Description
The Fender Custom Shop 1951 Nocaster Relic reproduces the early, transitional form of the ground-breaking Telecaster guitar as it established its historic name.
The first name used was the Broadcaster, which turned out to be used by Gretsch (as Broadkaster) for a line of drums. As many as 250 instruments were shipped with this name. In response to a lawyer's letter, Fender staff simply snipped the 'Broadcaster' name off the stock of decals. As many as 500 'Nocasters' were shipped before the name 'Telecaster' had been chosen and new decals made. Exact numbers are unknown, but millions of Telecaster guitars have been made and sold by Fender alone, not counting copies.
Dated by its COA to May 09 2008 and accompanied by its original tweed 'poodle' style case with Certificate of Authenticity, hang tag and case key, this outstanding instrument has minimal wear other than its 'light' relic treatment. This guitar is identified as '51 NOCASTER RELIC HBL' on the Fender Serial Lookup page, with the 'HBL' indicating a Honey Blonde finish. The listed model number is 0150302867. One aspect that is not vintage spec is the fret wire choice; a modern, slightly wider and noticeably taller wire is used, making bends much easier and adding clarity and sustain.
This guitar is very good and illustrates why the design was so successful. It is very light and resonant, has plenty of snap and sustain and a warm yet bright and twangy tone. As is typical for 1950's models, the neck profile is relatively thick, but this seems to add to the timbre. It sounds great.
Materials and Construction
Built with a deceptively simple and extremely durable design, the Broadcaster / Nocaster / Telecaster pair a hardwood body - lightweight Ash in this case - with a one-piece Maple neck using a bolt-together joint. The truss rod is mounted from the back and its channel filled with a Walnut strip. Since late 1950 and with few exceptions from late 1959 into 1969, all true one-piece Maple necks have been built this way.
Hardware and electronics simply screw on in place. The headstock carries a set of unmarked Kluson-style tuners - the lack of branding makes them 'No-Line' models, with the Kluson Saf-T-Post feature to keep the string end out of the way. The front of the head has a single round string retainer or tree for the E and B strings near the G tuner. The tray-style bridge has three brass saddles, carries the bridge pickup on a three-screw support and the strings pass through the plate to rear ferrules. The switch, volume and tone controls are on the familiar chrome plate, with the output jack on the side. The pick guard is a single layer of black Bakelite.
The neck pickup screws into the body with springs or rubber tubing to lift it, and the pickguard must be removed for height adjustments - or for truss rod adjustments, as the adjustment nut is at the body end of the neck.
Typical of the 1951 - 1953 period, the screws are all slot-head rather than Phillips.
The pickup set used is a Fender reissue of the 1951 Nocaster set, Fender Model number 0992109000.
The finish is named Honey Blonde, and is a partly translucent nitrocellulose lacquer layer over a thin sealer coat, which itself is over a light toned grain filler - necessary given the deep open pores of Ash. Looking closely at the colour layer, it appears to have been applied in the same manner as a sunburst with darker shading around the edges. This can be called 'edge' or 'halo' shading, and can be used to mask end grain and glue joints.
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |
DETAILS:
- Instrument Model: 1951 Nocaster Relic
- Instrument Manufacturer: Fender Custom Shop
- Instrument year: 2008
- Instrument Finish: Honey Blonde (HBL) with relic treatment
- Instrument Class: Solidbody Electric Guitars
- Instrument serial number: R7971, COA dates to May 09 2008 at Corona CA Custom Shop
- Country of Origin: USA
- Instrument Condition: Very Good, factory relic treatment
- Right-handed
- Instrument Weight Imperial: 6.64 lbs
- Instrument Weight Metric: 3.02 kgs
- Scale Length Imperial: 25.5 in
- Scale Length Metric: 647.7 mm
- Nut Width Imperial: 1.653 in
- Nut Width Metric: 41.95 mm
- CITIES Documentation Required: No
- Case included: Yes
- Case original: Yes
- Items in Case: COA, hang tag and key
- Case Type: Original Tweed 'Thermometer' Hard Shell case
- Consignment: Yes
- Product ID: 191096
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There are no refunds or returns on used items unless authorized in advance by a Twelfth Fret Sales Associate at time of sale. View Our Full Terms Here |