Review: Bogner Harlow, Wessex and Burnley

This time Kitarablogi has had the pleasure to review the fruits of a cooperation between two legendary designers:

…and the grand old man of recording studio electronics Rupert Neve have unveiled a line of three Bogner effect pedals (made in the USA), which were designed around Rupert Neve’s famous audio transformers.

Audio transformers are rarely seen (or mentioned) when it comes to pedal effects, for both reasons of price and mass production.

In valve amplifiers audio transformers play a crucial role, because they are the last stage before the signal reaches the speaker. Audio transformers ”translate” the signal for the speaker, which is why they have a direct impact on the tone and dynamic behaviour of a tube amplifier.

At the moment three different Bogner/Neve-pedals are available – the Harlow booster (current price in Finland: 235 €), the Wessex overdrive (229 €), and the Burnley distortion (235 €).

Each pedal has a glowing ”eye” indicating the current signal strength of the stompbox.

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The Bogner Harlow gives you two effects in one pedal:

In addition to it’s boost function, the Harlow also incorporates Bogner’s Bloom compression circuit, which promises to give you a very natural, three-dimensional and musical type of compression.

You’ll find three control knobs on the Harlow – a level control for the booster, a Bloom-control for the compressor, and a master tone.

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Bogner’s Wessex is the overdrive pedal in the Bogner/Neve-family.

In addition to its gain and level controls the Wessex also includes a two-band EQ, as well as a E/N-switch. ”N” stands for ”normal” and this mode will give you a slightly more traditional, mid-range centred sound. Switching to ”E” (for ”enhanced”) there’s more gain on tap, coupled with a fatter, more full-range tone.

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The third pedal, the Bogner Burnley, is a distortion effect.

The Burnley offers three controls – level, gain and tone – plus an F/T-switch. ”T” (for ”tight”) promises you a more aggressive distortion effect than the warmer and fatter ”F” mode.

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Both Mr Bogner and Mr Neve are known for their uncompromising commitment to both sound and workmanship. This commitment is well represented in this range of pedal effects.

In the Bogner-pedals the circuit board is hidden inside a black plastic box. This is a workable solution weighing the risk of direct backwards engineering against the possible future need for repair or servicing. Components completely covered in black resin (some boutique manufacturers do this) are the bane of any guitar technician!

As you can clearly see in the pictures, all three stompboxes can be run using a nine volt battery or an external PSU (using the Boss-standard).

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Bogner doesn’t divulge the precise amount of boost that can be had from the Harlow, but let me tell you it will most probably be enough to overdrive even the cleanest of amplifiers.

The Bloom-circuit in the Bogner Harlow sounds deliciously chewy and reacts very musically.

Bogner’s Harlow is the type of pedal you want to leave on the whole time, because any guitar will sound better with this box running. This pedal also reacts very well to changes in your guitar’s volume control setting.

There’s a nice attack click, when played with a Stratocaster:

The Harlow stays clear and clean, even when you play a neck humbucker (I’m using my Hamer USA Studio Custom):

The overdrive and distortion tones of Bogner amplifiers are already the stuff of legend, and the amp guru has managed to pack these sounds into two Bogner/Neve-pedals.

The Bogner Wessex luckily isn’t just another Tubescreamer clone; instead this stompbox gives you Mr Bogner’s vision of the perfect overdrive sound.

Even though there’s a healthy amount of gain on offer in the Wessex, the sound always stays transparent and well-defined. This pedal also keeps the inherent character of your guitar intact.

Wessex’s Enhanced mode will even make your vintage-styled Strat sing:

On the other hand there won’t be any boxiness, or mud, when using humbuckers:

If you’re a Hendrix fan you should definitely try the Burnley’s Fat mode. It will make your Strat sing and growl in Woodstock-fashion, even when played into a clean amp channel at bedroom volume levels:

Bogner’s Burnley, too, is sensitive to guitar volume changes. Using Tight mode and humbuckers will give you a modern distortion tone:

Here’s the audio track off the Youtube video. All guitar parts have been played on a P-90-equipped Gibson Les Paul Junior:

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Rupert Neve and Reinhold Bogner aren’t men ho do things by half – and these pedals are a fitting testament to this commitment!

