John Cruz Crossville TL Premier Fifty Relic Telecaster (2022)

A limited masterpiece from JOHN CRUZ — and they won't be built like this again.

John Cruz is the masterbuilt legend. At Fender he created the icons — John Mayer's Black One, the SRV No. 1 Tribute. After leaving Fender he took some time out, then came back to the boutique masterbuilt scene with a bang: JOHN CRUZ CUSTOM GUITARS.

The launch was superb, and cleverly handled. The first 50 instruments went out as the “Premier Fifty” limited edition with extra case candy and even a JOHN CRUZ multistand. All 50 were built by Cruz himself, and the Racing Stripes finish makes a Premier Fifty recognisable across a room.

We're pleased to be able to offer a complete package from single ownership, bought at Proguitar as soon as it appeared for a full €10,068 — not exactly small money back in 2022. But the package is worth every penny: beyond the exclusivity, this is an outstanding instrument even by masterbuilt standards.

They won't be made like this again. On top of the already small run, Cruz doesn't appear to be building under his own label at present. Instead he builds limited series for other makers, which presumably spares him the less enjoyable parts of the business — finance, marketing and the rest.

Either way, it changes nothing about the fact that JOHN CRUZ is one of the finest guitar builders in the world. The pressure and expectation on JOHN CRUZ CUSTOM GUITARS was enormous, and the man didn't let anyone down: this is a perfectly finished guitar with superb ageing and tone.

On the subject of tone: Cruz is famously an advocate of guitars with a bit of weight to them, and ours tips the scales at 3.69 kg. He bases that on his experience with genuine vintage instruments, which in his view only really come alive above 3.5 kg. Lighter guitars respond faster and feel more resonant, he reckons, but often come up thin through the mids. A slightly heavier Strat suits bluesier or more driven tones because it sounds smoother and pushes harder. The tone gets fatter and sustains longer — which isn't the same thing as more output.

Ours is a tonal bullseye and delivers classic Tele sounds exactly as they should be. What stands out is the lightning-fast snap of the response and a midrange that gives it real push and twang, clean or dirty. You could hold your own in hard rock with this TL and still turn round and play warm, preachy cleans or funky chord work. It's an experience, and the character stays with you.

The neck — the popular Cruz Large C with a 12" radius and 6100 frets — leaves nothing to be desired. Even the case candy makes the point that the customer should get the best possible value.

A fantastic guitar, and genuinely rare: only 5 per model in each colour. The Premier Fifty instruments had no serial numbers; instead each one was given a name, some more fitting than others.

The complete package, in collector condition. Where it says JOHN CRUZ, there has to be JOHN CRUZ inside — and with this Premier Fifty Crossville TL there certainly is. We can offer the whole Premier Fifty package, original box included, at a price on a par with an affordable masterbuilt. It's a price you won't find again any time soon – if ever. You won't see an offer like this come round again in a hurry.