Johan Gustavsson Bluesmaster-S, 2012

Condition: Built in 2012 and in near mint condition. All the original paperwork included.

To me, all great guitar makers have their own thing, their slice of the universe, an oasis where they can express their own vision of what they believe a guitar can be. The fortunate ones get an audience that appreciates their work and gives them an opportunity to share their creations and to continue to refine their art. Johan Gustavsson is in that elite class of builder.

Johan not only builds great guitars, but has that spark that inspires players to become intensely connected to his work. His guitars are discussed, revered, analyzed and sought after. What I appreciate most is that in my personal relationship with Johan I have found not just a builder who truly cares about every detail and a builder who "gets it" in his DNA, but a great friend and a true humble seeker of refinement, who shares a passion and knowledge. Johan goes deep, deep, into what makes a great guitar...great. It's a passion we both share and hopefully share with everyone who comes along for the ride.

Originally sold in 2012, this amazing JG Bluesmaster Semi has found its way back to CR Guitars and is looking for a new home.

It's a guitar that speaks for itself. It's got everything, everything, you'd want in a Bluesmaster, yet the semi build brings another level of tonality into the mix - a certain bloom, a woodiness, and harmonic transience that goes beyond Johan's Bluesmasters. And there's a perfect amount of compression in the the notes. It's just about as sweet as you can get. To put it simply, this is an outstanding example of Johan's work, a masterful instrument that takes semi hollow construction to the highest level.

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.

ABOUT JOHAN GUSTAVSSON GUITARS
It's probably fair to say that there have been few builders who’ve made as deep an impact on the contemporary guitar world as quickly as Johan Gustavsson. He’s taken the ’59 burst to a level that you likely haven’t experienced from any other builder. Johan's first exposure to a fine guitar was via his teacher, Robert Larsson, who had (as Johan puts it) “an old beaten up 1960 Les Paul Standard.” It was then he realized just what a great guitar could be. The experience continued when Johan got a part time job at one of the few places importing vintage guitars to Sweden from the U.S. (fifties Gibson Les Paul Goldtops, Juniors, pre-CBS Strats, Teles and Jazzmasters, etc). The exposure to that level of guitar and to that many great instruments had a great influence on his work as a guitar maker. Again – the quality of those guitars showed the possibilities inherent in the instrument. Johan has always been more attracted to the Gibson style of making guitars (with carved maple tops and glued in necks), and this is reflected in his most famous, and current model, the Bluesmaster Custom 59. A Gustavsson guitar is a Gustavsson guitar. His shop consists of Johan and an able assistant who was trained at the London Guild Hall University (and is a wonderful guitarist). That’s both good and bad news. The good news is that Johan’s genius is evident in every guitar he creates. The bad news is that since he makes them all himself, there are never many available. It’s a rare treat to play one. Simply superb.