New for 2023, the Fender Custom Shop introduces the ’64 Telecaster Relic. Nearly 60 years after its original ancestor, the instrument is loaded with classic mid-’60s appointments for looks, sound and vibe that expertly evoke the Telecaster during one of music’s most monumental years.

Its two-piece body is fashioned from select alder or ash— two of the most popular Fender tone woods—for well-balanced sound, and wears a Relic lacquer finish in Natural Blonde (ash body model), Aged Fiesta Red and Aged Sea Foam Green. From the finish checking that covers the body to every last ding, dent and scar from bridge to headstock, this treatment imparts authentically worn-in look and feel and tells a story of a guitar that has experienced many years of regular use in clubs and bars.

The quartersawn maple neck has a ’60s-style Oval “C” profile that’s thinner towards the nut and gradually thickens toward the 12th fret for comfortable, full feel, topped with a 9.5”-radius round-lam rosewood fingerboard with 21 narrow tall (6105) frets and a bone nut. Both hand-wound Texas Special™ Telecaster pickups deliver hot tone with focused midrange bite, with three-way switching and modern Telecaster wiring. Other premium features include a three-ply mint green pickguard, ’64-’66 Telecaster bridge with threaded steel saddles, vintage-style “F” tuners, wing string tree, deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity.