I will be sincere, I went into this evaluate not anticipating a lot. One other inexpensive double-cutaway, one other HSS configuration, one other firm promising “classic vibe” for a couple of hundred quid. After which I plugged it in. After which I did not need to put it down. That is the Patina PS-4 SL, and it is one of the crucial nice surprises I’ve had on the desk this yr.

Let’s begin with what’s really occurring right here, as a result of on paper it is a easy recipe. Two single coils, one humbucker, a traditional double-cutaway physique, a tremolo bridge, one quantity and two tone controls. Nothing flashy, nothing gimmicky. However Patina clearly understands that the basics matter greater than the function sheet, and each single a type of fundamentals has been executed correctly.

The physique is Paulownia, which instantly tells you this factor goes to be mild on the strap, and it’s. However the actual story is what’s on prime of it: real nitrocellulose lacquer. At this value level, that is genuinely uncommon. Nitro breathes, it ages, it thins out over time and lets the wooden beneath really vibrate the way in which older gamers will let you know a “correct” guitar ought to. It isn’t only a beauty alternative, it adjustments how the instrument feels in your fingers from day one, and it will solely get higher with age. That is a bonus most producers at this value merely do not hassle with.

Now, the neck. That is the place the PS-4 SL actually received me over. Quarter-sawn roasted maple, satin end, Fashionable C profile, and that 13.75-inch fretboard radius. I bought genuinely carried away filming the video for this one, as a result of the playability is simply easy. That flatter radius means bends up across the increased frets do not choke out, chords ring clear all the way in which up the neck, and the satin end means there isn’t any sticky gloss to struggle by means of, your hand simply glides. Mix that with the chrome steel jumbo frets, which really feel buttery easy and can snigger within the face of years of string put on, and you have a neck that performs like one thing twice this value. The bone nut and double-action truss rod spherical out a spec sheet that reveals actual thought went into this, not simply cost-cutting.

Tonally, that is the place the HSS structure earns its preserve. The {custom} hand-wound Alnico V pickups offer you actual shimmer and sparkle within the neck and center positions, articulate and glassy, precisely what you need for clear rhythm work or that traditional single-coil quack within the in-between positions. You then flip to the bridge humbucker and the entire character shifts, there’s actual muscle and chunk there for pushing into overdrive with out issues turning to mush or shedding definition. It is a genuinely versatile pairing, and it means this guitar would not field you into one style. Indie jangle within the morning, traditional rock crunch within the afternoon, no drawback.

The tremolo bridge stays impressively steady, returning to pitch reliably even after some pretty enthusiastic dive-bombing, and the locking tuners imply your tuning holds up by means of bends with out drifting. Little particulars just like the luminous facet dots for darkish stage work present Patina thought in regards to the gigging musician, not simply the bed room participant.

After which there’s the headstock. I do know headstock design should not matter as a lot because it does to me, however there’s one thing refreshing about an organization that resists the urge to plaster an enormous brand throughout it. It is refined, it is tasteful, it lets the remainder of the guitar’s design do the speaking. Small factor, however it provides to that general sense that this was designed by individuals who really play guitars, not simply individuals making an attempt to tick spec-sheet packing containers.

At 599 EUR, that is genuinely troublesome to fault. You are getting a nitro-finished, quarter-sawn roasted maple neck, chrome steel frets, locking {hardware}, and a set of custom-wound pickups that punch properly above what you’d count on for the cash. It would not attempt to be every little thing to everybody, and that restraint is precisely why it really works. The whole lot this guitar wants, nothing it would not, similar to Patina says.

In case you’re after a genuinely playable, genuinely great-sounding guitar that balances traditional tone with fashionable consolation, and you do not need to lay our a fortune to get there, the Patina PS-4 SL deserves a critical look. This one’s a keeper.

For extra info, go to Patina Guitars’ web site.