Testimonials
"Craig Snyder has the remarkable ability to feel and understand the "mojo" that makes a guitar truly exceptional, his facility is without peer for this, and his showroom allows you to feel so comfortable, without the distractions of a conventional guitar environment, simply the best!"--Tom Ribbecke, http://www.ribbecke.com/home.htm
"I have known Craig as a client and trusted friend for over 25 years. His passion for guitars and attention to detail have made him one of the most influential and inspiring people I have ever worked with. This guy knows guitars.
"Craig has always had a clear idea what he wants musically and technically from a guitar, and he has incredibly informed ideas on how to get there. That made each project special and exciting. I loved hearing his voice on the phone because I knew some great new project was about to begin.
"It was impossible not to grow as builder while working with Craig. One small example - The original Baritone model I built and designed grew from Craig calling me with an acoustical vision and a desire to achieve specific sounds. The baritone model was born from our discussions, his ideas - built through my hands. It was this original Baritone model designed and built for Craig that inspired Pat Metheny to order his own and from that Pat created the solo guitar Grammy award winning CD 'One Quiet Night.'
"Craig has a fabulous sense of humour, a creative intensity and innate ability to get to the soul of the matter. He is a truly gifted player, client and a very special inspiring person.
"His uncanny ability to understand the gifts each guitar has to offer and match them to a players' real needs make him an ideal person to find the right guitar for you. If I was buying a guitar I would trust and love to have Craig guide me through the process and find my guitar soul mate. I'm proud to call him my friend."--Linda Manzer, http://www.manzer.com/guitars/
"i love this CR Guitars place you've set-up. it simply feels like a great hang..... but, a hang that includes for playing an incredible buncha stellar guitars: kinda like your version of an old-school salon, but minus even-a-hint of hoity-toity attitude. so enjoyable! kudos to you, dude: no bullsh•t, there..... which's probably already evident, given the ridiculous number of times i've come over, already, since my first visit just a few scant weeks ago: unheard-of, dude!!!"--david torn, http://www.davidtorn.net
"Just want to tell you what an absolute thrill it was to visit your amazing shop--it was a highlight in our New York trip. The Collings CL Deluxe I brought is beyond words. I have a small collection of great custom shop guitars and some other classics as well but this CL is something else altogether; light, beautifully balanced, outstanding tone and design, deep, fat and punchy sounding, flawless fretwork. This guitar sounds like Larry Carlton through a Two-Rock and purrs like a big cat through a BF Deluxe; totally addictive on every level. My only regret is we didn't have more time. A day at your shop feels like a couple of hours in a candy store. I've spent my entire working life as a musician playing instruments. As far as regular production guitars go there isn't much I'm not familiar with. You have outstanding ears, knowledge and expertise and there is much I could learn. I only hope we get to visit again someday. Leaving behind that SoCo really hurt. I'm still thinking about It weeks later...Your new "Downunder" guitar buddy."--Best Wishes Karl Taylor, Sydney Australia
"I worked alongside Craig for many years and have a number of guitars I got from him that passed his 'muster.'
"I get to wear a lot of hats as producer-writer-sideman (available for parties, no nudity please except by special arrangement!), and I've had the opportunity to place these guitars in the hands of some of the best working guys you can name, veterans of the scene with top-tier stints in Dylan's band, Sheryl Crow, Mellencamp, Joan Osborne, major guitar gigs. Whenever I've showed them one of my 'Craig's blessing' guitars, inevitably their jaws drop when they begin playing, and they get that look in their eye like they don't want to let go, like I'm not going to get the guitar back! Craig won't sell these unless they're right to him, and that means they have to have feel and tone.
"You're in great hands with Renée and Craig because they're great folks, they take care of business, and they're crazier than you are when it comes to getting it right."--Kevin Bents, Bashville Studios
"I don’t think there has been a better time to be a guitar player in the history of the world.
"Growing up in the 60’s, when a Silvertone was your best chance to own a guitar with modest means, it was a lot simpler.
