Fender Custom Shop 50’s Master-built Penguin Style Telecaster Custom Journeyman Relic – Pearl White New – Serial Number: AH0145 Weight: 7.4 lbs | In Stock

From the legendary Fender Custom Shop and only available at Alto Music, we proudly offer this unique blend of Fender’s vintage-era design concepts and modern-era craftsmanship at its best—in one creatively original design. The striking Pearl White lacquer finish, matching headstock, and unexpected Ebony board provide visual cues of this Tele’s custom pedigree with just a passing glance. Each closer look exposes more surprises and an in-hand, plugged-in experience reveals all the unexpected secrets and charms built into this one-of-a-kind custom creation. Sharing player-favorite features found on vintage Telecasters from the 50s and 60s, plus visual accents and vibe from the impossibly cool, ultra-rare ’57 Gretsch White Penguin–this guitar has everything it takes to be a player’s dream and a collector’s prize.

The Custom Shop Telecaster/White Penguin features Fender’s Journeyman-level factory-simulated aging. It has just enough wear and tear to look like a carefully handled 60-year-old Vintage Guitar. More importantly, it’s got the broken-in-to-perfection feel of a treasured guitar that’s long been on the road, earning a living in its owner’s hands. Being a top-tier Custom Shop “Master-Built” model means this instrument was hand-constructed entirely by one of Fender’s cream-of-the-crop Luthiers. After completing an 8-year apprenticeship with legendary Steven Stern at Fender’s Gretsch USA Custom Shop, Master-Builder Andy Hicks was the perfect choice to bring this Gretsch-inspired Tele Custom to life.

Fans of the Vintage “Black Guard” era will undoubtedly love the hand-filling deep “U”-shaped neck carve (0.9” deep at the nut, with a gentle gradient to 0.99” at the 12th fret). Following Fender’s Journeyman treatment to the letter, the plain maple neck back has a “worn smooth” finish without the “dirty” look of Fender’s heavy relic necks. The 9.5” radius fingerboard. The ‘board sports slightly wider-than-vintage Jescar 45085 fret wire and a semi-modern 9.5” radius for deeper string bends while maintaining a vintage feel. Under the mildly relic’d Pearl White finish, the hand-selected 2-piece Ash body contributes plenty of snap and resonance and is an ultra-lightweight, 7.4 lbs. Adding to the unmistakable vintage Tele tone is a matched pair of hand-wound custom shop 50/51 “Blackguard” pickups. The bridge position pickup is mounted in a chrome ’67 style, 3-steel barrel back-loaded bridge for additional brightness and sustain. The ubiquitous modern Tele wiring (3-way blade, master volume, and master tone) has been a Tele-player favorite since the late ’60s.

Already an exceptional instrument, this hand-crafted one-off sets itself even further apart from the pack with its stunning and unconventional mix of visual features. A combination of the ’62 Tele Custom and ’57 Gretsch White Penguin visual appointments complement the incredible playability and vintage Tele tone with show-stopping looks. Although vintage Telecasters are occasionally found in white with a matching headstock, the decidedly “bright” Pearl White screams of the ornate Gretsch White Penguin. Although maple fingerboards define the Black Guard-era Telecaster, the Ebony board on this Tele shares a similar sonic footprint and offers a decidedly White Penguin visual contrast. A closer look at this otherwise 50’s reissue reveals the ’62 Tele style body binding, cut from the ultra-flashy Gold-flake “drum-shells” that Gretsch reserved for the top-of-the-line White Penguin and White Falcon. An even closer look reveals more unconventional visual details. Instead of the traditional Tortoise (or mint green) pickguard, a gold-tone vinyl plate echoes the Penguin’s gold plexiglass guard. Elsewhere (the chrome control cavity cover, bridge, and even the nickel 4-bolt “Andy Hicks” signature neck plate are held in place with Gold plated screws. Additionally, every other vintage-style machine head alternates nickel and gold –for a final touch of playful accents.

This unique hand-made guitar may be the one you’ve been waiting for your entire life, not just because you’d be the only player in town (or the world) with this singularly unique one-off Tele. The honest value of this hand-crafted Master Built treasure is in its meticulous craftsmanship and top-shelf materials; you can feel, hear, and see over a lifetime of enjoyment. Delivered to you, complete with Fender Master Built Black Tolex Case, certificate, build-sheet, and accessories, only from Alto Music.