The Chapman ML1X: A fine guitar with attitude.

 

After a month of playing with the Chapman ML 1X, I am keen to share with you what I have found about this striking guitar.

If you follow my articles and videos then you will know that I have borrowed a Chapman ML1X from Chapman Guitars in order to see how it sat with my own style of playing.  Rob Chapman once described his guitars as knocking on the door of "heavy, scary, pointy guitars" and this is certainly the impression that I had about Chapman guitars, hence why I have never purchased one.  I mean lets be honest, personally I am a Blues player and Blues players don't use scary, pointy guitars! Or do they?

The video below explores blues artists who have played 'scary and pointy' guitars in the past and includes some sample tones played by myself on this guitar.  Read on further for my full review of the Chapman ML1X.

Reviewing the Chapman ML1X electric guitar in Deep Red Gloss.

The Specifications.

The Chapman ML1X is an Super S-Style (HSS) equipped with two single coil Chapman Alnico 5 pickups and a Chapman Alnico 5 Humbucker.  With the five way switch, you can choose between the following:

Position 1 - Bridge

Position 2 - Bridge only (split outer coil) and Middle

Position 3 - Middle

Position 4 - Middle and Neck

Position 5 - Neck

The Bridge is a Chapman 2-point tremolo with a steel block.

The neck has the Chapman reversed or 'Heritage' headstock with Chapman Classic Closed machine heads. The nut is a 42mm Graph Tech Black TUSQ XL nut.

The neck is a maple neck with a satin finish and it is fitted to the body with recessed bolts.

The neck has a duel action truss rod and a c-shaped profile.  The fret board is Macassar Ebony with rolled edges and 24 jumbo nickel frets.

The neck radius is stated as 240mm which is the equivalent of 9.45 inches.

The body has a mahogany with gloss finish on the back with what Chapman describes as an "Ash veneer on flat top with Satin Finish".  I don't know what the 'flat top' wood is.

The guitar also has a reveal binding around the body.

Playability.

In terms of playability, when I pick up this guitar I can feel that the neck has been designed for faster arpeggios which makes it extremely comfortable to play.  

The body itself has a weight that is comfortable but reassuring and the whole body and neck is well balanced.

In terms of the tone, having the ability to use the humbucker as a single coil combined with the middle pickup adds versatility to the tone and the clarity of tone on the single coils whether playing clean or with gain was exceptional.  The pickups are higher output pickups which to my ears gave a 'strat plus' sound and what I mean by that is that the tones sit nicely in the more over-driven Blues space.  The cleans were great but sounded better with the treble rolled back a little.

Final Conclusions.

OK, Dan at Chapman Guitars has proved me wrong.  Their guitars of course can play well in the Blues space.  When I took the ML1X to band practise, there was something about this guitar that made me want to play more aggressively which pushed me to play better.  The tone of the guitar cut through the mix really well and there were nods of approval from my other band members.

When I listen to the clip below, I am reminded of the tone and intensity of Buddy Guy (maybe not because of my playing, but more with the tone):

I absolutely love the reverse 'Heritage' headstock and there is something about that aesthetic that does something to my playing.

This guitar wants to be wielded on stage, playing Chicago and Texan Blues.

On a subjective note, with the ease of playability, whilst this is great for most, my personal preference is to play guitars that 'fight back' a little.  I think I like chunkier necks and slightly more vintage tones.  I like to squeeze out the notes whereas this guitar makes it very much easier to play whatever style that suits the player.  I still believe that the MLX1 probably sits in the Rock space more than Blues in terms of the aesthetic and style of neck carve etc, but I strongly believe that whatever style of music one plays, the Chapman ML1X brings a unique feel and tone that is valuable whatever music one is playing.

It has been a lot of fun playing this guitar and I want to thank Rob Chapman and Dan Orchard at Chapman Guitars for lending me this guitar.

The bottom line is that this guitar costs around £500 at Andertons and gives the player a wide range of tones on an really lovely playable platform.  There simply isn't going to be many people who would struggle to like this guitar considering the price.

Find out about the Chapman ML1X click here.

Check out the rest of the Chapman Guitars range on the Andertons , click here.

Note that I do use affiliate links from time to time and as such may earn a small commission if you click through and end up purchasing products.