Near the abandoned highway spur in beautiful Burlington, Vermont, guitar maker Creston Lea builds sincerely intriguing interpretations of classic vintage guitar templates. Each one is a unique creation, designed in close collaboration with the players who will use them. No two Crestons are alike, because what would be the point of building a guitar that already exists? Known for meticulous finishes and careful selection of hardware and tonewoods, Creston says he wants to be excited about every guitar he builds. That makes sense to us because we're excited about every one of his guitars we play. At the end of the day, his subtle innovations on classic designs breath new layers of musicality that weren't there before.
This 2014 Creston Offset features a short 24" scale, and it is constructed of a one-piece solid Mahogany body and Mahogany neck with an Ebony fingerboard. Although Mahogany isn't a common choice for bolt-on-neck guitars, it creates a guitar that is nicely resonant, and in this case, the guitar's natural acoustic dynamics translate nicely into its electrified sound. Plugged-in, Lollar El Rayo pickups deliver fat, harmonically-rich tone. Even though the control setup is simple and intuitive, you can capture a wide array of sounds via the individual volume controls for each pickup, traditional three-way switch, and master tone control with push/push tone bypass. Creston's custom-spec Mastery vibrato is touch-sensitive and so musical, and a Mastery bridge ensures optimal intonation and tuning stability. As expected from Creston, every aspect of the fit and finish was executed perfectly—this guitar is simple inspiring on so many different levels.
This 2014 Creston Offset showcases Creston's Olive Drab finish with matching headstock, and it includes a black three-ply pickguard and after-market knobs, but we much prefer the original parchment guard and vintage radio knobs. Its setup is extremely playable and almost perfect. Although we are tempted to remove the Buzz Stop, we didn't want to do anything that could risk affecting the playability. It's that good. Original Levy's gig bag with "Creston Electric Instruments" embroidery included.
Creston's spec notes: 24" scale, 1-pc mahogany body, mahogany / ebony neck, Lollar El Rayo pickups, Mastery Bridge, Creston by Mastery vibrato tailpiece, volume, volume, tone w/ push-push tone bypass, brown vintage radio knobs, brown toggle switch tip.