58 Alma Vale Rd, Bristol BS8 2HS 0117 3307607
RH-4 Misty Violet £1225
The RH-4 is the guitar that started it all. The body of Sen Ash has a bold grain pattern which you can see clearly through the Misty Violet finish (which these pictures don't really do justice to!). This is a dense wood giving the guitar good sustain with a brighter tone. The rock maple neck is finished in the same colour as the body with an ebony fingerboard. Couple this with the sepia mirrored scratchplate and gold hardware and you have a guitar that will get you noticed.
This guitar has a really lively tone with great depth and clarity, quite a commanding sort of sound which really cuts through - you would be left in no doubt that this is a quality instrument from the sound alone let alone the feel and build quality.
The Falcon vibrato system is a fantastic piece of engineering which has the feel of a vintage unit but that strays in tune if you break a string and also allows string bends against open strings without detuning them. Although the trem is mounted flat to the body it also allows upbends. The bridge features roller saddles which coupled with the Sperzel locking tuners keep the guitar in tune even with substantial vibrato use. The VSC active tone circuit gives either Treble/Bass boost or Mid boost allowing a huge variety of tones in conjunction with the LH-55 humbucker and two V-3 stacked coil pickup layout. The bridge humbucker can be coil-tapped by pushing the tone control in ( a very smooth action on this!). We can't really describe the variety of sounds on offer here but suffice is to say they are all eminently usable - the VSC can be very useful for adding a bit of extra drive through a valve amp as it does have quite a kick to it. Another nice feature is that the VSC is user adjustable to configure the exact tone boost that you get.
This was designed as an improvement over a classic design and it succeeds without compromising the feel or playability whilst giving increased versatility. For this money you won't get an American guitar anywhere near this good.
*****SOLD****RH-4 Ocean Blue £1225*************SOLD
***SOLD****RH-4 Honeyburst Maple Neck £1375****SOLD******
*****SOLD**************RH-4 See Thru Red £1225 ***********SOLD***************
***SOLD****RH-2 See Thru Red £739***SOLD***
The chance to own RH-4 quality in a stripped down version. What you get here is a no nonsense guitar with Blade's top of the range playability and tone. The guitar features the FT-3 vintage vibrato system coupled with Magnum locking tuners and the same LH-55 bridge humbucker as the RH-4 - the middle and neck pickups are VS-1 single coils. The neck is rock maple with an Indian rosewood fingerboard - a gentle radius and excellent factory setup ensure fantastic playability. The body is Swamp ash with a nice grain that shows through the perfect finish. As ever the VSC circuit gives a huge range of tone options. This guitar has a warm rounded tone, not at all thin and overall quite smooth - it can still rock out if asked with enough bite to make those harmonics squeal.
Texas 62 Vintage 3 Tone Sunburst £579
Details to come
Details to come
Details to come
The Texas Standard, it has to be said is one of the best instruments around for this money. It has a fit and finish to the alder body that you will only get from an American made guitar costing over twice the price and the sounds from the single coils are just what they should be, bright but not thin with some great bluesy tones on offer. Throw in the VSC circuit with it's Bass/Treble and Mid boost and you have a hugely versatile guitar. Hardware is chrome with a six point trem and vintage style tuners and electrics are 3 VS-1 single coils on the standard 5 way switch with a single volume and two tones.
A very nice sunburst maple cap gives this alder bodied guitar a real visual presence. As with all Blades this is a well put together instrument with a relaxed comfortable feel like an old favourite. The electrics comprise two VS-1 single coil pickups and an LH-55 humbucker at the bridge on a five way pickup selector with the Levinson VSC tone circuit on a mini switch giving Treble/Bass boost or Mid boost options. Hardware is gold, with a vintage style 6 point tremelo. The pickups on this guitar give a rich sound with plenty of mid range depth, the single coils are not at all thin but still have plenty of bite and really let chords ring out, the humbucker is suitably rich and powerful and produces plenty of harmonics when driving an amp hard. Switch in the VSC circuit and you have a hugely versatile guitar with a vast array of sounds. With the VSC things never get muddy , you just get lots of usable boost which really comes into its own with some amp distortion, driving the amp harder. Don't forget that the VSC can also be fine tuned to your own taste using the three mini pots in the back of the guitar. All in all this is a great all round workhorse guitar with great looks at a great price - need we say more!
This is one of the last of the left handers available of this model as it has now been discontinued. This has a swamp ash body and a rock maple neck with a very well done three tone sunburst finish. The electrics here are three VS-1 single coils for the classic tones you would expect with plenty of twang and top end bite. This guitar features different electrics to the others with the T-Switch and the Magnum Boost preamp offering a wide variety of more vintage style tones. The amount of gain on the preamp is controlled by the pot allowing you to effectively dial in the amount of 'fatness' required, thickening and boosting the sound. This has a fairly thin neck with medium jumbo frets and as always a relaxed easy playing feel making it hard to put down.
Another peerless Texas standard.
The Texas Classic is essentially the Standard less the VSC circuit. So what you get is a high quality and excellent value instrument. This plays as well as a Standard and has the same VS-1 pickups giving the same great tones and lets not forget that fantastic deep colour finish. You will not get a better Strat style guitar from any one else. Don't pay a lot of money for a name on a headstock!
This is Gary Levinson's take on the classic humbucker sound and then expand it that bit further. Obviously part of the classic sound comes from the construction and woods so what we have here is a mahogany body with a maple cap and a set mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard. Electrics are two Levinson LHN-5 humbuckers on a three way switch combined with the Levinson VSC-3 tone circuit. The guitar features a TOB16 intonated wraparound bridge in chrome like the rest of the hardware. The guitar is light and well balanced and with the short 24¾" scale length and profiled neck very easy to play. Sound wise this has a bigger and deeper sound than you would expect for such a small, light guitar and it has some nice thick distortion tones available but with plenty of top end bite to cut through. Clean tones are clear and bright but with some good midrange depth. The VSC tone circuit obviously add to the versatility here giving a mid or a bass/treble boost which can be tailored to individual preference and enough output to drive an amps preamp. This is a great individual guitar, taking some of the classic design touches of the past and putting them together with style to make something new and different.
Blade's top of the range Tele style guitar - a beautiful Sen Ash body with a maple neck finished in a three tone sunburst with gold hardware. The guitar features an up rated pickup set over the Standard and there is more depth and clarity to the sound - still with all the benefits of the VSC active boost circuit. Nothing complicated here, just a well put together guitar with a superb playing feel. This is the kind of guitar that you can rely on and will hold its own in many musical contexts.
If you need a workhorse guitar that is beautifully finished, sounds great and has a little bit more versatility you really shouldn't look any further. This guitar plays beautifully, has all the classic biting tones you would expect and comes with the VSC active boost circuit. You will not find a better guitar for the money - whether you consider the finish, the playability or the sound.
Also comes in Vintage White (see above), Candy Apple Red, Black, and Lake Placid Blue.
If you need a workhorse guitar that is beautifully finished, sounds great and has a little bit more versatility you really shouldn't look any further. This guitar plays beautifully, has all the classic biting tones you would expect and comes with the VSC active boost circuit. You will not find a better guitar for the money - whether you consider the finish, the playability or the sound.
Also comes in 2 Tone Sunburst (see above), Candy Apple Red, Black, and Lake Placid Blue.
