MusicRadar

Wilkinson tuners top off a quality instrument.

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• Review

But that aside, playing the F-4 is very rewarding.There's no doubt that it can handle a fully-voiced rock tone with ease, but flicking to the clean channel and using the combined neck and middle, you have a perfectly acceptable Knopfler-esque sparkle.

The competitive price should make this guitar extremely popular, but why should you buy this over the wealth of infinitely more famous Ibanez or Yamaha guitars that reside at similar price points?

Well, the company always seems to go overboard on attention to the finer details creating the impression, tone and feel of a far more expensive option.

Okay, so the parts are made in Korea and assembled in the UK, but both Mark James and Trev Wilkinson have spent many hours tutoring the factory to produce exactly what they want and both these guys have been around guitars for a long time: frankly it shows.

The pickups and hardware bear the mark of a frighteningly talented and innovative luthier, and the basic design manages to inject at least a modicum of individuality into an overcrowded area of the market.

If a Tyler, Suhr or other similarly sought-after make is within your budget then forget the F-4 and purchase your dream US guitar. Otherwise £649 should suit the purse strings admirably and you'll own a versatile, impressively made, British-designed electric that pretty much anyone could take to any gig.