Fender’s Custom Shop has built a number of great relic guitars, and the Classic HBS-1 Stratocaster Relic Guitar is one of the best they’ve done.  This guitar, a part of their Custom Shop Special Edition Series, combines both vintage and modern elements to make a relic guitar like no other.  The Classic HBS-1 comes in two different colors: classic black and a three-color sunburst.  Both are available in either relic or new old stock finishes. Read more

The Fender Custom Shop Limited Collection includes a number of great guitars, and the Telecaster Pro Relic Guitar is no exception.  A recreation of the guitar that many players have used over the years, the Telecaster Pro Relic Guitar comes in extremely limited quantities: only 40 have been made.  The relic guitar comes in two colors (20 guitars were made in each color), sonic blue and a three-color sunburst.  Fender fans and collectors are going to be all over this instrument, so if you want one, buy it sooner rather than later. Read more

Fender’s Limited Collection series would not be complete without the Limited 1964 Telecaster relic guitar.  This limited edition guitar is highly detailed and customized, and it’s also very collectable as well.  There are only 150 in existence: 50 of them in black, 50 of them in a chocolate three-color sunburst, and 50 done in aged vintage white.  Once all 150 of these relic guitars are in the hands of players or collectors, that’s all of them that will ever be built. Read more

While Fender itself didn’t begin building thinline guitars until the late 1960s, that hasn’t stopped them from creating a relic guitar based on the 1950s Telecaster Thinline. The relic was designed by Fender Custom Shop’s senior master builder Chris Fleming, and he did everything he could to include many of the features found on the early Nocaster guitars.  However, there are some differences, the biggest of which is the semi-hollow premium ash body done in a thinline nitrocellulose lacquer finish.  The body also contains an f-hole, something unique to this relic guitar. Read more

The Fender Custom Shop has created a number of great relic guitars in their custom shop special edition series.  One of these is the Classic S-1 Telecaster Relic Guitar.  This guitar has been custom-built by the Fender team to combine both a great vintage look with many modern elements.  The Classic S-1 Telecaster is available in two different colors: standard black and a three-color sunburst.  It comes in both new old stock and relic versions. Read more

The Fender Custom Shop’s LTD Dealer Select series included a number of different Stratocaster and Telecaster models.  As part of this series, Fender has partnered with Make’n Music to produce some of these instruments, including the Make’n Music MVP 1960s Telecaster Heavy Relic Masterbuilt.  This relic guitar is as popular now as it was when the original model was introduced.  Those who used telecasters produced during the 1960s include Albert Collins, the man dubbed the Master of the Telecaster. Read more

Wildwood Guitars offers a number of relic guitars, and all of their instruments are highly sought after by collectors.  Their exclusive guitars include the LTD Dealer Select Wildwood “10s” 1959 Telecaster Custom Relic guitar, a guitar that was built in collaboration with the Fender Custom Shop.  Every one of these guitars was carefully hand-crafted by Fender to insure quality and attention to every detail.  The 1959 Telecaster is available in both custom-built and master-built versions so collectors can select whichever they prefer. There are only a limited number of these relic guitars, however, so collectors must buy quickly. Read more

The 1969 Stratocaster Relic Guitar is a very popular instrument known for providing a great sound.  In fact, this guitar has been used by a number of popular musicians.  Female guitar player and singer Bonnie Raitt, for example, used a 1969 Stratocaster guitar for many years.  The ’69 Stratocaster Relic Guitar captures everything that made the original instrument amazing and, like all relics produced by Fender’s Custom Shop, it looks like an original.  Each and every relic guitar goes through an artificial aging system that creates nicks, wear, and tears on the finish.  The guitars also feature aged plastic parts and even rusty hardware to complete the look.  However, while they look old, they certain don’t play like they’ve been around for years! Read more

Starting in 1960, the Stratocaster guitar became quite popular, and many players began using the instrument.  This very creative decade all began with the 1960 Stratocaster, and now the Fender Custom Shop has created a 1960 Stratocaster Relic guitar that perfectly captures everything that made this guitar unique.  This relic has a limited run, however—Fender only made 100 three-color sunburst 1960 relics and 100 Dakota red relics.  Once they’re gone, these strat relics will never be available again.  This guitar came on the market in January of 2009, but you can bet it won’t be available for long. Read more

The limited edition 1956 Stratocaster Relic contains everything the greatest Stratocasters of the year featured.  In 1956, the Stratocaster was still a fairly young instrument, but it was becoming more and more popular.  Ronnie Wood, guitarist for the Rolling Stones, actually used a 1956 Sunburst Strat for quite some time.  Thanks to the Fender Custom Shop, you can now own a guitar that looks identical to Wood’s.  However, you had better get one quickly because the 1956 Stratocaster Relic comes in a very limited supply—Fender has built 50 two-color Sunburst Strats and 50 desert sand strats.  Once they’re sold out, that’s it. Read more