Johan Gustavsson Futuremaster II, 2020

CONDITION: Excellent with virtually no signs of playing wear. A small wood "scar" is underneath the bridge beside the bass side post.

While Johan Gustavsson may be best known for his Bluesmaster model, the Futuremaster II is a similarly splendid guitar.

A little back story on the Futuremaster II:

Johan worked with guitar wizard Matte Henderson on this design, which began with the idea of taking the goodness of vintage Korina wood "V" and "Explorer" style guitars from the late '50s and redistributing those weight and critical design elements into his Bluesmaster body style. Johan aimed to retain the sonic quality and beauty of those vintage instruments but in a much more usable and ergonomic format.

After building several prototypes, the Futuremaster II emerged. It has a solid contoured korina body, korina neck, and an old-growth Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. That's it. Just three pieces of fine wood. Exquisite. The Futuremaster is almost zen-like in the aim to reduce any object to the fewest possible yet perfectly executed elements. In short, absolute simplicity, all dedicated to creating beautiful music. The FM's neck tenon and body heel joint were patterned after the '58 Flying V and Explorer models, with a tenon that reaches deeply into the guitar's body.

This guitar
This is one peerless guitar. The sound isn't just outstanding; it's fantastic - warm, articulate, soulful, and inspiring. Yet, it maintains a perfect balance between warmth and articulation and has a very individual voice. It has a great, throaty sound when plugged into a Carr Mercury with just a touch of reverb. The Futuremaster II may be the perfect guitar for someone who loves bolt-on and set-neck guitars. Under no circumstances should you take that to mean it's neither one nor the other. The Futuremaster is nothing short of its own beautiful, singular thing.

The neck is perfect, too. It's a full C Gustavsson carve that feels like you are playing a mint '59 burst set neck, carved on the day when all the stars were in perfect alignment. The controls -volume, volume, and master tone - are all in line and easily reachable.

You could do anything with this Futuremaster II. (I know. I've tried.) Bring this one guitar to a gig or session, and you've got about every possible style covered.

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.