New for 2024, the Fender Custom Shop delves deep into the early years of the Tele® to introduce a unique, transition-era model – the 1954 Telecaster®. Early 1954 marks the last production run of the infamous single-ply black phenolic pickguard on what we now know as a Nocaster® Blonde-finished body, eventually moving to a single-ply white ABS pickguard to match the all-new Stratocaster®.

Preserving the iconic appointments of the sought-after early Telecaster® guitars, this 1954 model features a 2-piece select ash body (with offset seam on the treble side), a 1-piece rift-sawn maple neck with '54-style "U" back-shape and vintage compound 7.25" to 9.5" fingerboard radius. Equipped with a pair of Custom Shop hand-wound Loaded '51 Nocaster® pickups, this guitar has all the clarity and twang you would expect from an early-'50s Tele®, but with a bit of extra power on tap.

The 1954 Telecaster® is available in a number of Custom Shop treatments with varying degrees of wear, including Time Capsule, DLX Closet Classic, Relic®, Journeyman Relic®, Heavy Relic® and Super Heavy Relic®.

Other premium features include 21 medium vintage (47095) frets, Fat '50s Tele® wiring, 3-way switch, single-ply black phenolic pickguard, '51-'54 Tele® bridge with brass barrel saddles, vintage-style tuning machines, bone nut, disc string tree, deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity.

General:

- Model Name: 1954 Telecaster® Relic®, 1-Piece Rift-Sawn Maple Neck Fingerboard, Aged Nocaster® Blonde

- Series: Time Machine™

- Color: Faded Aged Nocaster® Blonde

Body:

- Body Shape: Telecaster®

- Body Material: 2-Piece Select Ash with Offset Seam

- Body Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer

Neck:

- Neck Material: 1-Piece Rift-Sawn Maple

- Neck Shape: 1954 "U"

- Scale Length: 25.5" (64.77 cm)

- Fingerboard Radius: 7.25" to 9.5" Vintage Compound Radius (184 mm to 241 mm)

- Number of Frets: 21

- Fret Size: Jescar Medium Vintage (47095)

- String Nut: Bone

- Nut Width: 1.625" (41.3 mm)

- Headstock: Telecaster®

- Neck Plate: 4-Bolt with Custom Shop "V" Logo

- Neck Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer

- Fingerboard: 1-Piece Rift-Sawn Maple Neck

- Position Inlays: Black Micarta Dot - 0.25"

Electronics:

- Bridge Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound Loaded '51 Nocaster®

- Neck Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound Loaded '51 Nocaster®

- Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone

- Pickup Switching: 3-Position Blade: Position 1 (Bridge Pickup), Position 2 (Bridge and Neck Pickups), Position 3 (Neck Pickup)

- Pickup Configuration: SS

Hardware:

- Bridge: 3-Saddle American Vintage Strings-Through-Body Tele® with Brass Saddles

- Tuning Machines: Vintage-Style with Fender® Logo

- Orientation: Right-Hand

- Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome

- Pickguard: 1-Ply Black Phenolic

- Control Knobs: Knurled Chrome

- Switch Tips: Barrel Style, Black

Miscellaneous:

- Strings: Nickel-Plated Steel (0.010 - 0.046 Gauges)

- Included Accessories: Deluxe Hardshell Case, Strap and Certificate of Authenticity

* Features and Specifications Subject to Change Without Notice