It is no secret that the Fender Custom Shop has been creating some of the best instruments since 1987. In keeping with the true spirit of Leo’s original vision of the company, each instrument is built with the highest level of care and excellence. Here at Chicago Music Exchange, we have collaborated with the best minds at Fender to build the best instruments from top to bottom, tirelessly going over each spec to ensure that we offer you the best of what Fender has to offer.
Featuring measurements and components we hand-selected from across history, our “CME Spec” and "Chicago Special" Fender Custom Shop guitars highlight important years in the development of core models like the Stratocaster, Telecaster and Jazzmaster. We capture the energy and essence of their respective eras with iconic fingerboard radii and period-correct plastics, matched headstocks and slab fingerboards, classic finishes and not-so-classic colorways. But that’s just the beginning of what makes our Fender Custom Shop guitars so special. We take customization a step further with rift sawn necks for added resonance and expanded control sets for tonal versatility, and every "Chicago Special" Fender Custom Shop guitar features our own custom Chicago Special pickups, designed in conjunction with Fender Custom Shop Vice President of Product Development Mike Lewis.
"Chicago Special" Tele pickup
- Potted in shellac for open wide range frequency response
- 43 gauge enamel wire
- BRIDGE: Wide diameter AlNiCo 3 magnets combined with thinner 43 gauge enamel wire equals ‘hot juicy tone’
Heavy Relic instruments embrace the full, hard-earned story of a life played loud. Where NOS captures a guitar at the moment it left the factory floor, Heavy Relic imagines an instrument that’s traveled the long road—bar stages, smoky clubs, sun-bleached festival fields—and survived it all with character intact. Expect deep wear patterns through the finish, exposed wood in all the right places, tarnished hardware, lacquer checking, and the kind of tactile patina that usually takes generations to earn.
