Schwartz Guitars Advanced Auditorium Elite Cutaway

The Advanced Auditorium was made in 2004. A picture of the guitar is in several magazines. It is a very fancy guitar, but elegant. It is old growth Brazilian back and sides, 12 year old aged Engelmann Spruce top, and a highly engraved FB Tree of Life and matching Rosette that was designed by Sheldon. The FB inlay was done by Paul Bourdeaux and the Rosette inlay by Sheldon. The engraving on the MOP on the FB and Rosette is by Sheldon. It has Koa binding, Ebony and Brazilian PH veneers, Paua top inlay.

I play mostly Praise and Worship and I am heavy into fingerstyle, percussive frailing and some strumming. The guitar handles all of this without any effort. I installed a Schertler Bluestick and it fits the guitar very well. The guitar is "THE SOUND" that I have looked for in a guitar for 38 years! What more can I say.

I have played and owned some of the finest guitars in the world. This is probably the best that I have ever played or seen. It is near perfection in workmanship. No flaws, great wood, perfect neck.

I play this guitar and my Everett Elan every week. It has held up well in travels and airports (calton case, thank you) and is as solid as it gets. I have not trouble with tuning or heavy stage lighting. The only problem that I have encountered is the use of brass side dot markers that are too small for my 51 year old eyes when the lights are low.

Sheldon is fine fellow and I am going to meet him for the first time this year at the Healdsburg Guitar Festival. I truly enjoy his committment to his art and craft. He is honest to a fault on everything we have talked about.

If I ever lose this guitar, it is going to be a sad day. I know that Sheldon can build another one that will sound as good, but the woods and inlays would not be the same

The guitar was built in the summer of 2001. The construction is of bearclaw sitka spruce top and koa sides and back. The top has a very striking bearclaw grain. The koa back of the guitar is equally impressive and unique with a very wavy 3D appearance. Green abalone top trim really makes for a stunning appearance. Sheldon selected some very fine cuts of wood for the guitar. You can really lose hours just watching it sit on it's stand. Very beautiful without being overly gaudy. The guitar contains an active pickup system. It's a highlander IP2 piezo / mic combo. Sheldon also includes a high quality hard shell case with his guitars as well.

I play fingerstyle exclusively. The guitar does very well for this style. Since it's the primary guitar that I use I tend to put it through a large number of varied tunings. It really takes a lot of punishment in that respect and does a great job of both changing tunings and maintaining them. I ask a lot of this guitar and it delivers. It's very stable guitar. The guitar has fairly even tone. The sound is very directional with this guitar. The majority of the sound is projected away from the guitar so it can sometimes be difficult to hear exactly what you sound like in a purely acoustic environment. I've had a lot of people make positive comments regarding the tone. A lot of professional fingerstyle recording artists have had the chance to hear the guitar and have been impressed with the sound.

The construction of the guitar is flawless. In this respect Sheldon is at the top of his field. There's nothing more to say here. The setup has been changed a couple of times to meet my changing needs. Sheldon has adjusted the action, changed the frets and adjusted the neck a few times at my request. He's really a great person to work with.

The guitar has help up well over the last 3+ years so far. I typically gig 2-3 times a month and it's help up well. I have a fairly aggressive playing style and I haven't been able to break it. :)

In this respect Sheldon is luthier that you want to build your next guitar. He takes a lot of pride in his work. He's always willing to continue working with you after the sale.

I've been playing for nearly 10 years. I own a couple of other decent guitars but nothing close to my Sheldon Schwartz guitar. I fell in love with the sound of Sheldon's guitars and the beauty of the construction. I'll never own another factory built acoustic guitar. I currently my 2nd Schwartz on order. I'm a very satisified customer.

Model is an Advanced Auditorium Elite Cutaway. This model is a little smaller than a Jumbo and a little larger than a Martin Orchestra Model; for me it's perfect. Although Sheldon offers three different basic models, all of his guiatrs are really custom tailored to some extent to each owner. Mine features back and sides made of curly Koa, a solid bear claw Sitka Spruce top and a lovely five-piece laminated neck with a Macassar Ebony fingerboard. Frets are really jumbo, rounded and smooth. Neck profile is medium-thin and fairly flat. Interior bracing features very cleverly incorporated carbon fiber spines that are perfectly inset into their wood surrounds. Binding is made of matching Blue Paua shell, tuners are Schallers with Ebony knobs. The bridge has been pre-drilled in case I would like to add a Highlander pick-up in the future. I had Mr. Schwartz add some custom Mother of Pearl inlay to the headstock and the 12th fret; he even added a dot of real ivory in a bronze ring as a surprise!

