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The SC feels slightly more solid than its double-cutaway counterpart.

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• Review

The original two Vox Virage guitars were launched in 2007 and over the past months we've looked at the new and expanded 2010 range - the 33, the 55 and 77 series. Finally we get a chance to look at the latest versions of that original Virage duo, now in their Mk II incarnations: the guitars that have inspired the lower-priced ranges.

The Virage range, which takes its name from the French word for bend or turn, comprises just two guitars: the single-cutaway (SC) and double-cutaway (DC). The former style appears in both the 33 and 55 ranges, but as a solidbody - the Virage SC is semi-solid.

The round-horned and clearly Gibson ES-335-inspired Virage DC is unique to this upper range, although its contoured and innovative semi-hollow body construction is utilised on the sharper-horned HDC77 model.

But there are plenty more stylistic similarities, not least in the fact that all the 2010 guitars use the same MaxContact bridge, the same CoAxe pickups and the 3D-style contouring of the bodies, which inspired the guitars' name.

However, unlike the other models, these Virages are made in limited numbers in Japan (as opposed to Indonesia) and are vastly more expensive guitars, aimed at 'connoisseurs' or 'artists'.

The more Les Paul-inspired SC version appears, upon initial inspection, to be more solid looking than its double cut counterpart - probably because it only has one f-hole. In fact it's pretty similar to the DC in terms of build. Here we have an ash top over a mahogany body, but unlike a typically maple-topped guitar, the ash forms the top half of the body, the mahogany the lower half.

Internally it's very similar - the majority of the wood is removed, leaving only the rims and the two prongs (or tone bars) of the partial centre block, like two over-sized bass bars running through the centre of the body from the neck to the feet of the MaxContact bridge. The overall top-carve is much like that of the DC too.

The back, however, is heavily edge-chamfered; it's a deep body too, and because it's not arched more mahogany is left in. This contributes to a slightly heavier, but still light weight and chunkier, more Les Paul-like girth, with a centre depth of approximately 60mm.

We only have top-edge binding here, again in keeping with Les Paul tradition. Obviously the single-cut design means the heel, which is sculpted away, is more angled than on the DC. But the neck itself is identical in terms of feel and appointments, although the shorter, unsupported length will bring its own rewards in terms of stiffness and sound.

We're impressed by the details - the strap buttons are widely flared; the very solid metal jack plates (originally just plastic) are perfectly aligned. Even the way the rear cavity coverplate is inset into a perfectly cut recess - it's impressive, detailed and careful guitar making.