Jonathan Crawford #27

I was a little nervous about receiving my bass as I as literally just about start tracking in the studio. However the nerves were immediately settled when I held the bass in my hands for the first time. Like a father with a new born child I new I would love it from this moment onwards. The bass feels absolutely amazing to play, to the point where playing my old Fender feels almost painful now. But it has the sound to match. It sounds so distinctive, really big and fat with amazing resonance. Equal to this though is the way it looks, which i could not be happier with, and I should be, I changed my mind enough about it.

And kudos has to go to Jon, not only for putting up with me but for being so helpful and understanding with every aspect of the build. He really is a great person to work with as well as a great luthier.

I couldn't be happier and I couldn't recommend buying a Twenty Twelve guitar any more if you are after a perfectly rounded instrument.

Troy Obst #25

Let me tell you this guitar is fantastic!

The first time I played the thing, it felt so comfortable that 3hrs had past before I realised the time. Everything feels perfect on it.

The sound the Tele makes is awesome. It's all I'd hoped for sound wise and a bit more!

Anyway Jon, You have crafted a truly quality guitar and the process with you has been so effortless for me. Purely by the the fact that you really knew what I wanted from the start and delivered on everything you said you would (That's rare these days).

I hope to have you build me another one in the future.

Thanks for all the great work!

Dom Kocsis -

having played guitar for manny years, I wish I considered a custom made guitar sooner. Easily the nicest guitar i've played.

Jon's expertise with stringed instruments really helped the design & build process from the esthetics, custom pickup wiring, the over all tone of the guitar and the outstanding craftsmanship. choosing the components was made easy due to jons extensive knowledge of a wide range of suppliers and products.

In addition, i've learned a hell of a lot about guitars through Jon's informative updates and suggestions throughout the build.

nice work!

Dom.

Steve - Injured Ninja (RTR Winner)

As a surprise winner of a newly crafted 2012 guitar, I can confidently say that Jon's workmanship has created the most solid and reliable instrument that I have ever owned, and for that matter, played.
The custom made double cut I now own is perfectly weighted and sonically solid beast. It sounds great even when not plugged in. The pickups sing loud and proud like nothing else and the guitar stays in tune no matter how much I may thrash it. I have already taken it on stage a couple of times and it proves itself incredibly reliable in sometimes unpredictable performance situations.
Needless to say, after playing on cheap replicas and second hand guitars my entire life, I now know what I've been missing out on. I own a range of customised and vintage guitars, but this 2012 just totally slays them all in terms of tone and feel – and this one I didn't even have made to specification for me.
I highly recommend 2012 guitars if you are looking for a truly reliable custom made instrument that will be crafted with care and quality that just is not seen in overpriced mainstream brand models. From playing this guitar I can see incredible potential on working with Jon on creating a custom model in the near future.

Steve - Mink Mussel Creek, Whalehammer

I had a fairly rough idea of what I wanted when I first started talking to Jon about a custom bass. One part Burns, another Mosrite, and maybe a touch more modern than both... We bounced ideas & photos for a while, and we met up a few times to discuss the mock-ups he’d drafted. The shape slowly evolved into how it now looks after Jon took into account weight, fit, and what I wanted from it.

It’s ended up looking very unique, with the jeweller’s silver inlay, solid Al pickguard, hipshot trem and the asymmetric body. In terms of the way it sounds and plays, I’ve never experienced anything like it – in the best possible way.

No tuning worries to speak of- even thrashing the trem I’d be lucky to need to retune it more than once a month.

The neck feels a lot more solid than the Ps and Js I’ve used in the past yet with the speed I’ve found on Ibos. The sustain and projection on this thing are amazing. It’s super evident acoustically, as well as amplified. Speaking of which, plugged into a pair of Ampegs it maintains perfect balance between a genking mid and a tonka-tuff low end.

Gareth - Will Stoker & The Embers

I was just after a workhouse type guitar, something solid that would sound great, stay in tune and put up with my sometimes rough treatment. Jon built me that kind of guitar, but it's a beautiful instrument as well. It sounds, looks and feels incredible and its so loud acoustically, It's also very cool to have a unique guitar. The only thing I don't like about Jon's guitars is that I only have one of them.

Lewis - Mental Powers

I heard about Jon through word of mouth, he builds custom guitars to spec at extremely reasonable prices. I had a challenge for him, a baritone guitar, 6 strings, tuned to a low A, versatile enough to allow the player to achieve simple full sounding bass lines and lush chord playing on the same instrument. Jon and I discussed almost every aspect of the guitars design, it was a custom built guitar in the true sense. The template for the body was cut out based on a drawing I had made, the kind of aesthetic luxury most custom shop guys won’t give you, or would charge a fortune for, I was very grateful for that.

I was quite specific on the type of sound I wanted from the instrument, a solid dark sound, plenty of punch, but not too fiery, and with a manageable output. Jon recommended we use Tasmanian Blackwood for the neck and body, and it was definitely a wise choice, the overall sound is amazingly dark and full of overtones and character, absolutely mouth watering. Through a compression pedal at full ball all the tinniest touches of the hand or pick explode with colour. Jon recommended it be rigged up with P-90s for versatility and a manageable output, defiantly the right choice. The low A tuning sounds beautiful, like nothing I’ve ever heard before, low open chords sound clear and well defined with no bassy rumbling, its an experience in itself just to play it.

The finished product was astonishing, look and sound wise. It has a wonderful hand made feel about it, and upon receiving the completed guitar and getting it tuned up a little to my tastes I got the real sense of a collaborative relationship. It wasn’t just a guitar built and sold, but a guitar built with enthusiasm, love and care and a sense of discovery. Jon loves his craft, and is doing great things. Cheers pal. Lewis