Johan Gustavsson Mahogany Red Fullerblaster

Johan loves the simplicity of the original Teles. He had no interest in simply branding an "also ran" model with the JG logo. He kept the familiar Bluesmaster silhouette, while incorporating the 6 in line headstock and bolt on one piece maple neck, found in the original design. The JG Fullerblaster is available with both the traditional slab and custom contoured body options. This model is offered with a distressed finish, which gives the instrument a warm and broken in feel.

Johan’s Fullerblaster model is one of his newest; and as I’ve previously mentioned, one of the most stellar aspects of the model is that it’s not a “run” - in the typical sense. Johan doesn’t set up the shop to make a particular model, then run off a bunch of iterations of it.

Remarkably, each one has its own character. Everything’s personalized to the instrument - everything’s there for a very specific reason. As each build progresses, Johan and I share our thoughts about what each guitar could be as far as finish and wood selections are concerned, then Johan sets his inimitable guitar making skills into action.

Each of the Fullerblasters has a unique pov. Each has its own story. Each one is its own thing, crafted with love for the instrument.

This mahogany red example is the first one I’ve received with an NOS finish. There’s no distressing on the finish, just an aged quality to the hardware. It make the guitar seem suddenly very familiar.

It’s also the first to have a Throback ’56 P90 on the neck position. It’s warm, round and smooth sounding, with a rich, bluesy quality - absolutely stellar clean or with distortion. It has that magical quality of being brilliant without being harsh, it cuts through without edginess, and has tremendous balance across all volume levels and pick attacks, (not to mention that it pairs beautifully with the Wolftone Tele bridge pickup).

No surprise at the neck end, either. Johan has masterfully carved a wonderful neck profile. One of my all-time favorite neck shapes is a soft V to C carve - and Johan completely nails it here. Full, yet immensely playable, this wonderful feeling neck keeps beckoning me back for more.

The fingerboard edges are rounded, the fret work is impeccable and the compound radius fingerboard give it a modern playability that fits perfectly with this design.

This is a genuinely infectious guitar. One of those great instruments that sucks me in. The more I play it, the more I want to play it. Johan has uncovered some serious magic with his Fullerblaster. He actually might have made my perfect "desert island" guitar.

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.