Fender '51 NoCaster Relic

All pots, three way switch, tuners and pick ups perform as designed. The key feature of this guitar is its lack of features and its trueness to the original Nocasters.

I wish the Admin. for H/C would clarify that when you choose a rating for this category, it should be based on how the amenities of the item being perform. Not, by counting numbers of knobs.

As far as specifications; the Nocaster is true to the original design, down to the neck pocket lip.

This one is fairly light at 6lb12oz.

I have owned several Telecasters and some boutique "T" types and have played some really desireable colector Teles. My 88 AV 52 RI has been the "guitar to beat" tonewise for me over the past year, it blew away my Grosh and all other visitor teles.....until now. I just bought my Nocaster Relic.

This guitar has more clarity than my 52 RI and is much louder acousticly. I had the controls set as follows; front posistion is neck pup with volume and no tone, middle posistion is both out of phase, rear posotion is the neck pup with volume and tone.

The extra-deep U sahpe neck is part of the tone and clarity IMHO. I was worried at first that left hand vibrato/tremelo would be a thing of the past but that hasn't been a problem.

Dave at Guitar Resurrection change the wiring and performed a setup for me prior to me taking posession of the guitar, I highly recommend the folks at rez.

This is a relic model the relicing is mild and convincing on most accounts, except the the fake fretboard wear looks a bit contrived.

Great neck pocket fit.

Superb quartersawn maple neck.

Super nice one-peice ash body.

I think you could beat down a tank with one of these.

Never had to deal with Fenders CS dept.

I've been playing over 40 years, electrics for the last 10. Telecasters are perfect for me no matter what style of music Iam playing.

To me, the Custom Shop Nocasters are the cream of the crop of Telecasters.

July 2006 Fender Custom Shop Nocaster Relic. You know what it is. The best feature on this guitar in my opinion is that HUGE NECK. It's the biggest neck I've ever played and it really surprised me how comfortable it is. I have the REALLY Small hands..and I really mean small with short fingers. Imagine hands of 8 or 9 yrs old kids yep, mine just like them. I had always thought that the thinnest guitar neck'd be the best option for me but when I laid my hand on this guitar I know straight away there's something different. It just fits my palm and allows my fingers to move comfortably. I have owned a Strat with C neck, I thought it's gotta be my best choice becuase of the neck's size and a lot of guitarists say so. The Nocaster changed all that.
* I now beleive it's misleading to say small neck or flatter radius are designed for faster, more comfy playing experience. You've got to try them all to find out which one suits your best*
I play this guitar equally well as my Les Paul R0 Historic with 60s neck shape.
I can't praise it enough...really allows me to hang in there and dig the notes. Amazing!
Mine is 6lbs...just super light for a solid body! Many players from a few forums reckon Nocaster 06 model were one of the lightest batches ever produced. I totally agree with mine. 6 lbs flat on my digital scale...I'm sure they don't come any lighter than this! The wood is extremely resonat too..compare with my 52 RI there really is no comparison. Neck Maple neck on mine is slightly flamed. Just a beautiful instrument. This guitar has got everthing I want and never thought of. I've been really spoiled this time.

I mainly plays Blues Rock or Old school Rock. The muddy setting on the guitar is actually very usable for some mellow tunes. The mid position is just clean and breaks up nicely. The bridge is snappy and twangy..if I could do all those Chicken pickin' chops. I play this through Goerge Dennis Blues Beetle 15 watts. I set all knobs at 12'o clock and let it sings. A really beautiful sounding guitar. I'm sure that's because of its ligth weight body. I give it 10 here considering I only gave my LP R0 8/10 and my 56 Relic Strat 7/10 so there must be something special in this guitar. Ah....I've got the word ....Dynmic & picking sensitive...that's right.

Construction is superb. It feels solid. I bough this from a dealer on eBay. The set up was alright but I tweaked to my personal preference. "Nut was well cut!" I couldn't believe at last I found something that was expertly put together from Fender. My 56 Relic's nut was poorly cut, just too deep on G string..buzzes like mad. 10/10 again!

Tuff Dog! It will last will a prper care. Finish is thin but who wants a thick finish guitar?

Fender Dealer in Thailand is nice but sorry I didn't buy from them but they were able to answer my many silly questions.

