Crafter GAE-33

This Guitar is one of Crafters top end models and was made in Korea apparently. It has a solid spruce top and solid maple back and sides - though it could be anything really as it's all in Black. It has a B-Band pre amp and a nice dark rosewood fretboard.
The finish is really good though i can see some excess glue through the soundhole and mine has an unusual 'ripple' effect on the soundboard, though it doesn't detract from the overall appearance to my eye's.Tuners are a nice gold colour with plastic buttons. What i really like is the abalone in the fret markers, binding and the rosette, it really looks fab with the black body.

I play fingerstyle and recently sold my Taylor 310ce so it was hard to come down to a lesser guitar, but this Crafter has a really warm tone unplugged and projects slightly better than my Taylor did. The fretboards not so user friendly obviously but it's pretty good for the money - nice smooth fret ends and a low action with only a little fret buzz up at the soundhole end. The plugged in sound is a little harsh initially and i suspect it's the B Band that's the problem. it's no Fishman thats for sure. The sound is brightish as is expected from a maple body, but not a problem when you can tone it down with some effects. I'm using a Xv-amp by Behringer with it, mainly for some added chorus and then through my Ashdown aar-1v amp. and overall it gives a well rounded output. I will probably put some Elixers on it soon for added playability. I play my own Folk type tunes usually and i am quite pleased with the overall sound.

I bought this as a new but shop soiled guitar and the action is quite low and probably hadn't been set up.
I might raise the action a little to get rid of the buzz at the high frets, other than that it's a very well finished instrument - a kind of poor mans Taylor 614ce really, which is why i bought it!
two of the tuning pegs have a small amount of extra play in them , but it stays in tune pretty well.
The fretboard is very good and has a good overall feel to it. and the string spacing is fine for fingerstyle.

I don't do gigs so this is not applicable.

It could do with a second strap button though and it feels like it could take some knocks, though it wont get any from me! - touch wood..

not applicable

I've been playing on and off about 23 years but seriously only about 7 years. This guitar is a real looker and if it didn't have the crafter logo on it, it could pass for a much more expensive instrument than it's usual retail of #479 would suggest.
I tried a few other cheaper crafters before this and was impressed by they're overall build quality, and risked buying this one unseen from ebay as it was at such a good price. It was a good buy. I'd recommend it at the full price!
Yes i would buy another crafter if this was 'lost'..