Words can't describe the joy I've experienced on the guitar since I got this thing. I'm so blown away I can't even begin to describe it.

This guy is head and shoulders above ANYONE or ANYTHING out there today. It's the tone I've always heard in my head on the best built instrument I have ever played.


Yes....it's THAT good.

 
  Charlie Daughtry    
 

Friday, I dropped by Wildwood to see their Johan Gustavsson Bluesmaster Custom '59. Even though they are all sold out, Steve [the owner] is nice enough to keep his around for folks like me, who are interested in actually holding one.

Let me tell you, that is one fantastic guitar! I would post pics, but their own web site has far better pics than I could take. The guitar "felt" right! This was far better than any production guitar I have felt, besides the odd "exception to the rule". Resonance was great, neck shape and "fit" were great.

I have been impressed since I saw Johan's website, after he posted here at the Forum. Well, in person, they are as good as they look. Not a super "10" top, but a beautifull flame top with plenty of 3-D action. This isn't a sales pitch.

They are not cheap guitars. But, others I have talked to were also curious, and I wanted to report, after a first hand look. It is worth looking into, if anyone is at all curious. Johan, you have done a great job on that model.

And Steve was a most gracious host. What a nice store! I can see why they are a Forum dealer. Bruce and Lance took some time to chat a little too [the store was moderately busy with "real" customers]. Definitely worth the drive out from Denver!
Thanks guys!

 
  Tom Wittrock    
  With the FuzeBlaster i finally have an instrument that's sonically up to par and can accomodate my ideas from india, turkey, vietnam to downhome blues, funk, avantgarde and death metal.
Johan is the best!!! peace,

 
  Fuze    

 

Johan.
I recently purchased #9203. I am blown away by how wonderful the guitar is. I received it today and I think it is the best guitar I have played in my whole life. You are truly on to something and I think everyone would love to play your guitars.

One question I had though. Would you happen to have any photos of my guitar being built? I would love to see the entire process of my guitar being built. Thank you and the guitar is awesome.

 
  Michael Mallady
Atlanta, GA
   
  Hi Johan:
My name is Jim Hough and I played the last Custom 59 at
Wildwood Guitars yesterday. I wanted you to know how impressed I am with your workmanship. I own two Paul Reed Smith guitars a Tom Anderson and an old Les Paul Custom and I must tell you that the Custom 59 is a step above these instruments.

Bruce convinced me that this was the last for a while and that I should make a decision quickly as it would not last the day. anyway, I called Bruce and put a hold on the guitar until Monday when I will purchase it.

My question relates to the electronics of the guitar. Since I was not able to play the guitar amplified I have no idea how it will sound. Are you using 0K pots and does it have a capacitor that prevents the highs from bleeding off as you roll down the volume? I ask this because I am an "old school" player that likes the highs to roll off as you decrease volume.

I am assuming that if you do have a capacitor in place it is an easy fix to remove it. I recently purchased a PRS Custom 22 that had the cap and I removed it without any problems. Also, since the Seth Lovers are unpotted are they noisy? I am a little concerned since I have never played a guitar with these pickups.

Anyway, please accept my congratulations on a fine instrument. I believe you are going to be very busy keeping up with demand. By the way, you could not have chosen a better company to represent you in
Wildwood. Steve,Bruce and all of them are the most professional,friendly,knowledgeable group of guys around.
Take care
 
  Jim Hough    
  Looks like all but one of the Bluesmasters have sold, and that one is being held for someone. People just love those guitars! If you could see the looks on people faces when they pick the guitar up and start to play. It's amazing. Thanks!  
  Steve Domenico    
 

Johan, We just put the last two up on the site this morning and they are both sold, we now have none. Everybody who played them freaked out, including myself and Steve. The tone is gorgeous, they just sing.

Great choice of woods, beautiful dark Brazilian boards, perfect workmanship, we are thrilled. The only bad thing is that I didn't get one, we didn't expect them all to be sold so quickly. Thanks for the great guitars, now we need more (haha).