"Today, the quality and attention to detail in guitars has never been so broad and deep. I know how hard it is to sort through the incredible range of guitars players can find in every price range. I’ve watched many players struggle to find great instruments for their specific needs and styles, it can be a daunting task
"But if you’re looking for something really special, I can’t think of a better person to help than Craig Snyder.
"Craig Snyder has the ability to sort the good from the great and make them available to any player at any skill level. Tone, feel and overall playability is something that I know Craig has his pulse on.
"Craig and I first met when I worked for the prestigious guitar builder Roger Sadowsky. Both Roger and Craig knew that certain guitars just had that 'it' factor. I watched Roger and Craig coordinate their skills as skilled player and craftsman and create a grounded understanding of what makes an instrument truly special.
"The skills I learned allowed me to take that magic and work for Fender as a Master Builder for 13 years.
"I was thrilled to see Craig enter the guitar business and offering his unique take on what makes a great instrument to a guitar buyer.
"Not only will the buyer benefit from Craig's special talent of selecting the best of the best, but the makers of instruments he’s working with will find Craig's input and immersion into the process benefiting them as builders.
"If you want to sort through the best, with the best, I can’t think of anyone more qualified to have a partnership with in that process."--J.W. Black
"I have had the pleasure of knowing Craig Snyder since the mid 1970's. Craig was very influential in my decision to set up my own shop in NYC in 1979 and he introduced me to most of my early clients, who were the working studio musicians doing jingles, record dates and Broadway shows. One of the things that was always very special to me was the fact that whatever Craig liked in guitars was also liked by most of my other clients. So I began to use Craig as a resource to evaluate everything I was doing with my building and custom work. Whether it be neck shape, fret size, wood choices, pickup choices, hardware choices......if Craig liked it, I knew I had succeeded. If he didn't like it, he always was able to point me in the right direction. What Craig is doing with CR Guitars is ordering all of his instruments as if he were ordering them for himself. He brings to the table over 40 years of professional playing experience plus an amazing passion for, and knowledge of guitars. The bottom line is if you ever needed one person to advise you on what guitar to buy, Craig Snyder is the one!"--Roger Sadowsky, Sadowsky guitars, http://sadowsky.com
"Craig Snyder is one of the preeminent guitar experts in the country. This expertise derives not just from an encyclopedic knowledge of the instruments, but from his pure passion for the guitars. His decades of live performance and studio work make him a trusted resource whose opinions are based on real-world, first-hand knowledge and an uncanny eye and ear for what makes an instrument great.
"Any time I need a deeper insight or sage advice regarding anything to do with guitars, I count on Craig as the voice of wisdom."--Gerson Rosenbloom, Managing Director, Wechter Guitars, http://www.wechterguitars.com, Former Chairman, NAMM, http://www.thenammshow.com
"I adore Renee. And you will, too. What’s not to like? She’s funny, charming, funny, smart, funny, professional, and has an enormous heart. I first met Renee professionally – and from a business point of view, working with her was an unalloyed pleasure. She’s meticulous and precise. I’m happy to say that our original professional relationship blossomed over the years. I consider myself lucky to have met her, and treasure our friendship."--Arthur Mitchell, http://tourdehood.com/
"Whenever I want a reliable opinion about desirable guitar tone and playability I can always count on the keen eyes and ears of one of the most trusted and experienced names in the business from my longtime friend, Craig Snyder. There is no one better to help you cut to the chase and personally guide you in selecting the perfect guitar, just for your taste and style."--John Monteleone, Monteleone Guitars, http://www.monteleone.net
"Many people learn to play the guitar. Then there are those who were born to play the guitar. The ones who almost look incomplete until you put a guitar in their hands. This is my good friend Craig Snyder. His life-long love affair with the instrument has not only made him the consummate player across a range of styles but has also allowed him to become intimately familiar with the niceties and nuances that make a guitar great where others are merely very good. If a guitar excites Craig, that instrument is as good as it gets. Those fingers have been up and down the necks of everything from borrowed beasts to the most finely crafted one-off masterpieces. They are to be trusted."--Dave Tutin, http://davetutin.com
"Craig Snyder knows more about guitars than anyone I’ve ever met. Period. Every time I play one of his guitars, I’d sense something 'right' about it that none of my guitars could match. It didn’t matter if it was a Strat or a Les Paul, a 175-style guitar, or an archtop acoustic, every one of his guitars always inspired me. Not just musically, but to replace the guitar I had with something 'more like Craig’s.' It got to the point where I once ordered a guitar from the Fender Custom Shop with the following instruction: (this is verbatim, and all I told them) 'Make me a guitar exactly like the one you made for Craig.'