The Bogner/Neve-series of guitar effects offers you Bogner’s boutique tones in a very compact guise, and at a very fair price. Try these pedals out – you won’t be disappointed!

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Bogner Amplification Harlow, Wessex & Burnley

Harlow – 235 €

Wessex – 229 €

Burnley – 235 €

Finnish distributor: Musamaailma

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Pros:

+ workmanship

+ compact size

+ genuine boutique amp tones

10/09/2015 0

Testipenkissä: Digitech Trio

Tämä kuvio on varmasti kaikille tuttu:

On keskiviikkoilta – nyt olisi nastaa jammailla tunti tai pari, mutta rumpalilla on biljarditurnaus ja basistin täytyy vahtia lapsiaan.

Lopputulos on jälleen kerran ilta yksin telkkarin edessä ja kitara sylissä…

Onneksi nyt on olemassa paljon luovempi ratkaisu jammailuun ja treenaamiseen – Digitechin uusi Trio Band Creator -pedaali tarjoaa väsymättömän rytmisektion hyvin kompaktissa muodossa.

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Digitech Trio -pedaali (katuhinta noin 240 €) oppii Learn-moodissa biisin (tai biisiosan) soinnut ja rakenteen suoraan kitarasignaalista. Trioon kytketään ihan tavallinen kitarajohto – käyttöön ei siis tarvita kallista MIDI-mikrofonia tai kömpelöä ohjelmointia käsin.

Trio osaa soittaa komppikuvioita seitsemästä eri musiikkigenrestä (Genre). Jokaisessa genressä on 12 eri tyylivaihtoehtoa (Styles), siis eri tavalla soitettuja rumpupatterneja ja bassokuvioita. Kaikki tyylit on kehitetty yhteistyössä Band In A Box -softan valmistajan kanssa.

Digitechin uusi ihmerasia tunnistaa biisin tempon automaattisesti analysoimalla sisään tulevaa audiosignaalia Learn-moodissa, mutta sitä voi hienosäätää jälkikäteen Trion Tempo-säätimellä. Alt Time -kytkimellä voi myös valita tavallisen tempon ja half-timen välillä.

Digitech Triosta löytyy lisäksi alkeellinen efekti- ja kaiutinsimulaatio-osasto, jos haluat jammailla ilman erillistä vahvistinta.

Kompakti Trio Band Creator -pedaali vaikuttaa hyvin kestävältä.

Laitteen oikeaan kylkeen on sijoitettu kaksi tuloa, joista toinen on kitarasignaalille ja toinen (lisävarusteena saatavalle) Digitech FS3X -jalkapedaalille, jolla Trioa voi ohjailla ilman käsiä.

Pedaalin edessä on tulo pakettiin kuuluvalle virtalähteelle, sekä kuulokelähtö omalla volume-säätimellään.

USB-portti on firmware-päivityksiä varten, kun taas vasemman kyljen jakit ovat audiolähdöt kitaravahvistimelle ja mikserille/äänikortille.

Digitechin Trio tunnistaa automaattisesti mikä lähtö on käytössä:

Kun vain vahvistinlähtöön on kytketty plugi, rumpu- ja bassosignaali säädetään vahvistinkanavalle sopivaksi. Kun vain mikserilähtö on käytössä, kitarasignaaliin lisätään kaiutinsimulaatiota. Kun taas molempia lähtöjä käytetään samanaikaisesti, kitarasignaalia ohjataan vain vahvistinlähtöön, ja rumpu- ja bassokuviot tulevat vain mikserilähdöstä. Kuulokkeen kytkeminen Trioon mykistää automaattisesti sekä vahvistin- että mikserilähdön.

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Tässä Kitarablogi-videossa näytetään miten Digitech Trio -pedaalia käytetään:

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Toisen videon musiikkia on äänitetty käyttämällä Digitech Trio -pedaalia, soittamalla kolme Alt Rock -genren Styles-tyyliä:

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Testin perusteella voin todeta, että Digitech Trio on hyvin helppo ja intuitiivinen käyttää. Minun mielestäni se on fantastinen laite olohuone-jammailuun, sekä uusien biisien työstämiseen.