Take care-Bruce

 
  Bruce Beard    
 

Well mine got here today!
*this took me about 4 hours to write because I couldn't put the guitar down, so keep in mind from this point on your going to have to put with up one freakin elated person*

Not to spam, but the people at Wildwood were great to deal with all the way through, Thanks Bruce!

Now to the good stuff (Im comparing alot to historics just so people can get a feel what Im talkign about)

First off, opening the case I was blown away at just how beautiful the guitar is. The pictures come as close as I guess you can from pictures, but man, bs aside this thing is easily the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen aside from a few in BOTB and a few shots from around here. I didn't particulary care for the headstock in the photos, but seeing it "in context" with the whole guitar it really fits well and is very sleek and sexy looking.

The top: The top I guess would be iced tea burst. The flame on the wood has the most movement and depth I've seen in person, coupled with the incredible woodgrain and character of the old maple, its just unreal. The pickguards color fits perfectly into the guitar, and the grain on that is also very pleasing to the eye.

The fretboard: Well what can I say its very old, dark bz rosewood. Dark red/black waves. From lookign at BOTB and the pics of 50s inlays here, I'd say these are very accurate to a 1950s LP(keep in mind Im not an expert either way). The nut is ivory or bone, I couldn't say, it just looks old and cut perfectly as expected. The frets are very round (as opposed to more square like on my R8) and polished smooth as silk.

The neck: smaller than my R8s by a bit, its a very very comfortable neck. It has some very unique curves around the heel to make upper fret access like butter and super fast to play.

The hardware: For all you AVH out there the switch tip is much darker than on historics. The jackplate and knobs appear the same as on historics. I really like the simple feel and look of his own wraparound, it fits so perfectly on the studs its amazing, and I guess thats all I can say about that.

Finish: the nitro actually feels hard and smooth which wasn't the case with most of the historics I played

And finally,,,the sound!!!: I wasn't sure how I was going to Seth Lover Antiquties, but geez these things are crunchy with alot of honk. I don't think they have the complexity or quite as much honk (though that might change when I adjust the pole pieces to my tastes?) of my Rolphs, but other than that they sound very close to any PAF tone I've heard. The unique thing about the setup is a push/pull pot (the bridge tone) the changes the p/ups from into single coil mode. Now I REALLY wasn't sure if I was going to like this or not, but I guess it was stupid of me to doubt a builder like this, because these things in split coils sound unreal. I've got a SD humbucker in the bridge of my strat that can be coil tapped, and it sounds nothing like it does on this guitar. They sound so fat and punchy, you'd swear it was a P-90 in there. I just can't believe how versatile it sounds, I have no good analogies for it haha. It sustains forever, just never seems to end. Without a doubt the finest guitar I've played in my short years.

In conclusion: I feel like a paid writer for Guitar Player or something with this review, but geez oh peet, every word of it is true. The only bad news on the deal, Im LP less , but I honestly can't see myself buying another one ever just because this one does everything in spades, course GAS has subsided for now)
I truly feel like the most blessed person in the world to have this guitar, and its so comforting and nice to know that I've found "the one" at the same price as a used R9.

Rock on Johan

 
  David Goodley    
 

Give thanks and praises! You are a truly blessed individual. You got some kinda connection happening with your shit.

The third pickguard that I didn't know you were making is the one! I'll reach you forward. Check's in the mail.

 
  Doctor Know    
 

Johan has cracked the H.G Wells code. His artistry is expressed in superlative materials and flawless construction, with an unflinching eye for even the most subtle and minute details.

My Bruisemonster is, without question, the best of all possible guitar worlds, with it's unparalleled tonal flexibility, stunning visual appeal and effortless playability.

 
  Matte Henderson    
  Hello!!

My name is Christopher Cardone - aka "C3" I was the lucky guy who got first pick of original 7 guitars sent to Wildwood Guitars.

I cant say enough good things about my bluesmaster, it is the most amazing guitar I have ever owned, so much so I have liqudated most of my collection. The tone, the feel, everything is PERFECT on this guitar, I cant tell you how thrilled I am.

