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The eye-catching pickguard is chromed to a mirror finish

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We've been itching to get our hands on this new series for many months now and the timing couldn't be better: we're writing this review on official Iron Maiden Day!

One of the three models here is the is a new version of the Iron Maiden P-bass from Fender, which now bears the squiggle of four-string main man Steve Harris.

With two great guitarists swapping licks, Iron Maiden require a rock-solid foundation and Steve Harris has continually provided that with his trusty Fender Precision.

The choice of hardware and pickups on this signature are more in keeping with Steve's own preferences than on previous signature models and, as a result, this one will certainly stand out in a crowd.

Looks

Harris insisted that this should be a heavy bass with a chunky one-piece maple neck that nicely fills the hand. Naturally it's loaded with his Signature Series Rotosound Flatwound strings – the West Ham United colours of claret and blue in the silk windings at ball and tuner ends easily identify these.

The eye-catching pickguard is chromed to a mirror finish and surrounds the well-chosen Seymour Duncan SPB-1 vintage-correct split coil pickup. The practicality theme continues with the Badass II bridge, with its sleek looks and great intonation, and yet more chrome.

On the headstock the trusty 'elephant ears' tuners have the more ungainly modern day long shank and are not reverse action. Steve's signature is at the back of the headstock. All in all we get a great looking, and very practical P-bass.

Sounds

Check out the video below to see it in action alongside the other new Iron Maiden signature instruments:

Even without plugging this in you can tell it's going to perform well as it's been set up for hard rock playing – a good action, but a little higher than you might expect. Tight and tough, this invites you to get stuck in, and when you hear the sound that's exactly what you'll want to do.