The 12 unique offerings are said to showcase Fender’s latest innovations and developments.
Following the announcement of its Prestige 2022 line-up of one-of-a-kind instruments, the Fender Custom Shop has also unveiled its Limited Edition offerings as part of its Annual Collection 2022.
According to Fender, these guitars were brainstormed to showcase its latest innovations and developments, which include unique models, pickup design, wiring, finish processes and more. Here’s a look at all 12 models making up this year’s edition.
These vibrant Telecasters celebrate the Paisley and Blue Floral finishes which debuted on the Telecaster back in ‘68. Their Thinline ash bodies feature an F-hole and parchment binding with a worn-in relic lacquer finish. Meanwhile, there’s also a 2A flame maple neck with a V-shaped profile and a vintage compound fingerboard radius of 7.25” to 9.5”, along with 21 narrow tall frets. Equipped with two Fat ‘50s P90 pickups, the guitars promise to deliver bite and growl.
Available in Pink Paisley, Black Paisley and Blue Floral at $5,450 / £4,749 / €5,549
A match-up of ‘61 Fender Strat specs and “bad-to-the-bone” modifications from the Fender Custom Shop, this ultra-relic’d guitar has the look and feel of an instrument that’s been played for years. It has a two-piece roasted alder body (ash on the aged natural finish version) for increased sustain. Along with that is a quartersawn maple neck with a chunky custom large C-profile, paired to a rosewood fingerboard with 21 jumbo frets. For sound, there are hand-wound Texas Special pickups, which are said to deliver searing hot tones. This guitar also features a Strat “half-blender” which lets you blend the neck and bridge pickups in positions one and two.
Available in Aged 3-Colour sunburst, Aged Natural, Aged Sherwood Green Over 3-Colour Sunburst and Aged Black Over 3-Colour Sunburst at $5,600 / £4,899 / €5,699
With design, electronics and a relic finish designed to showcase “the very best of what the 1950s had to offer” this Fat Strat promises to deliver a stronger tone and more transparent bloom. It features an alder body, plus “dirty” finish checking and a one-piece maple neck with a ‘54 soft V profile and 21 jumbo frets. Its hand-wound pickups feature a reverse-polarity middle pickup that should produce a fatter tone.
Available in India Ivory, Wide-Fade Chocolate 2-Colour Sunburst and Super Faded Aged Seafoam Green at $4,750 / £4,149 / €4,849
Vintage style meets modern playability in this “Twisted” Telecaster, which stars some interesting enhancements for a unique playing experience. The angle of the bridge pickup has been reversed to “fatten up the treble strings and tighten up the bass side” for an overall juicier tone. Meanwhile, its construction includes an ash body, a 2A flame maple neck with a ‘57 soft V profile, vintage compound radius of 7.25” to 9.5” and 21 narrow tall frets.
Available in Chocolate 3-Colour Sunburst, Aged Ocean Turquoise, and Aged Tahitian Coral at $4,800 / £4,199 / €4,899.
This heavily relic’d Jazz bass gives off the appearance of a seriously road-worn guitar, and comes fitted with hand-wound pickups for thunderous lows. It features a two-piece ash body with a nitro binding, and a U-shaped maple neck with 20 medium jumbo frets. Some other appointments include a three-ply black pickguard, a vintage-style bass bridge with threaded saddles, vintage-style ‘66 “lollipop” tuners and a third strap button on the read of the headstock for “old-school upright-style” playing.
Available in Aged Natural, Aged Black and Faded Aged 3-Colour Sunburst at $5,450 / £4,749 / €5,549.
Loaded with vintage-flavoured hardware features and interesting electronics, this Telecaster offers a unique playing experience. It comes with a CuNiFe neck humbucker and a hand-wound Texas Special bridge single-coil, offering some seriously hot tones. Its resonant pine body has a figured top and bottom, brown shell binding and rope purfling for a characterful look. There’s also a Bigsby B-5 bridge and tailpiece, vintage-style tuners and a bone nut.
