Hey we looked up Google Maps to see what Lake Placid looks like and it must be global warming or something but it's gone a little darker from when Leo decided to name his famous Blue Custom Color. All the more reason to take hold of a bit of history and bask in how it used to look in the 50's.

This is a Mint condition 2008 Fender Custom Shop Telecaster based on the 1963 model and finished in Lake Placid Blue. Comes with a Fender Custom Shop certificate of authenticity and new Custom Shop hard case. If it wasn't owned by someone for 5 seconds it would be new new new new. It's NOS - new old stock, so it looks like new but was built like old. Big C neck, Rosewood capped with clay dots, Alder body and that big bity Tele chime that growls though a wound-up Princeton.

The '63 bridge pickup is a staggered pole-piece number. The pole pieces are Alnico (of course) and  bevelled to give a slightly hotter, sharper sound. Bevelling focuses the magnetic field so the story goes and you know me - who am I to argue?

The neck pickup is warm and creamy and this is accentuated with its Rosewood board. The Tele is wired in proper '63 fashion: position 1 = neck pickup with tone capacitor, postion 2 = neck pickup clean, position 3 = bridge pickup. If you pull the selector to one and you think there's something too dark about the neck pickup, just remember that there are two neck pickup sounds and this is how the factory did it in 1963. Some people think the sound is too woofy, and it is woofy, but that's how it used to be. Tell you what; comp chords in pos 1 for a few bars then flick to pos 2 for a solo - see if it doesn't make sense to you then. The 'lead' sound jumps out like an axe murderer and scares the crap out of you.

Like all Fender Custom Shop instruments, the parts on this are hand picked. The frets are hand sorted (levelled, crowned) and the thing plays in tune properly. This one plays, sounds and feels like a '63 in 1963! Serial number R4106, factory certificate dated 09/05/2008, this Tele weighs 7 pounds 5 ounces and comes with all case candy, custom shop hardshell case, hangtags, a PRG 'Vintage-Low' setup and some nice new Fender Vintage Pure Nickel strings.