Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) today – alongside the revered Fender Custom Shop – unveils the highly anticipated annual 2024 Custom Collection. Renowned for the world’s premier and most-innovative custom guitars for artists, players and collectors alike, FMIC’s esteemed Custom Shop unparalleled quality and craftsmanship through an elite team of gifted master builders.
Built by the industry’s leading craftsmen, today’s announcement includes a myriad of compelling models from the Fender Custom Shop including a Limited Edition Collection, a Time Machine Collection that features models that pay homage to iconic guitars from the ‘50s and ‘60s, a Postmodern collection featuring models that represent seven decades of “Fender firsts,” an American Custom Collection that boasts striking finishes combined with contemporary features and meticulous craftsmanship, an Artisan Collection showcasing bespoke custom-built masterpieces, adorned with unique appointments and features unlike any other Custom Shop instruments, and lastly a Vintage Custom collection that represents early, almost prototypical, transitional and “first rev” versions of a classic Fender model before its evolution into its present-day form.
“We are proud to present this extraordinary collection from the Fender Custom Shop,” said Mike Lewis, Vice President Product Development - Fender Custom Shop. “Crafted by the industry's most skilled artisans, these guitars represent the pinnacle of excellence, blending innovation with the rich heritage of Fender. Each collection tells a unique story, from the timeless elegance of the Limited Edition and Time Machine models to the groundbreaking features of the Postmodern and American Custom collections to the nostalgic journey of the Vintage Custom designs. We're confident that this year’s collection will captivate artists, players, and collectors alike, setting a new standard for excellence in the world of custom guitars. Many models in this collection are available for customization through our network of Custom Shop Showcase dealers, allowing players to tailor their specifications to individual preferences.”
LIMITED EDITION
Each Custom Shop Limited Edition instrument is only available for a short time, making it eminently collectible and adding to its investment value. Crafted with many features reserved only for certain artists and masterbuilt instruments, they're exactly what the name says they are: highly anticipated, limited-edition models. Based on vintage platforms, modified with new and time-honored upgrades by our artisans, Limited Edition instruments let players achieve specific and previously unimagined results.
Limited Edition 1964 L-Series Strat® - Heavy Relic® ($5,400.00 USD, £5,199.00 GBP, €5,999.00 EUR, $8,699.00 AUD, ¥880,000 JPY) In 2024—the 70th anniversary year of the Stratocaster®—the Fender Custom Shop introduces a model that captures the look and tone of a Strat® from an especially distinctive and sought-after era: the Limited Edition 1964 L-Series Stratocaster®. Its two-piece select alder body wears a Heavy Relic® lacquer finish that beautifully imparts the look and feel of a mid-’60s Strat® that has endured decades of heavy wear and tear, in Three-Color Sunburst, Aged Daphne Blue, Aged Olympic White and Aged Sage Metallic Green. Its rift-sawn maple neck is fashioned with a comfortably easy-playing 1963-style “C”-shaped profile, topped by a round-lam rosewood fingerboard with a compound radius (7.25” to 9.5”) 21 medium vintage (47095) frets and a bone nut. Classic Strat® tone of that period comes from three Custom Shop hand-wound ’64 Stratocaster® pickups (reverse-wound/reverse-polarity middle pickup for hum cancellation in switch positions 2 and 4) that deliver clear highs, well-balanced mids and tight lows, routed through five way switching and Vintage Modified #2 wiring with the Tone-Saver bleed circuit, which eliminates tone loss when volume is turned down. Other premium features include a three-ply mint green pickguard, Custom Shop vintage synchronized tremolo bridge, vintage-style tuners, wing string tree with tall metal spacer, deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity.
Limited Edition 1964 "Bobbed" Tele® Thinline - Relic® ($5,000.00 - $5,150.00 USD, £4,799.00 - £4,999.00 GBP, €5,549.00 - €5,699.00 EUR, $7,999.00 - $8,199.00 AUD, ¥880,000 JPY) The Fender Custom Shop introduces the Limited Edition 1964 “Bobbed” Telecaster® Thinline Relic®, which combines several fan-favorite Tele® appointments in one remarkably distinctive guitar. Its chambered two-piece select ash Thinline body (mahogany on Aged Natural model) with classic “F” hole delivers the perfect blend of warmth with crisp attack and sparkling resonance, presented in authentically worn-in Relic® lacquer finishes in classic Aged Natural, Three-Color Sunburst and Aged White Blonde. The quartersawn maple neck is fashioned with a comfortably easy-playing 1960s-style Oval “C” profile, topped by a 9.5”-radius round-lam rosewood fingerboard with 21 Jumbo (6100) frets and a bone nut. True Telecaster® tone with biting mids and articulation comes from a pair of Fender Wide-Range CuNiFe humbucking pickups with ’72 Tele® Thinline wiring and three-way switching. Other premium features include a four-ply aged white Pearloid pickguard (three-ply black on Aged White Blonde model), three-saddle custom “chopped” Telecaster® bridge with Custom Shop RSD (Research Special Design) brass saddles for perfect intonation without sacrificing tone, vintage-style “F” tuners, wing string tree, deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity.
