We don't get many McAlister guitars, partly because their owners tend to hang on to them but mostly because Roy just hasn't made all that many guitars. Despite the ringing endorsement by David Crosby shortly after Roy left the Santa Cruz Guitar Co., he never succumbed to production fever and continued to for the most part build one guitar at a time.

This one-owner Vintage Series Brazilian rosewood Advanced Jumbo Dreadnought is from 2011. If you like a slightly wider string spacing this neck, 1 13/16" at the nut (2 5/16" string spacing at the saddle), gives you ample room but the low "Medium C" profile makes it very comfy. Yes, the light bracing and dense Brazilian rosewood back & sides makes for very strong bass response but there's also plenty of treble power and overall balance.

Hard to argue about a guitar this clean, there are almost no signs of playing wear, just a few very light shirt button swirls on the back and almost no marks at all anywhere else. No cracks, but there was a minor seam separtion along the center strip of the back (about 7 inches from the tail block). This was corrected by McAlister, was we recall (the owner is a long-term Gryphon pal). Note that the neck inlays are celluloid, not mother-of-pearl, with the exception of the M logo at the top of the headplate. The celluloid position markers are certainly an appropriate choice for a Gibson-style guitar!

Original Ameritage case as shown. Considering that Roy McAlister's base price for any guitar is now $9,000 this Vintage Series AJ is quite a bargain (we don't even want to guess what the Brazilian rosewood upgrade would add).

stock no. 55538

ModelAdvanced Jumbo
TopGerman Spruce
Back and sidesBrazilian Rosewood
Frets to body14
Nut width1 13/16"
Scale length25.5"
Bridge spacing2 5/16"
Bridge materialBrazilian Rosewood
Fretboard MaterialBrazilian Rosewood
Neck materialMahogany
TunersGold Gotoh w/Ebony buttons
Total frets20
Neck profileMed C
CaseOrig. Hard
Serial NoAJ-313
BracingScalloped X