THE RIVALS

Steinberger, now owned by Gibson, offers wooden versions of Ned’s original headless/body-less design such as the Spirit by Steinberger GT-Pro Deluxe (street price of around £350). But it’s the influence of Ola Strandberg’s designs, not Ned Steinberger’s, that clearly inform the new headless Ibanez Q (from £849), which comes with standard or fanned frets and in various pickup/wood combinations. As Ibanez admits, due to “the prominence of more technical playing styles, and players’ desire for lighter, more portable instruments, today’s headless guitars are pushing far beyond designs of the past”. Classy copyist Harley Benton is on the headless bandwagon with its Dullahan series that features a more regular Strattype body. The FT 24 has a standard Fender scale, stainless-steel frets, roasted maple neck and Roswell pickups for a lowly £338.