my face I knew this was the sound that I was looking for.

I have owned the guitar for a year and it still plays and sounds fantastic. I stupidily knocked over the guitar from its stand and it has unfortunately slightly marked the back of the fine butterscotch colour off the guitar. But hey I'm slowly relicing my Nocaster my way!!!Or as I have been told I am giving the guitar character!!!

Never needed the guitar repairing as although as I mentioned it has a slight mark on it it still does not take away the style and more importantly the SOUND of the guitar!!!

To me this is the best guitar out there on the market of mass production!!! It does cost a bit but when you compare it to other guitars like the PRS & Gibson the price is more for less in my opinion. The other guitars I own are a custom built(kind of masterbuilt) Springsteen 52 Esquire, and a Santa Cruz D acoustic. All my guitars sound amazing and I would never sell any of them. Plus importantly I never get bored of any of my instruments. So if you are unsure of what guitar to purchase try a Nocaster out and I'm sure you'll be blown away with this fine guitar.