I play mostly fingerstyle blues and this guitar is perfect for me. Even when worked very hard playing punk, there is no fret buzz and the guitar's tone is rich & full with good clarity and brightness. It is truly the best guitar I've heard. I am fortunate enough to have been able to play custom guitars costing four or five times as much, that don't sound as lovely.

Sheldon personally delivered this guitar to me which gave him the opportunity to see if I needed or wanted any adjustments made to it. It was perfect out of the case. He will inspect and adjust the guitar after six months at no charge. The action is very comfortable. The fit & finish of this guitar is really flawless. After seven months of daily playing and a week of professional recording (not by me - I loaned it out to a pro for some pretty intense session work), its still perfect.

This guitar has already passed the Johnny Cash, Ring of Fire Test! Although the Schwartz is considered a "boutique guitar", it is rugged and rock-solid. All materials are first-rate and I have every confidence that they will withstand the tests of time and playing. I would gig with this guitar in a heartbeat without a back-up but it's really too nice to do the funky bar scene. I do know several musicians who do indeed gig regularly with theirs without any problems. When kitted-out for gigs they still sound great too!

This is a custom hand-built guitar and since Sheldon is a one man operation, you get the privilege of working direct with the luthier. Sheldon is very perceptive and accomodating. The only bad news in this scenario is that because Sheldon's is a one man operation; you will wait a very long time for your guitar to be built. Two - four years is not uncommon. If you are in need of instant guitar gratification, you'd better look elsewhere. I can tell you however that the wait is worth it! Sheldon does not state any warranty but since he will stay in contact with you on a regular basis to see how you and your guitar are getting along, it's not a problem.

I've been playing for several years and I also own a Fender American Standard Strat,a Martin OM-16 and an old Yamaha FG-160. If stolen or lost I would definitely buy another Schwartz. Although the Schwartz isn't cheap, it's truly an incredible value. It blows away anything the major manufacturer's have coming out of their custom shops. I plan to leave this guitar to my niece and nephew to play when I'm gone. By then it will have some wear and scratches and be just broken-in!

My Schwartz custom guitar was completed this April of this year and buddy LET ME TELL YOU, I was extremely glad to get it! Made by master-luthier Sheldon Schwartz in Ontario, Canada. It's an Advanced Auditorium Elite model with a soft cutaway. Master-grade materials: Solid Engelmann spruce top, rosewood back and sides, mahogany neck w ebony fretboard, birdseye-maple binding and trim, custom-machined brass/ivory side dots, and a way-cool "Maple-Leaf" inlay in the headstock cuz I'm from Canada myself, ya dig? Highlander bridge pickup system with integrated mic system. Schaller tuners. 25.5" scale. Hardshell tweed case included. Top-40 hits and groupies not included..."Takin care of business, every day" etc...

The sound suits me perfectly. I play fingerstyle guitar...Chet style and other styles as well depending on the arrangement. The sound is rich, full and balanced..the bass, mids, and highs are all there and every note pops nicely on demand. This guitar resonates so well you'd think it was 40 years old but it's brand-spankin NEW! And it's only gonna improve with time.

The action, fit and finish are exceptional...no flaws and I did'nt really expect any. After all, this ain't no cheap guitar $$$!!! The action is low but there's no fret-buzz and I can play up high with relative ease. The wood looks great and the grain is uniform. The color variations in the select woods are in harmony. Everything is just like it's supposed to be.

This axe is for playing out. It's for playing PERIOD. It almost looks too good to play but I plat it anyway. Just don't ask me to play it cuz I'll tell you to just sit back down and play your own, OK?

I had many conversations with Sheldon regarding the details of my guitar and he delivered on them all. Especially important to note is that Sheldon sometimes had some very good suggestions to improve the guitar and yet stayed close to the basic concept that I hoped to achieve. This combination of "customer-care" and impeccable craftsmanship is hard to find these days...but you can still find it at Sheldon's shop. Sheldon's follow-up has been very good indeed. Still waiting for a set of Schaller ebony tuning buttons which he told me are slow from the factory so I should keep my shirt on and have a Molson or something...

Been playing over 30 years now. I've played every factory guitar there is a hundred times or more and only found and handfull that really had the right stuff so I finally decided to get a custom model that had exactly what I wanted...and I got it.