We just played Red Rocks (large outdoor venue in Colorado www.redrocksonline.com ) in front of about 6200 people, it was the first gig I used my JG, and people were stunned by all the differnt tones it was able to produce.

Normally at a show I would use a Gibson Les Paul (57 reissue) along with a strat, a trini lopez, and my 2 baker 7 strings...but now - it's all ALL ABOUT THE BLUESMASTER!!!! (and of course my baker 7's) man I LOVE this guitar SO MUCH! well I just wanted to tell you to keep up the AMAZING work, and I hope to soon order a 7 string as well thanks so much youre guitars are THE BEST - and I truly mean THE BEST IN THE WORLD!!!!
 
  Christopher Cardone    
  I have owned some great guitars in my time, a 54 Strat, a 58 Les Paul Custom, a 68 Gold Top Les Paul with P 90's.

I am not a collector. I am just a guy who loves the sound of steel strings, wood, magnets, tubes and speaker cones.

There has only been one guitar that I have had in my hands that was on par with my Bluesmaster and that was a real 58 Les Paul that Lark Street Music had.

The finish, the color, the feel of when America took the time to do it right. It's not magic. It's one guy sweating the details, working late hours.

I believe Johan is making the best guitars in his life time right now and I have ordered a Bluesmaster Gold Top with P 90's to keep me from playing my Custom '59 to an early grave.
 
  Rob Strum    
 

I stopped in and visited Wildwood guitars on Wednesday. A pal was checking out a Mexican Strat for his son, and I was hanging around BSing with Steve and Bruce.

I also brought in my refinished goldtop for Steve and Bruce to see, and got a great compliment - Bruce told me that it looks much more like a real 'burst than Gibson is doing in the Custom Shop! Steve also loved it. And these guys have seen a few guitars in their day - I was completely flattered.

While I was there, I asked what was new and cool. Bruce said that I just HAD to see these guitars they were getting in, made by Johan Gustavsson. They had one (I believe it belongs to Steve), and got it out for me to see.

I'm stunned... These guitars are absolutely stunning. The neck carve, the tops, the finish work, the materials. I'm just blown away. They use old honduran mahogany for the necks, 50 year old Brazilian for the fingerboard, Eastern maple (some of the most beautiful tops I've ever seen - without being gaudy) for the tops. The workmanship is absolutely amazing.

I didn't even plug it in. I only played for a second - I mainly held it and inspected it very closely and picked a couple of notes. That's all I needed. The guitar is light, resonant, extremely well made from the best of materials, and beautiful.

What can I sell? I'd LOVE to have one, but it's not in the cards. Nevertheless, it's great to see that real craftsmanship still exists!

 
  Shovelhead    
  When you hold a "Johan Gustavsson Bluesmaster" in your hands, you'll finally realize what people are talking about (and what you have been missing)!

These guitars are actually living/breathing organisms!
You can feel the whole guitar body vibrate, you hear the wood sing and you suddenly feel that you have an unlimited amount of talent...
I want more JG-guitars..and everybody should have one!
 
  Eddie Nyström    
  Nobody but Johan could have built my guitar like he did.
It was an old dream of mine to let Johan build me a guitar and I´m
pleased that I waited such a long time, not that he wouldn't have done
a great job 15 years ago, but because he has now come to a point of
absolute perfection in his craft.

The guitar he finally built me is a perfect beauty. Light as a feather
but solid as a rock, with a sound similar to a 40 year old Les Paul.
Every detail is exquisitely done and it will in time surely mature like
a fine wine.

If you acquire one of Johan's guitars I can assure you that you´ll
never want to part with it. It´s a keeper, and it´s a guitar to grow old with, and my search for the perfect guitar is finally over

 
  Mats Persson    
  Johan has reinvented the wheel with the Bluesmaster Custom '59.
This instrument combines my favorite aspects of familiar traditional solid body guitars with just enough unique innovations.

Flawless craftsmanship, perfect playability, and excellent tone sum up the Bluemaster. It is equal to, and in some instances superior than the most sought after guitars.

 
  Justin Jurman    
 

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