Aslin Dane Blackwing

If you haven't already done so, you can go to aslindane.com for the complete lowdown on the specs. The Blackwing is a small, lightweight set-neck guitar with a medium-thick body like a double-cut LP. 2 very high output humbuckers with individual volume and tone controls and a 3 position selector switch located where it should be with the volume and tone pots. 22 fret small, thin neck with a composite fretboard made of a material called superphenol. Tune-a-matic bridge with a stop-bar. I have wanted one of these guitars for a long time and finally got it. I usually choose strat style guitars with maple necks but I wanted something small and lightweight with humbuckers and a composite fretboard.

I play alot of electric blues. I use tube amps. I prefer the 5 switch positions of a typical strat style, but sometimes less is better. Despite its light weight and thin neck, this guitar has some character. The neck humbucker is superb, it has all the sustain and smoothness I was looking for. The inbewtween position with both pickups has a nice subdued sound for rhythym work yet has some character for lead as well. The bridge humbucker all the crack you need to stand out. The volume and tone controls actually work through most of their range and produce no unwanted noise.

I got the guitar slightly used so I can't be sure if someone has tinkered with it. If this is the factory set-up, it is absolutely perfect. Perfect intonation and very close, slick action. The superphenol necks are the best. This particular one is done perfectly as all the frets are smooth and level with no annoying buzzing. (This is my second Aslin-Dane as I had a Jumbo Jazz Model previously-I only sold this semi-acoustic model as I found it to be too big for me.) I adjusted the pickups to my liking. The Blackwing guitar has a one piece hardwood body with a transparent black finish so you can just make out the woodgrain. There are no apparent finish flaws and the chrome hardware is perfect. Most of the pots and the switch and output jack were loose so I had to tighten everything.

Very solid little guitar. It's light weight and small size make it perfect for live gigging.

Aslin-Dane cares about their products and customer satisfaction.

I've been playing for 40 years and have owned or used almost one of everything. Currently, all of my guitars are strat styles except for this one. I knew exactly what I was getting when I sought out this guitar. I looked at some Switch guitars which fit the description of what I wanted but this one came along first - I have no regrets. The Parker price tag is outrageous. The Aslin-Dane Blackwing is small, light and nicely balanced and has some balls. The superphenol fretboards are (I hate to admit it) better than maple fretboards. They are faster, slicker and have just a little smoother tone. No dead spots. It would be nice if it had coil taps or coil splitters but then it looses it's simplicity. You won't regret getting an Aslin-Dane guitar, they offer very good guitars at a bargain price.