Fender TME-Spec Masterbuilt Dennis Galuszka '60s Tele Custom

Not long ago, we came across a photo of a '60s Tele online in a Premier Guitar article that just stopped us cold. It belonged to award-winning producer, engineer, and multi-instrumentalist Richie Owens' father (Richie is a fifth-generation musician who has worked with everyone from Dolly Parton to the Georgia Satellites). Two things grabbed us immediately - its unique rope binding and a gorgeous dark brown sunburst. We've seen a million Telecasters in our lives, but this one was unlike any we'd encountered.

For many years, this was the Telecaster that got away for Richie, though he was later able to reacquire it (his heros James Burton, Albert Lee, and Vince Gill all played it and declared it was one of the best Tele's they'd ever played). Being such a storied guitar, we wanted to do a tribute to it, and as you'd image, this is where having access to Fender's Masterbuilder roster comes in handy.

We drew up the specs, put the order in, and Dennis Galuszka made it real. He nailed it - and we're just as smitten with this build as we were the first time we laid eyes on that photo.
A big part of what makes it work is how completely the look melds with the materials. The roasted ash body and roasted maple neck get you to "vintage" without waiting decades for it - stable, resonant, and lightweight in exactly the way great old guitars are. It feels and sounds like an old Tele the second you pick it up.

The early '60s Oval C neck profile, 9½" radius, and 6105 frets roll together into something slender, comfortable, and immediately familiar. Not a baseball bat - a medium, easy-playing neck that'll suit most players without a second thought.

Plugged in, the hand-wound '63 Tele pickups deliver exactly what you'd hope: classic twang and bite at the bridge, round and warm at the neck. Leo got it right the first time. Dennis just reminded us.