For a short spell around 1958 the Telecaster loaded its strings through the back of the bridge plate instead of through the body, and that top-load bridge is the point of this model. It changes the angle the strings take over the saddles. The 3-saddle bridge uses threaded steel barrel saddles.
The body is 2-piece select ash with a 1-ply Eggshell pickguard, and the 1-piece quartersawn maple neck has a 1957 Soft "V" back and a 9.5" radius with narrow tall frets. Two Custom Shop Hand-Wound '58 Single-Coil Tele pickups are wired the old way: bridge pickup with tone, neck pickup with tone, and a third position with the neck pickup on a fixed, darker tone setting. Journeyman Relic aging sits in the middle of the scale, worn but not beaten.
The Vintage Custom 1958 Top-Load Telecaster is the same idea with an as-new finish. The 1959 Telecaster Journeyman Relic moves on a year, with a bridge that takes either stringing and a modern three-way.
Three finishes: Firemist Red, Faded Surf Green and Super Aged Dirty White Blonde.
The photos show one example. Wood grain and aging vary from guitar to guitar, so the one built for you will differ in the details.
SPECIFICATIONS
BODY
Country of Origin: USA
Body Material: 2-Piece Select Ash
Body Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Body Shape: Telecaster
Pickguard: 1-Ply Eggshell
Aging: Journeyman Relic
NECK
Neck Material: 1-Piece Quartersawn Maple
Neck Finish: Nitrocellulose Lacquer
Neck Shape: 1957 Soft "V"
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5" (241 mm)
Fingerboard Material: 1-Piece Quartersawn Maple Neck
Position Inlays: Black Micarta Dot - 0.25"
Number of Frets: 21
Fret Size: Narrow Tall (6105)
Truss Rod: Vintage-Style Heel Adjust
Nut Material: Bone
Nut Width: 1.650" (42 mm)
Scale Length: 25.5" (648 mm)
ELECTRONICS
Bridge Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound '58 Single-Coil Tele
Neck Pickup: Custom Shop Hand-Wound '58 Single-Coil Tele
Pickup Configuration: SS
Controls: Master Volume, Master Tone
Switching: 3-Position Blade: Pos 1. Bridge Pickup with Tone, Pos 2. Neck Pickup with Tone, Pos 3. Neck Pickup with Fixed Tone
HARDWARE
Bridge: 3-Saddle Vintage-Style Strings-Through-Body Tele with Threaded Steel Barrel Saddles
Hardware Finish: Nickel/Chrome
Tuning Machines: Vintage-Style with Fender Logo
Control Knobs: Knurled Chrome
Strings: Nickel Plated Steel (.010-.046 Gauges)
CASE
Case: Deluxe Hardshell