Limited Edition Red Hot Esquire® - Relic® ($4,725.00 USD, £4,599.00 GBP, €5,249.00 EUR, $7,599.00 AUD, ¥797,500 JPY) The Fender Custom Shop introduces the Limited Edition Red Hot Esquire® Relic®, which blends vintage-inspired appointments with a touch of modern playability for a phenomenal playing experience. Its two-piece select ash chambered Thinline body with classic “F” hole delivers all the sweet midrange and lively response you’d expect from an ash body, presented in authentically worn-in Relic® flash-coat lacquer finishes in Aged Black, Aged White Blonde and Super-Faded Aged Candy Apple Red. The one-piece bird’s-eye maple neck is sculpted with a 1952 “U-shaped” profile for full-hand yet super-comfortable feel, topped by a vintage compound-radius (7.25” to 9.5”) maple fingerboard with 21 medium jumbo (6150) frets and a bone nut. A single Custom Shop hand-wound reverse-angle Josefina “Red Hot” Telecaster® pickup rocks the perfect blend of bite and twang, with three-way tone switching and reverse Esquire “cocked wah” wiring. Other premium features include a single-ply parchment pickguard, reverse Nocaster® bridge with compensated RSD (Research Special Design) brass saddles, vintage-style tuners, wing string tree, deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity.
Limited Edition CuNiFe® Tele® Custom - Journeyman Relic® ($5,950.00 USD, £5,699.00 GBP, €6,599.00 EUR, $9,499.00 AUD, ¥1,034,000 JPY) New for 2024, the Fender Custom Shop introduces the Limited Edition CuNiFe Tele® Custom Journeyman Relic®, with a two-piece select alder body with black binding and rope purfling for a stunning Tele® dressed to the nines. Three gorgeous Journeyman Relic® sparkle finishes and a pair of dynamic pickups (CuNiFe Wide Range Humbucker in the neck position and Custom Shop hand-wound Original Blackguard pickup in the bridge position) bring this model into the spotlight. Other premium features include a quartersawn 2A flame maple neck with '60-style Oval "C" back-shape, matching painted headcap, flat-lam rosewood fingerboard, 9.5" radius, 21 narrow tall (6105) frets, Dual Stack HS Tele wiring, 3-way switch, 3-ply parchment pickguard, Bigsby® B5 Vibrato tailpiece with RSD J-Bridge, vintage-style tuning machines, bone nut, wing string tree, deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity.
Limited Edition P-Jazz Bass - Relic® ($4,850.00 USD, £5,299.00 GBP, €6,049.00 EUR, $7,699.00 AUD, ¥825,000 JPY) New for 2024, the Fender Custom Shop introduces the Limited Edition "P" Jazz Bass® Relic®, the best of a Precision Bass® and Jazz Bass® all rolled into one. Drawing inspiration from the 1957 P-Bass®, this limited release features a 2-piece select ash body loaded with a Custom Shop hand-wound ’57 Precision Bass® pickup for beautifully warm and punchy tone. The quartersawn maple neck and flat-laminated fingerboard may look like a mid-to-late ‘50s P-Bass, but it has a ‘60s-style “U” Jazz Bass® back-shape and a 1.5” nut width for effortless playability in any range. Finished in Relic® Aged Cimmaron Red, Aged White Blonde or Chocolate Three-Color Sunburst Flashcoat lacquer, this bass is sure to become the “go-to” in any player’s collection. Other premium features include 7.25" radius, 20 vintage (45085) frets, vintage wiring, gold anodized aluminum pickguard, vintage-style 4-saddle bridge with threaded steel saddles, vintage-style tuning machines, bone nut, disc string tree, deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity.
