CHAPMAN ML2 PRO £999

A revamped modern singlecut that might detach the man from the brand

- Stuart Williams

Traditionally, the guitar-building legend story goes something like this: person makes guitars, people like the guitars, person makes more guitars, finds widespread acclaim. Chapman Guitars took a slightly different path, starting with Rob Chapman building a following of his own, then a natural evolution into including his following in the design process of the types of guitars they'd like to see (and ultimately, buy).

The brand has grown massively since those early days, though, and is now stocked in guitar shops around the world. One of its most recent models is the ML2 Pro, which takes the singlecut concept of the ML2 - discontinued a few years ago and overhauls it for a fresh take on a contemporary singlecut.

The spec sheet shows that the core design of the guitar's body sticks to singlecut staples - that'll be a mahogany body, capped with maple and further dolled-up with a flamed maple veneer, then loaded with a pair of humbuckers. But that's about where the similarity to tradition ends, and it's clear that Chapman has gone big on giving us the trends and features of right now.

The neck is satin-finished, roasted maple, and it's set through with 24 jumbo stainless steel frets (with rolled edges, of course). Plus, unlike the single-cut blueprint, it's also got an almost naked ebony fingerboard set to a Fender-friendly 25.5" scale length.

Then there's the finish - it's called Azure Blue, and is a sort of turquoise-to-black burst, flattened off with a satin finish. The ML2 Pro is also available in River Styx Black, which has less of a burst to it, but still has a touch of faded texture.

Hardware-wise, there's a set of Hipshot Grip-Lock locking tuners, and at the other end a Chapmanbranded string-through-body, hardtail bridge breaks us even further from top-mounted tradition.