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Fender 1951 Nocaster Electric Guitar

 

Review of the Fender 51 Nocaster by The Man in the Jar

This is a very special recreation of a very special electric guitar from a very special moment in guitar history. Imagine being introduced to Marilyn Monroe in the flesh... in that dress... no, not you, her!

For those that think lawsuit guitars are a modern phenomenon, prepare to meet the world's first. The Fender Broadcaster fell foul of manufacturers Gretsch, in early 1951, who had already registered a close variant of the Broadcaster name. Fender backed down immediately to preserve important industry relationships and the factory was instructed to snip off the word "Broadcaster" from the headstock decal. 
The other growing cultural phenomenon of the contemporary modern age was Television and it wasn't long before the guitar was re-designated as a "Telecaster". However Leo Fender's thrifty nature meant that the stock of clipped Broadcaster decals was to be used up before the new Telecaster decals were opened. The final decal met the scissors in August 1951.
Estimates of the number of these "Nocasters" that were released into the market vary from between 50 and 500. But by looking at the size of the American market and the material restrictions imposed by the Korean War it can be guess-timated that around 200 Nocasters saw the light of the day*. Whatever the number in reality, that full production run gave birth to a small but vibrant piece of guitar history.

Given the low numbers produced, very few people will have had the pleasure of holding an original Nocaster, let alone the luck and privilege to own one. The model I review here is a Fender "Time Machine" product. They claim that the guitar is made exactly as the Nocasters were in 1951. It's as if Dr Who offered to do your guitar shopping.      

Features of the Fender Nocaster

Tuners - These are vintage-style Fender/Gotoh covered tuners with small knobs that replicate the Kluson Deluxe machines on the original. They have a really solid and tight action and the guitar arrived out of the box in almost perfect tune. The capstans are authentic slot-type (as opposed to having a single hole) which are correct in vintage repro terms, but are a bit more difficult to restring tidily until you get used to them.  

Headstock - The original and most distinctive piece of design innovation in early electric guitar history, the Telecaster six-a-side headstock (possibly nicked from Merle Travis, the jury is still out). Here that iconic design (shaped to minimise waste of maple, a reaction to material restrictions of the day) is graced with a spaghetti Fender logo and nothing else. One simple circular string guide holds the first and second string. The truss rod hole is sealed with rosewood and smoothly finished. Access to the truss-rod is at the other end of the neck. It requires the removal of the scratchplate, but as you can do this on a Telecaster without removing the strings, adjustments to the truss rod can be carried out under full string tension. Not as convenient as headstock access but that's the way it was in 1951, sonny. 

Nut - The white nut is a set-in-slot type and is immaculately finished.

Neck - The light maple neck will be a shock to Telecaster players used to thinner "D" shaped modern variants. This historically accurate "U" shaped neck is decidedly chunky by comparison. Legend has it that Leo Fender originally discounted the need for truss-rods (a Gibson invention) and proved his point by putting a Broadcaster neck between two chairs and getting a hapless employee to stand on it*.
The neck profile is near-enough parallel down the length of the neck, giving an almost "Les Paul" feel to proceedings. However, I own and play a '78 Squier Telecaster and a new Fender Lite Ash Telecaster, both of which have significantly slimmer necks, but it only took me a few minutes to acclimatise and begin to appreciate the solidity of the vintage spec neck and get comfortable using it.  

Fretboard - There's a slight radius to the fretboard that works really well with the neck dimensions to create a really cosy playing experience. The position markers are traditional black dots, slightly closer together at the 12th than on modern instruments. If there is a separate piece of maple making up the fretboard it is impossible to discern it visually. The fretboard is lacquered for a smooth playing experience.

Frets - The vintage frets are quite thin but perfectly finished. There are 21 frets as Tele tradition dictates.

Action - This guitar is a Fender Custom Shop product and has been set up by people who love their electric guitars. Hence this Nocaster has a superb action straight from the box. The low action does justice to the neck dimensions and really tops off a special playing experience.

Body - The ash construction makes this quite a light body for its generous thickness. The classic (never-to-be-bettered) Telecaster design looks particularly gorgeous under its nitro-cellulose vintage blonde finish. The colour has a hint of "custard" about it which looks stunning with the black scratchplate and chrome hardware. The body is a simple slab - expect no comfort contouring on this little frontier-girl. 

