Summer NAMM 2016: Fender Custom Shop parades show-stopping relics and guitar mash-ups

SUMMER NAMM 2016: Fender's Custom Shop gets us every time, and this year's Summer NAMM showing saw The Big F's finest builders reveal a host of new, drool-worthy guitars.

This latest batch mix in some unconventional influences - note, in particular, the H/S Strat with EVH humbucker - but remain utterly delectable in a way that only Fender Custom Shop instruments are.

These land in June, but they're all limited edition and bound to be pricey, so get saving, quick…

PRESS RELEASE: Uniting vintage features with modern favorites, the Limited Edition Journeyman Relic “’59 Special” Strat is an exceptional guitar that could only spring from the minds at the Fender Custom Shop.

Features include a trio of high-output hand-wound Custom Shop Ancho Poblano Stratocaster pickups, special Strat Blender wiring, a Greasebucket tone control circuit and Tone Saver Treble Bleed on the master volume control.

This limited edition model includes a one-piece AAA flame maple neck sporting a 1959 “C”-shaped profile, along with a slab rosewood fingerboard featuring a 9.5”-radius and 21 6100 jumbo frets. The two-piece select alder body sports a Journeyman Relic treatment and the neck has a Heavy Relic treatment.

Other features include an eight-hole 3-ply Mint Green pickguard and six-saddle American Vintage synchronized tremolo bridge, which received a Relic treatment.

Also includes a four- bolt “Limited Edition” engraved neck plate, Certificate of Authenticity and a deluxe hardshell case.

PRESS RELEASE: The Custom Shop’s Limited Edition Heavy Relic H/S Tele is for the player who wants to look and sound totally unique. The two-piece body is crafted from hand-selected alder, carefully chosen by the Custom Shop for its tone, weight and appearance.

Features include a hand-wound Custom Shop Twisted Tele single-coil bridge pickup, an EVH humbucking neck pickup and a vintage-style three-saddle Tele bridge. This limited edition Tele features a two-color Heavy Relic lacquer finish based on one of Fender’s classic ‘Wallpaper’ finishes—either Candy Apple Red over Pink Paisley or Lake Placid Blue over Blue Floral.

Also includes a four-bolt “Limited Edition” engraved neck plate, Certificate of Authenticity and a deluxe hardshell case.

PRESS RELEASE: The Custom Shop Limited Edition El Diablo Strat offers a decidedly menacing option to slash through a mix. The incarnation of vintage cool and mojo, the El Diablo Strat is the perfect guitar to add some fiery bombast to a player’s sound and stage show.

Features include a Tone Saver Treble Bleed, Greasebucket tone control circuit, quatersawn maple neck with a 10/56 “V”-shaped profile, a fingerboard that sports 21 6100 jumbo frets and a modern 9.5”-radius. The two-piece alder body, as well as the neck and hardware, received a Heavy Relic treatment.

Also includes an engraved “Limited Edition” neck plate, a Certificate of Authenticity and a deluxe hardshell case.

PRESS RELEASE: The Limited Edition Relic H/S Strat melds classic Fender aesthetics and feel with modern tone to create a dream guitar that will perform exceptionally in any player’s hands.

Features include a Twisted Tele neck pickup, an overwound EVH bridge pickup, vintage-style six-screw Custom Shop RSD Stratocaster tremolo bridge and 1957 “Soft V”-shaped profile. The Aged White Blonde body received a Relic treatment.

Also includes a four-bolt “Limited Edition” engraved neck plate, Certificate of Authenticity and a deluxe hardshell case.

PRESS RELEASE: The perfect balance of light and dark, the Limited Edition Relic ‘50s Tele Thinline definitively answers the question “What if the Telecaster Thinline had been released in the ‘50s, instead of the late ‘60s?”

Perfect for players in search of superb tonal versatility, light weight and vintage worn-in feel, this Custom Shop guitar is a study in sonic contrast and balance, with built-in mojo and style to spare. Features include a two-piece select ash body with a Relic lacquer finish, a rosewood neck with a 1957 “Soft V” Shape and 9.5” (241 mm) radius, 21, 6105 narrow jumbo frets and nickel/chrome hardware with a Relic treatment and a ‘51 Nocaster® Bridge with a reverse-angle center saddle.

Pickups include a Custom Shop Hand-Wound Original Blackguard Tele single-coil bridge pickup and Custom Shop Hand-Wound Twisted Tele single-coil neck pickup. It also includes modern Tele wiring with a Greasebucket tone circuit.

Other features include a four-bolt “Limited Edition” engraved neck plate, Certificate of Authenticity and a deluxe hardshell case.

PRESS RELEASE: The latest addition to the highly acclaimed Custom Shop Artisan Series, the Custom Shop Limited Edition Artisan Tele Caballo Tono Ligero Koa is a tastefully elegant instrument with sophisticated style and deep, rich tone.

Features include a hand-wound Custom Shop ’51 Nocaster pickup, TV Jones® Classic humbucking neck pickup, RSD-designed bridge, 1963 “C”-shaped neck profile and modern 9.5”-radius rosewood fingerboard. It also includes Sperzel die-cast tuning machines with white pearloid buttons, a one-ply gold anodized pickguard and a 21-fret one-piece AAA birdseye maple neck.

Other features include a four-bolt “Limited Edition” engraved neck plate, Certificate of Authenticity and a deluxe hardshell case.