Featured: Stephen Marchione Spruce/Rosewood VT

"The body of this guitar is simply amazing. And probably one of a kind. It's a single, stunning piece of spruce, the likes of which I've never seen before. The figuring is intense - almost like something you'd see on a premium piece of curly maple. It is so organic, so loaded with character, that Stephen chose to do a hand-rubbed oil finish on it. It took him a month to apply before he began polishing it. All the grain, the sap marks and texture - all of this remarkable piece of spruce's beauty shines through. The color was achieved by letting it all cure in the Texas sun. And if that wasn't enough wood goodness, Marchione then chose some old growth quartersawn Indian rosewood for the neck and fingerboard. It's a wood lover's delight!

"The playability is truly outstanding! His refined shapes and contours have added next-level sensibilities to an already legendary design. His tweaked pickups (Marchione new-generation designed silent singles) help create a deep and wide sonic palette. It has all the woody resonance of a fine vintage piece coupled with with the clarity and precision of a modern bespoke guitar. Personally, I just love it. There is an an elegant simplicity about it: nothing to add or change — the ultimate sophistication!..." - Craig

Featured: PRS Private Stock McCarty 594 Preowned 2017

"Straight out of a collection this stellar PRS, originally sold here at CR Guitars is taking a new turn through our shop in search of a new owner - near mint with virtually no sign of playing wear. My original write up follows...

This exceptional guitar is not ostentatious in any way, but rather has a refined aesthetic, and also succeeds in being visually exciting, the kind of guitar that gets your heart racing just looking at it. The now classic bird inlays are sophisticated yet simple, and I love the curly maple binding. Not to mention the vintage pattern carved figured mahogany neck, which looks and feels just wonderful.

Tonally the guitar is a chameleon, with the extended dynamic range of the PRS 58/15 LT pickups and fantastic clarity when coil tapped, it can cover any kind of music with ease. The 58/15s are pretty special pickups in that they have more clarity in the high mids, are a little rolled off in the low mids and have a strong and rooted bass response..." - Craig

Featured: Stephen Marchione Custom 15 Archtop Preowned 2016

"By now you know the admiration I have for Stephen Marchione’s instruments. His instruments are incredibly expressive, dynamic, with impeccable artistry and craftsmanship. The arrival of a Marchione in the shop is always cause for excitement, and we pretty much have a guitar on order from him all the time. This particular instrument is back from a collection, and is in near-unplayed condition.

"This Marchione archtop is absolutely stunning, a superlative world class guitar that has everything you could possibly want from an archtop instrument. It is both a museum piece and an eminently playable guitar. Beautiful to look at, with Stephen’s distinctive aesthetic sense, and wonderful to play. In your hands, this guitar feels like an extension of you. Everything feels just right, from the 15 inch body to the characteristically wonderful softV/full C Marchione neck..." - Craig

Featured: Collings 290 Custom

"Like virtually everyone I know, I was first inspired to play guitar by the Beatles. Who wasn't? So it's particularly gratifying to me to be able to present to you this very special Collings custom 290 with a faded crimson '59 finish. I always loved the look of Lennon's guitar with the CC neck pickup and the dogeared P90 bridge pickup - the guitar he performed with on the Mike Douglas Show (!) and at Madison Square Garden to benefit a group dedicated to helping children with learning disabilities - the One to One Organization.

"The Charlie Christian neck pickup provides more clarity and transparency than a P90 neck pickup. It's more balanced with less of a midrange bump. Paired with the dogeared P90 bridge pickup, this electronic package expands the tonal range, making this an extremely versatile guitar. Great for rock, blues, country, or even jazz (thanks to the CC pickup)  It's a wonderful pickup combo, something I will do again. I also stayed with the one volume one tone platform that was on Lennon's Jr. To me it's straight forward and balances the tone just right..." - Craig

Featured: Mario Martin T Style CRG Custom

"So here I go again on a quest to bring a realistic representation of one of my favorite guitars. Like I did when I wanted to clone my '56 Strat, I called upon the super talented Mario Martin to build me THAT guitar.

And build he did! This custom CR Guitars '63 T-Style is absolutely terrific in every way. It's is super lightweight - 5.8 lbs! It's perfectly balanced. You could have this guitar hanging from your shoulder all night and not break a sweat. The tones are righteous — love the Arcane pickups — and lay out pretty much every hing you'd expect from a fine Tele. The chunky C neck shape is dead-on-perfect and it plays with an ease that is hard to find in an actual vintage Tele..." - Craig

Featured: 1962 Gibson ES-335 TD with Block Inlays

"No matter how many great guitars I have played in my over 50 years of picking and strumming, my heart always skips a beat when I get to lay my hands on a fine classic vintage guitar. You would think by now, I'd be a little jaded or at least numbed by another hunk of a wood with 6 strings on it but no, that is just not the way it goes. Rather, what happens is this: I approach the guitar case with a bit of trepidation, not sure what I'm going to discover, not sure if my find will meet my expectations, or if I'm lucky, surpass them. It's either right for you or it isn't.

"Let me be blunt. This stellar 1962 Gibson 335 is right for me, and I mean really right! I mean so right that this is going to be a hard one to let go. I have the feeling it will be right for you, too. Here's why: first of all, this beauty is in excellent original condition, untouched other than an excellent fret job done by the great luthier Chris Mirabella. The sunburst finish has that warm glow that you see in well preserved vintage Gibsons; it really puts a smile on my face. The neck is beautifully shaped, wide at the nut but with more girth than the typical '60 or '61 wide flat 335 neck shape. I could play on this neck all day and never tire of it. It's just a really sweet C shape that plays great through its entire range..." - Craig

Featured: Rancourt CR Guitars Signature Acoustic Archtop

"It's always a joy to discover, meet, and get to know exceptional and gifted talents who are devoted to giving inspired meaning to pieces of wood with strings on them. Case in point: I found Guillaume Rancourt through the legendary guitar maker and dear friend Ken Parker. I had asked Ken if he could recommend any young builders for me check out. Ken strongly suggested I contact Guillaume Rancourt, which led me to order one of his superb instruments for the shop. Rancourt was kind enough to hand deliver this Concerto to me and let me say I am not only immensely impressed with the guitar, but I was equally impressed with the man himself. Like I said, it's a part of my job that brings me great joy.

Guillaume's commitment to excellence, his absolute care, his unrelenting search for perfection and his masterful talent just blow me away. So young and so able combined with deep personal and professional integrity. Just like the the builder Issac Jang, he is a welcome addition to the world of lutherie and will be for years to come..." - Craig