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£219; Laminated maple body with solid centre block; set maple neck; ebony fingerboard with 12th fret dot inlay; 24.75" scale; 2x open-coil ASBO humbuckers; 2 x volume, 2 x tone; black hardware; white/black/white or black/white/black finish
Visually, the HS Centre is arresting, as is the physical performance. The finish is neat, the tuners held pitch well, and there’s a modern feel to the neck and board that meant we played this model with more technical ambition. We’d go as far to say it’s the best player of the day.
When you call a humbucker an ‘ASBO’, you had better make sure it rocks. Mission accomplished. Traditionalists will be pleased to hear that, played clean, you get the mellow flavour that’s central to the semi mythology.
The difference is, we felt this guitar was that bit more convincing when we cranked the gain, spitting aggressive lead at the bridge and a scary rumble at the neck. Granted, it still wouldn’t cut it at Download, but hard rockers might be surprised.
4 Stars
Pros: Modern vibe, good at distortion.
Cons: We can’t complain at £219.
