Up for sale, a 2015 Fender Custom Shop 1955 Esquire in exceptional, near mint condition and in perfect working order. A discontinued Custom Shop edition, this Esquire comes complete with the original Custom Shop blonde hardshell case, hangtags, case candy, COA, and most importantly, Fender's "Telecaster Conversion Kit" with extra pickguard, pickup, and control plate for cleanly modifying this guitar to Tele specs.

Tonally, it'd be hard to find a more pure, no-nonsense Fender tone machine, with a solid ash body, massive U profile maple neck, and a single flat pole piece bridge pickup. Bite, bark, twang, and sparkle are all available in equal portions, and all one needs to do is adjust the Volume and Tone knobs to taste. Of course, the Esquire's secret weapon is its three-way Tone switch. In the bridge position, the pickup is connected only to the volume control (the tone control is disconnected); this minimal circuitry produces more top-end sparkle than is possible with a Telecaster. In the middle position, the standard tone control circuit is activated. In the neck position, the tone control is again disengaged, but a tone-shaping capacitor rolls off much of the top end and some bottom, producing a darker tone and slight volume loss. This Esquire weighs a mere 7lbs 2oz and is dialed in with 10-46 strings and optimal action.

The maple neck has the aforementioned massive U shaped profile, measuring .896" deep at the first fret and filling out to 1.004" at the 12th fret. The profile has tons of shoulder and the gloss lacquer finish has bene worn down to the smooth, bare maple as part of the factory relic process. The fretboard has a modern 9 1/2" radius and the guitar retains the original nigh flawless 6105 fretwire which has vintage width, yet more height and crown than vintage wire. The frets show only a touch of wear on the crowns beneath the B and G strings on frets 1-2, with zero wear further up the fretboard and clear, singing tones in every register. The bone nut measures 1 5/8" in width, and the headstock retains the original Kluson-style tuners, with the Fender Custom Shop chevron logo as well.

The ash body is an incredible piece of wood with very prominent grain and a particularly transparent Butterscotch lacquer finish to highlight said grain. Cosmetic wear is virtually non-existent, and while it's always difficult to judge natural playwear on a Relic instrument, suffice it to say that this is a showroom clean guitar that's been sparingly played since new.

The original Custom Shop hardshell case, Tele conversion kit, COA, hangtags, and case candy are included.