Bridge - The guitar is supplied with a snap-on chrome bridge cover. Whether you fit this (as in the photo) will depend on your playing style and how you want the guitar to look. I use the bridge saddles to orientate my right hand (sloppy, I know), so I left it off. Also I prefer the mean, fighting-bulldog looks of the Telecaster bridge and pickup assembly. The Nocaster sports a standard Tele dish plate with three brass saddles, one for each pair of strings. This means you have to intone the strings in pairs which, depending upon the gauge and quality of your strings, may mean accepting a slight compromise.
I was surprised that the guitar is strung through-the-body, thinking that was a later innovation. But a quick reference to the 1951 patent drawings clearly shows six ferrules in the back of the body*.    

Pickups - These are vintage spec pickups so their output is low compared to hotter modern Telecasters. I did manage to get the guitar to sweetly distort an Orange valve combo but I didn't have a lot left on the gain knob.

Controls - This is where unexpected things start to happen within the familiar-looking Telecaster control panel format. The Volume control sitting behind the three-way blade switch works as normal. But the Tone control behind that is only engaged in position 1 (bridge pickup only). Even then it is not a regular tone control but blends in output from the neck pickup as you turn it down. This actually produces variants in tone that are far superior to a simple high-end roll-off, the sound is so much more natural. 
Position 2 gives you the neck pickup only with no tone control. Position 3 gives you the neck pickup alone with a pre-set bassy sound and no tone control. This rather innovative wiring set-up survived through to 1952*.  

Pickguard - Standard Telecaster blackguard gives the classic Nocaster look. 

Strap-buttons - Medium-sized correct vintage-style strap buttons in the usual places. If the historical accuracy of the guitar is your concern then you'll keep these, if safety on the strap at a hot, sweaty gig is an issue you might want to upgrade to bigger buttons.

Output Jack - On the lower edge in the classic Telecaster bucket.

Finish - The nitro-cellulose finish will wear quicker than harder modern finishes. So you have the chance to produce your own personal "Relic" simply by playing the little beast every day until they put you in the cold earth. Beware that some modern guitar stands are made from materials that will react chemically with the nitro-cellulose and mark the finish.

Accessories - Fender supply two cases with the Nocaster, one is an anatomically correct tweed reproduction of the case that would've been supplied with the Nocaster in 1951. This looks a wee bit flimsy for serious road-use so Fender, aware that you've just parted with three week's wages, supply a modern moulded case as well. The moulded case also contains a decent guitar strap and cable.  

 

Sound of the Fender 51 Nocaster

Does it sound authentic?   I don't know. It was a while after the Nocasters were sold out before I made my first noisy appearance on the planet. But I certainly believe that the Nocaster Time Machine is as close to the real deal that you and me are likely to get.
The bridge position gives one of the nicest Telecaster tones I've heard. Bright without harshness, ecstatic without brashness. The tone blend that brings in the neck pickup seems to me to be an innovation far ahead of its time. The centre position engages the neck pickup only and delivers a superb rock n' roll and electric blues tone. The forward position puts the neck pickup through a "dark vintage circuit" designed to supply a "deep soft rhythm*" sound. I think the contemporary playing situations that made this a useful problem-solver in the 50's no longer exist. Hence to the modern ear this tone will sound a bit muddy.

 

Overall Impressions of the Fender 51 Nocaster

As an ardent fan of most things Telecaster I was really intrigued by the the Time Machine Custom Shop Nocaster. I couldn't have been more excited about a concept unless the RAF started re-building Spitfires (but that's an obsession story for another time).
This is a top quality American Telecaster which differs from the norm in quite a few significant ways, not least the neck profile. It's also a fabulous opportunity to own an exact replica of the machine that started the revolution. It feels different, sounds different and will age differently from other Telecasters. But it also looks so familiar and breathes pure pedigree into your face.
The debate about American-built guitars will spiral on, but for me there is no other place on Earth that could be or should be reproducing the guitar that made everything else possible. And if that thought makes your skin tingle slightly and your heart shift up a gear, you will buy the Nocaster and you will consider the price tag to be a bargain when weighed against the sheer privilege of having a guitar this fine to enhance the rest of your life.

Tell Marilyn I'm busy...  

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*Additional technical information taken from "The Fender Telecaster - The Detailed Story" by A R Duchossoir. An excellent book that I highly recommend to anyone interested in the history of this iconic brand of electric guitar.

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