I've been playing for a few years now. For some reasons I thought I should try this guitar so I pulled a trigger on eBay. I though if it was a dud I'd just let it go but turn out to be one of the best guitars I've owned. I got it for a very fair price too! I don't think this guitar is replacable. Each guitar is different so i don't know if I'll ever find another one exactly or better than this. I just got lucky.

standard features as any newer fender relic nocaster...mine is very light and has a huge neck....06 model...

sounds fantatstic...except i dont need the mud setting on the 3rd positions...will put a different cap to make it useful..lead pickup is fantatstic....i wont change either pickup..they run quiet too....for this price, why should you have to change them ..fender?..huh..?

soap box time...i wish somebody from fender would respond to this...i recently went into a very famous vintage/new guitar store....i picked up 3 different 'relic' strats...priced around 2600 dollars...thats for two pieces of wood bolted together...the necks on all 3 were so badly bowed that i was stunned....these were new guitars...they played like complete shite....i know good and well that a guitar never left leo fender's shop showing anything near to that terrible level of quality..he would have burned it rather than ship it.....either fender is using the worst wood possible for many of these necks or these were all stricken by the finger of god on there way from the factory.....why anyone would buy one is amazing....thats my warning.....dont ever buy one of these sight unseen.....you buy one on ebay that looks like a 'deal' and you end up with a 2 thousand dollar sway back mule.....some of the ones i saw were so bowed, that i dont see how it would be possible for a truss rod to take all the bow out....whats going on here..?..how do you make a neck that is this shitty..?.......and the other thing.....the only fender relics or closet classics that feature the real fender vintage fretboard 7 1/4 radius are the nocasters....most all the others have a 9 1/2 radius....which is nothing like a vintage fender....they are flat and dont feel right....i think fender says that they do that so they are more easy to play but thats a lie....the reason is, they are probably cheaper to make, as that way,you dont have to actually have enough talent carve a 7 1/4 radius...people dont seem to mind paying 50 grand for real old fender with the correct radius....why someone would for over 2 - 5 grand for a custom shop with the wrong fretboard radius is crazy...you might as well buy a cheap 100 dollar might mite neck on ebay and put a decal on it...and whats with this 'masterbilt' crap..?..what kind of master does it take to bolt a neck to a body..?.if the bodies and necks were good quality, then any competent tadeo gomez could pop together a lot of classics everyday on a production line...tadeo did it, he was great, but he had good parts to start with.....5 grand for a 'masterbilt' fender?..a joke......why doesnt fender use good quality necks and then they could call all their guitars 'masterbilt'....i checked out some nocasters too...3 of them had badly bowed necks...and played like hell....then i found mine...it had a big fat neck and it was pretty straight.....i had to take it home, pop the neck...put in a shim,raise the saddles and only slightly tighten the rod..its a great guitar now..like an old one.....a fender needs the saddles to be high to get the best sound and get the best feel...if the neck is bowed bad the only thing they do is lower the saddles down, whcih is missing the point...and still doesnt fix the problem....and it leaves the little adjustment screws sticking up , so you can cut your hand....why couldnt it play the correct way off the showroom..?..no wonder dealers cant sell these..they're 90 percent crap..10 percent great...maybe guys buy them to 'collect them'..pretty colors etc....i play them....i played old teles....i know how good they were....my guitar actually comes very close to an old original model...if you get one of the 90 percent that suck, then good luck....try this, ...buy one online or over the phone and tell the guy to set it up perfect and that you want a full return policy.....i bet you get almost no takers....and this is a shame...

this guitar is sound as a pound...i'd like to hit someone over the head with it...and then play 'i fought the law'....i would gig without a backup no problem....the hardware looks ok....its aged...

i would like to hear what they would say if you called them with a warped neck on a new guitar...i bet they have a list of excuses......'probably the humidity where you live'...'settled in shipment'......'thats original spec'.....etc etc....wheres the pride fender..?..even shitty cbs fender had much better quality than this,,even if their guitars weighed 12 pounds...

my first guitar was a beat up fender 50's esquire....i got it for 100 dollars...it played better than any of these reissue things...the neck on mine finally just wore out...from use...i like this one almost as much...it doesnt need any other things....i chose it because of the way the neck felt and the potential i could see in a good setup....but you probably cant buy even ONE that is totally setup correctly,,,which, for the money, is inexcusable...this is just a further example of the way people are forced and conditioned to accept less and less....and be happy with it...

Made in 1995. One of the first Cunetto relics! Early Nocaster features. The bare minimum. Nothin' fancy. But that's what you pay for!

GGrrrrrrrrrrughhhhffff!!!!! This machine will kill fascists at 50 paces! It is the most articulate, touch sensitive, barking, quacking and twanging tele I have every played! You hae to try one to appreciate. Its not like a typical tele at all!

I bought it on eBay. The set up was fine. The pickups are virtually noiseless. the windings are faultless. The finish is very lightly reliced. Not a bash job at all. I like it, because I don't have to worry about dinging it if I pick it up. It already has the hash marks. But not so many that it looks like a beer hall accident. The neck is only slightly flamed. I wish it was a little more, but some like the more "traditional" look.

Its lightweight, but solid as a rock. Another seeming impossibility that they somehow pulled off. the hardware is rocksolid, as is the rest of the guitar.

