Fender Telecaster Custom Shop Masterbuilt Relic by John Cruz Owned by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco Model Solid Body Electric Guitar, c. 2007, made in Corona, CA, serial # JC670, Blonde lacquer finish, ash body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, original tweed hard shell case.

Here's another twangy gem from the ever-twangy Jeff Tweedy: a Fender Telecaster Custom Shop Relic by Masterbuilder John Cruz from the mid 2000s. It's a high quality rendition of a c. 1962 slab fingerboard guard Telecaster with a few modern touches. You will find a familiar friend in the checking-laced ash body and maple neck (with a rich thick slab rosewood fingerboard) dotted with the "Spaghetti" Fender Telecaster decal. The neck has a modern truss rod adjusted at the headstock, one deviation from original spec.

This guitar wears a sort of middle-of-the-dial amount of relicing from the Fender Custom Shop; the body has uniform wear around the body with arm wear on the lower bass side bout and the comfortably C-shaped neck is smoothly worn down to the wood along the full length. The original small frets are vintage style, perhaps slightly larger than 50's spec.

The original pickups are wound in the fashion of period Fender Tele parts with modern reproductions of the 3-way switch and barrel knobs. The circuit is different in one critical way; until 1967, Fender Telecasters had a "dark" circuit rather than the neck-bridge-blend 3-way configuration you might expect. This was often modified on vintage instruments, and modern examples such as this one tend to have this more broadly popular post-'67 configuration.

All the original hardware is in place in various states of induced aging; the tuners, ferrules, strap buttons, and screws are all more heavily aged to a matte nickel finish while the Custom Shop neck plate, control panel and knobs, bridge, and bridge cover are a worn but somewhat shinier chrome. The certificate of authenticity is not present in the case any longer, but the special "John Cruz" markings on the back of the headstock with the serial number JC670 place this on his bench. Along with the serial number, the CTS pots date to the final week of 2006 allowing us to approximately place this instrument's date of manufacture some time around 2007 or 2008. Overall, an excellent playing and sounding recreation of one of Fender's most beloved early 1960's offerings.
 
Overall length is 38 3/8 in. (97.5 cm.), 12 5/8 in. (32.1 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).

This guitar appears to have been rode hard, but that's the Fender Custom Shop relic job. The guitar is all original from tip to tail; the finish, hardware, and electronics are all original without any sign of alteration or repair. The original frets are in good shape with plenty of life, but there is one detail that may appeal to a Wilco fan: while there's a bit of Custom Shop creativity on the wear of the back of the neck, there is a trace amount of real human "gunk" on the fingerboard from having been actually used on stage and in the studio in some frequency from Tele-lover Jeff.

The electronics are unaltered and full of searing Tele Twang. It resides in its original tweed Fender Custom Shop branded hardshell case with much of the original case candy from the Custom Shop and a Fender vintage-style leather strap; while the Fender Custom Shop certificate is absent, there is certificate of authenticity from the Wilco Loft validating the provenance of this piece, also verified by the Loft markings along the base of the case. Overall Excellent Condition.