Trio Band Creator -pedaali onnistuu tunnistamaan biisinpätkän tempon ja sointukierron yllättävän hyvin edellyttäen, että a) Learn-vaiheessa ei esiinny kitaransoitossa liikkaa synkopaatiota, ja että b) opetusvaiheessa käytetään selkeästi tunnistettavia duuri, molli- ja seiskasointuja.

Trion rumpu- ja bassosoundit ovat hyvin kelvollisia, ja Style-kuvioissa esiintyy riittävästi automaattista live-tyylistä vaihtelua, ettei lopputuloksesta tulee turhauttavan robottimaista.

Metal-genren puuttuminen on valitettavaa, mutta riffien tunnustaminen suoraan audiosignaalista (ja riffien tarkka toistaminen) olisi varmaan ollut niin monimutkaista, että laitteesta olisi tullut yksinkertaisesti liian kallis ja liian hankalaa käyttää.

Ei-metallimiehille (ja -naisille) Trio Band Creator on kuitenkin todella mahtava työkalu harjoitteluun, jammailuun, sekä biisien kirjoitteluun. ylös sohvalta, siis!

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Digitech Trio Band Creator

katuhinta noin 240 €

Maahantuoja: EM Nordic

Suuri kiitos DLX Musiikille testilaitteen lainaamisesta!

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Plussat:

+ vankka tekoa

+ kompakti

+ interaktiivinen

+ monipuolinen Genre- ja Styles-tarjonta

+ hyvät rumpu- ja bassosoundit

Miinukset:

– Metal-genre ei edustettu

– laite ei pysty oppimaan riffejä

31/08/2015 0

Review: Digitech Trio

We’ve all been there, haven’t we? It’s a Wednesday evening, and you want to jam; but the drummer’s at the hairdresser’s and the bassist has to babysit all evening long.

So what do you do? You get bored to tears sitting on the sofa with your fingers widdling away idly on your favourite couch guitar…

Actually, now there’s a better, much more creative way to spend your spare time – Digitech’s brand-new Trio Band Creator pedal lets you jam and work on new song ideas by supplying an indefatigable rhythm-section-in-a-box.

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The Digitech Trio (current street price in Finland approx. 240 €) uses a learn function that detects the chord changes (and tempo) of a part straight off your guitar’s audio signal. There’s no need for complicated step-by-step programming or an expensive (and fiddly) MIDI-pickup – just plug in your guitar lead, and you’re ready to go.

The Trio offers you seven musical Genres to choose from, each offering a whopping 12 Styles (meaning: different pattern templates for the drum rhythm and bass pattern). The patterns have all been developed for the best-selling Band In A Box computer software.

Digitech’s new wonder box picks up the tempo directly from your playing, but you can fine-tune the speed after the fact using the Tempo control. You can also switch between a normal and a half-time feel.

Digitech’s Trio also includes a very rudimentary guitar effects section, should you want to jam without using your guitar amp.

The Trio Band Creator comes in a very compact, yet very sturdy pedal format.

There are two jacks on the right side of the pedal – one is the guitar input, while the second one allows you to connect Digitech’s own FS3X footswitch unit for hands-free Part-switching.

The pedal’s front sports the input for the power supply unit (included), as well as a headphones output with its own volume control.

The USB-port on the unit’s left side is for firmware updates, while the two output jacks are the guitar amp and mixer outputs.

The Digitech Trio automatically detects which of the outputs are in use:

If only the amp output is used the drum and bass parts are pre-EQ’d to work well with a clean guitar amp. When using only the mixer out the guitar signal will run through the pedal’s cabinet emulation. Using both outputs simultaneously sends the guitar signal to the amp output and the rhythm section to the mixer. Plugging in headphones into the pedal’s headphone output automatically mutes both the mixer and amp outputs.

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Here’s Kitarablogi’s video clip showing you how to use the Digitech Trio:

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And here’s the Digitech Trio used in context, playing a three-part song (using Alt Rock styles):

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I found Digitech’s Trio very easy and intuitive to use. In my view it’s a fantastic little unit in a living room jamming and song developing context.

The Trio Band Creator does a surprisingly good job of learning the tempo and chord changes of a part straight off your guitar playing, provided you a) don’t syncopate too wildly, and b) stick to major, minor and 7th chords for the most part.

