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Is it just us, or does the OIO remind anyone else of Christian Bale's Batman?... Never a bad thing.

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• Review

Aristides is new name in the guitar world - the OIO (oh-one-oh) was first introduced in 2009 and only shipped in early 2010. Yet they've grabbed our attention by using synthetic material for their necks and bodies.

Aristides uses Arium - a material conceived to offer a consistent alternative to good old wood. The Aristides' body and (graphite reinforced) neck are "made out of Arium, moulded in a hard outer shell," explains the company's Chris Dekker.

"Arium consists of glass pearls and natural resins only, so the material is environmentally friendly. The last thing is a very good side effect, and of course it's good we don't need any scarce woods."

"Running into a higher gain amp the OIO sounds big, juicy and tough with that Duncan Custom providing additional output."

Aristides Poort began the development of what was to become Arium 15 years ago at the Technical University of Delft, in the Netherlands.

"The idea was to make the perfect tone material," explains Dekker. "Our guitar is one-piece, with no bolts or glued joints and no dead spots. All our guitars sound very similar, but we can experiment with the composition a bit: the bass, for example, is made from a slightly warmer sounding composition of the glass pearls and resins."

This hi-techery aside, the guitar is quite conventional in terms of pickups, hardware and function.

The OIO is a larger-bodied guitar, approximately 35cm across its lower bouts and 46cm from the tip of its upper horn to the instrument's base. Its body and neck are a one-piece die-cast moulding, with the neck joint beautifully chamfered away to create a heel-less transition from neck to body.

It's not fully solid either - there's a large cavity for the vibrato and its springs, then two further cavities either side: one housing the controls, the other empty. They're covered by a large plate, held in place with eight crosshead screws. The top is lightly arched, but also features some angular, modernist shaping.