1997 Fender Custom Shop LEFTY Tele® 1952 Reissue Blonde, Near Mint, Original Hard, $2,195.00

For Sale: Left Handed 1997 Fender Custom Shop 1952 Reissue, with Lollar Charlie Christian Pickups, Beautiful!

As a lefty the chances are pretty good that you’ve not had the opportunity to give a Charlie Christian pickup equipped Telecaster a workout before, so there’s a good chance you don’t know what you’re missing out on.
This is a left handed Fender 1952 Blackguard reissue which was built by Fender’s Custom Shop in 1997, and originally featured a pair of ’52 Tele Custom Shop pickups. Since then the guitar’s neck pickup cavity was cleanly routed for the larger Lollar-built Charlie Christian pickup. The pickguard was replaced at that time, leaving the original pickguard intact and in the case pocket. The pickguard is also manufactured by Jason Lollar. The bridge pickup is a matched Lollar Charlie Christian unit, sized to fit a factory Tele bridge without modification. Judging by the expert workmanship and the presence of three Lollar parts, it looks like the work may have been done by Jason Lollar. Here is a link to the Lollar Charlie Christian Pickups – they sell for $175 each: http://www.lollarguitars.com/lollar-charlie-christian-picku…

Finally, the bridge saddles were replaced with a set of Marc Rutters compensated BrassStraight Comp Saddles for great intonation on straight saddles with vintage looks and tone. All of the guitar’s original parts are included with the instrument, and all are in perfect working order.
The tone of this Tele is very bold and with an edge! It’s fat and creamy, dark, strong, big, and rich, and has a sustain that you’d not likely be accustomed to hear in a Tele. The treble strings in all three switch positions have a bluesy thickness that are perfect for big bends, slide melodies, or multi-string melodies. The low end is bold, forward and fairly dark. Basically, the guitar sounds more like a Duo-Jet crossed with a Les Paul Special(strong P-90 vibe) than a Tele, but plays with all the quickness and speed of a Telecaster with a ’52 neck carve. And, man, it’s fun.

Butterscotch over ash body, gorgeous Birdseye and flamed maple neck with a well rounded barrel and rolled fingerboard edges. Vintage appointments, bone nut, and vintage size frets. Gloss finish that looks new with the exception of a few minor dings here and there.

This is from my favorite period for the Fender Custom Shop – the late 90s - where they used the most beautiful wood that I’ve seen come from the Custom Shop. In fact, the only non-vintage electric I own is a 1999 Fender Custom Shop Strat with similar wood, and I’ve had it a long time! Fender finally came to their senses and realized they need to charge a lot more for the good wood, so now you can only get it through their Masterbuilt Program at a significant premium.

The guitar has very little fretwear, and matches the rest of the guitar in showing only moderate wear throughout. I would call it very clean/Near Mint – truly a beautiful guitar!

Includes original pickups, pickguard, saddles, extra set of aged knobs, extra set of strap knobs, Owner’s Manual, Custom Shop Sticker, Certificate of Authenticity, Fender leather strap, and OHSC.

This is a unique and one-of-a kind Tele for the left handed player. So if you’re into Teles, you absolutely have to check this guitar out!