NAMM 2014: Chapman Guitars unveils four new models

NAMM 2014: Chapman Guitars has unveiled four new models for 2014.

The new guitars include a pair of seven string electrics, the MK7-T (above, £499 - see below for specs) and ML7-S (£499), and two limited edition Chapman ML-1 Hot Rod (£499) and Chapman ML-2 Classic (£549).

For more information, visit the official Chapman website.

Click through the gallery for full specs of each guitar, and check out Chappers' demonstations of each guitar in the video below...

ML7-7 press release

Chapman ML7-T 7-String

£499

• Swamp Ash Body
• All natural finish (note photos currently show prototype with black back and sides)
• Set thru neck
• Hipshot hardware
• Chapman Custom Pro 7 Alnico Passive Humbuckers
• Neck depth at nut: 40mm
• Neck depth at 12th: 52.1mm
• Neck depth at 24th: 57.6
• Scale length: 26.5 Inches
• Includes gig bag

Introducing the Chapman ML7-T, designed collaboratively by Chapman Guitar fans under the supervision of 7 string supremo Keith Merrow! Chapman's first foray into the 7 String guitar market show all of the hallmarks of the Chapman brand: no filler, all killer, with a huge emphasis on tone!

Constructed from Swamp Ash and finished natural, in keeping with the 7 string communities love for a bare-bones raw style, the ML7-T has a rich sparkling tone, loads of bite and definition and a warm tight low end - the perfect tonal basic for filthy distortion! Meanwhile the set-thru neck has the feel and playability of a thru neck but without the huge expense that it adds to a guitar, so you get great upper fret access and feel!

The Custom Pro 7 Alnico passive humbuckers have all the dynamic range you could want with lightning fast attack and awesome sustain.

Chapman ML-1 Hot Rod press release

• Limited to 60 with this limited edition pickup
• Two piece Swamp Ash body
• Oiled finish
• Seymour Duncan 35th Anniversary JB Humbucker
• 1000 series Floyd Rose locking trem
• Includes hardcase

Get your hands on this limited edition Chapman ML-1 Hot Rod while you can because this is a special run and will only be made in small numbers.

Inspired by the hot-rodded 'super-strats' of the 80s the Chapman ML-1 Hot Rod is a stripped back, no frills tone monster!

There are three fundamental important elements to any electric guitar: The body wood that resonates, the hardware that links the strings to the body and the pickup that turns the string vibrations into an electric signal. The Hot Rod focuses on those three areas and nothing else! The Swamp Ash body gives a rich but clear tone, the first choice for all super-strat instruments.

The hardware is a 1000 series Floyd Rose trem system that not only ensures great sustain but also the lets you get creative with huge dive bombs and whammy effects all while maintaining tuning stability! And last but certainly not least the beast of a humbucker: Seymour Duncan's 35th Anniversary JB humbucker: an authentic modern reissue of one of the most revered humbuckers in the world! This pickup is limited edition and Chapman Guitars bought the whole stock so the only way you can even get this pickup is to buy this guitar!

Why the "Regular" pickup spacing?

Rob Chapman's first experience of the Seymour Duncan 35th Anniversary JB was testing it in the ML-1 Rabea prototype and love it so much he decided that the Hot Rod HAD to have it. Seymour Duncan only had these available in the "regular" spacing, but it sounded so good on Rabea's guitar that Rob thought "what the hell" & decided to go ahead anyway. A happy accident some might say but at the end of the day it's all about getting the tone, even if it means breaking the rules!
Why only one pickup?

Rob and Lee were really inspired by Phil X who explained why all his signature guitars had only the bridge pickup. By only having one pickup you halve the number of magnets pulling on the strings which slightly improves sustain!

Chapman ML-2 Classic press release

• Limited Edition Gold Top Finish
• Seymour Duncan USA SH1 Blues Humbucker set
• Push/Pull Tone knob inverts the neck pickup phase
• Includes Hardcase

The special run Chapman ML-2 Classic is a tribute to the 1950s gold tops, the very pinnacle of sophistication and the poster-boys of vintage guitars at their very best. This special run has the same basic spec as the standard ML-2 with the addition of a limited edition Gold Top finish, USA Seymour Duncan SH-1 Blues set of 59 PAF style humbuckers and in place of the coil tap you can pull the tone control to invert the phase of the neck pickup (commonly referred to as the Peter Green Mod).

This feature was inspired by Peter Green's out of phase Les Paul sound which was the result of a happy accident: Green's Les Paul was incorrectly rewired after a service with the two pickups out of phase with each other. The pickups fighting each other instead of working together results in what we now know as Peter Green's iconic tone which you can now have on demand!

Chapman ML7-S 7-String press release

• Mahogany Body
• All natural finish (note photos currently show prototype with black back and sides)
• Set thru neck
• Hipshot hardware
• Chapman Custom Pro 7 Alnico Passive Humbuckers
• Includes gig bag
• Neck depth at nut: 40mm
• Neck depth at 12th: 52.1mm
• Neck depth at 24th: 57.6

Introducing the Chapman ML7-S, designed collaboratively by Chapman Guitar fans under the supervision of 7 string supremo Keith Merrow! Chapman's first foray into the 7 String guitar market show all of the hallmarks of the Chapman brand: no filler, all killer, with a huge emphasis on tone!

Constructed from Mahogany and finished natural in keeping with the 7 string communities love for a bare-bones raw style, the ML7-S has bone crushing tone with sustain for days, huge low end and screaming highs so whether you're chugging down low or wailing up high you'll be getting rock solid tone! Meanwhile the set-thru neck has the feel and playability of a thru neck but without the huge expense that it adds to a guitar, so you get great upper fret access and feel!

The Custom Pro 7 Alnico passive humbuckers have all the dynamic range you could want with lightning fast attack and awesome sustain.

The ML7-S features a totally new headstock design with a more aggresive style in fitting with the killer nature of this monster guitar!
Scale length: 26.5 Inches