Longterm Test
“We often say that the ‘best’ guitar is simply the one that suits you and your budget”
We often say that the ‘best’ guitar is simply the one that suits you and your budget. If you’re just starting out, or indeed returning to this guitarplaying lark, we’d never advise spending a lot of money; likewise, if you only have the occasional noodle. But if you take your craft seriously, gig out a lot and hopefully earn some money in the process, you might want an instrument that’ll support your aims.
Two instruments I reviewed in issue 455 – a lowly Fret-King Country Squire Semitone Special and a lofty Knaggs Choptank – really got me thinking. Both are hybrid mash-ups of our dearly beloved Telecaster. I can’t speak for anyone else, but personally the Tele has played a big part in my playing life. It’s also a great platform for sonic experimentation: Bigsbys, twin humbuckers, Cabronitas… not to mention a P-90, a Staple or even Charlie Christian neck pickup. But these two guitars take a slightly different spin by loading on
three pickups.Tremendous… more sounds! Now comes the tricky bit. Our Fret-King is £599 and our Knaggs is over four grand! One is clearly a bargain, while the other is bonkersly overpriced, right? Let’s look a bit deeper…
You’ll probably know that Fret-King guitars, and the Country Squire Semitone Special, were originally designed by hardware king Trevor Wilkinson. Trev is no longer involved with the brand, but the guitars, certainly the Black Label range, remain quite available. A little while back production moved from a Korean factory to a new Indian facility (just outside of Chennai, we understand) that is already building for some big brands and, coincidentally, is making a new line of Wilkinson kit guitars set to be launched early this year. If Mr Wilkinson, who has vast experience of offshore manufacturing, thinks a factory is good then it usually is.
At the opposite end of guitar making, Joe Knaggs and his small team build guitars in Maryland, USA, of the quality many of us can only dream about. Currently, the team builds around 40 instruments a month.We have no idea of the output of the Indian factory, but if it’s as serious as we understand then you could probably add a couple of noughts to that figure – and then some. A different continent, a very different price point, a completely different business model. But, hey, you know what? They’re both perfectly serviceable guitars.
Side-stepping the final price for a moment, there are plenty of us who may or may not want to buy from an Indian factory (or one in China, Indonesia and so on): we believe USA or the UK is best; or we don’t care. That’s not a debate that I want to enter here. A geographic location alone has nothing to do with quality, although it can have a profound effect on an instrument’s price.
Side by side, then, both guitars are a credit to their different makers. During our review process the Fret-King got more at-home practice and noodle time, often unplugged; the Knaggs got the gig time. Why? Well, the
Fret-King is a lighter guitar with slightly more acoustic projection thanks to its chambering. A great guitar to just grab when you need a break or you hear a lick or idea you want to pursue. In comparison, the solidbody Knaggs is heavier; its .010-gauge strings as opposed to the Fret-King’s nines (on the same scale length) give it more fight. Of course, marrying up the string gauges is easy, but so much of the impression of a new guitar might be, at best, in-store where we can form very lasting impressions from a little time with an instrument. But the light relicing of the Choptank means we can happily play it out, and any marks or dings that it might attract will go unnoticed when the time comes to give it back. The pristine Fret-King needs to stay that way.
To many of us, the feel of a guitar is often as – or even more – important than the way it sounds. If your references lie with old vintage guitars and the like then Knaggs’ Choptank will speak to you in volumes. But I have a sneaking suspicion that if we could just give the Fret-King’s neck a boutique/hand-crafted makeover then we’d narrow the gap between the two. Considerably.
“Our Fret-King is £599 and our Knaggs is over £4k… But, hey, you know what? They’re both perfectly serviceable guitars”