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  • Guitarist

    Second Charge

    Dec 10, 2021 5 minutes
    Words Dave Burrluck
    Photography
    Olly Curtis

    Gentlefolk of a certain age might well remember Watkins’ Rapier models the first time around. For the rest of us, they’re a footnote, a nod back to the time when us Brits made guitars in considerable numbers. But like any modern retro repro, the backstory is irrelevant to the quality and price of the instrument on offer – and that’s what we’re concentrating on here. Although at a lowly full list price of £429, this new Chinese-made Rapier 33 doesn’t exactly inspire confidence…

    Well, let’s scotch that right here and now: this is not only a very tidily made guitar, it also has a very in-tune vibrato system and one of the most creatively bonkers control circuits we’ve ever encountered. Straight out of the box it

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