How Does A Fender 1951 Telecaster Compare To A Fender Custom Shop? 

The clean single note work is far more telling than the crunchy chords. Nice to hear an original guitar through a top quality amp.

wow the '51 is from another world. Perfect intonation as well wich is not always guaranteed with these old babies.

They sound near identical, but the older one looks far more interesting

Honestly, they sounded very, very close. I would love to see/hear an immediate A/B comparison. There was very little difference in tone, but the playing experience was different.

It's a beauty for sure, and an amazing piece of history. But while I can't account for the feel of playing it, there is definitely not a big difference in sound, and there are a lot of different things that can account for any differences between these two specific guitars. Love to see the guitars for sure, but I think you guys are a bit star-struck more than anything lol😄

Loved these comparisons, thank you gents ! I have owned and played vintage guitars. I hear here a consistent theme- the older ones do have something great, really like a kind of “broken in” sound and feel. However the newer guitars are not lacking in any way. In my own direct comparisons, and in yours, I hear the same thing- there is a “vibe” to the vintage instruments but newer ones also can be more consistent in output, Sound and resonance across the whole neck. I guess what I am saying is that vintage guitars are really cool and if you can have one that’s awesome, but there is absolutely nothing lacking in new instruments. In many ways they can be superior and once they earn a few decades of good use I think they will be as good or better than these old ones

The Custom Shop's intonation was so spot on, it was if you were playing a piano

listening with headphones and that 1951 sounds magical to me.

Channel is nice..love these comparisons…I am lucky and older…to own a pre cbs strat…and a custom shop strat…..like these comparisons…the older one is…like a warm bath..perfect..

51 Tele had an Ash body not a pine body. Only a very few early prototypes were made with pine. By 1950 Fender had switched to ash for both the Esquire and the Broadcaster which in 1951 was renamed Telecaster. Ash lasted until 1956, when they began moving to Alder.

Vintage guitars are cool, but I'd rather have a Custom Shop any day. You can't tell me that Fender's luthiers from the 50's are more skilled craftsmen than today's Custom Shop luthiers/master builders.

The 51 sounds fantastic, enjoyable video, cheers guys!

I can hear the difference even on my phone. 51 is beautiful. Wow, that would jade me if I played it. Wish I had a room full of custom shop 51s. Wonder if I’d find the tone?

Im just here to say im glad your channel is growing! Keep up the good work!!! Much love from croatia

Excellent video. That 51 Tele is just WOW....

great playing, love your melody's at the start of this show

Beautiful jam in the beginning. I'll learn it from the video!

In 1966 my dad bought a 54 Esquire and j45 and now i have them and I've heard a lot of people talk about the differences in modern vs vintage guitars and I can tell you hands-on experience these old guitars just sounds better in my opinion I don't know what it is

Excellent playing as usual great touch Paul

Everyone's hands are different. I've tried and tried to like fat necks. I can get used to them, but I can never play leads as well on them. My hands are small. It's a shame, because I love 50s teles and lps and strats but would have to special order a somewhat thinned out neck profile if I ever got one, which rules out a real vintage. But I guess that's what custom shops are for LOL Thanks for the content! Super glad I found you guys' channel. My studio has already benefited from your expertise.

It's just as Oscar Wilde would say: Anybody can sound good on a 51 Tele. But Paul sounds good on any guitar

I miss my 51 Esquire. I got it in 1978. Original case with sales receipt from an old TV shop dealer.

My 2014 52 reissue keeps my gas at ease, very nice and not too expensive

Vintage guitars just seem to have a sonic 'glue' that isn't present in modern recreations. That Telecaster sounds stunning, as did that Les Paul in the last video.

Great video guys thank you much. I want one of each LOL maybe someday I can buy that custom shop. Since I would probably only be able to get one I think I’ll get the dirty shell pink

The original tele tone was outstandingly AWESOME!

I have a Custom Shop Relic Nocaster, definitely worth the money, but I could hear the difference in your 51 Tele.

