2020s Faux-Fender Esquire Partscaster Electric Guitar

Well, I'll say it straight-up -- this is one of those user-assembled partscasters that you can admire. I see a lot of partscasters in for service and (now and then) resale up here, but the vast majority are simply utility guitars without much thought put into them. This one is certainly a utility guitar, but it has a nice flavor as well. My only irritation with it is that the cobbler saw fit to stick a faux-Fender decal at the headstock front and a faux-custom-shop decal at the back of it. I prefer stuff to remain unmarked if it's not genuine, myself. But, considering the instrument itself, I think I can let it pass.

While it handles like an old Tele/Esquire and sounds generally like an Esquire, the control layout and sound of the pickup does veer pretty close to Les Paul Junior territory. The pickup's very Tele bridge in its overall presence but it's a bit ballsier and fatter-sounding with thicker mids which gives it more of that Jr vibe. Between that basic tone and tweaking the knobs a bit, all sorts of territory can be covered.

So -- the details? The body is a Nomoonlaser brand pine one made from reclaimed woods in New Mexico. The neck is a roasted maple vintage-style Tele neck (with jumbo fretwire) made by a fella in Michigan. The whole thing is finished in a satin-ish nitro and the fretboard either shows faux-wear that's very well-done or actual wear. If you spray the maple board thin enough, it can actually look like this (with finger-worn marks) within a fairly short span.

It has a bakelite-looking blackguard, Cavalier Huge Lion pickup, compensated brass saddles, an aged nickel hardware with a custom 2-knob control plate. The tuners look like aged Gotohs and the strap buttons do, too. I had to add a string tree but I did have an old, aged-looking one that fit right in. The wiring harness is a solderless affair with CTS pots and a treble bleed circuit to keep the tone clean as the volume is rolled-off.

Repairs included: a quick setuo.

Body wood: two-piece solid pine (tiny second piece)

Bridge: Fender retro with compensated saddles

Fretboard: maple

Neck wood: maple

Pickups: 1x Cavalier Huge Lion single-coil

Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast)
String gauges: 46w-10 lights

Neck shape: medium C

Board radius: 9 1/2"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: jumbo

Scale length: 25 1/2"

Nut width: 1 5/8"

Body width: 12 1/2"

Body depth: 1 3/4"

Weight: 6 lbs 8 oz

Condition notes: while it's more or less "new," there are some small dings at the edges of the body that are nothing to write home about. The finish is either worn or aged on the fretboard surface.

It comes with: a good gigbag.