New 2012 Limited Collection Relic Models from Fender Custom Shop

Just received this email from the Fender Custom Shop announcing five new Relic models.

My favorite of the bunch is the 1963 Heavy Relic Stratocaster. There's something about that year that rings a bell. Hmm..

This Heavy Relic Strat comes replete with tortoise-shell pickguard, Texas Special neck and middle pickups, and Seymour Duncan JB model humbucker in the bridge. A push-pull volume knob allows the bridge humbucker to be split to single-coil mode.

1963 Heavy Relic Stratocaster - 2012 Limited Collection

The '63 Heavy Relic Stratocaster has a distinctive Tyler Mike Landau signature vibe. Or maybe it's that huge wear spot in the finish that reminds of the Tyler 'bare forearm' finish.

Heavy Relic. They ain't kidding.

Hitching a ride on the Jimi-at-Woodstock train, without having to shell out a big chunk of change to the Hendrix estate, is the 1969 Relic Stratocaster.

1969 Relic Stratocaster - 2012 Limited Collection

The '69 Stratocaster features - what else - a reverse headstock. And to up the mojo factor, the pickups are handwound by Abigail Ybarra.

Also part of the 2012 Limited Collection is the 1959 Heavy Relic Telecaster. The Fender Custom Shop calls this color Celadon Green, although I think it looks more like classic Seafoam Green.

1959 Heavy Relic Telecaster - 2012 Limited Collection

The '59 Heavy Relic Telecaster's neck and bridge pickups are selectable with a 4-way switch, and I'm guessing that the additional fourth pickup position puts the neck and bridge in series for a fuller, humbucker-type tone.

Celadon green ceramic ware. You sure you want to call it Celadon Green, Fender?

And if relic'ing patterns are supposed to mimic real wear spots a player might inflict on an instrument, how on Earth do the relic dudes at the Custom Shop explain the weird wear swirl that starts near the volume knob and then curls up behind the bridge on this Tele?

Last, and possibly least, from the Relic La Cabronita line come the Boracha guitar and Boracho bass.

Boracha from Fender's Relic La Cabronita line

Both the the Boracha guitar and Boracho bass feature reverse Jazzmaster bodies and TV Jones pickups -- twin Power'Tron pickups on the guitar and a single Thunder'Blade pickup on the bass.

Boracho from Fender's Relic La Cabronita line

You've got to wonder exactly what target market the suits at Fender had in mind when they came out with the slightly demented looking Boracha and Boracho.

I'm thinking maybe tequila-crazed, Tex-Mex vampires.

(Ceramic pottery picture source: wikipedia.org)

Fender American Special Prototype Guitars Giveaway

Fender has announced a special giveaway for three lucky winners to win one of three Fender American Special Stratocaster and Telecaster prototypes.  To up the cool factor, Fender promises that these instruments have been "roughed up pretty good in the test-pilot phase".

Pegged by Fender as 'value-conscious guitars-for-the-times', the current American Special series includes three models -- the American Special Telecaster, American Special Stratocaster and American Special Stratocaster HSS.  All three US-made models feature Fender Texas Special pickups, alder bodies, urethane finishes, 9.5" fingerboard radius and jumbo frets.  Interestingly, the Telecaster models feature the vintage-style bridge with 3-piece brass-saddles.



Go to http://www.fender.com/promos/2010/americanspecial/, fill out the contest form online and hope for the best. 

This giveaway ends 22nd April 2010 and is for US residents only.

10 Things I Hate About the Fender Stratocaster

I've played Strats, or strat-style guitars for most of my career. And here are 10 things I hate about them:

• The 25 1/2"scale length is too long. This translates to higher string tension and necessitates using strings no thicker than what you'd find in a .010 - .046" set. Unless you have hands like a gorilla. Or SRV.

• A Strat goes wildly out of tune when you break a string, which means that it is usually wise to bring a spare guitar to gigs. If you're not in the habit of bringing a spare guitar, it helps to have a bass player that is capable of launching into a bass solo at the drop of a hat while you clamour to retrieve a new string from your guitar case.

• A Strat also goes wildly out of tune if you get too enthusiastic with the tremelo bar. Hint -- they call it a 'synchronized tremelo', which certainly doesn't promise anything close to 'vibrato'.

• The stock pickups are noisy and hum-inducing. Expect to spend another $200-$300 for a set of quieter pickups.

• The Strat's two tone controls are wired to only the front and middle pickups. The rear pickup -- which is the most shrill of the three -- is not wired to any of the tone controls.

• The pickup selector switch is situated too near the picking hand and gets knocked out of position easily.

• The bolt-on neck on the Strat needs to be shimmed so that the neck is at a more comfortable playing angle relative to the body.

• The bolt-on neck can shift in the neck pocket if bumped, causing either the 1st string or the 6th string to become misaligned and fall off the edge of the fingerboard.

• If you choose a vintage model Strat, expect all of the above in addition to small, thin frets and an overly-radiused fingerboard.

• Despite the imperfections you can't stop playing a Strat because it's always going to be the sexiest instrument in the world.