Ryan's Gig Guide - November 2018

Local stockist... rgg Nov 2018 29 www.ryansgigguide.com Paul chose to finish the White Blonde colour scheme with a Journeyman relic. Fender Custom Shop have devised five dif- ferent levels of relicing, starting from a closet classic with very subtle age- ing, all the way up to a Heavy relic which resembles a guitar that has seen a fair amount of abuse. The Journeyman relic sits in the middle, with check- ing in the finish, some healthy dinks and worn hardware gives it an authentic vintage vibe. Not only that, the relic process immediately elimi- nates the fear of putting the first nick in your new guitar. Now there is no reason to be tentative and instead you can use it as intended. Just another small stroke of genius that has arisen from this prestigious workshop. The nitro finish means that the ageing process will continue as you add your own mark to the instru- ment.The thin Nitro coating lets the wood breathe an unrivalled resonance, allowing the lush warmth of the ash body to sing through the hand wound Custom Shop pickups. Another extra little gem that applies to all Custom Shop Fenders is the vintage hard- ware. Rather impressively, Fender have man- aged to source the original press, meaning that their hardware is not a copy but in fact created by exactly the same machinery as the originals.This machine has made com- ponents for some of the most iconic guitars in history. A small but phenomenal extra hint of mojo. A piece of history designed by one of the greats, put together by a team of the best. This limited run of Custom Shop Fender is as much a piece of art as it is a professional tool. Paul Waller