WE SHOULD be thankful that Japanese guitars, boring though they can be, are usually fairly cheap (£199 inc case of debatable hardness for this one), normally function well, handle passably and look reasonable.

The Wildcat is par for the course — words like 'solid' and 'workmanlike' high-jump into mind. And, once upon a time, this very good, 25½in scale length neck and fingerboard would have been a rare delight. Nowadays, wise marketing chaps have finally convinced the Japs that Caucasians and Blacks do not all have hands like JCB shovels so we get playability. Leave the 24¾in measurements to earthwork fingers. I product that within 20 years they should get the nut and action right with equally monotonous regularity.

Getting the trem right, though, now there's a thing to ponder. This guitar is doubtless called the Wildcat because the trem is pivoted on two height-adjustable posts so you can haul the pitch way up or slop it right down, all over the fretboard.

A fairly lightweight sustain block sits in a cutout within the body and the strings whizz up from the back and over the (black) saddles that have unusual rounded tops to them. While these gentle curves might save your wrists from surgery, the lack of niches in which the strings can sit means that they can be pushed out of line without too much effort. They'll then sit in their new off-beam position until you tug them back into place. The macho saddles are at least likeable (a screw with a hexagonal slot straps them down into place) but they can't be individually altered for height.

And when the block returns to rest — whammo, you're avant-garde for the next 30 bars. The tuning could not be ticked as stable.

The machine heads are nice, though a mite tricky in bad light due to their overwhelming blackness. I tried to tune the D up but it went flat as I overtightened the G and the tremolo bridge tipped up. Confusing.

Blade pickups ensure no drop-outs on bends. (Goddam right, cut off their welfare, now. No place for 'em in a Godfearing society.) The (only) humbucker of the pickup trio was near the bridge and was fitted with a coil tap — and this was the really nice bit. For ages I've been hopefully pulling the knobs off things, looking for hidden push-pull pots — the thrill of discovering one on the tone pot was too much.

The other two coils are singles and sound fine — Stratty yet without the vintage fire. Balance is okay with the tap in, otherwise the humbucker can give a useful lift.

Forgetting the overstretched curve at the top of the body the Wildcat looks (and sounds) Strat-like. The five-way pickup selector switch (out of phase at 2 and 4) lives quite far down next to the (black) volume and tone controls, on the (black) scratchplate not far from the (black) top mounted jack socket. The screws are... yes, all right, you get the picture.

And so to tonality. Stick it in a Marshall and wind it up, and it'll sound filthy. Stick it in a Twin and turn it down a bit, and it'll do a decent picking sound. It's all there — undramatically competent, no diabolical dead spots, with a comfortable, reliable sustain.

The nut looks to be graphite — at least it's black and carries a horizontal grain. The theory behind this recent introduction is that tremmed strings should slide easily without sticking (and therefore lurching in pitch) because the graphite provides its own lubrication. This review can't attest to a positive success on that score.

This could be an excellent beginner's guitar. The frets are deep enough on a smooth, oily feeling rosewood fretboard to be able to bend a 0.017 third without undue stress on virgin pinkies. A beginner could build up decent muscles without excessive agony.

The scale is the longer of the two common ones so stretches will develop nicely. The set-up is goodish, in spite of the too low neck relief, and the guitar sits nicely and feels entirely presentable.

But, a bend within a chord is out of the question, and solo bends are made harder than necessary because the trem tips up and lets off the tension as the bend puts it on. So a beginner might not grow in one useful area, and could gather a 'dodgy' feel in another.

The black polyester is striking — the only touch of relieving red is the logo atop the sharply curved headstock. Great if you're into black holes, or S&M, and would probably go beautifully with black leather shorts and chains.

Watch the top strap button, it's a little too far round the bass side horn and dropping the Wildcat would spoil your image. The neck is thin with a fingerboard of medium camber and perhaps could be a shade whippy. The distributors were unable to specify timber when I phoned, but thought it might be ash. There's little you can get at without stripping the finish so it could be anything light coloured and moderately dense, though the screw-holes don't seem to have the colour of Japanese oak.

Be careful with the leather and chains on the finish, which was soft. On the review sample I could push a nail into it and leave a mark. Slapped wrists in the spray shop... is someone mixing colour before catalyst?

ARIA wildcat guitar: £199

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