Fender has put the powers of its Custom Shop behind a campaign to support communities affected by the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, unveiling the first of four custom, one-of-one electric guitars that will go to auction, with all proceeds going to the San Gabriel Valley Habitat for Humanity (SGV Habitat).
All of these guitars will be built using reclaimed wood, with Angel City Lumber in charge of the salvage operation.
The first instrument to emerge from Fender’s Corona, California Custom Shop is the Altadena Telecaster, which has a body carved from a Deodar cedar tree that was damaged in the Eaton fire. The area around Altadena was devastated. Some reports estimate that more than half of its tree canopy, much of it cedar, was lost in the disaster. Fender has given one tree a second life.
Elsewhere, the Altadena Telecaster is your typical Custom Shop heritage build (also, the fact that it uses whatever wood was at hand makes it a quintessential Fender build; it’s what Leo would have done). It has a pair of ’51 Nocaster electric guitar pickups hooked up to a Modified Nocaster wiring loom.
The cedar body has been given a thin spritz of satin urethane to tease all the detail out of the grain. Fender has given this a AAA figured maple neck, and you’ve got the black single-ply pickguard to take you back to the O.G. Tele builds.
The neckplate is engraved with “We Are All Altadena” artwork from Eric Junker. It ships with a deluxe hard-shell guitar case and COA. Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes [below] has already given this unicorn Blackguard a test drive, playing it live at A Concert For Altadena.
Bidding is open now via the non-profit auction platform PLUS1, and closes February 4 at 5:59 p.m. PST. The estimated value is $5,000 (bidding is currently at $5,100).
PLUS1 has already distributed $425,000 to various wildfire recovery organizations in Los Angeles. Money raised from Fender’s campaign with SGV Habitat will go towards rebuilding homes and providing housing security for families impacted by the disaster.
“Rebuilt homes are a symbol of recovery for a community after a disaster,” says Bryan Wong, CEO of SGV Habitat. “Partnerships like this will help ensure the fabric of the community of Altadena (which was known for its vibrant arts community) can return. These instruments are building more than houses, they are restoring hope.”
“Music has always been about connection, and this project brings that spirit to life through an instrument built to give back,” says Justin Norvell, president of Americas at Fender. “This partnership represents our commitment to the artist community affected by the fires, honoring their resilience while supporting long-term recovery efforts in Los Angeles.”
To view the auction or donate to the wildfire recovery fund, head over to PLUS1’s page on Givebutter.
Fender will unveil the three other guitars as and when they are completed.
In the aftermath of the LA wildfires, Guitar Center also launched an initiative, via its charitable foundation that offered one-time grants to replace any gear that musicians lost.
The likes of Anthrax’s Scott Ian and Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan were both evacuated from their homes, while Iron Maiden’s Adrian Smith and Primus guitarist Larry ‘Ler’ LaLonde were among thousands who lost their homes to the fire.
