Fender '51 NoCaster Relic

Mine was made in Feb 1997. It is the same as the other Nocaster Relics in these reviews. Mine came with a single tweed case with red/orange fluff interior. The strap compartment is in the middle of the interior. It has been carefully "reliced" and most of the work is very tasteful. From my view it is a very convincing piece. (The closest thing that I have owned to this was a 1972 blonde/maple/whitegard tele.) When I brought the guitar home to test out, my wife thought I was nuts. Guys, I am blessed. I am married to a beautiful blonde that nods approval to almost any six strings that I wish to bring home. That-is- until she saw this guitar. She was not impressed by the factory aging that came as an accessory with this guitar. I am sure she would have approved of a '52 butterscotch/ black guard reissue. This guitar however, for my wife was a stretch. My six year old daughter said it was plain old "ugly." In spite of the female reaction to it, my wife allowed me to purchase it. ("YES!!")
I play in church every week and also with a band called the "Guitar Woodies." We play almost every weekend and then some. I probably have
one of the best guitar jobs that a non-professional could have. The pay is good, and we are working on a CD. G.Woodies have been together for about seven years. I have been with them about four. Check out our web site. OK- features? After playing 35 years of almost any kind of music that you can name... (rock, classical, theatre, christian, gospel, jazz,country swing, Pop,funk,soul, blues..name it,I 've played it!) I choose the tele-style guitar for 75% of my work. This is the best FENDER tele I have ever played. G&L asat classic are more consistant and better than most Fender tele's I have played. INCLUDing the old ones. Features are minimal on this guitar, but that is one of the things that makes it a great guitar. KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid)

The most accomplished guitarists I listen to usually choose a good OLD instrument. Some of the tonal charachter is added as the guitar ages. (This does occur on poly finishes also, but it is somewhat slower. You can speed the aging of a poly finish by a little judicious buffing with some rubbing compound. Gently guys!) I have to admit that this guitar is special. Obviously some other gentlemen on this page feel this way also. I got mine for $1350.00 or about half of what you'd pay for a new one. How does it sound??? Like a tele should plus some of the complexity of tone that normally comes with select,aged instrument. This one is easy to spend hours playing.My body reacts heavily to great guitar sound. It actually makes my mouth water. (very pavlovian) Time for some pizza.

This guitar drives most novices nuts. They don't "get it." It is a guitar for more experienced players and professionals. The subleties of a great instrument are not to be found by someone plugging into a boss metal zone. (Or most of the digital "craplifiers.") I don't claim to be Eric J or Danny G. (I'm close, though...probably would give Phil Keaggys'head a turn.)But you can't really want an instrument like this until you understand how to play pretty clean and clear. Back on track...ok the guitar plays well if you play correctly on your fingertips. You won't complain about a fat neck if you hold your hand in front of the guitar like Mel Bay book says. (some exceptions re: if you are doing the "little wing" thing with your thumb. I

Unless the aging process caused catastrophic failure of some weird kind. I cannot see how you couldn't depend fully on this instrument. Ten years of playing will give a better picture. (Hindsight)

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I have played since 1966. I have a spare bedroom full of guitars and amps,accesories. My favorite guitars are Pre-BBE G&L ASAT Classic Signature guitars. I own eight of them. I also have an assortment of acoustics, classical & Jazz guitars, strats,teles and Pauls. I am not rich, but remember, I have been playing and collecting for 35 years! Lots of Fender classic amps, Vox reissues, Gibson GA 20, Marshall JTM 45,have you ever heard of a Teleno or a Flot-A-Tone?? Got em! Next amp will probably be a Fuchs Audio Mod or some Deluxe tweed remake. This guitar has attained "most favored" status in a short time. Keep up the good work Fender. Too bad a great guitar has to cost so darn much. However they always have. When I was young the good ones in the music store were too expensive. Now I have learned to buy good used guitars and save about half. God Bless you all and thanks for reading my squabble.

This is the custom shop relic and it is made by the Fender Custom Shop in California. It comes with two cases, but I only received the smaller old-style case from my dealer (bastards!). Of course then again I bought it slightly used (11 months old).

This guitar is as close as most of us will ever come to own the "real thing." Why pay $20,000 anyway? Save the bucks and you get, for me, and I have actually played a vintage '51 Nocaster, a better guitar - yes, I did say BETTER! Trust me. Save your cash.

Features? What features? You get cool custome vintage sounds that only a Nocaster of ash body can supply you. You get the nifty ash tray cover that we all remove and pout in the case forever - or lose on our original Fenders.

The best sounding guitar I own and I won a ton of 'em! Best sounding guitar I have ever played.

It is a relic and it is supposed to look like a 1951 guitar that has been kept in great shape (c'mon - it would be 50 years old by now!) I love the warm honey butterscotch look. Neck is nice and fat!!!

It is a Custom Shop baby!

Not had to make a call.

The features are standard for the Telecaster range: two single coil pickups, three-way selector and volume & tone controls.

The neck is incredibly thick. Having small hands I've spent my whole guitar-playing life choosing slim necks because I didn't think I could handle anthing big. What a mistake !!. I find runs, bends and chords so easy on this... an absolute delight.

It comes supplied with two hard-cases, one old style tweed and another more substantial hard-shell which is really more suitable for transporting any distance. There is a small but very nice accessories pack including a lead, picks and leather strap.

I wouldn't want 'loads of features', it's not why I bought this guitar. But it has exactly what it should have so I give it top rating.

I can't believe the range of sounds it is possible to get out of this guitar !.

I have a Gibson Lucille and a new USA Fender Deluxe with the noiseless pickups, but I might as well throw them away because all the sounds I bought those guitars for are right here in this one.

I play Blues and Jazz through either a Booker British Class A valve amp or a Line 6 Flextone II Plus and with this guitar everything is there from Wes through BB to Muddy

Right out of the case I didn't have to adjust a thing. I thought at first that the action may be a little too low for me, on the bends in particular, but not so; after a few days of playing we bonded !!!

This guitar would have survived the Titanic. In fact, if I'd been on board it would probably have saved my life.

This is one for the professionals, you can play it in any situation and it won't let you down.

I have had no need to contact anyone.

I've been playing guitars, basses and drums for over 30 years and I've been through many of each in that time, Les Pauls, Lucilles, Strats, Thumbs, Stingrays, but if ever I lost this one I wouldn't hesitate to replace it.......I would just hope the others were as good..........and there's nothing I would change.

It's raw, it's basic and it's beautiful !!

my costom shop tele is beautiful with a lighter than usual ash body done relic style and a flamed maple u-shaped neck with a costom compound radius fretboard with the frets well rounded on the ends. The finish on the body is the honey blonde of the early fifties and the neck is finished with an antique lacquer effect that feels supurb to the hand, unlike most relics mine has a neck that hasn't been beat upon no nicks or any imperfection and the fretboard is raw maple. the pickup in the front is a warm lipstick and the back is an extra hot tele pickup with an aged cover, the three postion switch along with the tone knob can make a huge aray of sounds. the bridge is the one with three brass saddles each with, two adjustment screws for action and one screw for intonation. the strings run through the body for excellent sustain. this tele is a sweetie and why not it only cost $2800.

it can rock when you turn on the gain or can be very clean good for all styles of music.

well it is a relic so it has a certain look to it but it is superb in setup

it is costom shop so you know that it is built well