Rapier 33 Fiesta Red Electric Guitar

General

Redesigned by none other than British master-builder Alan Entwistle, this is the next-generation Rapier 33. The '60s original played a big part in the British guitar-building industry at the time since it offered guitarists a more affordable alternative to its American rivals. As such, this guitar had a direct hand in the British guitar sound of the '60s and '70s, and has since become a much-sought-after vintage icon in its own right. As effortlessly cool as the original, this mouth-watering model retains all of that '60s style and charm yet comes with improved playability and fully upgraded hardware.

The Rapier 33: Modern Build Quality

The foundation of the new-edition Rapier 22 is formed by a solid okoume body; a tonewood that's sourced in Central Africa and bears a similar tonal warmth to mahogany. The neck, meanwhile, has been carved out of Canadian hard-rock maple and finished with a modern 12 inch fretboard radius, 22 medium frets, and that all-important zero-fret. All of this, combined with an ultra-modern Graph Tech NuBone nut and a set of Wilkinson WJN-05 machine heads, lays down a solid resonant base and excellent intonation and tuning stability, while the Rapier Hi Lo roller bridge and tremolo arm provide the vintage-style finishing touch to both the look and sound.

The Sonic Blade Runner

While they looked undeniably cool, the five-blade pickups of the original Rapier 33 had a habit of throwing the high-gauge strings out of phase and immediately wiping them out of the signal. So, it's no surprise that this fresh edition comes kitted out with the far improved performance of a set of three two-blade EWR64 mini-humbuckers. The traditional Rhythm/Solo switch has also been replaced by a modern three-way pickup switch, but you still get a pair of updated slide-switches, one of which toggles the bass cut and unleashes that typical sixties-flavoured 'jangle', while the other adds or removes the middle pickup to complete a set of seven different tonal profiles.