Never used them. don't plan to.

I took a gamble on this guitar after reading a lot about them. I was never so impressed with a Fender product. As it turns out, I would be willing to pay more than I did for a product this good. This baby does not disappoint! The sound is fantastic. And I now know the rationale behind owning a relic. Its very practical in its design. Meant to be played! If you want true responsiveness and tone in a Fender product, don't hesitate to find one of these!

2004 Made in America 51 nocaster relic

Great for country, classic rock, blues, punk, and I have no problem getting extreme Hendrix, Eric Johnson etc, heavy distorted lead tone with this bad boy.

The first thing I did after walking into Dave's Guitars of La Crosse, WI, I asked for a guitar stand that would fit several guitars. I picked two Fender American 52 vintage reissues, a Relic Esquire, a Closet Classic 51 nocaster, an American Standard Tele, a Mexi Esquire and a Relic 56 Strat.
I played each through a Fender Blues DeVille, and didn't touch the settings after tweaking them for a good clean sound.
The 51 Nocaster Relic's and the 59 Esquire Relic sounded the way I've heard they should from Albert Lee, Roy Buchanan, and the rest, warm treble, guts, sweetness, and a fatter neck, which to those of you convinced that a small neck equals better playing, try a big neck out, I play a lot of fast runs, Albert Lee, Steve Morse style, and the bigger neck seems less fatiguing, especially for bar chords.
The sound of these tele relic?s was so incredibly different then the other teles, louder, more meat. Finally, a bridge pickup tele sound that I could use! The other teles, the mexi esquire, American Tele, and the American Vintage Reissue Tele's were all treble, with no meat or guts. They sounded thin. Sure, I could have adjusted the amp, but give me a guitar that already has the fullness, the meat to the treble. No one wants a guitar that rips peoples heads off with high end.
I picked the 51 nocaster relic over the closet 51 because it played a bit better and the neck nitro had that aged tint already. I also loved the Esquire relic, even the top load bridge on it seemed ok, the guitar didn't lack anything in sound over the 51 relic, that is of course, except for the lack of a neck pickup. Still a great tele.
The action is higher then my Les Paul, or my American Fender Tele, because of the vintage 7.25 fingerboard, but the sound is great, and this action results in better playing for me. If you've ever heard other guitarists explain that they like the action high because of the "fight," and tone, there is truth to this. Having played for 30 years, I find that when playing a tele or strat with higher action and 10's or 11's (strings), I tend to put more feeling into my playing. Of course my finger strength has improved, and I have no problem doing steel guitar type bends, or wide Albert King blues bends with heavy strings. I can also slap on a slide and have no problem because of the higher action.
Pickups adjusted very well, neck pocket good, etc.
Oh yeah, neck pickup sounded great, and the tone control is actually a blend control for the bridge and neck pickups. I did change the cap for the third position "mud/bass/neck pickup sound" to a 22 cap, now I'm able to get the Clapton "woman tone" with distortion and a good jazz tone when clean. That was the only mod I did.

Rock solid, great for hitting the annoying drunk at a gig over the head with, and still be in tune.

The best Tele I've ever owned, and truly, the best electric I've ever owned. I've owned hundreds....

1996 Cunetto relic all the usual features. Relicing on this one is truly authentic looking, highly figured neck with no damage.

This is the dog's nuts. The holy grail of telecasters, I can't fault this one little bit for sound, everything is in there for all styles.
Control are a bit microphonic but doesn't affect anything. I have a 63 closet tele that is a bit louder and brighter. Much prefer the nocaster for tone.

This one was set up by the previous owner and was perfect. The bridge plate is slightly off as you can see the edge of the pick up rout below. Poor show from the custom shop here. Rusting is 100% in the right places. She weigh's in at 6.75 lbs, unbelievable, really feels great, you hardly know she's there. Body is one piece ash, figured neck is beautiful but hard to believe the originals were made like this.

This guitar is as hard as nails, there's not a lot to go wrong here, I recon she will withstand almost anything, doesn't go out of tune, you would only need backup for heavy rock.

Never needed support, no warrant as I bought this second hand, you won't need one, no need to buy a relic new, save your money.

I been playing for 25 years now, played just about everything, I keep going back to the Fenders and this is as good as it gets. I recently got a black relic strat which is also a great guitar. I have a 63 closet tele in CAR but the nocaster just beats it. If lost I will have to replace it. I have a 1996 cunetto Mary Kay relic, you can't beat them. I have given up on PRS, no feeling to them and the Les Paul are too limited. I now gig with a Gibson ES335 along with one of the relics through a Vox AC30 with a Mesa Boogie twin V. I can't get a better set up.

