TAKE A LOOK at this guitar; seen anything like it before? Ever seen one with red stripes on a white background, held by a long-haired gentleman with a manic grin?

Allan Holdsworth, the 'designer' of this guitar, is a jazzer of some repute, so what does his playing have in common with Edward Van Halen, the owner of the red and white thing of similar configuration?

Speed, for one thing. It's not for us to say how Eddie manages to wiggle his fingers so quickly, but the neck on this Ibanez is ideally suited to fast, clean, jazzy runs. The finely polished ebony fingerboard has 22 high frets, and feels as wide as the M25 (42mm at the nut, compared to 40mm for a Les Paul, or 36mm on a Strat). The neck is a little short for some of the fiddly work that rock guitarists so love up the top, but the ebony has such a positive and responsive feel, the temptation to slide strings around is almost overwhelming. And there's so much room...

Given that this guitar is so outrageously simple, it comes as some surprise to note that Ibanez have not quite managed to finish it perfectly. The body and headstock are a luminescent scarlet, with perhaps a hint of metalflake lurking under the sheen; but peer round the contoured back of this Strat-like creature, and you will see that this perfect painting does not quite extend to the edges of the backplate. And the black scratch-plate, upon which the volume and control knobs are mounted, looks somehow... cheap. The screws are not evenly countersunk, and on the review sample one had been over-tightened, causing a distortion in the plastic.

But back up the pointy end, beyond the graphite nut, things are less moanworthy: neat little black string guides for the top four strings, very functional black Ibanez Smooth Tuner machine-heads. All these are mounted (under the paint) on the yellowest maple neck I've ever seen. Still, it feels nice under your thumb as you arch the wrist over for another million-notes-a-minute diminished scale.

The pick-up is a big fat riotous humbucker, bound with what looks like old typewriter ribbon. It's so loud, you feel it should maybe have more than three tiny retaining screws to prevent it leaping out and eating the strings, as it is so obviously dying to do.

The bridge tremolo unit is of Ibanez design, and it needs a good kicking. The six multi-adjustable single saddles are delightful in their manoeuvrability, as is the hugely wiggly tail-piece. This curvey iron plate, which holds bridge saddles, tremolo arm et al, is pivoted just behind the pick-up, and comes with a heel that invites the hand to rest on it while picking the strings near the bridge. This may be pleasant for your aching wrist, but on the review guitar it caused problems.

With three springs in the tremolo (the AH-10 comes with an optional fourth), the slightest pressure on the bridge caused the pitch of the guitar to change fairly drastically. Equally, when using the push-in-and-lock tremolo arm, such light balance meant the bridge was reluctant to return to its correct position. TUNING PROBLEMS.

Locking nuts for guitars with tremolos are fast becoming the industry standard, so we can attribute the absence of one here to Mr Holdsworth. A little research reveals that our designer prefers his guitars simple (I can see that), and has been quoted as saying that lock-nuts deprive the strings of harmonics. But what of us poor nerds who, lacking the confidence and dexterity of our hero, break out into a cold sweat when we hear the strings creaking over the nut during a particularly energetic bout of wanging (sic)? The fourth spring helps, but it is accompanied by an obvious lessening in flexibility. Swings and roundabouts, though the extra metal did lessen any tendency in the bridge to sit up and beg when bending strings.

It is the neck that makes the Ibanez Allan Holdsworth a guitar to persevere with — the strings are so far apart you can play it with your toes (though mind you don't catch anything on the V-shaped strap buttons). It's the ideal instrument for practising Adrian Legg's string bending exercises from June's OTT.

And while there are no coil-taps or other pick-ups to fiddle with, judicious manipulation of the two cylindrical black knobs can give plenty of tonal variation. There's enough sustain to enable you to hit a note, think about what you're going to do, pick your nose, wave to your mum in the front row, and still have the time to hit both volume and tone on the way up into that screaming solo.

The AH-10 is full of harmonics like a Strat, but it has some of the fatness of a Les Paul or an SG (reputedly Allan Holdsworth's favourite guitar); for this we can thank that nasty looking pick-up, which is exclusive to this model.

The Ibanez is comfortable to wear, feels natural snuggling up to your waist, and is dead easy to play. BUT... it costs between £300 and £400 (£390 rrp), which is a lot of money to pay for a guitar with some finishing faults and a dodgy spider logo on the headstock. I leave the last words to the man who has his signature etched on the block of (imitation?) mother of pearl behind the 21st fret, Allan Holdsworth, who has been quoted as saying "I really wanted to play the saxophone..."

IBANEZ Allan Holdsworth guitar: £390

CONTACT: Summerfield, (Contact Details).