New for 2023, the Fender Custom Shop introduces the Artisan Korina Tele, which features a beautifully crafted thinline body fashioned from select korina. This light and fine-grained west African mahogany has exquisite looks and tonal qualities similar to western mahogany varieties, delivering warm, bass-friendly tone and sweetly responsive midrange. These qualities in turn complement the open, resonant tone of the two-piece semi-hollow body, which features a single f-hole and a sumptuous Aged Natural NOS lacquer finish.

Its quartersawn maple neck has a comfortable ’60-style Oval “C” profile and is roasted for even more beauty and stability, topped by a compound-radius (9.5”-12”) round-lam rosewood fingerboard with 21 jumbo (6100) frets and a bone nut. The Custom Shop hand-wound ’50/’51 Blackguard bridge pickup is a faithful recreation of the earliest Blackguard Telecaster® pickup, with extra-large alnico 3 magnets wrapped with thinner wire to produce that sweet early-’50s Tele tone—perfectly balanced with versatility of the Custom Shop P90 neck pickup.

Other premium features include “Dual-Stack” HS Tele wiring, three-way pickup switch, single-ply brown shell pickguard, ’58-’63 Tele bridge with Custom Shop RSD (Research Special Design) compensated brass saddles, vintage-style tuners, wing string tree, deluxe hardshell case, strap and certificate of authenticity.