CUSTOM SHOP GUITARS can be presented in three groups:
TEAMBUILT
The team built guitars is what you see the majority of here. Every year, the Custom Shop team makes a yearly selection of guitar they want to build for their yearly collection. This is often based on what dealers require. Many units of each models are made in a joint collaboration (hence, the term Teambuilt)
These guitars are then distributed worldwide for sale at vendors. So when you go to a store and see a selection of Custom Shop on the wall, you are browsing the teambuilt models. Almost the same as browsing regular USA Strats, just more limited selection, and more expensive.
MASTERBUILT
Masterbuilt is made by a singular Custom Shop luthier. You can divide Masterbuilt into two sub-categories:
Masterbuilt by customer is simply a one-of-a-kind. You go to a dealer, you fill out a spec sheet of your dream guitar and they order it for you. You wait 1-2 years and you get it.
Materbuilt for distributions are several Signatures or unique ideas. You find a few on my chronology. Each model are made in units in anything from 10 to 100 guitars, and its first come serve. Go to a store and order it and hope the have more left of it. Masterbuilt can be built over a period of time over 1-2 years. So they can be sold out, but more can be made over time. Contact Custom Shop to ask for status.
PRESTIGE
These are unique, one-of-a-kind models. The absolute pinacle of builds. Every now and then, a select group of CS Luthiers get to have a crack at building something unique where they use their skills and imagination. Many of them in collaborations with artist like painters and such. Prestiges are often made for showcasing at guitar shows like NAMM, and often just for a showcase to present at Fender website. Dealers that attend these shows can put in an order for this guitar and sell it trough their websites. Its a prestigious thing. They can also bid to buy if presented on their website.
These are highly expensive guitars that usually starts at $10.000 or so. So they are more for the player with exquisite taste and fat wallets..
Be aware that most teambuilt models can appear in other finishes and colors as well then those presented. The exceptions are Signature and Masterbuilt guitars.
Limited Edition Series (2022-2023)
Decal:
Colors:
Aged Natural (153)
Model# 921-5008-153 (Relic)
BODY
Wood: Eastern White Pine Reclaimed From the Original El Mocambo
Lacquer: Nitrocellulose Reliced
Shape: Standard Telecaster
Pickguard: 3-Ply Black Aged / 8-hole
Serial: EM+3 digits (Neckplate)
NECK
Wood: Quartersawn Roasted Canadian Maple
Fretboard: African Blackwood
Lacquer: Medium Tinted Nitrocellulose Light Relic (Semi Worn Rear)
Profile: 1959 "D" (.800 - .980)
Inlays: Gold Mother of Pearl Dots w/ Custom Palm Tree Inlay 1st Fret
Headstock: Standard Telecaster
Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)
Nut Material: Brass Nut
Scale: 25.5"
Radius: 9.5"
#Frets: 21
Fretwire: 6100 Jumbo
Trussrod: Heel Adjust
MicroTilt: No
Contoured Heel: No
GOLD HARDWARE
Bridge Type: Gold 3-Saddle Vintage String-Thru
Bridge Marking: FENDER Pat.Pend
Saddles: Tilt Compensated Brass Gatton Style Barrels
Tuners: Worn Gold Gotoh SD91 Vintage Klusons
String Tree: Gold Butterfly
Knobs: Gold KnurledFlat-Top
Neckplate: Gold 4-BoltCustom Palm Tree Engraved + Serial#
ELECTRONICS
Switch: 3-Way CRL /Top-Hat Switch Tip
Wiring: Fat 50s Std: N/NB/B
Pots: Master Volume / Master Tone
Pickup Config: SS
Neck Pickup: CS Hand-Wound Josefina Twisted Tele Single-Coil
Bridge Pickup: CS Hand-Wound Josefina Texas Special Single-Coil
Masterbuilder: Ron Thorn
Case: CS Deluxe Lime Green Case with El Mocambo Logo + Red Interior
Case Candy: Custom Content: Poster / SRV Live at Mocambo DVD + COA + More
PRICE: $12.000 +/-
#Built: 25 guitars made
DESCRIPTION:
The list of acts who played Toronto's famed El Mocambo nightclub in its '70s-to-'90s heyday reads like a veritable Who's Who of rock, soul, jazz and R&B. From Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Sam and Dave, Gil Scott Heron and Charlie Mingus to Jimi Hendrix, Tom Waits, Blondie, U2, the Ramones, Squeeze, Duran Duran, Hall and Oates, Bon Jovi, Joan Jett, Queens of the Stone Age and many more, the El Mocambo has reverberated with the sounds of the greats. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, the Cars and Elvis Costello and the Attractions all recorded incendiary live albums there from 1978 to 1983 and, famously, the Rolling Stones played a surprise two-night appearance there in March 1977 (billed as "The Cockroaches"), which was recorded for 1977 album Love You Live.
The El Mocambo and Fender itself both trace their founding to the post-WWII era (1948 and 1946, respectively), and the Fender Custom Shop is excited to introduce a very special Master Built paired instrument set - the Limited Edition El Mocambo Telecaster and El Mocambo Stratocaster, crafted by Master Builder Ron Thorn, himself a Toronto native. Limited to 25 paired sets, the instruments are fashioned from 300-year-old eastern white pine reclaimed from the rafters between floors one and two during the massive 2014 renovation of Canada's most famous nightclub. Each board was examined with a metal detector to locate and extract nails, and the extremely tight-grained old-growth timbers are light and extremely resonant, making for amazing body wood for these guitars.
The first-fret inlay and engraved neckplate are inspired by the El Mocambo's signature feature, the giant 22-foot sign on the front of the building since its 1948 opening - an enormous palm tree with "El Mocambo" spelled out in glowing neon letters beneath the cascading white lights of the tree's moonlit leaves.
