1999 Fender Custom Shop Set Neck Tele Blue

A strong emulation always existed since the 50s between Fender and its arch-rival Gibson to be the leading American brand in the field of solid body electrics. Over the past decades, Fender tried different appointments and features to attract Gibson players, while sticking to its traditional bolted-neck construction. In fact, the one thing the company did not attempt was to build a guitar with a Gibson style glued-on neck simply because its production methods and workforce were not geared to it. The advent of the Custom Shop and the recruitment of experienced luthiers gave Fender the technical ability to build any type of guitar. Still, the question was how to produce in fair quantities a glued-on neck model without an extensive retooling or retraining?

In Spring 1990 John Page, recently appointed manager of the R&D department and the Custom Shop operations, and Steve Boulanger, Custom Shop engineer,developed a novel type of neck joint to solve this predicament. From this moment on, it became indeed possible for Fender to produce a "set-neck" guitar without a classic dovetail joint or a finely balanced neck pitch. The new neck joint was immediately applied on a new breed of Telecaster guitars. With the help of Jay Black, two prototypes were quickly put together for the June 1990 NAMM Concention to test the waters with dealers. In a matter of weeks. orders began to pour in and on July 26, 1990 the SET NECK TELECASTER was officially included in the Fender price list.

The Set Neck could be termed as a classic blend between a Fender and a Gibson solid body. The mahogany body is enhanced by a bookmatched curly maple top with a contrasting white binding, but to make the guitar lighter than, say a Les Paul, and improve its resonance, the core body is drilled with eleven 1.5" diameter cavities. The neck is also made of mahogany, reinforced with maple insert for extra rigidity whilst the headstock is painted to add a touch of class. The 22-fret board has a flat 12" radius and, depending upon the version, is made of either Brazilian rosewood or ebony. Three distinct version of the Set Neck Telecaster have been simultaneously introduced over Summer 1990:
the basic model has two DiMarzio humbuckers, a rosewood fretboard and no trem
the intermediate model is upgraded with an ebony fretboard, a Strat-style tremolo and a Wilkinson Roller Nut
the top model has three pickups (two humbuckers and one single coil), an ebony fretboard and a Floyd Rose Pre Tremolo.
After many unsuccessful attempts in the past, the Set Neck Telecasters built by the Custom Shop probably struck the best ever compromise between a Fender and a Gibson.

Well as you can tell this is one of those top of the line models. There is one slight crease going from the second toggle through where the tone knob. IT IS NOT A CRACK!

serial number; N 908138