I just bought this new (i guess you can say that about a Relic...) I was in the market for an actual early Tele or Esquire and have played several recently. I can say wholeheartedly that this axe captures most of the physical and tonal mojo of those vintage artifacts. As for rating it feature-wise, I am giving it an 8 because, let's face it, t's a TELE. Straightforward, rock, blues, country, whatever, it sounds great. Just don't expect any bells, whistles, and/or integrated cupholders.

I have owned over a dozen teles or tele-like guitars over the past two decades, and this smokes them all, hands down. To me, Teles have no middle ground. They either sound great and twangy and rich and full or they sound like a banjo strung with super duper slinkeys. This has that low-end twang and amazing crack on the high end that is present, but not thin and piercing like most new teles sound to me. I run the Relic into a pedal board with a Barber Tone Press Compressor, 2 Barber Direct Drives, a Roland RV3 and an EB Volume Pedal. That goes into a Budda Twinmaster 212 and a Budda Superdrive 18 in stereo. Great, spanky, slightly grindy rhythm tone and a singing, rich EJ/Robben lead tone. The only caveat is that, as expected, the vintage wound lead pickup WILL squeal a bit at high volume. That said, the Relic KILLS!!

This is by far the best straight out of the box setup I have ever seen from Fender (and i have seen 1000s...i ran a music store for 10 years and specialized in the setup and maintenence of the guitars and amps) I haven't touched the action and I am an experienced repairman. It is a vintage-esque instrument, but even with my wide interval bends, it doesn't really have any major fret out problems. The fret work is SUPERB.

Its a tele. Good luck breaking it. As for the finish wearing off...that's kinda the idea.

Fender has always been great in the past. Not expecting to ever have to deal with them about this instrument though.

I have been playing for 20 Years and have owned over 300 guitars in that time. Of all of them, this Relic and my treasured Tom Andersons (Hollow Classic, Hollow Cobra and Hollow T) are by far the best I have ever touched. It is the epitomy of the Tele tone. Big neck, big tone, not too big a price. Compared to the price of the realio dealio, I decided to buy this and put the money I saved towards a new car. The more I play it, the more I love it.

Nocaster Relic with the usual tele features. A tele is a tele, so in my opinion there not much point in rating the features.

Well...the Relic is supposed to sound and fell like a 5o year old telecaster. I haven't played an original Nocaster, so I wouldn't know how the Relic fits the bill. However it looks the part, and that, I suspect, is the reason why it sells so well. It's a good looking guitar and it both plays and sound good too. But...
I have a '01 american tele which plays and sounds just as good as the relic.
The difference is purely cosmetic in my opinion, and that doesn't justify the Relic's pricetag.

Well set-up from the factory, and looking like shit. But hey, it's a relic........

A good workhorse. Will last forever. I s dependable.

I like this guitar because it sounds, plays and looks good. But if I lost it I wouldn't buy another Relic. I really don't see the point in paying all that exstra cash for a guitar that merely looks old and well used. I rather buy an US tele which is just as good.

Built in 2002, Custom Shop California.
It has everything it's supposed to have. It's a Tele.

Wanted to buy an American Deluxe Tele I've tried before and liked a lot .Brought my Schecter PT Tele (which is very good) and grabbed another Tele from the shop to compare. In addition I took the Custom Shop Nocaster as a reference. Kind of "don't worry, it's to expensive to even think about it"
But too soon I had to think about it.
Single notes, double stops, especially open chords, clean, distorted, amp on standby. Everything sounded so much better with the Nocaster!!!

Perfect action, perfect pitch, stays in tune perfectly.
Looks and feels like an old, well-played guitar.

It's a Tele!

Never dealt with Fender. If any problems occur,
wonderful guitarshop in Vienna (stelzhammer)

I'm a professional, playing for more than 25 years. And this is the best guitar I've ever played (at the moment i'm owning 14 guitars).
So I bought it. No regrets so far.

mine is a 2001 model. bought it new from a music store in nashville. this is guitar is very basic as it should be. no frills just plain telecaster heaven.

i've always wanted a tele but thought i would only use it on certain songs--not the type of guitar i would use all gig----i was wrong this guitar is full of rich pure fender tone. as soon as i started playing it i feel in love with it.

guitar was set up right out of the case---ready to go. it has a very comfortable feel--large neck--light weight body,and it looks ,feels ,and plays like the real thing---this is the first new guitar i ever bought---i've always played 50's fenders----

it is a well made fender guitar---what can i say----it will last forever

never had to deal with fender in over forty years of playing---that's a good thing

i've been playing for over forty years and always fender---i have a 57 strat--59 strat--61 strat--57 esquire---this guitar fits right in the mix. for smaller gigs i use a blues jr---when i need to be louder i use a bogner esctasy and plexi marshall 100---this is an excellent guitar for the money