I think that it bears saying that with very few exceptions, as we add O.D. and distortion to the sound of an electric guitar, we begin to reduce to the point of virtual complete elimination, the individual character of each guitar’s sound. This is largely because when we add those effects we are introducing the amplifier’s tonality into the mix in such a way and in such a ratio as to mask the guitar’s natural, clean sound. To the player, each guitar will retain its individuality to a great degree because each guitar feels different to play from every other one. Accordingly, this difference in feel will cause the player to play each guitar differently, and in that manner, each guitar, no matter how effected, retains at least some of its individuality. However, the sound of each as heard by a listener will become somewhat homogenized as the O.D., etc. effects increase as a greater part of the overall sound. This has never been displayed better than here, when that magnificent ’51 Tele and the also magnificent new Custom Shop, Master Built Tele, so different-sounding when played clean, became virtually indistinguishable to me when O.D. and distortion were introduced to the sound. They may have felt very different to play at all times, as they should. Nevertheless, to my ears, the sounds that they produced became very much alike when overdriven. Such a great vid, guys. What a treat to hear that old Tele and played so well Cheers.

My take on old instruments where some instruments standout vs their same counterparts is that manufacturing standards where nit thst great. A guy from g&l stold a nice story about when he checked how employees at fender determined if sufficient windings where on a pickup. When its about full. When checking the number of windings there where substantial differences between same model pickups, which influences the sound. Taking that single element into consideration no wonder one start sounded better then another. Nowadays pickup winding is done digitally controlled so each pickup of the same model has the same winding. Cnc machining also takes out variance.

Just think of this..... That driving rock sound wasn't even a thing when that Tele was built

Am I right or wrong? Those Telecasters are real „Les Paul Killers“. Amazing Instrument!!!😢

I’m feeling your fizzle. I’m a Tele guy too. Now my kidneys are seriously at risk and the liver.

A happy Paul guitar face

Great Video!!! I have read the comments 3 times and rewatched this video at least 5 times. What is the overdrive pedal(s) are you using?

'A cutting board with a neck' - Brad Paisley...

I don’t like a fat neck. I had a ‘56 tele. Sounded amazing but unplayable

@4:26 not only did the custom shop not compress as much, it had more definition to the notes, and it had a wee bit more lower mids that just harkened to a Les Paul on steroids. I'll take the custom shop please.

Tele's a machine and that '51 went to work for a while made it out the other side, wow. '51 bridge sounded brighter and more, is that right? I dunno but I sure do like Teles

Both great but the '51 sounds perceptibly more resonant. Maybe a softer lighter guitar & good tone provides a better experience. The inverse neck profile is interesting.

The idea of paying untold amounts of money for vintage gear is a myth-- it’s in someone’s head and pickups

What will the price be one the real 50s tele ?

I have a REAL Nocaster and I find it odd that the 12th fret markers are not narrow like mine. They appear to be more than a quarter inch wider than mine maybe even approaching a half an inch.

Honestly I do love vintage, but affordability and availability is pretty restrictive, that being said vintage can be hit or miss,, a lot of the reissues (especially a master built or custom shop) is going to be a more consistently good instrument plus will be more of a conglomeration of all the best attributes of the best vintage instruments. Even just a basic American made reissue is going to be a consistently good much more playable instrument, a lot of vintage instruments even sounding amazing are going to be a bit of fight to play.

Distorsion sounds better in 51 but clean sound is better in the custom one. Both sounds are nice

That is the oldest guitar i've ever seen, what a beauty

The reissue sounds better to me.

51 sounds better to me clean. No difference whatsoever through the fuzz pedal.

Great Teles

You're not exactly helping to minimize my GAS for a Custom Shop Telecaster

that's how the tapper should what all the builders get wrong

Does a fat neck improve or enhance the tone?

