Anyone played a Crafter SA guitar?

racman

Just checked out the Crafter SA acoustic/ electric guitars (T5 almost look alike) and found them to be awesome value for money. For under 6k one gets a KenT Armstrong Tele/P90 pickupS and LR Baggs piezo pickups etc - in fact having being a bit of a brand "snob" before ?(although I have owned the incredibly good value Cort guitars as well) I think the Crafter guitars are exceptional value guitars, or am I missing something?

AlanRatcliffe

Haven't played one, but they are pretty close to the Taylor in approach - an acoustic with leanings towards electric sounds too. Crafter generally are decent quality, good value for money, but nothing amazing.

Generally, hybrids go one of two ways, either primarily acoustic, with acoustic bridge and strings; or primarily electric, with electric bridge and strings. There is always a bit of a "jack-of-all trade-off" with either approach and neither does both equally well or either as well as a dedicated acoustic with a dedicated electric.

When it comes to hybrids, I lean to the electric with leanings towards acoustic sounds like the Parkwood Hybrids: http://hybrid.parkwoodguitars.com. Parkwood are a Cort company, but aim their sights a little higher. Their hybrids have Fishman piezos and Duncan magnetic pickups, so are a step up from the Crafters. Some killer koa wood on the one model too.

racman

Thx Alan. So would you prefer an Electric with a Piezo Bridge or a hybrid guitar if you wre playing a more rythm based set but with short lead stints/riffs every so often?

AlanRatcliffe

It depends more on the sounds you want and also the feel. Ask yourself which you prefer playing, an acoustic or an electric? Which sounds you prefer?

The thing with an electric guitar fitted with piezos is it's first and foremost an electric guitar - it feels and plays like any other electric guitar. Adding the piezos widens the tonal palette, letting you get tones you wouldn't have otherwise, but they are not "pure" acoustic tones. They have a wider range of electric tones, as they usually have more pickups too. A big thing for me is that they also let me play with swapping pickups and hardware to tweak everything to my taste.

Hybrids generally (even those leaning more to the electric side of the fence), are a bit more acoustic oriented - semi-hollowbodies, chunkier necks and more of the look of an acoustic about them.

For me it's always electric first, but I've always been a more electric player. I love having a good electric voice and mixing in some acoustic tonality to get blends of the two sounds, rather than an either/or approach. I'm primarily a rhythm player too.

racman

It seems that the Parkwood is an electric with a Piezo bridge and the Crafter SA/Taylor T5/Godin etc is a thinline acoustic with an electric pickup so naturally would have different focus points i.e. Parkwood - predominantly (sp?) electric player/sets with occasional acoustic highlights or playing, and the T5 types focused on acoustic players/sets with occasional electric playing/rythm/lead riffs. Is my thinking/perception correct?

Sorry, seemed to post at same time as yours - I would probably fall into the latter category.

racman

Who stocks Parkwood in SA and what price are they?

AndyInnes

I can't talk about the Crafters or Parkwoods, but I've been very happy with Parker guitars (www.parkerguitars.com). I've been playing electric w/ piezo for about 12 years now - first the Parker Fly deluxe from the original Ken Parker workshop in Maine, and I've subsequently augmented that with the Mojo (new USMC stock from Chicago). Guy in the band with me plays the Fly supreme. They are GREAT guitars.

I play the piezo's through a California blonde or AER on the way to the PA and currently have the electric side going through a TC Electronic G-System as a loop in a Mesa Boogie roadster head + 4x12. I switch the two guitars with a Little Lehle stereo switchbox and have a Lehle P-split for phase and/or earthing issues (these can be quite common, as you are dealing with two amps linked to the one guitar with separate earths). The tonal possibilities are amazing. No question that piezo with solid body electric is the way to go unless you are a jazz or folk player. Only gripe I have about the newer Parkers is that they don't have a master volume control (humbuckers and piezos in one) like the original Fly Deluxe, thus forcing the use of a stereo volume pedal if you want the piezo bite in your volume swells.

HTH

Andy

AlanRatcliffe

Hi Andy - welcome to the forum!

I've been a big fan of Ken Parker's since the original Fly - that's what first set me off on my quest for piezo saddles. I've considered an artist a few times, but doubt I could get used to the slender neck (I generally play quite fat necks) and without the opportunity to try one out locally, there is no way I will order one sight unseen.

Also, judging from the griping on various message boards, the US Music Parkers are nowhere near the same quality as the original Ken Parker models. There seem to be substantial issues with quality control lately.

bENDER

ISH!!! I've been offline for almost 2 months..........anyway, I have a Crafter Electric, it plays like a dream, I enjoy it very much, not that I've played a moerse lot of guitars....hehehe. ?

Mr-M

A friend has a newly accquired Crafter SAT Goldtop - the one with the Kent Armstrong P-90 Soapbar and LR Baggs undersaddle pickup (got it for R4000). I think it's a great guitar. Not quite my cup of tea but nevertheless a worthy hybrid. Solid build quality, nice playing feel and good tone. He let me borrow it about three weeks back for a band practice and weirdly enough I played for the entire 1 1/2 hours only using the P-90. Never felt the need for the acoustic part of it 'cos I was enjoying the tone of the soapbar + the semi hollow mojo so much. The LR Baggs does give a very good and convincing acoustic tone, I just didn't really use it. I will say that the acoustic part of it sounded quite a bit better than the Fishman Powerbridge-equiped guitars I've played in the past. I think the more acoustic-leaning body type & bridge style might have something to do with it. Interestingly it has a brass block in the back that the strings anchor to (like a a strat trem block). That might also be adding to the tone.
If it had a bridge P-90 too, I'd buy it, but as it is it's a interesting guitar that I'd even go so far as saying is a great guitar. I might just end up buying one anyway...

Dirk

I own a Crafter Bass. Not too bad. plays well, the hardware just starts to look cheap after a while. But, overall value for money..

blues_barry

OK, it's not often that I rave about gear, but I do when it comes to my Crafter SA. I have a Crafter SA and love it! Just so you know I have been playing for over 35 years and own some high end guitars, a Gibson SG, vintage Les Paul Deluxe, Gibson Dove acoustic and an American Deluxe Tele. I am in a celtic rock band. Gigging usually finds a way to bang up your gear so I was looking for a comfortable playing, and not too expensive hybrid to gig with. I read about Crafter and took a chance buying one on ebay. I love this thing! The action is great; it feels as good as an electric guitar. The guitar is well made and as an added bonus, it's absolutely beautiful. The best part of the guitar is that it sounds just like an acoustic guitar through the PA. I have had a lot of guitarists come up to me during gigs and ask about the guitar because it sounds so good. I once even had a Taylor T5 owner who like the sound of the Crafter better.

The guitar has an acoustic pickup and an electric lipstick pickup. When I first got it I switched between electric and acoustic pickups. But the electric pickup does not have enough treble for my taste. Could be because it is located by the neck. So now I bring the SG for when I want an electric sound. Soooo if you are looking for a guitar that plays with the comfort and feel of an electric guitar but sounds like a high quality acoustic thru a PA you need to check this guitar out. I hope I've helped somone out with this information.