Johan Gustavsson Bluesmaster-S - The Stunner

From Johan Gustavsson:
"My objective with the Bluesmaster-S was to add some air around the notes. I have maintained the familiar Bluesmaster '59 perimeter, while radically altering the construction, utilizing a solid center block with a carved top and back. The semi comes standard with mahogany back, sides and a carved Eastern maple top. The Dotmaster Limited uses the same construction and design features as the Bluesmaster-S, with a white limba back and sides with western maple top and a mahogany neck. The select bound rosewood fingerboard features dot inlays."

This Bluesmaster S is back in our shop on consignment after being sold back in 2013. This semi-hollow Bluesmaster, dubbed "The Stunner" by Johan himself is particularly amazing and is in near-mint condition. My original write up for this guitar appears below.

I first saw a photo of this guitar when it was on Johan’s bench being made. It immediately struck me. In fact, I had to sort of plead with Johan to sell it to me, because he knew how special it was.

For the first time that I know of, Johan actually named a guitar. He called this one The Stunner - and that’s exactly what it is. A simply stunning example of a supreme artist working at the very very top of his game. I’ll be completely honest. I have gone back and forth on whether to keep this one for my self, and so did Johan. He fell in love with it too, which is why I had to plead with him to even sell it in the first place.

This is the classic Bluesmaster look - an incredible sort of ice tea burst over an absolutely incredible flame maple top - one that’s deep and rich - with a nearly 3-D quality to it. Just amazing. The tortoise shell pick guard is precisely the right thickness - you can actually see the amber finish of the top popping through. Stunning. It’s just all Johan. Everything a Gustavsson is. The gorgeous, superbly grained  mahogany, the royalite binding, the celluloid inlay, and the neck - oh the neck, an exquisite rounded ’59 shape.

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.

So, the question is: why not keep it myself? Because every time I play it, I realize - deeply - that this is a guitar that needs to be played. It needs a home. It shouldn’t be sitting in a case, waiting for the proper moment to spring to life. And that proper moment should start as soon as possible.

I dearly hope this guitar finds its way into the hands of the right owner. Someone who’ll be as stunned and thrilled by The Stunner as I am. You should remember: This is the last Bluesmaster Semi I have available. I will not have any more of these available for the rest of the year.

In a way, I’ve saved this one for last - not because it’s “better” than the other Bluesmaster Semis I’ve offered, but because this is the one that stole my heart. And I’m sure it will steal yours.

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.