Well here we are again — it's the annual Guitar Weekend. For the second year running the event will take place at London's Barbican Centre on the 14th, 15th & 16th November. If you survived last year's show you'll be pleased to know that there'll be much more space to view the goodies this year. As usual Peter Cropley of UKG Projects will be organising the event.

As a little taster of what the British Guitar scene has to offer, all the guitar reviews this month take a look at British Products. It is impossible to cover the whole industry in terms of reviews — the ones featured here are simply people whose work has impressed me over the past months (and in some cases years I). Even so I've still left many people out due to lack of space, engaged phones, no product etc, etc... my apologies!

However, judging from the small number of instruments and accessories I reviewed here I can honestly say that the British maker, now more than ever, offers a viable alternative to the mass produced market. Not only can a custom instrument be surprisingly cheap you'd be amazed at the standard of some of these guitars. It's not surprising that Mark King, when asked in a recent interview which basses were the best in the world, named three British companies. Speaking of which...

PANGBORN WARLORD

Standard with Carbon Graphite Neck RRP: £650 (incl case)

I have been trying to review this instrument for what seems like ages and for one reason or another Ashley Pangborn and myself have failed to match our availability schedules. When at last the Carbon Graphite neck Warlord arrived it was only a brief encounter before it was to head out to foreign parts — another sale. You don't miss an opportunity on an instrument like this, the simple reason being that it's the cheapest CG-necked bass available anywhere and it isn't mass produced.

The neck's construction follows the well-tested method of carbon graphite woven fibres embedded into a resin-filled moulding and appears to be a straight-through construction. However, the portion that extends through the body is only half the thickness of the overall depth. This 'L' type construction allows differing pickup configurations etc and solid timber facings to be added without the necessity of altering the carbon-graphite moulding.

Brazilian Mahogany is used for the body wings and the Warlord shape has undergone a few subtle changes. Firstly the overall size has been slightly increased, secondly a bottom cutaway is included so with two strap buttons fitted the bass can stand upright, and thirdly a contour has been added on the back of the instrument behind the lower horn to make the bass more comfortable when resting it on your knee.

I don't think many people could complain about the neck contour or phenolic resin fingerboard — both are superb. The neck's slim oval shaping is instantly comfortable while the quality of the dual gauge fretting is impeccable. Ashley uses a wide section wire shaped low and oval for the first 15 frets while a smaller gauge wire is used to complete the two octave 24 fret board. This makes playing at the top of the board significantly easier and more accurate.

The pointed headstock houses the Schaller M4 machine heads, and on this sample they have gold-plated bodies with black buttons. This is not just for looks but for the practical reason that the black plating will last and look better for longer than if they were gold-plated.

Ashley offers either the Schaller 3-D bridge or preferably if you play slap style and use light strings the in-house Pangborn bridge as fitted here. It is a very solid piece of kit featuring four locking brass saddles mounted inside a rectangular frame. Because of the locking saddles only overall height adjustment is possible but the height of the saddles is matched to the camber of the bridge. The bridge frame locks down into a solid brass block inserted into the body and four grub screws are provided for tilt adjustment. The tail-piece, bridge frame and machine head buttons are finished in a black epoxy resin which is sprayed then baked dry. The result is a very hard wearing finish which looks dipped as opposed to sprayed. The saddles are finished in a clear version of the same.

The continuing improvement of the Pangborn design is directly related to Ashley's one to one relationship with his customers. The electronics, for example, while appearing to be the standard Warlord set-up have been subtly re-designed. The system now includes two Pangborn designed and Kent Armstrong made humbuckers, master volume, master tone, bass, mid and treble cut and boost controls and a pickup pan selector as opposed to the old rotary switch pickup selector. An active-passive switch introduces the three active tone controls into the circuit while the volume and tone function remain in either mode. All the active tone controls and the pickup pan pot now have centre detents which makes operation and sound selection a lot easier. As usual a standard ¼" jack socket is provided as well as an XLR socket which can be linked to the Pangborn phantom powering system for musicians who do a load of playing and don't want the hassles of continually replacing batteries. Ashley points out that the life of the alkaline PP3 should be around three months continuous playing and more like six months if the red LED power indicator is removed from the circuit.

