The Petra Zone

I wanted to post this for everyone out there thinking about purchasing a Petra 33 guitar from Bob. Well, I have had mine for 3 days now and it is absolutely stunning! The pictures on his web page don't do this thing justice at all. The color is beautiful, much nicer than the photos shown, and the pick guard spectacular. One other thing, this baby can rock! I'm no expert as I am a drummer by trade but I do play a bit and have a bunch of guitars, everything from some old 80's Kramers, to a Peavy Wolfgang, and all the way down to a bottom of the line Ibanez and by far this baby will hold its own with them all. The set up is perfect! The pickup combinations, super tone, as well as the excellent action should satisfy just about everyone, but for me this baby is a looker, real pretty! This is is possibly the best under $300.00 guitar that I have ever seen not even considering that is was built by Bob!! If anybody had their doubts or a bit of hesitation to me this guitar is worth every penny! It certainly is the showpiece of just about any petra collection!
Bill

Sounds awesome. One of these days.............one of these days.

i am a bassist and already have a Baby Taylor acoustic guitar.
i was thinking of adding a cheap Telecaster to my tiny collection, but now i'm thinking of the 33.
how would the 33 compare to a Tele?

That is tempting, but I don't have the money to spare right now and it wouldn't really make sense for me to have it when I don't play....

Maybe one of these days though.

Thanks for the info on the Petra 33. I'm seriously considering getting one. Does it hold it's tune well?

Mark

Let's see here...

- Emailed Bob to find out how to purchase - check
- Received email reply from Bob asking for shipping info - check
- Replied with shipping info - check
- Convinced wife to let me buy one - check

Well, everything is about covered once Bob gets back to me with a final price that includes shipping. Although I guess there is one more thing I could add to the list.

- Tried to convince wife to let me buy more than one because some day thiese things will be worth a fortune - DENIED!

I got permission from my wife I think I will be getting it in a couple of weeks. I won't be playing it; It will be autographed by Bob and hung on my wall in my home office.

My mom told me to get one, and she'll pay....TOLD me! I said....OK! I'm gonna try and pick it up at their show in Irving Texas. Seeing my first Petra show and getting a guitar from Bob all in one day, can it get better?

I debated on asking Bob to sign it when I emailed him, but in the end I didn't. It probably will be more of a keepsake than an instrument for me, but if I do play it I don't think a signature even in permanent marker would last forever. Besides, it says "Bob Hartman Guitars" on it because he exclusively makes them and he's the only person you can get them from anyhow, so if you have one it obviously came from Bob. =P

I just moved and I'm still searching for a new church. If I dust off my chops, maybe I can get into the praise band once I find a church and if I do, you can guess which guitar I'll be playing a couple Sundays a month at least. =)

My mom told me to get one, and she'll pay....TOLD me! I said....OK!

Hehe...sounds like something my mom would say. In fact, she did pretty much tell me I have to get it. I definitely want one, too! I just can't get over that low price!

Hi!

Does anyone know what Bob is exactly doing on his guitars?
I dont think that he build them from scratch. Its more a refining, right?

Regards,
Markus

According to him and John he builds them from scratch. John has been called over to Bob's house sometimes to do some woodworking on the guitars.

Yahoo! A package arrived today from Franklin, TN sent by some guy named Bob. I'm sure you have little doubt what was inside.

I'm pretty impressed overall. The guitar is nice and seems sturdy and the artwork is really first rate! I haven't plugged it in yet, but it played well unplugged. I can't imagine that Bob makes each of these by hand, but then again, that would account for a few of the flaws in mine. Nothing major at all though.

I can see why it is priced lower than other guitars. The overall materials chosen and design are not as high quality as more expensive guitars. It doesn't suck, it just doesn't have the bells and whistles.

I have an Ibanez S540 with a nice fretboard with ivory inlays, it is lighter and has a thinner body - more comfortable to hold, it has a locking nut at the top of the guitar to help keep it in tune, it has fine tuning screws below the bridge for finer tuning adjustments, the wood on the neck is nicer and has a nicer grain and finish, it has two humbuckers and one single coil pickup, the tuning screws at the top are much nicer looking with a marbleized finish, etc. Just some of the things that make "nicer" guitars more expensive. There are a lot of reasons that this guitar is priced lower than other guitars, but at $275 this thing is a steal! I'd say it was worth that or more if it were just a guitar. But the artwork and knowing from whom it came is way worth laying out that much for!

I posted some pictures of my 'Petra 33' on my website, the Guthrie Home. To see them, go into the Entertainment Room when you get there.

Also, at the bottom of the Entertainment Room is where the link is to hear samples of the new Greg X. Volz CD "No Greater Love" if you haven't heard them already.

I can say that the artwork is great and this guitar is the ultimate memento of the ministry of our favorite Christian rock band. If there is any way you can scrape together $300, no Petra fan will be disappointed with the purchase regardless of whether you can play. Buttons, bandanas, T-Shirts...phooey I say! This thing is the ultimate Petra collectors item!

Even if you have to skip eating at McDonalds for a couple months to save the money, do it! =)

executioner wrote:According to him and John he builds them from scratch. John has been called over to Bob's house sometimes to do some woodworking on the guitars.

AMAZING!

Today i get my PETRA 33. It's the first in Europe and ... - so far - the only one!

I'm totally broke now... but it's a PETRA!

I GOT MINE! HURRAY!
She's really beautiful