I picked up my first John English Master Built Fender earlier this year -
a '61 Telecaster Custom Relic with a beautiful sunburst finish. I am absolutely
in love with that tele. I almost couldn't believe my fortune when I found
myself in a position to pick up a second John English this summer - a stunning
Custom Esquire, in Lake Placid Blue. And it's every bit as good as the tele.
In fact, in some ways, it has an even cooler vibe.
There's a reason why Mr. English's wait list is so long over at the Fender
custom shop. His work is fantastic! What strikes me as particularly notable
is his neck and fret work. In addition to the tele and esquire, I've had the
pleasure of playing a few of his stratocasters as well. They just FEEL so
great. My friend, an avid John English fan, says it's the next best thing
to true vintage, and I'd have to agree.
This guitar is bound on both the front and back of the body. The slab fingerboard
is Rosewood - I believe Brazilian, but I have to check on that. The single
hand-wound pickup sounds fantastic, and the three position tone switch is
set up to duplicate the original Fender scheme - pickup alone in the bridge
position, a little treble rolloff in the middle to simulate a dual pickup
sound, and then a lot of treble rolloff in the rhythm position. Leo's original
idea for this last circuit was to simulate a bass tone for guitarists who
might need it on occasion. This instrument was originally built for Norman's
Rare Guitars, and the neck plate is engraved with words to that effect.
This John English Master Built Fender Esquire Custom is in as-new condition,
or should I say in original as-reliced condition. The only thing I need to
mention is that there is a small amount of discoloration on the neck, apparently
the result of interaction between the guitar and a guitar hanger. This took
place at Norman's... rather surprising, in my opinion, but I am the second
owner of this instrument, and the first owner is a good friend of mine. He
keeps all of his guitars on leather hangers, and he bought the instrument
with these marks on it. Neither he nor I have tried to remove them. The relicing
on this instrument is pretty much confined to the body, where you'll find
a considerable amount of finish checking and a few intentional dings. The
neck is untouched, and the frets are beautiful. I think the tuners may have
been very lightly reliced. Included with the guitar is the original brown
tolex case (mint, still has the plastic covering on the latches), and all
the case candy (strap, certificate, patch cord, etc., as pictured below.)
