HIGH PERFORMANCE

You don’t have to go above a grand to find a guitar that’ll unleash your inner virtuoso

CHARVEL MODEL PRO-MOD DK22 SSS 2PT CM £1,009

With a comfort-enhancing heel cut and classic body contours, this shred machine is loaded with three Seymour Duncan Strat-style pickups – including a Custom Hot Rails Strat SHR-1B humbucking bridge pickup – providing plenty of glassy vintage chime. It also features a super-stable graphite-reinforced caramelised maple neck with a hard-wearing and ultra-smooth satin urethane finish.

SKINTED: Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas Style 1 HH FR M, £909 MINTED: Charvel Pro-Mod Warren DeMartini, £1,209

CHAPMAN GUITARS ML1 PRO TRADITIONAL £849

This high-spec modern take on a traditional Fender design has a 50s-style ash body and maple neck. With the tonewoods’ naturally bright, the twangy acoustic character is complemented by a set of three Alnico V Chapman Venus Witch single coils, all controlled by a five-way selector switch along with master tone and volume knobs.

SKINTED: Chapman V2 ML1 Modern, £449 MINTED: Chapman ML1 Pro Modern, £939

EVH 5150 SERIES STANDARD £819

Proudly sporting a pair of hot direct-mount Alnico II EVH Wolfgang humbuckers, the new 5150 Series Standard’s EVHbranded Floyd Rose is built to withstand even the most devastating of divebombs and features fine tuners along with the EVH D-Tuna mechanism to quickly and accurately switch between standard and drop D tuning.

SKINTED: EVH Wolfgang Standard, £509 MINTED: EVH Wolfgang Special, £1,089

IBANEZ RG421HPAH £739

Featuring a nyatoh body, figured ash top, Wizard III roasted maple neck and jatoba fretboard with 24 jumbo frets, this exotic gold hardware-endowed high-performance axe really does stand out from the crowd. Not only does it look great but its powerful DiMarzio Fusion Edge humbuckers help it cut through the mix with plenty of clarity and precision.

SKINTED: Ibanez SA260FM-VLS, £319 MINTED: Ibanez AZ224F Premium, £1,059

STERLING BY MUSIC MAN LUKE SIGNATURE FROM £949

Also available in two other finishes including Luke Blue and Blueberry Burst, the Luke signature in Hazel Burst is inspired by the masterful tones and deft technique of Toto guitarist Steve Lukather. Featuring locking tuners for added stability, its dual custom humbuckers are augmented by a 12dB boost as well as a five-way selector switch for extra versatility and dynamics.

SKINTED: Sterling by Music Man Albert Lee, £439 MINTED: Sterling by Music Man JP157, £1,069

BALAGUER STANDARD SERIES ARCHETYPE £799

This modern, dual custom humbucker-loaded double-cutaway offset features a contoured mahogany body and bolt-on maple neck with a 16-inch radius 22-fret ebony fingerboard. It is available in a range of eye-catching gloss finishes including Cosmic Sparkle, Metallic Jade Green, Metallic Lake Placid Blue and See-Through White (with quilted maple) in addition to Satin Black.

SKINTED: Balaguer Standard Series Espada, £699 MINTED: Balaguer Midnight Series Growler, £999