Fender Custom Shop Telecaster 1960 Journeyman Relic RW Chocolate 3-Tone Sunburst

Here is a beautiful Telecaster in chocolate 3-tone sunburst from the year 1960, worked in detail by the Fender Custom Shop. While the standard color of the Telecaster was always blonde and swamp ash was used as the body wood, sunburst finishes were occasionally available from 1955 and are very rare today. From 1959, alder was also used as a body wood for the Telecaster for non-blond finishes, and so this guitar with 100% nitrocellulose varnish was created with light Red Alder wood. As is typical of the 1960's, the fretboard is made from a thick slab board that was glued flat to the maple neck blank and then finished to the appropriate fretboard radius. This wonderfully dark rosewood fretboard harmonises perfectly with the lightly tinted varnished sycamore maple neck.

Fender describes the neck shape as a '59 Esquire D format with a neck thickness of 0.79" at the first fret and 0.97" at the 12th fret. While the maple necks were still relatively thick in previous years, with the introduction of the rosewood fingerboards, the focus was on thinner formats in the first layers and increasing thickness in the upper layers of the neck. Late 1950s to early 1960s necks are considered the "fastest" Fender Vintage necks to play with. The neck of this great guitar fits perfectly into the historical specification and is very easy to handle while at the same time having enough substance for a big sound. A modern 9.5" fretboard radius and the Jescar 47095 frets, which are a shade wider and higher than the vintage specification, offer perfect playability on this Telecaster.

From this point on, the dots in the fretboard and on the side of the neck were no longer made of black Bakelite and later of ABS plastic, but were made of a cellulose-containing material for the next five years. This material is no longer available today and Fender uses an authentic looking material. On a newly manufactured Fender guitar at the time, these dots were a dirty white or slightly greyish. Fender has taken this over with this guitar and so they offer a clearly visible orientation on the fretboard.

The pickguard looks very authentic, like one that has been exposed to environmental influences over the decades. Originals started out lighter and have acquired this coveted hue over time.
Three-layer pickguards were used on the Custom Telecaster from 1959 and on the standard models from the end of 1963. The Fender Custom Shop didn't want to miss out on this nice feature and used it on our guitar.

The pickups are 1963 models that reproduce the typical sound of the pickups of the time. The pole pieces of the bridge pickup are rounded, similar to how Fender made them up until the mid-1960s. Electronic values ​​and optics correspond to the originals.
Even when played unamplified, the dry, round and percussive sound of this Telecaster is immediately noticeable. The pickups reinforce this impression and the complete set sounds rocky, electric, with a lot of twang. Typical 1960s Telecaster, but never harsh, pointed or uncomfortable. A tele for life!