Crafter SA series

[Misha]

http://www.crafterusa.com/gallery/sa_series_main.php#

 

 

I heard a teacher playing it at my mom & pop music shop and it sounded and looked sooo good! Wow!

 

I just looked at the spec and it is even better (IMO)!

 

MODEL NAME
SA-TMVS
BODY STYLE
Slim Arch Top body design
TOP
Tiger Maple Arched top
BACK
Solid wood
SIDES
Solid wood
BRACING
Acoustic Sound Chamber
NECK
Mahogany
WIDTH AT NUT
1-11/16"
FRET BOARD
Indian Rosewood
SCALE LENGTH
25 1/2"
NO. OF FRETS
21
MACHINE HEADS
Deluxe Chrome Tuners (18:1 Gear Ratio)
BRIDGE
Indian Rosewood
HARDWARE
Chrome
ELECTRONICS
LR-F Lipstick/Acoustic Hybrid Preamp with
(1) Kent Armstrong Lipstick Pick-up
(2) L.R.Baggs Element Pick-up
(3) Blend fader on EQ allows player to mix acoustic and electric pickups
COLORS
Vintage Sunburst
FINISH
Gloss
UNIQUE FEATURES
Dovetail Neck Joint
Mother of pearl Crafter position marks
STRINGS
Korean Strings
Gauges:.011, .014, .021, .028, .038, .049
CASE
None
INTRODUCED
2006. 1 

[fatback]

I have a crafter TR 50 slot headed ooo/parlour well finished sound great.

 

HOWEVER - someone on this site bought/played the guitars you're looking at and I seem to remember he wasn't that impressed with what he found. I can't remember who this was but he was a regular so hopefully he will give you the run down on this. Otherwise a search might find the thread.

 

Phil

[jwm1958m]

 

I have a crafter TR 50 slot headed ooo/parlour well finished sound great. HOWEVER - someone on this site bought/played the guitars you're looking at and I seem to remember he wasn't that impressed with what he found. I can't remember who this was but he was a regular so hopefully he will give you the run down on this. Otherwise a search might find the thread. Phil

 

 

 

I'm not sure if I am the one referred to here, but I have posted before regarding my SA-BUB. I picked it up at a small local shop because they had reduced the price and I thought it would be a fun guitar. I had really been lusting for a T-5, but really don't need another "good" guitar.

 

The SA is a really nice playing guitar. The acoustic pickup sounds great. Especially through my baggs paracoustic. It is a baggs undersaddle and I have to say it sounds better than my fishman undersaddles. It also has a little Kent Armstrong electric pickup which sounds very nice and warm. Good on a clear channel and crunches nicely on an overdriven channel.

 

It does need to be plugged in as it is NOT an acoustic guitar, but it is well built, much fun and can be had for a good price.

 

I don't know if I would use it to play out solo, but would definitely use it in a band setting.

[totamus]

I have the SA BUB and think it is a great guitar. A bargain at the price. Good sound and plays well. It has a lipstick pick up as well as a piezo and slider to adjust the blend. Plugged into a PA or acoustic amp it sounds as good as any acoustic guitar with a piezo does - which is pretty good. I wouldnt use it for recording - then you would want to mic an acoustic.

 

Based on mine, I highly recommend the guitar.

 

I also purchased a "Jam Plug" - which is a little guitar amp built right into a 1/4 in plug and is used with headphones. So I can wail away in the wee hours of the morning without waking my girlfriend up (which really makes her cranky...).

[Gary in NJ]

I played one for about an hour on Friday.

 

The SA has changed for 2008. Gone is the LR Baggs preamp on the top of the forward bout. Also gone is the "lipstick" pick-up. It has been replaced with a humbucker style. The controls are now on the lower bout like a Les Paul. Instead of the "blend" slider, there is now a 3-position switch for forward-blend-bridge. The two volume knobs are used in the blend position to control the output of each pickup.

 

The guitar plays OK. I found the neck a bit clunky down by the nut, but overall a nice neck. The build quality is excellent. The model I played had a translucent black finish that was just beautiful.

 

The sounds produced were "interesting" - neither acoustic on the under-saddle pickup, or very electric on the humbucker. I think the changes noted above have moved the tone closer to the guitar it is coping; the Taylor T5. If you are looking for a thin body guitar to produce acoustic sounds, this ain't it. With that said, this is a unique sounding guitar that will find a home to many styles of music.

 

The USP is very fat. I found it odd that the blended position also removed much of the low-end sound. That's too bad, because that's where I think the guitar would sound best.

 

For $700 (including a case) it's a very viable alternative instrument to a T5. Both should be played back-to-back. The feel of the Taylor far superior to the feel of the SA, but I think more interesting tone can be had with the SA.

[Misha]

The one I saw an heard had a lipstick pickup!

 

Humm... Crafter are nice guitars!

[garthman]

 

Humm... Crafter are nice guitars!

 

 

They are indeed. I have been recommending them since I joined this forum - just about the best value-for-money guitars on the market IMO - excellent quality at a good price.