Crews Maniac Sound KTR LS-02 Quilt Maple Royal Tea Burst 2019
Crews Maniac Sound KTR LS-02, made in Japan 2019, royal tea burst. Not many folks are going to know what they're looking at here, but those who know will be fetching a towel to wipe the drool off the floor. The Crews brand is a project of major Japanese instrument store Musicland Key, produced at the famed Terada factory that builds all the high-end Gretsch guitars, among others. Everythign they do is done as custom orders and limited runs; only a handful of these guitars get made each year. It's got some hectic specs: proper African mahogany body and neck, Madagascar rosewood board, gorgeous quilted maple cap, nitro finish, deluxe Gotoh hardware and a pair of specially developed KTR original pickups. The tone on offer is delectable. The neck pickup is generously bright and crisp, but with a huge weighty bottom end and a thick, rich midrange. The bridge pickup has plenty of bark and bite, but there's a gorgeous gooey complexity through the mids and highs that ensure every little nuance of your playing comes out crystal clear but swimming in warmth and harmonics. The top is an outrageous piece of bookmatched quilted maple, it has an amazing depth to it and consistently gets the same response in the shop: holy heck, that's a gorgeous item. The neck is shaped after a 1960 LP, so it's on the slim side of vintage style LPs without being 'skinny' as such. It feels awesome, the neck shape is very intutive and the body is extremely resonant, so it's a lot of fun to play. I've done an A/B with the last one of these we had against a Gibson Custom Shop R8, and while the R8 was a superb guitar, the Crews is absolutely in the same ballpark for build quality, wood selection, sound and feel... for around a third the price. So hey, if you like really, really good guitars, you'll love this.
Model: Crews Maniac Sound KTR LS-02
Made: Japan, Terada plant, 2019 (serial 190292)
Finish: royal tea burst top, red stain back/sides, gloss nitro
Neck: 1-piece African mahogany, Indian rosewood board, 58 style chunky profile, 43mm bone nut
Body: 3-piece African mahogany, 2-piece quilted maple cap
Weight: 3.805kg
Mods: none
Pickups: KTR Original PAF-style humbucker x2
Case: original Crews ABS hard case
Bonus: original docs, truss adjuster tool and an aged cream guard
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. Headstock and neck are pretty clean, no major marks. The back has a couple of very light scuffs on the top edge. The sides have no major marks. The front is very tidy too, just some light play wear on the top horn. Overall: excellent condition (9/10).
Playing condition notes: Neck is straight, action is low, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. Frets have very little wear, 9/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 10/52 Moonshiners strings.
Description
Crews Maniac Sound KTR LS-02, made in Japan 2019, royal tea burst. Not many folks are going to know what they're looking at here, but those who know will be fetching a towel to wipe the drool off the floor. The Crews brand is a project of major Japanese instrument store Musicland Key, produced at the famed Terada factory that builds all the high-end Gretsch guitars, among others. Everythign they do is done as custom orders and limited runs; only a handful of these guitars get made each year. It's got some hectic specs: proper African mahogany body and neck, Madagascar rosewood board, gorgeous quilted maple cap, nitro finish, deluxe Gotoh hardware and a pair of specially developed KTR original pickups. The tone on offer is delectable. The neck pickup is generously bright and crisp, but with a huge weighty bottom end and a thick, rich midrange. The bridge pickup has plenty of bark and bite, but there's a gorgeous gooey complexity through the mids and highs that ensure every little nuance of your playing comes out crystal clear but swimming in warmth and harmonics. The top is an outrageous piece of bookmatched quilted maple, it has an amazing depth to it and consistently gets the same response in the shop: holy heck, that's a gorgeous item. The neck is shaped after a 1960 LP, so it's on the slim side of vintage style LPs without being 'skinny' as such. It feels awesome, the neck shape is very intutive and the body is extremely resonant, so it's a lot of fun to play. I've done an A/B with the last one of these we had against a Gibson Custom Shop R8, and while the R8 was a superb guitar, the Crews is absolutely in the same ballpark for build quality, wood selection, sound and feel... for around a third the price. So hey, if you like really, really good guitars, you'll love this.
Model: Crews Maniac Sound KTR LS-02
Made: Japan, Terada plant, 2019 (serial 190292)
Finish: royal tea burst top, red stain back/sides, gloss nitro
Neck: 1-piece African mahogany, Indian rosewood board, 58 style chunky profile, 43mm bone nut
Body: 3-piece African mahogany, 2-piece quilted maple cap
Weight: 3.805kg
Mods: none
Pickups: KTR Original PAF-style humbucker x2
Case: original Crews ABS hard case
Bonus: original docs, truss adjuster tool and an aged cream guard
Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. Headstock and neck are pretty clean, no major marks. The back has a couple of very light scuffs on the top edge. The sides have no major marks. The front is very tidy too, just some light play wear on the top horn. Overall: excellent condition (9/10).
Playing condition notes: Neck is straight, action is low, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. Frets have very little wear, 9/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 10/52 Moonshiners strings.