So many carbon graphite-necked basses tend to sound overtly cold and 'clanky' but the nature of the Pangborn 'L' design results in a crystal clear tone with plenty of warmth and excellent sustain. The active tone circuitry introduces a little hiss into the sound — a by-product of the modern slap style requiring so much top. The degree of variation provided by the active circuitry should be plenty for most uses and the inclusion of a pan-pot selector is a very sensible one, adding to the tonal range of the instrument. The passive mode is probably only included as a back-up in case of power failure but the sounds here are more than adequate, a compliment to the pick ups and construction.

Albion 0.038"-0.092" gauge strings are fitted which are a good compromise gauge between medium light and extra light giving the bass an all-purpose feel. The 'Funkgroove' has gone but the base of the neck is further from the face of the body to compensate, as well as the increased height of the Pangborn bridge. In terms of sound and playability it's definitely an all round instrument but designed with the specialist slapper in mind.

This model was finished in a finely applied wine red sunburst although virtually any colour option is available. It is this personal service that makes the Pangborn set-up so appealing. Many individual parameters are available on the Standard model although major changes like a different body shape come into the custom range from £750. Musicians on a tight budget can be catered for, the cheapest Ashley Pangborn bass starting from £550.

Having been involved in various distribution set-ups in the past Ashley has reverted to the individual approach to offer the individual what they really want. This direct sales method is of course full of advantages, not least in the price but more in the attention each customer gets, be they a 'name' or not. The future will see a new body shape for the Pangborn range as Ashley believes the Alembic-type design to be rather passé by today's current trends. Judging by the quality shown here, especially in relation to the price, the new Pangborn set-up is going to be hard to beat. I suggest you join the queue now!

EGYPT Pharoah Isis

Active Guitar RRP: £724 (incl case)

The Glasgow based Egypt Guitars have a canny knack of approaching the guitar scene from a totally different angle. Partners Maurice Bellando and James Cannell have developed a range of instruments that are visually striking and exciting as well as incorporating very modern ideas and techniques. Three ranges are on offer from the cheapest 'Karnak' range starting at £399, through the 'Luxor' range from £499 to the top 'Pharoah' ranges from £649. Four basic designs are offered within these ranges: the Isis and reversed shaped Osiris six-strings plus the fretted 'Nefertiti' and 'Nofretiti' fretless bass models.

These Egyptian names may be quite a mouthful but the guitars themselves are much more straightforward, though nonetheless interesting. The Pharoah Isis active on review here is a fine example of their craft and checks in as their most expensive non-tremolo guitar. If you haven't got the stomach for an unusual shape you'd be advised not to read on — this Egypt certainly adds an original slant to the term original!

The top horn sticks up at an alarming angle which would have undoubtedly made Cleopatra herself sit up and take notice. The lower horn is almost non-existent while the lower bouts curve in a far more conventional manner not dissimilar to a Jazzmaster's rear end! We have a full radius on the body edges and a front flat right-arm contour. In contrast to the radical body design the construction is far more conventional. You'd be forgiven for thinking that the Pharoah has a straight-through neck construction, as a centre strip of Hornbean flanked by two smaller strips of Wenge runs right up the back of the body and neck. In fact the neck is a fitted glued joint — the join is neat but visible through the Aurora tobacco finish. Either side of the Hornbean/Wenge strip is the main part of the body which is made from Brazilian Mahogany with a top facing of flamed Maple. The neck is of a similar Mahogany construction with a Maple headstock facing and Ebony fingerboard featuring mother of pearl 'pyramid' inlays. The board features 22 full width frets and two partial width ones due to the base angle of the fingerboard. In practice this allows 24 fret access to the top 'E' and 'B' strings and 23 fret access to the 'G' and 'D' which is suitably sufficient. At present the access to these top frets is hindered by the placing of the heel but this will be changed so that the heel does not protrude so far away from the body. Whether or not you like the design of the instrument you can't help but appreciate the quality workmanship in the construction, fingerboard and fretting and finely applied finish.

