Crafter JE-24

Crafter JE 24 (old model, 2000) , 450 euro used, from crafter dealer + case, strings and strap

Features:
Jumbo model with cutaway
Solid engelman spruce top, laminated rosewood back and side, mahony neck rosewood fretboard, exellent grover tuners (gold), timber plus preamp (mute, batt check, bass mid treble and presence)
Shadow piezo pickup. Notice: the new model (2003 and later) have a new timber plus preamp with headway pickup. I ve played on both and couden?t find a big different (new preamp has a phase switch). Nice inlayThe strings go thought the bright, no pins used (different from new model whitch comes with pins)
Overall the same specs then the top model GAE 36 (exept from inlay and BBand preamp), Bband sounds not better then timber plus.
I couldn?t want anything more, only solid side and back

I?m playing with 010 extra light strings, sound bit thinger then 012, still very natural sound with quiet lot of bass responce well balanced sound. Sounds very load couse of the jumbo model, also without amp. Using the pickup the sound is very natural, no muddy sound, well balanced.
Before buying i ve tried yamaha cpx, 5,8 apx 5, 7, 9, over 5 takamines (600-1100 euro) and few simon and patrick (800-1000 euro). Still think the crafter sounds very good and loud. And only cost 600 (new)!! good sound for very good price.

Low action, no resonating (?) strings. Good be a littlebit lower, for my personal taste. Is very well intonated. A friend told me that crafter could have some problems with bad fretwork. So check this before buying. No problems with this one.
Finish is 100% oke, Lokes very nice and expensive!! AAA quality wood, gloss finish, very good tuners, 1 negative point: guitar got only 1 strap holder, don?t no why!!.

This is a used model (3 years old) still looks new. Got mine for 1 week. Tuners stay very well in tune, put on new strings and have only tuned ones!!

I ve asked the local dutch importeur and the fabric few questions about this and other crafter models, got , (honest) answer in 2 days. Lot of info about the wood and specs on internet. So good support.

In my opinion a very good guitar for this price. Sounds very good, good preamp (beter then takamine), AAA quality wood , very nice finish, inlay and tuners.
I ve been looking for a good guitar up to 700 euro. And i ve buyed the best for 450! (new 600). Sound louder, more bass then APX 5,7, play better and looks better then CPX 5, sound better trought preamp then ?cheap? takamine (600-1100 euro), looks and sounds better then cort, dean, and other cheap brands.

I think, this guitar is built in 2000. It has got 20 frets a solid AAA Engelman spruce top, rosewood back and sides. The neck is made of mahogany and rosewood. It has got a high-gloss finish and very nice inlays; it looks really sharp on stage! The guitar is a jumbo model with one cutaway. The tuners are from Grover, so they are okay. The electronics are from Timber; there are slides for bass, middle, treble and presence. There is also a mute and a battery-check.
This guitar is very well-built! Lots of craftman-ship.

Being a jumbo, it sounds loud! The tone is very balanced and open, it souds very fresh, like a the start of a beautiful day! I become poetical! I fell in love with it, when I played it for the first time and have been ever since!
Me and other members of my band use it on stage and it sounds fine. I thought it would have feedback very fast, 'cause of the big body, but no complains. Use the bass-slide carefully, however.

The set-up of this Crafter was oke; after a couple of months I had to reset the neck a bit, but that's normal. The fretwork was just great.
It is a guitar, that feels very naturally.

The guitar has never let me down, 'till now. I think, it will stay with me for years. When you are on a gig, you must never take the risk of being without an accoustic guitar. There's always a possibility, that the guitar falls, the electronics fail or something like that. Be smart and have a backup, even for the most expensive guitars.

Don't know, can't say anything about it.

Playing for ? 30 years now. Played a lot of guitars and this one is the best 'till now. I compared it with guitars, that are much more expensive and the Crafter did very well. I don' feel the need of buying a Gibson, Guild or a Garrison for great amount of money.