Shergold Masquerader Normal SM11 | Overview

MSRP: (UK) £409 / (US) $TBC

The Shergold Masquerader Normal SM11 combines traditional fashion with trendy efficiency. That includes a stable poplar physique and a flexible P90 and humbucker pickup setup, it delivers heat, articulate tones with clean maintain. Redesigned by famend British luthier Patrick James Eggle, this Twenty first-century reinvention of an iconic Nineteen Seventies British guitar pays homage to its roots whereas forging a daring new path. Excellent for gamers in search of classic vibes with a contemporary, trendy twist. Nick Jennison critiques.



The Shergold Masquerader (particularly the 2017 reissue) holds a really particular place in my coronary heart. It is one of many first devices I reviewed for GI manner again when, and I used to be very impressed with the standard and spec of this superbly engineered guitar. I shot classes utilizing it, plenty of my college students purchased them… good occasions!

To say I used to be pleasantly stunned to discover a Masquerader ready for evaluation is one thing of an understatement. This latest mannequin—the Masquerader Normal—is a extra inexpensive tackle what’s already a really inexpensive and very high-quality guitar. It shares the identical Nineteen Seventies define and eminently playable neck profile of its costlier siblings however trades out a few of the pricier accoutrements for less expensive options with out sacrificing the standard or vibe that I preferred a lot in regards to the authentic reissue.

The adjustments are available two flavours: woods and {hardware}. The rosewood neck is changed by Canadian roasted maple with a laurel fretboard, and the physique is poplar quite than mahogany. You’re free to resolve for your self how a lot distinction woods make to the tone of an electrical guitar—I am a “believer”, however I will not attempt to promote anybody on the thought. What we will all agree on is that the maple neck feels glorious to play, and whereas the laurel fretboard would not have fairly the identical lustre as rosewood, it nonetheless appears very good. The one grievance I’ve is that the poplar physique makes for a guitar that is just a little gentle for my tastes, however I am an enormous lad and I like heavy guitars.

When it comes to {hardware}, the T-style bridge has been changed with the identical six-saddle design discovered on the Telstar (one other guitar I am an enormous fan of), which is a really stable bridge that holds the saddles snugly in place to forestall any side-to-side motion. It would not look as cool, nevertheless it does the job very properly certainly. Equally, the Seymour Duncan pickups have been changed by a pair of generic AlNiCo V fashions—a humbucker within the bridge and a P90 within the neck. You would be silly to pre-judge these pickups on their lack of provenance, although: they sound glorious and really well-balanced. Apparently, the mannequin I checked out got here wired with the pickups out of section within the center place, which can or might not be normal, nevertheless it sounds tremendous cool for Peter Inexperienced blues strains and for including articulation to blown-out fuzz tones. If it isn’t a inventory characteristic, maybe it ought to be!

Shergold proceed to impress with glorious guitar after glorious guitar—all tremendous inexpensive and all with the identical overwhelming sense of mid-century cool. Their choice to give attention to three core designs and provide them at various worth factors has resulted in guitars which can be centered, streamlined, and with very clearly outlined identities—no simple job today!

For extra data, please go to:

shergoldguitars.com