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Crafter Acoustics.


binky_bass
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Does anyone own a Crafter acoustic?

 

I've just taken count this morning and it seems that I now own 12 of them! They are, in my opinion, very much underrated. The really budget ones are fine for the price point, but not anything to wrote home about, but the ones at the higher end of the Crafter spectrum are excellent instruments. Absolutely beautifully made, the inlay work is near flawless (no wood filler around the inlays!) and they are all solid wood, typically spruce tops with either mahogany, Rosewood or bubinga sides and back. 

 

Admittedly, most I've bought needed a little fettling to get them just right (sanding down the underside of the saddle to lower the action at the bridge) but once correctly set up they are great players!

 

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20230223_084713.thumb.jpg.b0d046b0aa29feb10f219e8aa47057d4.jpg

 

20230213_133603.thumb.jpg.47318daf5ae51528563a8d113e9f4bdb.jpg

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I have a crafter acoustic, but not full acoustic like that, a Crafter SA-QMMS, which is one of the blue quilted ones with the side F holes, a piezo in the bridge and a lipstick pickup by the neck. I like it a lot, Had it for ages, never really wanted another acoustic.

 

Although a bit of a heresy question - why do you want so many very similar looking acoustics, are there differences?

 

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The 10 acoustics (bar one of them) are all 'Anniversary Edition' Crafters, they all have a different inlays (Dragon, Twin Birds, Peacock, Salmon, Cranes, Wind Surfer, Pegasus, Moonlight and Sunset) and are all the top of the range spec. The '10th' non-Anniversay one, I picked up recently for a very good price, so couldn't resist! Same spec as the others, just not an 'Anniversary' one. (Fishman pre-amp, Solid Spruce top, Solid Rosewood back/sides).

 

The two basses actually got delivered this morning from the same seller on eBay, we arranged a good price for both which was exactly equal to the cost of a Schecter I sold earlier in the week! One is now tuned standard, the other Eb, Ab, Db, Gb. 

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  • 1 month later...

I was once offered a roundback Crafter mandolin. 

 

Very pretty top, but the bridge had pulled off, and it was very badly repaired.

 

Terribly, in fact. The owner had drilled a series of holes in the back, in the shape of a square.  The holes were then joined up, to give a large square access port in the back.  Then, the bridge and top were drilled and 5 M6 bolts and washers were inserted, to reattach the bridge.  

 

The bridge had split slightly too.

 

I would like to try a working one, one day.  

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I've got a Crafter acoustic with piezo. I suppose it was about 15 years ago that I decided to upgrade from my Eko 6 and went to PMT, and played a lot of acoustics, including some above my budget (IIRC about £500, but preferably less). The Crafter was nicely playable and also had an excellent tone, and it was only £175, so it came home with me. I've finished up not really using it as for the occasional open mic night I take a Variax and put it on an acoustic setting. I still have the Eko 6 incidentally, it lies around waiting for me to come up with ideas for songs.

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I bought my Crafter 5 string on a whim from the Bass centre when they were still in Wapping around 2000.

Have gigged it occasionally on the odd ‘unplugged’ night & it’s been taken away on a few weekend breaks when the opportunity for a sing-song round the campfire has presented itself?
It just sits in its case mostly, these days….
 

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Edited by lurksalot
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I have a cheap Crafter D7L, it's a dreadnought with a solid cedar top and laminated mahogany back and sides. It's fine for the money, but nothing special. It looks and sounds good, and I appreciate the very round but not too thick neck shape. I only ever play my Taylor GS Mini and Baby anymore though, so should probably sell it at some point. The GS Mini is a really impressive guitar, much more mature than the 23.5" scale and scaled-down body would suggest. 

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  • 2 months later...

Picked up my 10th Anniversary Edition Crafter today. The 2010 Wildwood Flower. Never seen one of these for sale before so had to snatch it up while I could. Exceptional Condition, with Crafter hardcase. 👍 

 

10 down, 2 to go... the 10 year quest continues. 

 

20230704_212157.thumb.jpg.b8c62d6ee3ce33a4646c104e1f09b246.jpg

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1 hour ago, bass_dinger said:

 

Can we expect a new Family Photo, with the previous guitars too?

 

Which ones are you missing from your set?

I shall try to oblige over the weekend! The missing ones are Wild Deer, Autumn Leaves and Tree Of Life. Though Tree Of Life isn't strictly an anniversary model. 

