Fender Custom Shop Russo Music '60 Stratocaster Heavy Relic Electric Guitar, Eden Green, Dennis Galuszka Masterbuilt

As we move to turn the page on 2025 and Russo Music's sixty-fifth anniversary as a company, we have this Fender Custom Shop '60 Stratocaster Heavy Relic built by Fender Master Builder Dennis Galuszka. When we talk about the Fender Custom Shop, we commonly talk about the caliber of quality and artistry at which the workshop operates. Wouldn't you know it, today's no different.

From One Master

We called upon the Fender Custom Shop and Dennis Galuszka to craft a truly unique example of a Stratocaster that embodies just about everything of what we find so compelling about the model and maybe a little East Coast flavor for fun. Through Galuszka's masterful craftsmanship and artistic lens, our unique vision of a classic Strat comes to form. Everyone's got one, after all.

In Fender Custom Shop production, you have the option of the "Masterbuilt" track. What "Masterbuilt" entails is a hands-on, one-on-one build process conducted by a Fender Custom Shop Master Builder. Dennis Galuszka, a Master Builder since 1999, personally went about bringing our Custom Shop vision to life with his own artistic touch at every step. For Masterbuilt guitars, the sky is the limit, according Galuszka. We're certain that sentiment will translate.

Into the Woods

Where this whole story begins is with a roasted pine body assuming the classic Stratocaster form. Pine, a Fender tonewood with origins most prominent in the early 1950s, carries similarly to alder with clarity and resonance as prominent characteristics. This cut of pine is heat-treated for an aesthetic flourish and tonal balance. In Custom Shop terms, this pine body is also "sorted for weight," where, when building the guitar, a builder will choose a body among many according to which body in the lot is the lightest. Lightweight and roasted, the pine pick acts as an exceptional base off which the rest of this Masterbuilt experience blooms.

As you could probably predict, this Fender Custom Shop Strat brings on a maple neck – cliché? We don't think so. In classic Fender fashion, this maple neck connects for a seamless feel. This maple neck is, like the body, roasted for that added bit of definition in its tight, quartersawn grain and a slightly darker tint. We went with a 60 Style Oval "C" profile for this neck. Filling to a comfortable, slim "C" shape and measuring from .790" at the first fret to .930" at the twelfth fret, the 60 Style Oval "C" makes for an effortless experience in the palm. A satin lacquer finish wraps this quartersawn maple neck for that smooth, distinct touch.

Nine millimeter flat lam AAA rosewood lays out across the quartersawn maple neck. For its fingerboard, our 60 Stratocaster uses a rich, dark cut of rosewood lined with Medium Jumbo (6150) fret wire. 6150 Medium Jumbo fret wire lands among the most popular picks for fret size as it balances spaciousness and articulation. The rosewood's radius measures to a modern 9.5" for seamless fretting and a nice middle ground between a rounded vintage radius and a flat modern one.

A Shore Thing

We couldn't have a proper Strat without some single-coil snap, right? Any self-respecting Fender aficionado would say so. At the heart of this Masterbuilt Strat is your classic three single-coil arrangement. With this build, we went ahead to grab a couple of Fender Custom classics – Fat '60s and Tomatillos, to be precise. Hand-wound by – who else but – the illustrious Josefina Campos, Fat '60s Strat single-coils land in the neck and middle positions with a Tomatillo Strat single-coil assuming the bridge position. These single coils play with that all-important snap and sparkle with fullness and depth following close behind.

The pickups' sound is harnessed by the guitar's Vintage Modified Strat #2 wiring. With a built-in Tone Saver treble bleed circuit, the sound of these single-coils is crystal clear no matter where you land on the volume and tone controls or the five-way pickup selector switch. 250K 10% tapered split pots make melding through these pickups effortless and expressive.

Concerning its hardware, we simply couldn't leave that stone unturned, right? A bone nut and Vintage-Style tuning machines align at the headstock to balance out an iconic Custom Shop Vintage Strat synchronized tremolo bridge. Working in those classic vibrato bends, these hardware specs retain balance and precision at every level. Each hardware piece is decked in a Fender Custom Shop Relic finish treatment to work some simulated age and wear.

There's obviously a couple of aesthetic appointments to go over here, too. For one, we have Galuszka's signature-stamped neck plate. For another, we have a Heavy Relic lacquer finish treatment. When we here at Russo Music set out to get this Strat built, we did have a particular muse in mind for its finish color. Anyone local to Asbury Park might even shout out the inspiration for our Aged Eden Green finish before we can: the Wonder Bar's seafoam-colored "Tillie" mural. In tribute to our Jersey Shore roots, is there a better color to make you feel the sea-salty breeze across your face? Not that we can think of. Galuszka's personal Heavy Relic finish treatment allows for that right amount of pine to peek through alongside a matching headcap. This Masterbuilt Stratocaster travels with an included Custom Shop Strat/Tele hardshell case.

Sixty-five years up, sixty-five years down. You do come across quite a few Fenders in that time, if you can imagine. For sixty-five years, we're proud to share our take on an icon.