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A guitar you'll want to play loud!

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• Review

Having created an enviable reputation as one of Europe's finest boutique makers, in 2006 Nik Huber created the simplistic Junior, based on his Dolphin shape. For this year, however, he's chosen the more classic Huber Orca shape (not a million miles from the Les Paul Junior outline) for the Krautster - again with a slab body but also a slightly aged vibe.

The concept of both the Junior and the Krautster is straightforward: ditch the luxurious carved maple tops and fancy inlays for guitars that recall the simplicity and purity of old Juniors and Teles - for many the antithesis of the modern boutique builder.

"It's a lightweight guitar and the build is immaculate... the face is satin-finished while the back and sides are natural."

Opening the case you'll either think someone's slipped you a pre-owned guitar, close it and run or, like us, be immediately taken by its charm.

"Believe it or not, I'm playing in a Foo Fighters tribute band," Nik Huber tells us from his Rodgau-based workshop in Germany.

"I was looking for a matching guitar. I am very much into Juniors but we already have a Dolphin-shaped Junior that's offered in korina and mahogany. This guitar was meant to be different from what we already have, so I wanted to leave off everything cosmetic and focus the design just on playability and sound."

It's a lightweight guitar and the build is immaculate: the body is a one-piece slab of light mahogany, 43mm thick (just slightly thinner than a vintage Junior) with a cream-bound top edge and radiused back edge, with a slight but comfortable belly cut on the back.

The face of the guitar is satin-finished while the back and sides are left natural with an open pore. "The neck, back and sides are just sprayed with three thin coats of satin finish," says Huber. "The top has a closed-pore finish, which is sanded and brushed - there's no buffing."

A major difference between this and the Huber Junior (or indeed the original Les Paul Junior) is the neck wood: where you'd perhaps expect mahogany we get flamed maple with a dirty blue/grey light wash stain and smoother satin finish that feels very thin; like it's been oiled and waxed.

"The first Krautster prototype had a mahogany neck and I liked it, but I was after more attack and some clearer tones, that's why we went with maple," explains Huber.

Material aside, the neck feels huge in the hand - 24.2mm at the first fret, 26.7mm at the 12th - yet extremely comfortable thanks to an excellent subtle 'V' back profile.

"We've been asked for bigger necks for the last few years - especially on the Orcas," says Huber. "I also love big necks myself and so we came up with this shape. It's not taken from another guitar, the Orca and the Krautster come standard with this shape."