Schaller gold-plated fittings are used throughout and the machine heads have black ebony buttons which match the black fine tuners on the tail-piece. The tune-a-matic type bridge has preset roller saddle, the relative heights of which are pre-set although overall height is adjustable.

Gold-plated, knurled and domed control knobs and strap-locks complete the luxurious appearance of the Pharoah.

While the hardware may be solid standard stuff the pickups and electronics appear very interesting. The system incorporated here uses four rotary controls — master volume, balance control, bridge pickup eq and neck pickup eq — and three mini toggle switches: eq in/out, eq cut/boost for both pickups and lastly the three position pickup selector. This circuit gives a wide tonal range, the eq works a little like a parametric in that you can select a frequency (between 85Hz to 4.8kHz) and either cut or boost it via the individual eq toggle switch. You can tailor the degree of cut/boost via an internal preset. These two eq pots will have 11 detents so that exact settings can be pre-set.

Because we have individual eq control on each pickup, when both pickups are on we can combine eq settings and produce an extremely wide range of tones. With both units on, the balance control can subtly pan between each pickup but you have to be careful when switching to a single pickup that the balance control hasn't reduced that unit's output. Ideally the pan-pot should be bypassed in the individual pickup positions.

Plugging in the guitar I found another neat idea. The jack socket is recessed into the side of the guitar to a depth of about 20mm, not only neatening the appearance of the guitar with a lead plugged in but more importantly providing valuable strength and stability for the often vulnerable jack plug.

The Egypt pickups look and sound very neat. Each is moulded in a textured black matt resin with the Egypt logo showing. The top pickup is angled to match the appearance of the guitar and also alter the pickup's response adding more top and bottom to the neck pick up. If you're wondering where the adjustment screws are, they're on the back — Allen keyed bolts sunk into the body which provide the height adjustment.

True to its looks the Egypt doesn't sound like anything else either! In the passive mode it has quite a thin tone with either pickup selected which is crystal clear without being too sharp and shrill. The neck pickup is lovely and warm with a broad sound and plenty of clarity. The active circuit adds an acceptable amount of top end hiss but the selective cutting and boosting provides quite limitless variation. In fact as a studio guitar it would be superb, although it may be a bit too much for live work unless you kept to a couple of 'pre-set' eq'd sounds.

This Isis body shape balances very well and the overall feel of the guitar is fine. It's certainly one of the best necks you'll find with its shallow oval contour and the set-up was low with only a couple of minor buzzes.

Forgetting the active electronics and the strange body shape we have a very fine and well built instrument that sustains very well and sounds great. The active eq adds a lot of possibilities and the body shape makes people notice the Egypt. If you like something a bit different in your guitar's design, Egypt Guitars undoubtedly supply it.

FINGERBONE

Vintage Fastback Guitar RRP: £575 (incl Kahler Flyer and case)

Paul Richardson launched his Fingerbone guitars and basses at last year's Barbican Guitar Weekend and a year on he now offers three models: Fastback Guitar (Vintage and Standard), Fastback Bass (Vintage and Standard) and the Fleetwood Bass. Paul's operation consists of himself, one full time woodworker plus part-time help when necessary and as well as his basic range, like most British guitar makers, offers a custom service.

The Fingerbone on review here — a Fastback — is well named as a 'Vintage' as my first impressions were of a strange but unique Gibson/Fender hybrid. The mahogany body has a full depth of 45mm with a smallish edge radius and no body contouring. Its shape is a little Fenderish, reminiscent of the Jaguar but the white plastic laminate scratchplate evokes a Firebird appearance. Certainly the timber and finish, a super golden brown sunburst, is very typical of a Gibson.