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7 hours ago, TheGreek said:

Now I'm probably not the best person to make this judgement but don't you think that 10 of virtually the same guitar just might be a bit of a problem??

 

Take a seat and tell us about your childhood. 👴

11... I have another that isn't part of the anniversary series! 

 

So, it all started with my father... 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 23/02/2023 at 10:49, binky_bass said:

Does anyone own a Crafter acoustic?

 

I've just taken count this morning and it seems that I now own 12 of them! They are, in my opinion, very much underrated. The really budget ones are fine for the price point, but not anything to wrote home about, but the ones at the higher end of the Crafter spectrum are excellent instruments. Absolutely beautifully made, the inlay work is near flawless (no wood filler around the inlays!) and they are all solid wood, typically spruce tops with either mahogany, Rosewood or bubinga sides and back. 

 

Admittedly, most I've bought needed a little fettling to get them just right (sanding down the underside of the saddle to lower the action at the bridge) but once correctly set up they are great players!

 

20230223_104208.thumb.jpg.02029c70a1fb0b7380ef7a9f09bb6af1.jpg

 

20230223_084713.thumb.jpg.b0d046b0aa29feb10f219e8aa47057d4.jpg

 

20230213_133603.thumb.jpg.47318daf5ae51528563a8d113e9f4bdb.jpg

 

On 23/02/2023 at 10:49, binky_bass said:

Does anyone own a Crafter acoustic?

 

I've just taken count this morning and it seems that I now own 12 of them! They are, in my opinion, very much underrated. The really budget ones are fine for the price point, but not anything to wrote home about, but the ones at the higher end of the Crafter spectrum are excellent instruments. Absolutely beautifully made, the inlay work is near flawless (no wood filler around the inlays!) and they are all solid wood, typically spruce tops with either mahogany, Rosewood or bubinga sides and back. 

 

Admittedly, most I've bought needed a little fettling to get them just right (sanding down the underside of the saddle to lower the action at the bridge) but once correctly set up they are great players!

 

20230223_104208.thumb.jpg.02029c70a1fb0b7380ef7a9f09bb6af1.jpg

 

20230223_084713.thumb.jpg.b0d046b0aa29feb10f219e8aa47057d4.jpg

 

20230213_133603.thumb.jpg.47318daf5ae51528563a8d113e9f4bdb.jpg

 

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On 23/02/2023 at 11:26, binky_bass said:

The 10 acoustics (bar one of them) are all 'Anniversary Edition' Crafters, they all have a different inlays (Dragon, Twin Birds, Peacock, Salmon, Cranes, Wind Surfer, Pegasus, Moonlight and Sunset) and are all the top of the range spec. The '10th' non-Anniversay one, I picked up recently for a very good price, so couldn't resist! Same spec as the others, just not an 'Anniversary' one. (Fishman pre-amp, Solid Spruce top, Solid Rosewood back/sides).

 

The two basses actually got delivered this morning from the same seller on eBay, we arranged a good price for both which was exactly equal to the cost of a Schecter I sold earlier in the week! One is now tuned standard, the other Eb, Ab, Db, Gb. 

Hi Binky...wow what a line up. Im looking for the first in your line.35th anniversary salmon fish! Im doing concerts of songs Ive written based on St Peters letters. He was a fisherman so Id love the fish guitar. Where did you find it? Frankmcg

 

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47 minutes ago, frankmcg said:

Hi Binky...wow what a line up. Im looking for the first in your line.35th anniversary salmon fish! Im doing concerts of songs Ive written based on St Peters letters. He was a fisherman so Id love the fish guitar. Where did you find it? Frankmcg

 

I think I found that one on Gumtree probably about 4 years ago. I've never seen another one for sale before or after in the years I've been on the hunt for these anniversary editions. Salmon, Cranes, Wild Flower and Pegasus are the hardest ones to find, the ones I own are the only ones I've seen in years and years. Good luck on the hunt! 

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  • 1 year later...
On 05/07/2023 at 19:51, binky_bass said:

The missing ones are Wild Deer, Autumn Leaves and Tree Of Life. Though Tree Of Life isn't strictly an anniversary model. 

A year has passed...

 

That's time for Crafter to release another Anniversary model, and for you to have perhaps found one of the missing guitars from earlier in the series. 

 

Any updates? I am curious!

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