Meet Reptile.
Handmade in Cranston, Rhode Island
Reptile is a true 1-of-1 instrument built for players who appreciate craftsmanship, feel, tone, and something unique above all else!
It features a comfortable slim ’60s C neck profile, a 9.5” radius, and a beautiful rosewood fingerboard that feels instantly broken in. The headstock artwork is my own hand-painted waterslide design, permanently sealed beneath multiple coats of nitrocellulose lacquer. All of our guitars have a very nice played in feel with a satin touch to the neck. Reptile has our gorgeous '64 Closetcaster pickup set.
Every Proper Instrument™ is assembled by hand using necks and bodies sourced from two of the finest independent craftsmen across New England and the United States. Every pickup is hand-wound one at a time in Rhode Island or by our trusted partner in Nebraska, giving each guitar its own unique voice and personality.
Standard on Every Proper S-Type:
• Hand-wound Proper Pickups
• Proprietary Proper Passive Electronics
• Nitro finished neck
• hardshell case
• Lifetime QR guitar tracker, identity, and ownership page
Cranston Guitars Tech Summary:
• Professionally set up and played before shipping.
• Proper Passive™ lets you crank your favorite tube amp into its sweet spot and simply roll the guitar’s volume back to 1 for home use while retaining exceptional clarity, dynamics, and touch sensitivity. No attenuator required.
• At 0, the tone control delivers a warm, chewy, vocal B.B. King to John Mayer-style cocked wah EQ with incredible clarity instead of mud.
• At 10, it opens into maximum presence, sparkle, and attack with all the authority of a great vintage Strat.
• Every setting in between is musical. You’re shaping your sound—not fighting your controls.
• No batteries. No active circuitry. Just Proper Passive.
Dollar for dollar, there’s simply nothing else on the market that comes close.
We don’t just love Strats—we adore them. Proper Instruments redefines the simplicity of Leo’s original design. Most Strats are muddy when the tone controls are below 7. Players just live with it—or add a treble bleed.
That’s child’s play.
Proper Passive is built to be usable from 0–10—you can’t get a bad sound, even at bedroom volumes. 0 starts your journey—JM/BB-style. 10 delivers full SRV bite and presence. Everything in between is there for the taking.
All with no batteries or useless blender controls, Ever.
Setup, overhaul, or full restoration—we’ve got you.
Every guitar is different. We take the time to understand what you have and what you want before recommending our services. No upsells. No guesswork. Just real guidance backed by experience.
For larger or specialty work, we partner with Boylan Guitars in Harrisville, RI—our community partner.
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