A good piece of Bird's Eye Maple is used for the Fenderish neck, which bolts to the body in the usual manner. The scalloped headstock has a good original design but somehow the three-a-side machines always look wrong on this type of head. A very smart piece of Rosewood is employed for the fingerboard which features 22 wide (2.7mm) hard frets, mother of pearl face dots but strangely no side markers. The quality of workmanship is very evident on this neck, it really is very clean and with the exception of the hand-carved neck features could easily be mistaken for a first class production neck.

There is little to criticise on the constructional elements of the Fastback. A couple of frets cause a slight buzz but that's nothing serious and the non-contoured body is a bit uncomfortable to hold, yet this is obviously part of the 'Vintage' feel.

Hardware is standard and what one would expect on a guitar of this type, Schaller M6 heads, Kahler Flyer trem, Schaller 'Golden 50' humbuckers controlled by a master volume and two individual tone controls. The Flyer trem has its drawbacks not helped here by a locking nut that wasn't locking properly, although the unit felt very good.

Schaller pickups are becoming quite the 'in' thing, now featured on many instruments as standard. Certainly the ones fitted here while being ordinary open-coiled humbuckers do produce the goods in terms of tone. The master volume has a push/pull series/parallel function, the thinner sound is activated when the knob is raised and works on both pick ups simultaneously. All the hardware is chrome plated right down to the three position pickup selector. This may be a small point but one which many makers overlook and certainly on this example the hardware adds a great deal to the impressive visual appearance of the guitar.

Strapped on the guitar feels a lot more comfortable than playing it seated. It hangs really well and has a medium weight and it's obvious that the lower bout plays a big part in assisting the excellent balance. Six main variations can be achieved, then there are the more subtle tones available by using the individual passive tone controls. In the full-coil mode the Fastback lies somewhere between a Gibson Les Paul and a Strat, it has the punch but not the sustain. The parallel mode enhanced the top end of the guitar giving a more Fenderish tone and overall the guitar combined warmth with clarity, possibly with the exception of sustain at the higher part of the board.

I was very impressed with this guitar in all aspects. It combines very good craftsmanship with an original approach to design, and above all is very professionally put together. Its 'hybrid' appearance and feel is attractive combining modern and vintage styling without borrowing too much from a single design.

There is plenty of scope for refinement, however, within the design. The body shape could be evolved into a sleeker appearance and would benefit from back contouring to improve on its comfort, especially when playing it seated. The attention to detail is very apparent — the Fingerbone logo is especially neat and adds a very professional touch.

The guitar is well priced (the non-trem version is £495) and provides very definite competition to similarly priced Japanese products. All in all this Fastback guitar is a very fine 'debut' for such a new maker and so long as Paul Richardson can steer clear of financial problems that beset the new and smaller maker I'd say we'll be hearing a lot more from Fingerbone Guitars.

KINCADE

Model 'P' RRP: £425

Britain's acoustic scene is always embodied by the individual luthier making individual instruments at a painstakingly slow speed to varying degrees of quality. Indeed, trying to find one for review proved surprisingly difficult simply because a lot of the smaller makers produce so few. The chances therefore of them having one available anywhere near a copy date lay purely in the hands of fate.

However, two makers who keep producing fine instruments are the ones included here for review. The Kincade's Bristol operation is small but very efficient covering mainly acoustic instruments from basses through to arch-top Jazz instruments. Their continued devotion to the industry has resulted in a long users list including: U2, Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, XTC, Cocteau Twins and Bobby Blue Bell. The instrument on review here is the Model 'P' used and loved by the Stranglers — of course theirs were black!

The Model 'P' with its flattened upper bouts is probably the most striking Kincade. This isn't to say they don't make more standard instruments but I've always like the shaping of the 'P', it's one of the few 'alternative' acoustic shapes that have worked. Constructionally it's very fine using all solid timbers, Sitka Spruce front, with Brazilian Mahogany, back, sides and neck. Indian Rosewood is chosen for the fingerboard, body bindings and head veneer while the much rarer Rio Rosewood is used for the bridge.

