Articles by Darran Charles

PRS SE Mark Holcomb review

By Darran Charles

£899
€966
$899

Periphery man gets a more affordable signature model

Washburn PX-Solar160 review

By Darran Charles

£579
$699

A potent blast of Solar power

Victory VX The Kraken review

By Darran Charles

£829

A true djent

Vintage V6M24 review

By Darran Charles

£219

Time to warm up the spandex…

JST Toneforge Menace review

By Darran Charles

$65

A plug-in for the metal connoisseur

Charvel USA Custom Shop RTM San Dimas 1H review

By Darran Charles

£1399
$1125

A lean, green shred machine with Californian custom shop credentials – and a 1980s price

Schecter Keith Merrow KM-7 review

By Darran Charles

£1029
€1299
$1449

A healthy dollop of prog from Schecter

Schecter Hellraiser Hybrid Tempest review

By Darran Charles

£869
€1269
$1299

More metal goodness from Schecter

Caparison Angelus M3B review

By Darran Charles

£1875

A re-spec'd rocker

Caparison Dellinger Prominence review

By Darran Charles

£1995

Caparison's take on contemporary rock guitars is a blast of fresh air – but will we be blown away?

Guthrie Govan on The Aristocrats' new album Tres Caballeros

By Darran Charles

The gifted guitarist speaks

The finish may not appeal to the more discerning metal player, but the combination of body woods results in an inspiring tone,

Schecter Banshee Elite-6 review

By Darran Charles

£939
€1279
$1449

The Banshee gives birth to a shred-worthy offspring

Vigier refuses to toe the line with fashion or convention: a '59 LP replica this isn't

Vigier GV Rock review

By Darran Charles

£2169
€2745
$3999

A sharp-edged, slick-playing single-cut

You may be taken aback by the space-age appearance - but there's method behind the madness

Strandberg Boden 8 review

By Darran Charles

$3350

Mind-expanding eight-string electric

The hot-rodded S-type has been with us for many a decade - but make no mistake, this is a thoroughbred

Suhr Classic Pro review

By Darran Charles

£1799
€2290
$2850

A double-cut with more to it than meets the eye

The Super Swede's influence is obvious, so as you'd expect, it has a mahogany body, maple top and set mahogany neck

Hagstrom Super Swede EMG review

By Darran Charles

£799
€1359

The darker side of Sweden

The hearts and flowers inlays are modelled on those found on Gibson's Les Paul Artisan

Epiphone Ltd Ed Lee Malia Les Paul Custom review

By Darran Charles

£599
€699
$1332

Bling me the horizon with this kitted-out LP

With its 80s double-cut shred appearance, the M3 MJR is a faithful nod to the Caparison team's past

Caparison Dellinger-M3 MJR review

By Darran Charles

£2299
€2899
$3049

A high-end shred machine

Black chrome hardware gives the guitar a boutique appearance without betraying its metal roots

Caparison C2 ANG-QE review

By Darran Charles

£1099

A stripped down 'pro' axe

The Seymour Duncan TB-6 provides all the grit necessary for even the most brutal of metal sounds

Washburn Parallaxe PXS29FRTBBM

By Darran Charles

£929
$1624

A 29-fret metal monster guitar

There's only one pickup, but fortunately it's the versatile Seymour Duncan JB

Kramer Baretta Vintage review

By Darran Charles

£519
€589
$1165

A welcome blast from guitar's past

Active EMGs combined with the BW-1's semi-hollow construction provide surprisingly rich and varied tones

LTD BW-1FM/ET review

By Darran Charles

£1159
€1664
$1784

Ben Weinman's signature for all seasons

Umphrey's McGee guitarists talk Similar Skin, Frank Zappa, live improvisation

By Darran Charles

In-depth interview with Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss