Ernie Ball Music Man St Vincent

With the Brian Eno gig I originally borrowed the St Vincent for out of the way, there’s time to consider where exactly this unusual instrument sits on the periodic table of tone.

- Jamie Dickson

Despite its unconventional looks, I reckon the nearest comparable guitar is a Strat, that eternal all rounder. You could argue that a Firebird VII is closer still, but, to be honest, there aren’t too many of those in general circulation, so let’s stick with the Strat for the moment.

Like a Strat, the St Vincent has three pickups operated by a five-way switch with ‘hollow’ sounds in the in-between positions. They also share a broadly similar style of vibrato and also a 25.5-inch scale length. The body shape is radically different, of course, and so is the body material – alder or ash in the case of a Strat and African mahogany for the St Vincent.