"Craig has thought very deeply about the instrument. And what that means is this: I can say 'his guitars always feel perfect,' but I can’t say why. I can’t describe to anyone how to make a perfect guitar. Craig can. He understands every nuance of the instrument. I was at a guitar show with him once, and he played a very nice guitar. He picked up a lovely archtop, played a couple of chords on it, and said to the maker: 'The neck feels a little wide at the nut.' The maker looked puzzled for a moment, and then mentioned, that yeah, it might be 1/1000th of an inch wide. Craig said, 'I thought so.'
"What that means is that Craig can talk to a maker and describe exactly what he wants a guitar to be – and he can do it in a way a builder understands. In turn that means you can get a guitar that will make you deliriously happy. I wouldn’t think of buying a guitar without talking to Craig first.
One other thing. It would be easy for me to say he’s been obsessed about guitars for years, but that might give you the wrong impression about the kind of person he is. I’ll leave that to Dennis Galuszka, a Master Builder at Fender, who said of Craig, 'what a super cool guy.'"--Arthur Mitchell, http://tourdehood.com/
"I couldn't have enjoyed my visit with you more. Your office space is warm and inviting, and your passion for great guitars is clear. Whether archtop, flattop or solid body, the instruments were all very responsive, bursting with tone and set up beautifully."--Perry Beekman, http://perrybeekman.com/
"In the guitar world, very few people have the breadth of experience, hands-on knowledge, and discriminating tastes of Craig and Renée Snyder. With the many years they spent at Snyder Music, one of the premier music houses in NYC, and to collecting some of the finest guitars made in the world for both studio and personal use, the Snyder's bring a wealth of musical knowledge and a deep love of the guitar to share with their customers. Additionally, Craig's extraordinary skill as a guitarist allows him to choose the finest sounding and playing instruments for his clients, while always remembering that the music and the musician are foremost."--Stephen Marchione, http://www.marchione.com/
"Hi Craig... I wanted to write and express my deepest thanks for the instrument you found for me, and for making buying the guitar the best experience I have ever had purchasing an instrument. In the 30 years since I first fell in love with the guitar, my long journey has taken me many places, and I have owned dozens of guitars in search of the "one," the guitar that perfectly expresses who I am. There are so many amazing guitars in the world, the landscape broad, and finding your dream instrument can be a real challenge. I am so humbled by your incredible knowledge of guitars and your playing, and in all those years I have not found a better guide to the world of guitars than you. The thing is, it is abundantly clear that you really care, that your passion is the same passion I have.... As I do, you live for these wonderful instruments. I so appreciate the time we spend hanging out, talking about guitars, history, practicing, the music industry... your shop is a beautiful room, completely relaxed.. just a place to come and share a love for guitars.... but your ear is keen, and you really understand from experience and paying close attention to details what working players need. As a result, you allowed me to find my dream guitar, a guitar that speaks my voice, my love, and for that I am immeasurably grateful. You have created something totally unique in the guitar world: world class guitarist opens a shop to share his love of guitars, with passion and incredible humility. I feel like I went to see a guitar I was excited about, and ended up with my dream guitar and a friend too."--Michael
