We Test British Made Guitars from Rufus and Thomas Handley
Want a great guitar that isn’t Chinese or American? Here we test some of the new kids on the block that are manufactured in the UK. British Made Guitars from Rufus and Thomas Handley give you a rare oportunity to get your hands on a unique UK manufactured guitar! So how do they stack up?
Rufus Radian Electric Guitar
This is a pre-production model and so may have some non-standard or experimental features – which means that it is a one-of-a-kind. There may be minor blemishes in the finish as well but whilst it may be considered to be a “second”, it is a fully functioning and playable instrument.
The Rufus Radian is designed to be highly playable, with the full scale of the neck accessible no matter what style you play.
Great Specification
•Great Maple neck and wings
•Through Neck with a sloping headstock hand shaped from a single piece of British hardwood (Great Maple)
•Bound Flame figured Ovangkol guitar fretboard with bone nut
•640mm Scale. 22 Stainless Steel Jumbo Frets
•Hardtail bridge
•Tangent humbucker pickups (sound samples are available)
•Weight 3.3kg approx
This British guitar is just £350!
Custom Electric Guitar from Thomas Handley
Here in the UK we certainly know how to make a stunning electric guitar; this one has been hand-made by Thomas Handley and features rear carvings for playability and comfort, including leg carves for sitting comfort, a long rib carve, carving to the rear of the cutaway and the heel block for more comfortable access to top frets. The finish is ‘Dragon-Skin Burst’ with faux Binding.
Great choice of woods
With a flamed hard Ash body and C-shape Mahogany neck with Wenge Stringers and 2-way spoke truss-rod it has an unfinished Maple fingerboard with 24 medium/jumbo frets and MOP dots. The fingerboard has been left with a very light oil finish which leaves the wood feeling natural, like you would rosewood or ebony. it also means that as you play, residue from the strings and fingers creates a ‘worn in’ patina and shows off the subtle white pearl dots more clearly, this can be cleaned easily if preferred.
Pickups
This guitar offers a lot of versatility and dynamic sensitivity with a Bare Knuckle, Zebra Emerald at the bridge, a Seymour Duncan, Quarter Pounder ssl4 in the middle and a Bare Knuckle, Zebra Emerald at the neck. Warm, thick, creamy neck sounds, bright punchy humbucker and coil-split bridge options, a very usable tone knob, and great sustain.