Joe Bonamassa shares details of new Fender Custom Shop ’51 Nocaster
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12.04.2021

Joe Bonamassa shares details of new Fender Custom Shop ’51 Nocaster

Words by Will Brewster

The blues prodigy notches yet another signature model.

Electric blues guitar wunderkind Joe Bonamassa has recruited the services of the Fender Custom Shop for yet another signature model, sharing details of an eye-catching ’51 Nocaster dubbed The Bludgeon.

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Limited to a mere 100 models worldwide and available to order via Bonamassa’s own website, the Fender Custom Shop’s take on The Bludgeon seeks to emulate every scuff, scratch and scar upon Bonamassa’s original ’51 Nocaster.

The limited edition guitars, which are to be handmade by Fender Custom Shop Master Builder Greg Fessler, will be made over a 36 production run, with preorders being open to those who place a $500 deposit today.

Sticking true to Fender’s historic spec sheet, the Fender Custom Shop Joe Bonamassa ’51 Nocaster will feature a one-piece ash body with a beefy U-Shape Nocaster maple neck, with both the body and neck being subjected to a heavily reliced finish.

The guitar also features a Tele ’51 – ’54 bridge and a vintage Telecaster tone and volume control layout, as well as a Seymour Duncan PAF-style humbucker in the neck position and a single-coil sitting in the bridge for that classic Tele twang.

Given that there’s still at least three years until buyers will be able to get their own hands on The Bludgeon, there’s not much in the way of demos or specifications about this model available just yet, but considering the hefty price-tag bestowed upon this one, it probably goes without saying that this guitar’s more of a collectors item anyway.

Hear how Bonamassa’s original guitar sounds in the video below. Recently, the Fender Custom Shop officially launched the Mike McCready 1960 Stratocaster to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Pearl Jam’s seminal debut Ten, which you can read more about here.

Preorders for the Fender Custom Shop Joe Bonamassa ’51 Nocaster are open now via Joe Bonamassa’s website.