Fender Custom Shop Heavy Relic HSS

[JediHalen]

Hi gang..

Last week I had a moment of madness and fell in love with this little beauty

I had all the best intentions about getting a new Charvel... possibly one of the last batch Production models, but from the second I tried the Fender out, I couldnt put it down. I know some people have an issue with relic jobs.. but once I heard it for myself it had to be mine.

Plays like a dream and sounds even better.
Seymour Duncan TB4 Humbucker.
69 Middle single coil.
69 Neck single coil.
9.5 Radius - one piece maple neck.
Soft V Shape.
Jumbo Frets.
Lake placid Blue.

Enjoy these pics until I hook up a youtube clip of this baby in action

[Flatpicker]

Very cool.
Has good played in looks.

S1 switch?

[JediHalen]

Cheerz ...
yup, it`s a S1 Switch. Sounds great too and I`m not really a bridge single coil kind of guy.. (good to have the option though).

[Grandturk]

I dig it - but what's up with that double screw pole Duncan?

I liked those heavy floyded Relic strats the Music Zoo had a while back - those were crazy cool looking.

[Nightbat]

I know some people have an issue with relic jobs..

whistle.gif

[gtrbuyer]

congrats that is a beauty...love it!

[chrisolson]

If it works for ya...

[ralph]

If I were you I'd take it back to the shop, its got scratches all over it, and the bridge is all corroded

looks cool though, happy playing

[toejam]

I'd clean the rust off the bridge and pup pole pieces!

[Hellbat]

Thats a pretty decent relic job. The forearm wear looks a little more belt sander than arm wear but most of the other body relicing looks like realistic wear. Except for the neck. The fingerboard wear just doesn't really look like natural wear to me. The frets and fretwork look really nice though. It probably plays and sounds great too. The best part is you have a brand new reliable guitar that it's no big deal if you bump it into something.

[VitaminG]

I'd clean the rust off the bridge and pup pole pieces!

hey, has anyone done a relic resto? (resto relic?) You could pay someone to stress and tarnish the shit out of the guitar and then pay someone else to clean it all up again. So it looks like a worn old favourite that someone has brought back to life! I may have just come up with the next level of relicing!!

seriously though, that looks sweet. Love the wear on the board. Subtle & realistic. The maple Roadworns look like someone dropped a dremel on them.

[Nightbat]

Some missing detail:
-There isn't a scratch on the scratchplate
-Not a screw stripped or missing
-No bucklerash on the tremplate
-Back of neck and frets are brand new

if your paying good money for something to look like a professional POS they better do it right

[JediHalen]

Cheers for the comments guys,

I did debate the relic issue while I was trying it out as I was never a huge relic fan.. but once I plugged in and played it for 5 minutes, I was hooked.

Sound wise it reminds me of the first Badlands album with Jake E Lee, low to medium output on the humbucker so it gives you that dirty rock n roll sound.
I tested it through a Mesa Stiletto with a Suhr Shiba Drive and it screamed like a banshee!!

It reminds me of those modded Strats back in 82 onwards,.. as far as the relic look goes, its authentic enough for me plus it has a couple of modern twists that take it from being a
true 60s vintage correct strat (big frets, 22 of them! and a flatter radius)

I reckon 2 or 3 years of serious gigging should even out the new parts to a nice played in look.

Another reason for a relic like this is is the fact that it takes 25 years plus to get a guitar to look like this and I`m not waiting till I`m 65!

Btw - I accidently dropped it last night so one small dent is actually mine

Pete.

[DonP]

Sounds like it works for you.

The one red flag I see is that 9.5" radius. Still not as flat as I like. I have a pair of HM Strats now and love the 17" radius. I don't feel so bad about these being so beat up any more.

[JediHalen]

Sounds like it works for you.

The one red flag I see is that 9.5" radius. Still not as flat as I like. I have a pair of HM Strats now and love the 17" radius. I don't feel so bad about these being so beat up any more.

Hmm, yea your probably right.. I would love the neck to be just a touch flatter, but I can live with it. For full shred songs I`ll use my Suhr Modern or my other Charvels.
This guitar will be perfect for other stuff, like the old classic covers we do from time to time ( Early Maiden, Priest, Saxon etc.)