One Of The Most Beautiful Fender Telecasters Ever Built

This unique "Tiger-Burst" Telecaster was specially built by master luthier John English at the Fender Custom Shop in February 1995. This highly unusual guitar weighs just 7.70 lbs. and has a huge nut width of 1 3/4 inches, a really fat neck profile, and a scale length of 25 1/2 inches. Solid ash body with a quarter inch layer of book-matched highly figured "Tiger-Burst" maple on the top and back. Highly figured Birds-Eye maple neck with triple-bound slab ebony fretboard with 21 medium frets and inlaid abalone shell block position markers. Headstock with Fender inlaid in mother-of-pearl. Early-fifties style "round" string tree. Individual "no-name" Kluson Deluxe tuners with oval metal buttons. On the back of the headstock there are two decals, one in black with the serial number "D.P.2.", the other in gold "Custom Built / J.T. English / Fender U.S.A." Gold-plated four-bolt neck-plate engraved "Custom Built / For / Norm's / Rare Guitars". Tortoiseshell over three-ply (white/black/white) plastic pickguard with five screws. One Fender Texas Special Telecaster chrome covered pickup in the neck position with a great fat output of 8.72k, and one Texas Special Telecaster Alnico 5 pickup (Broadcaster specification with 43 gauge wire and copper-plated steel bottom plate) reading 9.60k in the bridge position. Two controls (one volume, one tone) plus three-way selector switch (with black plastic early-fifties style "round" tip) all on metal plate adjoining pickguard. Early-fifties style "short" gold-plated knobs with domed tops and knurled sides. Fender combined bridge/tailpiece with three smooth brass saddles and original gold-plated "ashtray". The end of the neck is marked in pencil "J. English / 2-27-95" and the the neck cavity is marked in red ink "J. English / 2-27-95". All of the hardware is gold-plated and this amazing guitar is in mint (9.50) condition. Complete with the original gold-plated "ash-tray" bridge cover. Housed in the original Fender Tweed hardshell case with imitation brown leather ends and red plush lining (9.50). With the original Fender Custom Shop Certificate of Authenticity dated March 1995, original black leather strap, Custom Shop catalogues, owner's manual, polishing cloth and case-keys.

Senior Master Builder John English who passed away last June at the early age of 57 was raised on ‘50s and ‘60s rock ’n’ roll. He joined Fender in 1970, working alongside company pioneers such as Freddie Tavares and Bill Carson, and was a driving force in the early days of the Fender Custom Shop, helping to define the creative environment that continues in the shop to this day. One of the original Custom Shop builders, he was internationally renowned for his custom, concept and art guitars. He was a guitarist, drummer and artist who worked in the United States and Europe, and was a true original whose creations used exotic woods, metals, plastics, stones and bone, and were inspired by music, art, architecture and nature. He built custom guitars for countless musicians and collectors, ranging from Eric Clapton to President George W. Bush. His collaboration with surf guitar king Dick Dale resulted in one of the first Fender Custom Shop signature model guitars; he created Fender’s first Japanese signature guitar with Michiya Haruhata, and his trio of concept guitars created with art phenomenon Shag caused quite a sensation at the 2003 NAMM show.