Custom Shop '51 Nocaster

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Sat Nov 08, 2014 1:48 am

Got it today

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Sat Nov 08, 2014 6:05 pm

I tried to take some pictures in natural light but the sun wouldn't cooperate so this was the best I could do.

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Sat Nov 08, 2014 6:17 pm

It is interesting that most people(myself included) equate Nocasters with a huge neck but according to Mark Davis and others at the TDPRI:

"Neck sizes were all over the place in the early 50's.None of those necks are as thick as the CS Nocasters."

The measures are :
1950-51 large"D" 7.25-9.5 radius - 1.63''/0.85''
1950-51 soft "V" 7.25-9.5 radius - 1.66''/0.89''
1951-54 slim "D" 7.25 radius - 1.65''/0.82''

the really thick ones are either the 1950 Hard "V" 9.5 radius - 1.62''/0.96''
the 1953 large "baseball bat" 7.25 radius - 1.68''/0.94'' and the 1954 large "U" -7.25 radius - 1.60''/0.94''

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Sat Nov 08, 2014 6:24 pm

looks good, love that case!

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Sat Nov 08, 2014 6:40 pm

Nick wrote:looks good, love that case!

I can share it with my First Act to,lol.

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Sat Nov 08, 2014 10:56 pm

I reaaaally like this guitar.The Nocaster pickups sound great! They really do. This tele has been wired in the modern style(Neck,Both,Bridge) so you have 3 useful settings. The bridge pickup will give you all the shimmer and twang you'd expect from a tele but it sounds warmer than pickups in other telecasters I've owned(more mids?).

The neck pickup is different than the pickups in other Teles I've owned before.Usually I've found tele neck pickups to sound pretty muddy and useless but the '51 NoCaster neck pickup sounds more like the neck pickup in a stratocaster: fat but articulate. The middle position is the best. The bridge pickup is reverse wound/reverse polarity so the pair is hum canceling in the middle position and the 2 pickups are well balanced and sound great together. Rolling back the tone give you a really fat sound like the tele Jimmy Page played on the first Led Zepplin album( I plug it into my Stage 65 amp to get that sound). It's a really great rock guitar.

The wear on the neck makes it feels silky smooth but it has a very thin profile very thin profile,skinny vintage frets and a round 7.25 fretboard(that is what they mean by "60s oval"?). I love it because I mostly play barre chords,lol.

I think the Custom Shop did a great job making this guitar.It really does give you a feeling like playing a vintage guitar. It is just so light(7 lbs) and comfortable. And the tones sound vintage too,especially through my Randall Commander amp which has a really lush reverb and tremelo sound.The color sorta matches my amp too

HNB · Post by **HNB** » Sun Nov 09, 2014 1:26 am

Looks like a great set!

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Sun Nov 09, 2014 3:17 am

Time to update the guitar family photo?

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Sun Nov 09, 2014 4:47 am

I just have these 3.

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:38 am

This is interesting: according to this article by R.K.Watkins in the July 2014 issue of Vintage Guitar Magazine(quoted below) Coral Pink WAS a Fender Custom Color (link)

"Custom colors were available in the late â€˜50s but they really didnâ€™t catch on until the â€˜60s, all listed in Fender catalogs. Some, though, including Olive Drab and Coral Pink, did not appear in catalogs and have spurred debate over the authenticity of certain colors."

[youtube][/youtube]

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Mon Nov 10, 2014 10:32 am

^Interesting.

'Olive drab' probably amounted to a few tins of paint that the USAF had going spare and the Fender factory bought them cheap from a military surplus store or something. Fender's original paints were intended for cars, so olive drab airplane paint wouldn't be such an 'out there' idea, thinking about it.

Except: who'd want an olive drab-coloured guitar?

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Mon Nov 10, 2014 4:15 pm

Concretebadger wrote:^Interesting.

Except: who'd want an olive drab-coloured guitar?

Concretebadger · Post by **Concretebadger** » Mon Nov 10, 2014 4:29 pm

touchÃ©.

mezzio13 · Post by **mezzio13** » Mon Nov 10, 2014 5:00 pm

Isn't that Vince Gallo's Strat?

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Mon Nov 10, 2014 5:24 pm

Please do an demo
Edit: Smells laik tin spirit

westtexasred · Post by **westtexasred** » Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:33 pm

Haha,I can't do a demo.I haz the Ronnie Lane disease(MS) and my hands don't work too good. That is why I sold all my guitars 9 months ago.You don't have to say "Sorry to hear that.." or blah de blah because I am 61 now was diagnosed over 31 years ago so I don't worry about it. It just makes it really hard to play guitar is all and that is the only reason I even mentioned it.

Anyway,since people here have bugged me for years now to make a demo and I have steadfastly refused,today I decided to give it ago because I have a new camera and I want to see how it works.Just do me a favor and don't tell me I suck(already know) or that the guitar is out of tune(don't care) or comment on my clothes,hairstyle,or the untidiness of my bedroom .

[youtube][/youtube]

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Mon Nov 10, 2014 9:39 pm

Might just be me but

YouTube wrote:This video is private

Bacchus · Post by **Bacchus** » Tue Nov 11, 2014 12:16 am

Good work. Sounds brilliant!

sunshiner · Post by **sunshiner** » Tue Nov 11, 2014 12:41 am

westtexasred wrote:[youtube][/youtube]

Fuck it, you are the best.

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Wed Nov 12, 2014 2:55 am

Thanks for making the demo... that guitar is fantastic. Sounds great through both amps. Argh making me want a Tele!