ELECTRIC GUITARS SECTOR SPOTLIGHT


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or the punter, looking for that first guitar upgrade is a like painting the Forth Bridge. Should they give each model of every brand its due, by the time they have reached the end, NAMM and Frankfurt have passed by and there are a thousand new models on the market. If ever there were a message for the


The growing player needs someone in the know to guide him or her through the jungle of product choices – and that is the MI retailer.


Needles in a haystack F


With all the talk of online sales and the ease of buying, the growing player needs someone in the know to guide him or her through the jungle of product choices – and that is the MI retailer. Let’s have a look through the pre- NAMM offerings…


general public to heed, it is that an MI dealer will have much more of a finger on the pulse of product developments, making that search for the next guitar a far simpler undertaking. The fact is, the sub-£500 market is


awash with product and the customer and the dealer have to make some serious choices. For the dealer, it is build, quality and margin, for the customer, build, playability and value. Should one draw a venn diagram of the crossover between these two sets of criteria, I think the axes in this article would be in the crossover. The fact is, and we all know it, the quality of manufacturing in Asia and beyond has reached such levels now that pretty much any guitar could be put in pretty much anyone’s hands and the results would be as good as any other guitar. It’s about image and comfort – and the message that the dealer passes on.


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MODERN VINTAGE If there is one thing that JHS does well (although there are, in fact, many) it is supply very high value guitars to the UK market – particularly in this entry to mid- priced sector. From the entry-level Encore, through the vast array of Vintage-branded guitars there is something for everyone. The Vintage Advance series is of particular interest for both retailers and end users, offering JHS margins and pretty spectacular value for the players. Beyond these, of course, there is the


Italia range of guitars, again Trev Wilkinson designed, but with the onus on retro styling. From the Imola (£469) to the Maranello Classic (£479) these guitars are for players that want to make as much of a visual impression as an aural one. Talking of retro styling, JHS also handles Danelectro for the UK and the range has been given a new lease of life with the re-


Amid the container loads of electric guitars in the entry to mid-priced market is the perfect guitar for each and every customer – the problem is, which one is it? Andy Barrett sifts through the offerings and finds a few gems…


release of the Danelectro 56. This guitar takes the original U-series single cutaway body shape, along with the definitive double lipstick pickup configuration that first appeared in 1956. Taking a great deal of inspiration from the original designs, the 56 includes a number of colour and headstock variations, as well as a bass model, and is set for release in early 2011 at a cost of around £350. Axl, supplied to the UK through


Westside, has expanded on the distinctive Badwater range with the 1216, a new take on the single cutaway design. All 1216 models are built from a solid alder body with a solid 24 ¾-inch mahogany neck and rosewood fretboard and each guitar body has been distressed individually by the Axl workshop, so no two are alike. Furthering the Schecter news and due


to the recent appetite for their eight- string guitars, Schecter’s newest offering is the Omen-8 (£349), touted as the most affordable eight-string on the market. Keeping with the standard features of the Omen line, it includes a basswood body, a rosewood/maple bolt-on neck, high output Schecter Diamond Plus pickups, GraphTech Black Tusq XL nut, and eight- string Tom and chrome hardware. A double


miPRO JANUARY 2010 55


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