The drum and bass sounds are very decent, and an ample amount of automatic Style variation keeps enough semblance of the ”human” element in the accompaniment, to keep it from sounding robotic.

I would have liked to have seen a Metal Genre included in the Digitech Trio. On the other hand, this would have meant the inclusion of a riff-learning function of some sort, which probably would have made the pedal too complicated and expensive.

For non-Metal guitarists, though, the Trio Band Creator is a fantastic tool to keep your playing chops up, as well as for jamming and coming up with new songs. No need to noodle aimlessly on the sofa, anymore!

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Digitech Trio Band Creator

Current street price approximately 240 €

Finnish Distributor: EM Nordic

A big thank you to DLX Music Helsinki for the loan of the review unit!

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Pros:

+ build quality

+ compact

+ interactive

+ large variety of Genres and Styles

+ quality of drum and bass sounds

Cons:

– no Metal genre available

– cannot learn riffs

25/08/2015 1

P-90s vs Humbuckers on Thinline Semis

Here’s a guitar-only mix:

26/06/2015 1

Testipenkissä: Halla Custom Instruments SG-Style

Halla Custom Instruments on pieni kitarapaja Tampereelta. Firma on erikoistunut custom-tilauksiin, joissa valmistetaan kaikenlaisia kielisoittimia asiakkaiden toivomuksien mukaan. Halla Customin vetäjä on soitinrakentaja-artesaani Ville Mattila. Mattila kuluu Suomen Soitinrakentajien Kiltaan.

Kitarablogi sai Halla Customilta oikean kaunottaren testiin. Kitara vaikuttaa ensisilmäykseltä kunnianosoitukselta Gibson SG:lle, mutta asiat eivät ole niin suoraviivaisia kuin miltä ne näyttävät!

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Kyllä tämä Halla Custom SG (hinta noin 3.000 €) on varsin henkeäsalpaava ilmestys. Se on turkoosinvärinen, uhkeanmuotoinen soitin, johon metalliosien kultainen hohto sopii kuin nakutettu.

Mutta tämän kitaran upea viimeistely (kovalla akryylilakalla) ei ole Halla Custom SG:n tärkein piirre: ”It’s an SG, Jim, but not as we know it!”

Tässä Halla Custom -kitarassa yhdistetään saumattomasti kahden klassikkokitaroiden ominaisuuksia – Gibson SG:n muotoiluun on sekoitettu reilusti Fender Stratocasterilta tuttuja piirteitä:

Vaikka tässäkin kitarassa on Gibson-klassikon virtaviivaistettu runko ja liimattu kaula (tosin paljon sulavammalla liitoksella), käytetään Halla Customissa Fenderille tyypillisiä materiaaleja – nimittäin vaahterakaulaa ja leppärunkoa – sekä täysipitkää mensuuria (25,5 tuumaa/64,8 cm).

Floyd Rosella varustetulla Hallalla on kartiomaisesti muuttuva otelaudan radius (ns. compound radius), jossa otelaudan kaarevuudesta tulee sitä loivempi mitä lähemmäksi runkoa mennään. Reunalistoitettuun ruusupuisen otelautaan on asennettu 24 kullanväristä teräsnauha.

Kaksi grafiittitankoa kaularaudan vieressä lisäävät entisestään kaulan lujuutta.

Laadukkaat, kullanväriset virittimet ovat peräisin japanilaisen Gotohin valikoimasta.

Huippulaadukas Floyd Rose tulee sekin Gotohilta. Ruuvattavan vibrakammen istuvuutta säädetään nailonkauluksella ja pienellä kuusiokoloruuvilla.

Halla Custom SG -kitaraan on asennettu kaksi firman omaa humbuckeria. Halla Venla -nimiset kaksikelaiset ovat vintagea selvästi kuumempia tapauksia.

Neljä säädintä ja kolmiasentoinen vipukytkin – asetelma näyttää harmittomalta, mutta tähänkin on lisätty yksi herkullinen lisäominaisuus:

Tässä Halla Customissa on mukana passiivinen (= ei tarvitse paristoa) säröpiiri, joka laitetaan päälle kaulamikin tone-säädintä nostamalla.

