Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt Ron Thorn El Mocambo Telecaster Heavy Relic (042)

The list of acts who played Toronto’s famed El Mocambo nightclub in its ’70s-to-’90s heyday reads like a veritable Who’s Who of rock, soul, jazz and R&B. From Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters, Sam and Dave, Gil Scott Heron and Charlie Mingus to Jimi Hendrix, Tom Waits, Blondie, U2, the Ramones, Squeeze, Duran Duran, Hall and Oates, Bon Jovi, Joan Jett, Queens of the Stone Age and many more, the El Mocambo has reverberated with the sounds of the greats. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, the Cars and Elvis Costello and the Attractions all recorded incendiary live albums there from 1978 to 1983 and, famously, the Rolling Stones played a surprise two-night appearance there in March 1977 (billed as “The Cockroaches”), which was recorded for 1977 album Love You Live.

The El Mocambo and Fender itself both trace their founding to the post-WWII era (1948 and 1946, respectively), and the Fender Custom Shop is excited to introduce a very special Master Built paired instrument set—the Limited Edition El Mocambo Telecaster and El Mocambo Stratocaster, crafted by Master Builder Ron Thorn, himself a Toronto native. Limited to 25 paired sets, the instruments are fashioned from 300-year-old eastern white pine reclaimed from the rafters between floors one and two during the massive 2014 renovation of Canada’s most famous nightclub. Each board was examined with a metal detector to locate and extract nails, and the extremely tight-grained old-growth timbers are light and extremely resonant, making for amazing body wood for these guitars.

The first-fret inlay and engraved neckplate are inspired by the El Mocambo’s signature feature, the giant 22-foot sign on the front of the building since its 1948 opening—an enormous palm tree with “El Mocambo” spelled out in glowing neon letters beneath the cascading white lights of the tree’s moonlit leaves.

Other premium features include a quartersawn and roasted Canadian maple neck with a ’59-style “D” profile, 9.5” radius flat-laminated African blackwood fingerboard with 21 jumbo (6100) frets and bone nut, hand-wound Josefina Campos Twisted Tele (Neck) and Texas Special™ Tele (Bridge) Pickups, Fat '50s Tele wiring, Heavy Relic® lacquer finish with gold hardware, three-ply black pickguard, '58-'63 Tele Bridge with Gatton Saddles, vintage-style tuners, and wing string tree. Includes custom El Mocambo hardshell case, strap, collectible case candy kit, and certificate of authenticity.