2001 ’61 NOS Stratocaster & Telecaster

I was wondering around a vintage guitar store here in Sydney one day in 2004 and stumbled across this Ice Blue Metallic pair. Made in 2001 in the Fender Custom Shop, there was a total of 10 sets made all serialised as 1 of 10, 2 of 10 etc. This pair is serial number 10 of 10, the final set made.

Somehow this pair managed to get separated at birth and sold separately. The Sydney store had the Stratocaster come in on a trade, and wondered where the matching Telecaster had gone to. So after some investigative work they located the Telecaster and brought the pair back together. That was when I walked in and laid down AUD$12,500 for them.

Although both certificates list the guitars as ’61 NOS (New Old Stock) models, they are actually marked as both Relic and NOS on the body and necks of both. The word RELIC is stamped into the wood on both bodies and necks. Curiously, the Tele neck has ’63 Tele stamped on it, and hand written is a bunch of writing including the 10 of 10 serial number. If you look at the neck it is not a slab board as a ’61 would have been, so it is a ’63 style fretboard. The Strat however is a slab board as a ’61 would have been. Also on the end of the Tele neck, hand written is the word SPECIAL.

Both guitars feature Fender Custom Shop pickups and feature a sticker on the bottom stating as much. Both guitars are also wired using vintage style cloth covered wiring for true authenticity. Both guitars also came in identical tweed cases and have all the case candy you can think of included. The certificates included with both guitars each state the identical information, except one was signed in May of 2001, the other August 2001.