Myös sisäisesti Hallan työnjälki edustaa ehtaa custom shop -laatua, jollaista on lähes mahdotonta löytää ison tuotannon soittimista.

Asiantuntijat ovat varmasti jo huomanneet, että volume-potikoihin on myös lisätty treble-bleed kondensaattoreita.

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Tätä Halla Custom SG:tä on tilattu hot-rod Rock-kitaraksi, jossa on Gibson-kaltainen ulkonäkö, mutta Superstrat-tyylinen soundi.

Voin vain todeta, että tuli täysosuma. Tämä on suorastaan fantastinen ja erittäin inspiroiva soitin!

Jotkut Gibson SG:t voivat tuntua hieman hauraalta, ja monilla yksilöillä on sisäänrakennettuja vireongelmia soitintyypin erittäin pitkän kaulan takia. Halla Custom SG on täysin vapaa tällaisista ongelmista – soittotuntuma on (sanojen parhaassa mielessä) erittäin tukeva ja tanakka. Tämä kitara rokkaa!

Omistajan valitsema paksu kaulaprofiili, kaulan grafiittivahvennukset, Hallan Gibsonia paksumpi leppärunko, sekä Ville Mattilan osaaminen soitinrakentajana nostavat Halla Custom SG:n selvästi valtavirran yläpuolelle.

Testikitara oli säädetty omistajan toivomuksien mukaisesti Es-vireeseen ja se tuli hyvin matalalla kielten korkeudella. Soittotuntuma oli erittäin nopea ja vaivaton, ja kevyellä plektrakädellä kitara soi rämisemättä koko otelaudalla.

Myös soittimen Gotoh-floikka toimi kiitettävästi.

Halla Customin valmistamien Venla-mikrofonien soundi sopii täydellisesti rankempaan Rock- ja Metal-meininkiin. Mikrofonien lähtötaso on suhteellisen korkea, mutta – ihme kyllä – niiden soundi on silti vintage-maisesti avoin ja helisevä:

Halla-kitaran sisäinen passiivinen säröpiiri on erittäin kätevä lisäys, etenkin kun käytössä on yksikanavainen kitaravahvistin:

Tätä kitaraa on kuitenkin luotu rokkaamaan rankasti, ja niin se tekeekin selkeällä atakilla ja rouhealla äänellään:

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Halla Customin SG on loistava esimerkki soitinrakentamisen erittäin korkeasta tasosta täällä Suomessa.

Tällaisella käsintehdyllä laadulla on luonnollisesti hintansakin, mutta vastineeksi saa tässä aidon custom-soittimen, joka on tehty kokonaan omien toivomusten mukaan.

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Halla Custom Instruments SG-Style

Halla Custom -kitaroiden hinnat lähtevät noin 1.200 eurosta ylöspäin, riippuen kitaratyypistä, sekä soittimen varustelusta ja viimeistelystä. Testatun kitaran hinta olisi noin 3.000 €.

Lisätiedot: Halla Custom Instruments

Kiitokset menevät Make El Weirdolle (aka Mutantti Make) oman kitaransa lainaamisesta!

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Plussat:

+ käsintehty Suomessa

+ työnjälki

+ vireen pitäminen

+ kitaran säädöt

+ sisäänrakennettu särö

+ soundi

25/06/2015 1

Edoardo Righini and the DV Mark Jazz 12

Lisätiedot: Musamaailma

22/06/2015 0

Review: Halla Custom Instruments SG-Style

Halla Custom Instruments is one of a number of cool small instrument makers in Finland. The company is run by trained luthier-artisan Ville Mattila and specialises in one-off custom electric and acoustic string instruments. Ville Mattila is a member of the Guild of Finnish Luthiers.

Kitarablogi received a stunning Halla Custom electric for testing. The guitar may look like a tribute to the Gibson SG, but there’s more to this Halla than meets the eye!

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Just looking at the Halla Custom SG (price approximately 3,000 €) I had to catch my breath. This is a turquoise bombshell of a guitar, with a healthy dose of additional glitz added by the golden hardware.

But the fantastic paint job (using very hard acrylic lacquer) is only part of the story: ”It’s an SG, Jim, but not as we know it!”

The Halla Custom SG fuses design aspects from two classic guitar models – the Gibson SG and the Fender Stratocaster.

