Kritz / Stradovarius / 1990's / Guitar
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Kritz guitars were handmade in Belgium by Fritz Valcke, who is clearly an “out of the box” luthier. Unfortunately these are no longer in production, and they are getting scarcer nowadays as people are holding on to them.
So where do we start? Kritz guitars are all about innovation and there isn’t a single part that hasn’t been thought over and improved. The first thing you’ll notice is the smiling fret’s, which help improve intonation and ergonomics when playing complex voicings. The body is pretty small and has the patented liftop design which makes it lightweight and comfortable to play. The scale-lenght is actually 26″ which improves bass-response and again intonation, but due to the smiling frets and the short body it doesn’t feel like a longer scaled instrument, more like a short-scale really.
The choices of wood seem very traditional at first sight, with the body being a slab of mahogany with a slab of maple on top. The fretboard is a nice piece of Rio pallisander, and while the neck appears to be maple that’s only the outside. The core of the neck is made of a compound-material based on carbon and wood-fibers which as Kritz claims, should make for a neck that’s 100 times stronger than a traditional neck. The connection to the neck is Kritz’s heelless design which allows for effortless access to the higher frets, and it looks beautiful too.
Soundwise this guitar is impossible to compare with anything else, but the first thing I noticed is that although the pickups have a pretty high-output, which is normally not my taste, the dynamics and transparency on this guitar are overwhelming and overall it’s very organic sounding and responsive. I’d say this can handle metal just as well as some sofisticated jazz.
Overall the guitar is in pretty good condition. As it has serial.no. 12 it’s probably one of the first ones. The frets are remarkably clean, and the guitar shows some playwear on the back and a few pale spots in the laquer, but for a guitar that’s been played you can see it’s been treated kindly.
The case in the pictures is not included, but I will add another one for you.
Dear Wood Guitar Boutique, Netherlands 
Welcome to Dear Wood Guitar Boutique!
We are driven by a passion for guitars, fine tone woods and the art of lutherie!
Our showroom is located on the top floor of a beautiful 18th century monumental building which you are welcome to visit by appointment, and we offer worldwide shipping too.
We specialise in luthier made, vintage, used and new acoustic and electric quality guitars and are official dealer for Maton, Supro and Stanford.
1. Payment
1.1 cash, bank transfers and cashcard payments are accepted. Creditcard payments can only be accepted through the webshop.
1.2 Any additional costs to make payment are the customers responsibility.
1.3 An item needs to be fully paid for prior to delivery or collection.
1.4 An item can be placed on hold for a 30 day period. For this a non-refundable downpayment of 10% of the sellingprice is required.
1.5 For some items VAT applies which will be specified on the invoice. For these items VAT will be deducted for sales outside the EU and for EU customers outside the Netherlands who have a valid VAT number in their own country. Used items fall under the marginal tax regulation for second hand products for which VAT does not apply. In these cases VAT will not be specified on the invoice nor can it be deducted. If a selling price includes VAT it will be clearly indicated on the website and on your invoice.
2. Returning
2.1 All purchases come with a 7 day approval period. When an item is not to your satisfaction you can return it for an item of the same value within this period. Refunds are not available.
2.2 When returning an item it must be in the same condition as when it was sold to you. When an item is damaged or shows traces of use it cannot be returned for it’s full value, and an estimate will be made of the remaining value. In such an event any additional repair costs and a 5% restocking fee will be charged. Dear Wood Guitar Boutique holds the right to decline a return at all time.
2.3 Discounted items cannot be returned.
3. Shipping
3.1 The customer is responsible for shipping costs. The customer is also responsible for the shipping costs when returning an item.
3.2 All items are shipped with insurance. In case you receive an item which is damaged during transport please notify us within 24 hours so the courier can be accurately informed.
4. Buying online
4.1 The EU guidelines apply to all online purchases, meaning that you can return an item within 14 days. For countries outside the EU a period of 48 hours applies for buyer to verify if the item arrived safely and fits the description. In case you wish to return an item please notify us within 24 hours upon receiving it.
4.2 When you return an item it must be in the same condition as before it was shipped to you. If the condition of an item differs from how it was shipped to you, be it damaged, malfunctioning, or showing traces of use, alterations and/or modifications etc. it cannot be returned. All products are thoroughly checked prior to shipment to avoid misunderstandings about the condition of the product.
4.3 When shipping an item for return please do so within 24 hours from the moment that we’ve agreed it can be returned. Please send a tracking code to confirm the date on which the item ships back to us. Without this we cannot except a return if the item reaches us outside the approval period. The approval period starts from the day you receive the product.
4.4 Discounted items cannot be returned.
4.5. When returning an item any additional costs such as customs, taxes, shippingcosts, exchange-rates etc. are customers responsibility.
5. Warranty
5.1 There is no warranty on used products.
5.2 For new products factory warranty applies.
These terms and conditions apply to all items sold by Dear Wood Guitar Boutique, registered with the Chamber of Commerce under reg.no. 20153592.
