Fender 52 Tele ANB Heavy Relic

Fender 52 Tele ANB Heavy Relic: Technical Review

The Fender 52 Tele ANB Heavy Relic is a USA-made Custom Shop guitar based on the 1952 Telecaster. Its listed specifications describe a T-style instrument with a selected ash body, a quartersawn maple neck, a maple fingerboard, and two handwound pickups. The model was released as a 2022 limited run and has been available since October 2022. No customer reviews are available, so this assessment is limited to the construction and features in the supplied specifications.

The listed price is 6222, with no currency specified in the product data. The package includes a case and a certificate. A bag is not included. The product listing also gives item number 532901 and a sales unit of one piece.

Body, Neck, and Fingerboard

The body is made from selected ash and finished in Aged Nocaster Blonde. The model name includes "Heavy Relic," while the listed finish color uses the more specific Aged Nocaster Blonde description. The provided information does not detail the relic treatment, so the amount or placement of wear cannot be assessed from the specifications alone. There is no separate top layer listed.

The quartersawn maple neck is paired with a maple fingerboard. Its '57 soft V profile points to a neck with a central ridge and gently softened shoulders, rather than a broadly rounded C profile. Actual feel depends on dimensions that are not supplied, including neck thickness at the first and twelfth frets. The neck finish and the fingerboard's finish are also not specified.

The fingerboard radius is listed as a compound 7.25-inch to 9.5-inch measurement. This indicates a more curved radius toward the lower frets and a flatter surface farther up the neck. The guitar has 21 narrow-tall frets. That fret type combines a relatively narrow crown with greater height than a low vintage fret, though the exact fret dimensions and setup measurements are not provided.

Pickups and Controls

The pickup configuration is SS, meaning one single-coil pickup in the bridge position and one in the neck position. Fender identifies them as Custom Shop handwound '50 to '51 Blackguard pickups. The handwound specification and period reference establish the intended design, but the supplied data does not include pickup output, winding resistance, magnet type, or a frequency response. Those details would be needed for a closer electrical comparison.

The guitar uses '51 Nocaster wiring with a bridge-to-neck blender. This control arrangement allows the two pickups to be combined through a blending control, rather than limiting the available sounds to a simple selector's separate pickup positions. The source does not state the exact control layout or the available circuit options, so those should be checked against the instrument or its documentation before purchase.

A one-ply black pickguard provides a contrasting detail against the Blonde finish. The pickup system is passive by implication of the described vintage-style components, but the listing does not explicitly state the electronics' power requirements or control component values.

Bridge, Tuners, and Scale

The bridge is described as a vintage design with brass saddles. Brass is a defining component of this type of bridge, while the supplied specifications do not identify saddle adjustment range or whether the saddles are compensated. The guitar has no tremolo system, which is consistent with the fixed-bridge design described here.

Kluson tuners and nickel hardware complete the listed hardware specification. The scale length is 648 mm, approximately 25.5 inches, a long scale commonly associated with this model type. The specification sheet does not give the nut width, string spacing, tuning ratio, or factory string gauge.

What the Specifications Establish

This model's identity is clear from its core components: ash body, quartersawn maple neck, maple fingerboard, two Blackguard-style single-coil pickups, and a fixed vintage bridge with brass saddles. The compound fingerboard radius and narrow-tall frets add useful setup context, while the blender wiring distinguishes the control scheme from a basic pickup-selector arrangement.

Potential buyers should confirm practical details that are absent from the data, including neck measurements, weight, pickup readings, setup, and the precise relic finish. The listing confirms a case and certificate are included, but provides no separate information about the case design. For a high-priced Custom Shop instrument, those omissions matter when comparing examples or arranging an inspection.

On the available evidence, the Fender 52 Tele ANB Heavy Relic is a USA-made, limited 2022 Custom Shop interpretation of a 1952 Telecaster with specified period-referencing parts and modern fret dimensions. The specifications support a close assessment of its materials and hardware, but they do not establish how a particular example sounds, feels, or is set up.