Fender Custom Shop Masterbuilt 63 Stratocaster Relic by Dennis Galuszka Shell Pink weighs in at 7 lbs 13 oz. This guitar was inspired by the John Cruz Masterdesign Strat from years ago, that we fell in love with. We continue to have other Masterbuilders make it to see their take on a much-loved guitar. It's been very cool seeing the different builders take on the same guitar! Dennis did a fantastic job on this Strat, and it's a thoroughly addictive and inspiring piece.
This Strat gets things started with a 2 piece Alder body. This tonewood has been used more than any other timbre in Fender's history. Finished in Shell Pink and then aged by Dennis Galuzska, this is a great-looking relic with some arm wear, weather checking, and the perfect amount of dings and dents.
The neck is made from quartersawn maple and carved to a Large C profile. The neck measures in at .875" at the 1st fret and .950" at the 12th fret. The fingerboard is made from AAA Dark Rosewood and the fingerboard radius comes in at 12" which is rather flat for a Strat. This radius is featured on the Eric Johnson Stratocaster so if you have ever played one of those, you know how nice it easy being able to execute big bends without much resistance. The frets are 6100 Jumbos which provide a tall and wide surface that is exceptionally playable. Paired with the 12" radius, this is one of the most playable Strats in the building! The nut width comes in at 1.650" and the scale length of 25.5" keeps the strings feeling taut and snappy.
The pickups are the Master Design Single Coil Pickups with specs to match the John Cruz Master Design Strat. This is a lower output set that sounds amazing through pedals. These pickups demonstrate solid variety just in switching through the 5 positions but when you start using the volume and tone, they really sweeten up beautifully. They are tied to a Master Volume,
One special spec worth mentioning is the Brass Tremolo Block. This material adds sweetness and softens the highs a bit over a Steel block. It also adds wonderfully musical harmonic content to the mix. Personally, a brass block is a MUST have with any guitar with a tremolo. It adds sustain and this sort of angelic resonance/aura to my last Strat. I likened it to a piano with the sustain pedal permanently on.
The Music Gallery has been a Fender Custom Shop dealer since its formation in 1987. We keep a bevy of Fender Custom Shop instruments in stock at all times. Whether you're looking for a Stratocaster, Telecaster, Precision Bass, Jazz Basses, Jaguar, or Jazzmaster, we can help you design or find the special instrument you're looking for!
