Shergold Masquerader

A retro rocker you didn’t know you wanted

If the name Shergold has you thinking, who?! Don’t worry – you’re not alone. A British brand founded in 1968, Shergold enjoyed its ahem, golden years in the mid-70s and early 80s – when Genesis’s Mike Rutherford could be seen rocking a double-neck – before falling on hard times. Well, under Barnes & Mullins’ ownership, and from the mind of master luthier Patrick James Eggle, Shergold is back, and in style. The Masquerader is the only model available so far, but it makes a case for being the only guitar you’d ever need.

A double-cut electric with a more bulbous profile than a Strat, the Masquerader has a contoured mahogany body with a handfinished rosewood neck and ’board, a rounded headstock with Shergold’s enamel shield logo, and comes with three pickup options. Arguably, the most exciting of these is the Seymour Duncan SP-90 (neck) and TB-4 Trembucker (bridge), as deployed in this SM01-SD. It’s a sound that reaches across the aisle to guitarists of all faiths: rock, blues, jazz… even metal.

The Trembucker is one of the best all-round rock humbuckers on the market, powerful without being a thermonuclear spoiler of tonewoods. For clean tones it still has plenty of cut, hinting that it’s straining at the lead, so when you roll up the gain, warm break-up comes naturally – a sweet spot for throaty blues. As you crank the gain, the Masquerader responds with more power; first, AC/DC crunch, then an authoritative hard rock and metal bark that’ll give powerchords some attitude and leads bite. The SP-90, meanwhile, is a gutsy and bright single-coil counterpoint to the Trembucker’s high-output mids. It is lithe and responsive, with supple and lively cleans; roll the tone back and there’s a thick, nasal woodiness, lovely for precise jazz licks, and the more gain you add, the more P-90 rock crispness shines through.

Everything about the Masquerader feels assured, solid, and stable – even the pickup selector. The neck is satinsmooth, clubby but quick and super-comfortable, and for a bolt-on construction, there’s a wealth of durable sustain, so when you bend and hold there’s plenty of time to practise your Gary Moore solo-face. So, with all that in mind, and assuming you’ve hitherto never coveted the Shergold Masquerader, whose name should it be mentioned in the same breath with? Well, at this price, it’ll give pause to those whose gear-lust is piqued by a Gibson SG Standard, a PRS SE Custom 22, or Guild S-100 Polara, and to those needing a pro-quality workhorse with a vintage vibe. Make no mistake, the Shergold Masquerader is the real deal.

It reaches across the aisle to guitarists of all faiths