Available in Chocolate 3-Colour Sunburst, Aged Ocean Turquoise and Aged Tahitian Coral at $4,800 / £4,899 / €5,699.
Said to harken back to an “archetypal year for the Strat” this modified vintage-style guitar features gold hardware and other custom features. It has a two-piece ash body with a relic’d lacquer finish, a single-piece 2A flame maple neck with a ‘54 soft V profile and a vintage compound radius fingerboard going from 7.25” to 9.5” plus 21 narrow tall frets.
The hand-wound Bone Tone pickups promise a lot of headroom with alnico 2 magnets and the use of heavy formvar wire. There’s also a half-blender to let you blend the neck pickups in positions one and two.
Available in Aged Honey Blonde, Aged Haynes Limited Edition Gold, Wide Fade 2-Colour Sunburst at $5,300 / £4,649 / €5,399
Directly translating to “Light Tone Horse”, this Telecaster model comes armed with a pair of TV Jones pickups to provide growl and bite. While it might produce heavy tones, the guitar itself is designed to be extraordinarily light, with a resonant hollow ash body with F-hole and a relic finish. It also has a one-piece AAA flame maple neck with a V-shaped profile and narrow tall frets. Other notable hardware include a sawed off Tele bridge, Sperzel Deluxe tuners and a vintage disc string tree.
Available in Aged Black, Aged Gold Sparkle and Aged Magenta Sparkle at $5,400 to $5,900 (£4,699 to £5,149, €5,499 to €5,999)
Touted to offer tones “hot as the Sonoran sun”, this heavily relic’d Strat gives off the vibe of a road-worn instrument. It stars overwound Red Hot Strat single-coils which route to a vintage modified #2 wiring and Greasebucket tone circuit – a combination of a high-pass and a low-pass filter – for a fuller mid-range.
Available in Faded Aged Chocolate 3-Colour Sunburst, Aged Dirty White Blonde and Super Faded Aged Lake Placid Blue at $5,950 to $6,200 (£5,249 to £5,449, €6,099 to €6,349)
Pairing up a sleek modern look with vintage sensibilities, this HS Telecaster has a lot to offer players. It packs a hand-wound humbucker from Josefina Campos and a hot hand-wound Texas Special bridge single-coil, along with dual-stack wiring for a more balanced tone.
As for its build, it has an ash body with a worn-in relic lacquer finish and parchment binding, along with a AAA flame maple neck with an oval C profile, and a rosewood fingerboard topped with 21 narrow tall frets.
Available in Aged Charcoal Frost Metallic and 3-Colour Sunburst at $5,950 / £4,549 / €5,299
Marrying elements from the Precision Bass and Jazz Bass, two of Fender’s most recognisable bass models, this special instrument could be the ultimate weapon for some players. In its build, this bass features a P-Bass body and a ’60s J-Bass neck with a U-shaped profile and a rosewood fingerboard.
There’s a hand-wound ’65-’70 Precision Bass neck pickup and hand-wound ’75 Jazz Bass bridge pickup, with individual master volume controls and a master tone control to access an array of sounds.
Available in 3-Colour Sunburst, Aged Dakota Red and Aged Sherwood Green Metallic at $5,250 / £4,599 / €5,349
The Tomatillo Telecaster delivers a subtly rich playing experience, with underwound Alnico 2 pickups to deliver flavourful tone. It has a two-piece select ash body and a one-piece maple neck, which were chosen to allow “all the subtle nuances of the pickups to shine through while playing,” says Fender.
It also has ’51 modified Nocaster-style wiring with a blender pot instead of a master tone. However, there’s also a Fat ’50s control assembly included if you prefer a more conventional Telecaster-style control setup.
Available in Natural Blonde, Tomatillo Green and Super Faded Aged Tahitian Coral at $4,650 / £4,099 / €4,749
Learn more at fendercustomshop.com
Guitar.com is the world’s leading authority and resource for all things guitar. We provide insight and opinion about gear, artists, technique and the guitar industry for all genres and skill levels.
© 2021 Guitar.com is part of NME Networks.