Chapin Guitars Stratahoula

hand-made, 22-fret, mahogany body and neck, 25.4" scale, wine red transparent finish (body only). Vintage bridge w/GraphTech and Tusq saddles, vintage locking tuners. Neck pickup: WolfeTone Cub, Middle: Kinman AVn-62, Bridge: Kinman SCn. Switching: 1-neck, 2-neck and middle, 3-neck and bridge, 4-middle and bridge, 5-bridge. "9" means it has one less feature than my first Strata-Houla (see first review below)

rich, full sound. the combination of pickups, wood, etc. is radically different from Strata-Houla #001, which is more of a "meta-Strat" sound. between the two guitars Bill Chapin has expanded my tonal range beyond the Fender world and into somewhere very unique. great sustain, punch, all available depending on player's touch and attack.

flawless, insuperable fit & finish, custom-set action.

typical Strat-like construction, rock solid.

the best. example: Bill had warned me my neck pickup is somewhat microphonic by design & might squeal when presented with serious gain. i found that out when i pushed it with a Fuchs overdrive at a recent gig. so i took it in (this is after hours) and he disassembled the guitar, removed this, replaced that, reassembled and setup with a new set of strings (Pyramid 12s), which required an extra spring on the vibrato, did another setup - and only charged me for the strings. this was while-you-wait and i got to watch (and learn from) the operation. his attention to detail, quality, and customer satisfaction is unsurpassed. an example of his "limited lifetime warranty". if i'd had a spare set of strings with me, it would've been N/C. did i mention this was after hours? the best. before the job he'd advised me of the expected change in sound. he was right on and i love it even more.

see my overall rating below. since then i've pretty much focused on Fuchs-mod'd amplifiers. since i got the first Strata-Houla last March, i've played Chapins exclusively at our band's gigs. the Gibsons, Heritages, etc. languish and a couple are for sale. over the past couple of years i've met and gotten to know several other Chapin owners and know they feel the same way about their guitars and Bill Chapin.

All features were custom designed:
Body style - Strat
Body wood - Mahogany
Neck - Quartersawn, flamed Cocobolo, unfinished
Fretboard - African Blackwood
Scale - 25.5"
Number of frets - 22
Neck joint - bolt-on
Neck profile - Custom carve (PRS McCarty neck specs)
Fretwire - StewMac #148 (.041H, .085W)
Tuners - Gotoh locking tuners, Kluson style
Neck Pickup - Demarzio DLX humbucker wired in parallel
Middle pickup - WolfeTone Strat style (>7K Alnico V)
Bridge pickup - Harmonic Design VP-90
Electronics - Two volume controls, one master tone control, 5-way selector switch, 1st mini toggle adds the bridge pickup, 2nd mini toggle changes phase of neck pickup
Weight - 7 lbs, 15 ozs
Body finish - Les Paul Junior Cherry Red poly

Everything about this guitar was custom designed to provide the tone I wanted. I wanted to focus around a Garcia-like sound with tons of sustain for mournful slow leads, and then build some tonal variety around that. I got exactly the tone I was after, and with the two volume controls and the out-of-phase switch, I can get many gradations of this and similar tones.

The most amazing thing about this guitar is the combination of (1) a HUGE sound with tons of sustain, AND (2) great clarity and detail. Before this guitar, I didn't think it was possible to get both in one guitar. In fact, I have never gotten this much of either sustain or clarity in any other guitar, and now I have both in one guitar. It doesn't get much better than this.

Slight differences in picking and bends jump right out there. I am finding that I am naturally backing off on my pick attack, slowing down, and making the extra effort to get the most out of every note. I am even inclined to put the pick down and pick more with my fingers. This is a real biggie for me toward continuing to improve my playing technique.

Also I find that the differences between pickups seem more subtle. They are clearly different, but each pickup provides a full sprectrum of frequencies with its own sound and EQ. With many guitars, to my ears the bridge pup jumps to too much treble and the neck jumps to boomy bass. These pups have clearly been voiced to match the guitar.

I have played many guitars over four and a half decades, and I am pretty proud of the guitars I have held onto. I have a Les Paul Custom with Tom Holmes pickups that I purchased new in 1979. Even though this certainly wasn't a "golden year" for Gibson, I was lucky and got a good one that has a lot of resonance and tone. I have a PRS McCarty Soapbar Standard with Rosewood neck and Harmonic Design VP-90 pickups. Again, I was just lucky to get an unusually resonant guitar, since I ordered this one sight unseen. I also have three "custom made" guitars from other luthiers that are very well made. While these have been fine guitars for me, the Chapin is in another world from the guitars I have now.

One of my requirements was an unfinished neck, since I love the feel of an unfinished neck. The neck and fretboard woods are very dense and unfinished, so they have a silky smooth feel, but also very precise and solid. This feel of precision (I don't know how else to describe it; it feels like everything is set exactly right and is going to stay there) also leads me to work extra hard on every note, since I sense that if I do it right the sound will be there.