The body looks very clean and sharp with the tightly grained Spruce contrasting with the black/white/black purflings and soundhole rings. Internally the instrument features a scalloped 'X' bracing system on the front with four cross braces on the back.

The neck is not a typical Kincade in that it is 1mm narrower than usual at the nut and features a 'conical' fingerboard whereby the radius of the fingerboard camber is smaller at the nut end than the body end. We also have a 'V' section neck which gives a very comfortable feel.

Well installed 2.2mm gauge fret wire is used on the board as well as pearl side and face markers. Access to the 20th fret is relatively easy due to the well carved heel and 14th fret neck/body join. The set-up is good, the bone nut and compensated saddles are well cut and the Schaller tuners fitted — chrome mini M6's — work well.

The Model 'P' was fitted with Martin light gauge (0.012-0.052") strings and has a bright and clear tone. The response is even between the strings although the overall tone is possibly a little thin due to the smaller than usual body shape. This does give a very tight bass end, however, which I find appealing especially in a recording situation when the acoustic is required to 'gel' with a full band sound. It feels very comfortable to hold and play and I really could not find any fault either in tone, playability or construction. Above all the sharp styling and workmanship gives a very professional appearance enhanced by the satin finish clear lacquer.

Lowden L25

Acoustic/Electric RRP £757.85

George Lowden's story begins in Ireland in 1973 when he began making and designing guitars professionally. By 1981 he'd signed a licensing agreement with a Japanese company to produce instruments in sufficient quantities to meet demand. Despite the huge success of these instruments Lowden returned to Ireland in 1985 rather than move to bigger Japanese premises occupied by other manufacturers. Now based in Bangor, Co Down, the Lowden is still a craftsman-built instrument; the factory employs a small number of craftsmen and they produce in the region of 15-23 guitars a week.

This L25 acoustic is a traditionally shaped full bodied acoustic that is quite breathtaking in appearance. The front is a reddish Cedar with Rosewood back and sides and a Mahogany and Walnut five-piece laminate neck.

An Ebony fingerboard is featured contrasting with a wide and 'wild' grained Mexican Rosewood bridge and headstock facing.

The neck has a subtle 'V' section which is full and comfortable and the small gauge fretting is well polished and positive. No face markers are used which gives the instrument a classical appearance but small pearl side markers are included. A nicely cut bone nut is featured with a split compensated two piece bone saddle.

The bridge has no bridge pins, the strings pass through and are anchored at the back of the bridge which, apart from the practical applications, gives the instrument an uncluttered appearance.

Gold-plated Schaller-type machines are fitted with Lowden's own logo. These heads have gold pearloid buttons which matches the 'warm' colouring of the rest of the instrument. Decoration is kept to a minimum on the guitar with figured Mahogany bindings, a subtle sound-hole ring design and light/dark/light edge purfling.

The model on review was fitted with the optional active acoustic electronics. No spec was given on the nature or type fitted but the electronics are visible through the soundhole, as is the battery. Outwardly only two nicely turned wooden knobs are visible on the upper bout — simply volume and tone. The output jack doubles as the bottom strap button.

Once again the workmanship and satin finish were of an incredibly high standard, in fact if you've ever tried finishing an acoustic you'll know how hard it is! Like the looks, the tone is very rich, the kind of sound that everyone remarks upon, musician or not. The playability was very good too and the fingerboard was fast and responsive. Right across the tonal spectrum the sounds produced were sharp and clear, even on the troublesome higher fretted wound strings.

Played through an amp the electronics performed very well giving a fair acoustic tonality. The volume pot taper is a little uneven with all the volume happening at one end, while the tone control could have done with a centre detent. At the top of the tone control's range a fair bit of noise is introduced, although the control adds a reasonable range of tone.

This is a fine sounding and very well made acoustic and it's not surprisingly that so many professionals use them. They are not fancy instruments so you know that the price reflects the timbers and workmanship involved. While it isn't a cheap instrument it isn't overpriced if you evaluate its performance against its cost. An undoubted investment, this Lowden reeks of quality.