The Chapman Guitars ML1X unboxing and hands-on review: How not to 'chug' on a Chapman!

 

I have been profoundly challenged by the nice guys at Chapman Guitars.  

At the recent UK Guitar Show I met Rob Chapman and also Dan Orchard, International Sales and Marketing Manager.

In chatting with Dan, I said something like "I have never bought a Chapman Guitar because I am not a 'shredder' like Rob Chapman'. I definitely had a perception in mind that Chapman Guitars would not have a guitar that would appeal to my style of playing which is more akin to Blues and Rock n Roll.

Dan agreed that this can be a perception but with the recent signing of Danish Pete as a signature artist and the announcement of the development of the DPT , Chapman Guitars were looking to broaden their appeal to players who's style doesn't fit that perception.

Then came the challenge...  Chapman Guitars have only gone and sent me an ML 1X to review!  I have one month to thoroughly get to know this guitar and I will be sharing a proper review towards the end of April 2023, but at time of writing I have had the guitar for just over 24 hours and have even been able to test it out with my band and I wanted to share the experience with you with my first 'unboxing' and hands-on review in the video below:

My initial thoughts.

This is a great guitar.  I had a sound in my head that I think that an S Style should sound like and with the higher output pickups on this guitar I get that sound and some.  Played clean the single coils (especially in position 4) absolutely ring.  When using some overdrive the humbucker absolutely comes alive especially in a band setting where the lead lines of the guitar needs to stand out.

The playability on this guitar is really good, at least in my own subjective way and I love the satin finished C-shaped neck and the ebony fingerboard.

Weirdly, whilst stylistically the guitar reminds me of rock guitarists from the 80's, and perhaps this was the picture in my head that held me back from getting one, the guitar at first strum appears to be a tone monster that has something for everyone.

If Sister Rosetta Tharpe could rock a Gibson Les Paul Custom and Albert King could rock out on a Gibson Flying V , then maybe, just maybe, I was overthinking what guitars should look like in any genre and I should concentrate on playing as many different guitars as possible and see which ones I connect with.  

At the end of the day, if a guitar sounds great and looks different, then one's music is going to catch the eyes and ears of those listening.

At this stage I am in no doubt that the Chapman Guitars ML 1X absolutely would sit nicely within my own musical setting but I will write a more in-depth review later on and see if my thoughts have changed.  For now I am simply going to keep quite and hope that Chapman Guitars have forgotten that they have sent me one...