Crossley G-Series Custom, amber finish, made in Australia around 2008. Peter Crossley has been been offering fully custom acoustic and electric builds from his workshop in Metung, Victoria Australia for a couple of decades now. There's no CNC machines, he does everything by hand, and the quality of workmanship on offer is superb. This one is an earlier example, so it's got a slightly different body shape and neck profile to Peter's later examples. The neck is proper shred-machine: it's slim and superbly quick and made from some gorgeous mahogany and rosewood. The easy access neck joint makes for fast movement all the way up to those last couple of frets, it's a fun experience. The body is hand carved and features a really beautiful flamed sycamore top, the amber gloss finish really lets the grain do the talking. Tone-wise, this sits somewhere in between the Telecaster genre and the bell-like clarity of a PRS. The Pearly Gates humbuckers are rich and chiming, with great balance across the strings and a harmonically rich midrange. The coil-split switch plunges you headlong into Tele-twang, with a really lovely hi-fi crisp attack and a rhythmic, fat low end. You really can cover a lot of tonal ground with this one, so if you're playing long sets with a bunch of different tones for different songs, this one will deliver really convincingly. Plus, it's gloriously lightweight and balanced. One question, though: why Papyrus font, though?

Model: Crossley G-Series Custom
Made: Melbourne Australia, 2008 approx (no serial on this one)
Finish: amber stain top, gloss nitro
Body: mahogany, solid flame sycamore cap
Neck: 1-piece mahogany, Indian rosewood board, slim shred style profile, 43mm nut, 24.75" scale
Weight: 3.275kg
Mods: none
Pickups: Seymour Duncan Pearly Gates passive humbucker x2
Case: Crossley hard case

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some minor dimples on the end. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples on the back only. The back has widespread light scuffs and small dimples, no major marks. The sides have a few dimples near the jack and in the elbow area, nothing nasty. The front has a few dimples near the knobs, behind the bridge and in the elbow area, as well as some standard play wear on the horns. Overall: very good condition (8/10).

Playing condition notes: action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electronics tested and working properly. The frets have some minor wear only, 8/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 10/46 Moonshiners strings.