The old is gold 🪙🎸

Custom shop all the way

The old one sounds like a LP

I’ll take two

51does sound like pinky:) What pickups are in pinky anyway:)

The Custom Shop Tele will be cheaper to insure.

I dont play but i hear in the original 51 , its much cleaner n softer 👍

The old one sounds like a 59 LP😂 The new one not even close

Can't hear the master build plastic tone after the vintage one.

Confirmation bias?

I thought the Custom Shop sounded better.

Great reviews as always. I would say the fender custom shop tele against the original 52 was so close. Especially compared to the Gibson gold top comparison from last week. Under heavy gain both the tele custom and original sound so so close. However with no gain the original sounded that tiny bit clearer and not as bassy as the custom shop. Finally, I often hear and debated that both fender and Gibson got it right the first time round in the 50s. However l, could there be an element that amps had evolved over time around the Tele and Les Paul. So in a way everything evolved around each other.

Almost all vintage guitars sound to me as if they still have the original strings on!

That made me lol pretty hard...the new one sounds like a tin of cat food compare to the 51...

The worn spots on the 51 look completely fake, relic style fake...weird.

Having owned a cs Nocaster, I’d be very surprised if the original sounded or played better than the original. All in the head I’m afraid..Nice to have the original for investment purposes, but that’s about it imo..

How much is the custom shop? To be honest I couldn’t hear any difference in the 72 years.

The cs pickup type makes all the difference! 51 nocaster sounds best

Awesome.

This vjdeo is splendid..no country music play on both guitar..... i notice that when a strats or tele been tested or demo, the guitarist always play country music...that for me is sooo pethatic....this is good video

The old one doesn't have that disgusting nect relic treatment on the back, common for new custom shops.

There is nothing superior in a guitar from 1951 apart from the “played in” feel and maybe some rare ones have the X factor. The CS ones are usually - but not always - better in every department, apart from the played in aspect. Luthiers are just the same today as they were back then and are probably even better at those little tweaks that occur when people learn from people as the years go by, not to mention the technology available to luthiers that didn’t exist in the 1950’s.

i can't tell the difference...certainly not considering the price difference.

Electric guitar tone comes from: 1. Player 2. Pickups 3. String type 4. THE NECK (thickness and sawn angle especially) I will fight with razors to defend this opinion.

I have an extra kidney I’m not using. Trade?

First of all, both guitars sound fine, but 90% of the sound and tone is determined by the amp. Secondly, the 51 looks like it has had some relicing done. The wear looks completely unnatural and wrong.

Ash body Pine bodies came on the snakehead

51 has more clarity

Fascinating...a "60 cycle Hum-Dinger" Tele that actuallly sounds good. However, please have the chap turn 30 degrees in his seat and see what happens. 😳⚡😮👎

Guitargasim 🤪

It’s all in your mind. When you hold and play a vintage instrument it automatically registers in your mind that this will sound great and that’s what happens. Our brain is very powerful, it controls the way we think.

Stop buttering it up. There is simply no comparison tonally. Get a grip and tell the truth ffs

They all sound the same as Boring 🎸🥱🎸👎🏼

eunuchs.

Only in the guitar world can something that's "maser built" be of a worse quality than something that was mass produced by a low skilled workforce.

This show proved absolutely nothing.the reissue fender custom shop sounded as good as the 1951 tele,no tonal difference.spending 50k - 300k on a vintage guitar is insane to me,my opinion.I’ll keep my $$$ in real estate.thank you

Because of all the global warming and carbon emissions woods are polluted in current times and that’s why guitars don’t sound as good. Let’s put an excessive tax on the ppl who buy guitars to make all the pollution go away says any form of Govt in current times.

I don't understand how a electric guitar made with 50's quality electric components could possibly compete with a modern one .I can understand how an acoustic guitar would improve. An electric has NOTHING to do with wood . I'm glad I'm not bothered by these relics . Only quality and sound matter . 👍👍👍

I am not sure if you would still call the vintage one `off the charts` If it was a blind test. This seems biased to me :)