We find the classic lines and the set neck of an SG, but the Halla uses Fender-typical materials – namely a maple neck and an alder body – as well as a long scale (25.5″/64.8 cm).

The Floyd Rose-equipped Halla comes with a bound rosewood fretboard with a compound radius and 24 gold-coloured stainless steel frets.

Hidden beneath the fretboard lie two neck-stabilising graphite rods, placed either side of the truss rod.

The instrument sports a set of golden Gotoh tuners, as well as a neck wrist-strengthening volute.

The Floyd Rose is a top-drawer Gotoh unit, which comes with a screw in vibrato arm. An adjustable nylon cuff lets you decide how loosely (or tightly) the arm stays in place.

The Custom SG is equipped with a pair of Halla Custom’s hotter-than-vintage Venla-humbuckers.

There’s a nice little twist to the seemingly standard four controls plus three-way toggle set-up:

This Halla Custom guitar features a built-in passive fuzz circuit, which can be activated using a push/pull-switch hidden in the neck pickup’s tone control.

You really get what you pay for with a Halla – quality components, ultra-clean workmanship and thoroughly applied foil shielding.

The eagle-eyed among you will surely have already spotted the treble-bleed caps on both volume pots.

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The Halla Custom SG was ordered by its lucky owner (a man known as Make El Weirdo) as a hot-rod Rock guitar with Gibson-esque looks, but a Superstrat sound.

What can I say? This is a fantastic guitar that ticks all the right boxes!

Some Gibson SGs can feel a little bit insubstantial, and many suffer from tuning problems due to their long necks. The Halla Custom SG has no such problems, this is a rock solid, chunky instrument.

The owner’s preference for a ”baseball bat” neck profile, this guitar’s thicker-than-a-Gibson alder body, and Ville Mattila’s considerable skills as a luthier take the Halla Custom SG to a different level altogether!

This Halla came tuned to E-flat, and set up with a very low action, as specified by the customer. The playing feel was extremely fluid, and with a light picking technique this Halla played buzz-free all across the fretboard.

The Gotoh Floyd Rose worked great, too.

Halla Custom’s own Venla-humbuckers are the bee’s knees for fans of the harder styles of Rock guitar. The pickups pack an enormous punch, but miraculously manage to sound as open and chiming as vintage, low-powered ’buckers:

Halla’s built-in passive fuzz is a fun little addition that’s more than a gadget, especially when you’re playing with a single channel amp:

But with a guitar such as this, you will surely spend most of your time enjoying its precise attack and chunky crunch:

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The Halla Custom SG is a shining example of the high standards of luthiery in Finland.

Naturally, handmade quality such as this comes at a price. If you have the money, though, you should really ask yourself if you want to spend it on an off-the-peg, production line guitar, or rather on a special instrument made exactly to your own specifications.

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Halla Custom Instruments SG-Style

Prices for Halla Custom guitars start from 1,200 €, depending on the guitar type and options chosen. A similar guitar like the reviewed instrument would cost approximately 3,000 €.

Contact: Halla Custom Instruments

Thanks to Make El Weirdo (aka Mutantti Make) for the loan of his personal guitar!

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Pros:

+ handmade in Finland

+ workmanship

+ tuning stability

+ set-up

+ built-in fuzz

+ sound

18/06/2015 1

Halla Custom Instruments SG-Style – SoundCloud

Contact: Halla Custom Instruments

17/06/2015 0

Review: Fender American Standard Stratocaster HSS Shawbucker

”What – yet another Stratocaster model!? Who needs another Strat? Yeah, man, I’ve noticed there’s a ’bucker at the bridge position, but that’s been done before, hasn’t it!”

True, but this is a new American Standard model you should definitely try out, because the guys at Fender R&D have come up with a couple of nifty improvements that haven’t been available on HSS-Strats thus far.

”A Shaw-what?”

Fender calls its newest bridge humbucker the Shawbucker in honour of the man who designed it, Tim Shaw. Mr Shaw is a genuine living legend, and held in high esteem amongst people in the know. In the 1970s and 80s he worked for Gibson, and helped to turn around the company’s flagging fortunes and decline in quality. As the resident electronic guru he played a pivotal role during the design of models, such as the Gibson Les Paul Heritage 80, coming up with the first reissue of the original PAF-humbucker. This pickup is still in production, now known as the ’57 Classic. Later, Shaw moved on to Guild, and from there to Fender Musical Instruments.