The neck is relatively heavy by design, since I requested dense woods that would provide the sustain I wanted. So Bill found a mahogany body to perfectly balance with the neck; no heavier than required. I am still amazed that the weight came in under eight pounds. This is only a little over half of what Garcia's Tiger weighed.

The set-up, pickup adjustments, etc., were all done by Bill specifically to match my playing style.

The workmanship is outstanding, no flaws of any kind found. The finish is a classy poly finish selected to match the traditional Les Paul Jr. finish.

This will be my #1 instrument from here on out, and I have every confidence that Bill will handle any problem.......though I don't expect to have any. The construction and all the hardware are top quality.

Just some background on the development of this guitar, so you get a feel for Bill's commitment to the customer. I have been taking lessons from Bill for over a year, so he knows my style and skills and the kinds of music I enjoy. He has helped me checkout amps and match these with speakers, and has listened to what I like and don't like about a number of guitars. I am sure there are other people in the world who take the time and have the special talent to learn exactly what you want/need, select just the right elements, and then build an astonishing instrument that does exactly what you want....I've just never met them.

This commitment carries over into Bill's customer support, so I have no concerns here at all.

I think I have pretty well said it all above, except for the amps I use the guitar with. I have (1) a Komet, (2) a one-off custom Two Rock octal amp, and (3) a Dr. Z Maz 18 Jr. and (4) some oldies (1965 Fender Princeton Reverb, etc.).

In summary, this the the best guitar I have ever owned. I am working with Bill on the design of a 2nd Chapin Stratahoula right now, so that pretty well says it all.

completed 3/23/02

22 frets, Strat-style body

Scale length - 25.4"

Weight - 6 lbs, 10 oz

Pickups
Bridge - Velvet Hammer S2
Middle - Velvet Hammer S1 (wound a little hot)
Neck - Velvet Hammer S1

Tuners - Kluson Vintage Locking

Wood
Body - Alder, gun oil, hand-rubbed
Neck - set neck, Hard Rock Maple, flamed
Fretboard - Madagascar Kingwood (aka Madagascar Rosewood)

Bridge - Mann-Made, 3-spring vibrato

Saddles
Strings 1-3 GraphTech
Strings 4-6 Tusq

Fret Markers - mother of pearl, 12th fret abalone sunglasses with brass frames

Nut - Earvana Compensating Nut

Controls - all CTS 250Kohm
1 - Volume
2 - Tone
3 - Tone (bridge end, push-pull) adds neck pickup when pulled

Miscellaneous - Mirror gold pickguard, all gold hardware, pickups and controls white

Wiring

Tone controls - neck and bridge pickups (standard strat is neck & middle)

Bridge tone pot in push (down) position: (standard strat)
5 - Bridge only
4 - Bridge + middle
3 - Middle only
2 - Middle + neck
1 - Neck only

Bridge tone pot in pull (up) position

5 - Bridge + neck
4 - Bridge + middle + neck
3 - Middle only
2 - Middle + neck
1 - Neck only

"And eleven secret herbs and spices" - some proprietary stuff the luthier doesn't reveal

i play a wide variety of styles of music and use the guitar w/Komet, Fuchs, Dr. Z, Rivera, Fender amps. Effects mostly E-H Holy Grail Reverb (if necessary), Menatone PleasureTrem 5000 tremolo (w/Chapin 4th knob option), and an overdrive (Menatone Ms. Foxy Brown or other, Fulltone FatBoost sometimes). the guitar is unusually quiet for a single-coil instrument and hum-cancelling in switch positions 2 and 4. the sound is identifiable as a strat but fuller, richer, can be warmer and clearer and punchier, depending on various settings. there is nothing i dislike about this instrument. "what's not to love?"

the neck was custom shaped, sanded, and finished. action is set at about 3/64", all fittings are superb. strung w/Pyramid 12s and intonated while i observed final setup and delivery over a period of five hours.

i've only had this guitar one week, but have no reason not to expect it to be my main instrument from here on out. Bill Chapin is absolutely dependable himself IMHO to stand by his work.

i didn't even ask about a warranty. if something goes awry, Bill Chapin will make it right. if i do something stupid, i expect to pay for it. Bill is generous *to a fault* in helping people find their sound, whether that involves the custom guitars he creates or the amps and effects he sells (http://www.chapinguitars.com). i've become quite a fan.

i've been playing since the mid-60s, use Gibson, Heritage, Turner (incl. Renaissance) guitars and amps mentioned. if this guitar were stolen, i'd order another, but it's the first (and, so far, only) Stratahoula in existence, so...when you consider this all hand-made beauty cost less than a deeply-discounted, mostly-machine-made Gibson and not much more than similar Fender and the amount of skill and unobtainium built with it, it's truly a "fantastic value". the guitar was designed for warmth, clarity, sustain, and size (hugeness) of sound. all design goals met. and then some.