Johan Gustavsson Fullerblaster, 2015

Straight out of a collection and in excellent condition this 2015 Gustavsson Fullerblaster is back in the shop and looking for a new home.

Because Johan is an exemplary artist, he never makes a copy of a vintage guitar. Rather, he is preternaturally gifted at grasping the most essential elements that define a great original guitar design. He then envisions a new instrument that captures the spirit of the classic model while adding his own stylistic nuances and masterful guitar making technique. In my view, he takes a great design like the Tele and extends it to its full potential. Perhaps in this case we might even say its fuller potential.

This light weight ( 6.8 lbs) and resonant 2015 preowned Fullerblaster has very little playing time on it. It was originally sold by me and is in the the same condition as when it first left the shop.

As expected, the detail work and finish on this guitar are exemplary. The neck is wonderful, a hand carved soft-V / full-C shape with a compound radius fretboard, and slightly rolled over edges that make it feel like a neck that was formed by your hand over years of playing. Gustavsson necks are legendary for good reason. Johan's aged finshes are second to none in my opinion. They warm up the guitar, give it an artful look and absolutely honest feel. For that reason I always order my Fullerblaster aged.

Johan is very particular about his pickup choices. He gets them wound to his liking then often tweaks them to achieve the tone palette that he is looking for. Because of this, I always leave the electronic choices up to the man, with just one directive - bring the most life out of this particular guitar as possible. Whatever it takes make this guitar special. In this case, Johan chose a Charlie Chrisitian style pickup for the neck position, always a thoughtful consideration for a T style guitar. The CC is basically a Tele pickup on steroids and balances nicely with the bridge pickup. The tone is crisp and defined, and dynamically responsive with incredible depth. Single note lines ring true and chords sound orchestral. This is a bolt on neck guitar at its absolute best.

Johan Gustavsson guitars have become very challenging to get lately, even for me his only USA dealer.  Because of his reputation amongst players and collectors, he now has a worldwide demand for his guitars. He is one man crafting some of the best electric guitars in the world, one at a time. It always puts a smile on my face when I play one and I always feel fortunate when I have one in the shop that is looking for a new home.

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.