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Most of the improvements in the Fender American Standard Stratocaster HSS Shawbucker (current price in Finland approx. 1,600 €) centre around the electronic side of things.

In terms of its basic build the model continues within the time-tested parameters of the American Standard product line.

The Shawbucker Strat is built using a solid ash body and a bolt-on maple neck.

The neck profile is a friendly, modern ”C”, with the rosewood fingerboards flatter-than-vintage radius of 9.5″ and the 22 jumbo-sized frets further contributing to a contemporary playing feel.

The two-way truss rod is adjusted from the headstock.

Fender’s Deluxe machine heads work smoothly and accurately.

The American Standard Shawbucker also sports the company’s patented neck angle adjustment.

The current American Standard vibrato bridge combines a modern, knife-edge, twin-post base plate with vintage-type bridge saddles made from folded steel.

Our review sample came with a slightly steep bridge tip up, which I adjusted back to factory specs in no time, using the correct Phillips head screwdrivers.

The HSS Shawbucker features a well-balanced set of pickups:

A pair of Custom Shop Fat ’50s single coils have been selected for neck and middle pickup duties. The middle pickup is RW/RP, making position four on the five-way switch humbucking.

The Shawbucker is a moderate-output, vintage-voiced humbucker with a PAF-type tone.

The control set-up looks pretty standard, but there’s more to the Shawbucker Strat than meets the eye:

Single coil pickups and humbuckers usually require different types of potentiometers to function satisfactorily. Single coils tend to sound best with 250k controls, as they attenuate some of the sharpest, most biting trebles in the signal. Humbuckers, on the other hand, tend to work better with higher resistance values – 500k, usually – which keep this pickup type’s softer top end intact. Tone control circuits usually also employ differently valued capacitors for single coils and humbuckers, respectively.

Most HSS- and HSH-loaded guitars suffer from the compromises shared control pots and tone circuits entail, when mixing the different pickup types. As a result, you either end up with muddy-sounding humbuckers or uncomfortably scratchy single coils.

The genius of the Shawbucker Strat lies in the two stacked potentiometers it uses. The same pot shaft simultaneously turns both a 250k and a 500k pot stacked on top of each other. The Shawbucker Stratocaster employs these stacked pots for the master volume control and for the joint bridge-and-middle tone circuit. The 500k side deals with all things humbucker, while the 250k layer is reserved for the single coil signals. As the neck tone is reserved for the neck pickup only, it uses a traditional 250k pot.

The second position on the five-way switch gives you the middle pickup together with the split Shawbucker.

The American Standard Stratocaster HSS Shawbucker guitar comes in its quality hard case, with a strap and a guitar lead also included in the price.

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I don’t think there’s much need to talk about the Stratocaster’s time-proven ergonomics. Same goes for the well thought-out contemporary improvements the American Standard series offers. The American Standard Stratocaster has been the top seller of Fender’s US output for decades.

The review instruments is a fitting torchbearer for this industry standard – it’s a great-feeling, great-playing, lightweight guitar.

Its acoustic voice is fresh, dynamic and strong, and the Shawbucker Strat’s vibrato works very well in the middle ground between a vintage vibrato and a double-locking Floyd Rose whammy.

Thanks to the chunky nature of the Custom Shop Fat ’50s, this model’s bridge humbucker never manages to overpower the single coils. Yes, there is a slight jump in signal level, when you switch from the Fat ’50s to the Shawbucker, but here it feels very organic and musical.

To my ears the HSS Shawbucker sounds fantastic, offering a bridge position signal boost, while retaining plenty of that ”stratty” character. The improved control set-up works just like it should – there’s a healthy dose of top end airiness in the bridge humbucker, while the single coils sound chiming, but fat. Now, here’s an HSS-Strat that finally does away with any unnecessary compromises!

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Despite the long-winded name, Fender’s American Standard Stratocaster HSS Shawbucker is an outstanding new variation on a proven theme. The Shawbucker-model takes the sound of HSS-guitars to a whole new level.