NAMM 2015: Fender Custom Shop's wildest guitars in pictures
Zombies, jewels, tree sirens and more!
Introduction
NAMM 2015: MusicRadar was on hand to capture this year's selection of Fender's finest Custom Shop guitars, including jaw-dropping zombie paintjobs, rare tone woods and diamond-studded stunners.
A regular highpoint at every NAMM Show, the Fender Custom Shop reception, offers selected guests a sneak peek at some of the finest builds from the Fender, Gretsch and Jackson Custom Shops before the show gets fully underway. These are very, very limited models - some of them won't even make it to the show floor.
We headed along to bring you an early report from the show floor, so browse the gallery to see what happens when the Custom Shop's Master Builders are let off the leash...
#181 Fender Custom Shop Quilted Redwood Top Tele Relic - Natural
Lightweight ash body, quilted redwood top, thin urethane finish.
#300 Fender Custom Shop Baritone NOS Custom Brown Metallic
Ash body, polyurethane finish, maple neck
#326 Fender Custom Shop Zombie Strat Custom Art
Ash body, quilt maple top, Zombie artwork by Joaquin Lopez, inlays by Ron Thorn.
#334 Fender Custom Shop Solar Eclipse Stratocaster
Alder body, Solar Eclipse Burst, WLS satin finish, hand stained maple neck.
#308 Fender Custom Shop Tree Siren Strat Closet Classic
One piece Tomo ash body, custom Tree Siren artwork, birds eye maple neck.
#339 Fender Custom Shop Flicker Flame Strat
Alder body, Flicker Flame graphic on body and pickguard by Troy Lee Designs.
#347 Fender Custom Shop Cardinal Esquire Crimson Trans
Alder body, 4A quilt maple top, thin lacquer on body and neck, hand polished, gold hardware, silver wire, rubies, green diopsides and diamonds set in body and neck.
#336 Fender Custom Shop Carved Pine Top Tele Natural
Chambered mahogany body, carved 100 year old weathered pine top, engraved gold hardware.
Fender Custom Shop Pine Cone Stratocaster
550 diamonds, blue hand-stained finish recreates appearance of the Fabergé Pine Cone Easter Egg.
#338 Fender Custom Shop Aluminum Hyroform Strat
Aluminium body and pickguard, handwound Fat 50s pickups, one piece Rift maple neck.
#014 Fender Custom Shop Limited Edition Relic Tele Caballo Tono Black
Lightweight alder body, lacquer finish, RSD bridge, TV Jones Classic Neck humbucker, Handwound Texas Special bridge pickup.
#501 Gretsch White Falcon NOS
Laminated maple hollow archtop body, maple neck, ebony board, pearl humptop engraved inlay.
#503 Gretsch 1955 White Falcon Relic
Laminated maple hollow archtop body, maple neck, ebony board, pearl humptop engraved inlay.
#500 Gretsch Bayou Round-Up
Laminated maple/gator hide top, mahogany/gator hide back and sides, mahogany neck, rosewood board, bayou themed engraved block inlay.
#505 Gretsch 1955 White Falcon Red Sparkle Binding
Laminated maple hollow archtop body, maple neck, ebony board, pearl humptop engraved inlay.
Gretsch Master Builder Stephen Stern
The Gretsch guitar maestro, pictured with one of his White Falcon Red Sparkle creations.
Jackson Roswell ELE
Contains an actual piece of a meteor in the central chamber, distinguishing it from all of the guitars that don't contain a piece of meteor in a central chamber.
#400 Jackson Kaiju
Hand-carved and painted by Mike Learn. Custom paint by Brian Bock. Custom hand-carved alder body.
#404 Jackson Skinned Dinky
Skin by FX artist Tim Gore. Painted by Craig Fraser.
Matt is a freelance journalist who has spent the last decade interviewing musicians for the likes of Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, MusicRadar, NME.com, DJ Mag and Electronic Sound. In 2020, he launched CreativeMoney.co.uk, which aims to share the ideas that make creative lifestyles more sustainable. He plays guitar, but should not be allowed near your delay pedals.