Patrick Eggle LA Pro II

Absolutely gorgeous quilted top, superb neck with 24 frets, locking Sperzels, made in "93 and an absolute joy to play. Mine has the usual single coils in the neck and middle positions but a single coil sized humbucker in the bridge. This alleviates the "problems" other owners have of the pick-ups sounding "weak".
Compared to my two USA Strats this guitar is very light.

I play in a band that plays in clubs, (the usual covers stuff) and in pubs where we play Floyd, Wishbone Ash, Thin Lizzy et al. This guitar covers all bases and has replaced my USA Strat as my main guitar. Depending on the size of venue it runs through either a 2x12 Randall or a Session 140 via a Boss DD3, AC2, CE3, AF3 and a Marshall BB2. It doesn't matter which amp I use the tone is always spot on. Switch to the neck pickup with the BB2 drive on about 11 O"clock and the blues sound is awesome. On the other hand switch to the bridge pickup and you can wail away to your hearts content.

I bought the guitar from Cardiff guitars about 6 months ago where Simon did a great job setting it up exactly how I like it. I agree with a previous comment about how the pick-ups could be a pain to change but as I'm exremely happy with the sound it's not something I envisage doing.
Finish is superb. This guitar is 14 years old now but looks as though it left the factory yesterday. Credit to the Eggle company and the previous owner.

Have had it six months not gone wrong yet but then again didn't expect anything less. Stays in tune thanks to the Sperzels and the best trem I've used, a Wilkinson. I've replaced the strap buttons for locking ones as I have done on all my guitars. I mean, c'mon, using lockers is a no-brainer if you want to keep the guitars as intended. I never gig without a backup but have found myself using this for a whole gig more often than not. When I go on stage it's the Eggle I instinctively reach for now, not my USA Strats.

Once again i must commend Cardiff guitars on their customer service.
I bought the guitar already well set up but after a month I took it back to have it tweaked and Simon turned it around in two days.
As for Eggle I doubt if I'll ever have to contact them as the build quality of this guitar is excellent.
Give it 10 just because of the service from Cardiff guitars.

I've been playing for about 33 years going through all the styles of guitar music that has come about in that time. I've owned Strat's, still own three, a Les Paul, i'm not a small bloke but it was just too heavy to lug about on stage for two hours!, a G&L ASAT, an Ibanez etc etc. This guitar is without doubt the best allrounder I have owned. If it were stolen I'd hunt the blighter down and hold his kids to ransom until returned. Seriously, these appear to be very few and far between and I, like some others on this page, have noticed that the price of early Eggles is rising. It is getting to the stage where I may not be able to afford another one.

This is an update on my previous review (the second from the bottom). I have had some reactions and questions from people about the low price I paid for my Eggle LA Pro II (using this as a guide for purchases on eBay), but this is due to a misunderstanding. What happened is that I bought the guitar from a friend who was the first owner and bought the guitar new in Germany for (the equivalent of) 1700 euro. I made a deal with him that if I would build a rather elaborate website for him (took me about a month), he would let me buy his guitar for 550 euro. So I did pay him 550 in cash, but also built him a website.

This model is pretty rare, but when one does come up on eBay, they currently sell, in good condition and with original case, for around 1000 euro (which is still, I think, a bargain for a custom shop quality guitar like this).

My LA Pro II is a green one, with black headstock. Three single coils in ebony covers. Strat features without the silly two tone controls but just one master tone. All I need.

Superb, classy vintage strat tones (but maybe somewhat darker). Despite the possible super-strat associations (no pickguard etc), this is more of a super-de-luxe but tasteful rendition of a stratocaster. As such, more suitable for medium types of rock/pop or blues -- although you could always use a booster/overdrive to drive the output to metal-levels (Malmsteen-style).

This is where this guitar shines. Absolutely no bad remarks about action, fit or finish. It is true that building quality on these early Eggles beats everything I've seen from any custom shop. The general feel is very much that of an instrument made out of wood, while many Fenders and Gibsons (even from Custom Shop) can have a plactic-y feel to them. Nothing like that here.

The guitar is now 13 years old and it still looks like new. The beautiful finish is ultra-durable. This is the type of instrument a session player could buy once and stick with his whole life. Best of the best. I'd use it on a session gig without backup. Live' I'd always use a backup but if I've ever had one guitar that I'd consider using on a gig without a backup, it's this one -- reason: the trem is ultra-stable, even with some serious whammy use, and strings are a breeze to replace (due to locking Sperzels and no hex-screws or whatever to loosen/tighten, etc -- Floyds are a nightmare!).

Never contacted Eggle. I hear the company has restarted but the new guitars are sh*te (apparently, don't know first-hand). If you want an Eggle, and if you can find one, get one from the early nineties. There is an independent forum dedicated to early Patrick Eggles -- I don't want to post a link here cause that may not be valid forever, but do a Google search.

I've been playing for over 20 years and have had over 35 guitars over the years. This Eggle is one of the best I've owned. I've read the other reviews here and, although I don't understand where that poorly-fretted guitar came from (sounds very un-Eggle-like from what I know of those guitars), I can understand that someone looking for a super-strat could be deceived by this guitar's looks and expect higher output pickups etc. In reality, it's the most classy vintage-y strat you could own. A beautiful instrument but most of all, imho, a player. Get one if you can find one -- they're pretty rare.

Late 1993 Eggle LA Pro II. Handmade in UK. 24 fret, 25" ("mixed") scale length, medium neck, fast but not too fast. Really excellent neck. Beautiful quilted top. Eggle tremelo system (pivot), very smooth. Locking Sperzel tuners. Standard strat-layout but with master tone & volume. Everything a pro player needs, really.

This is the model with the Eggle single coils, with ebony covers (beutiful!). Sounds are very stratty, pickups fairly low-output, which is the best you can have (you can always boost, add drive, ... - it's a lot harder to turn your 'distortion' humbucker down to get snappy or clean sound). Excellent sounds as far as I'm concerned. If you don't like these types of sounds, get a Les Paul (or maybe Eggle Berlin?) -- this is a strat-type guitar and it does strat-type things!

One of the best-finished guitars I've ever seen. Right up there with the best custom shop jobs. Incomparable to standard Fender or Gibson products. Very 'pro' all the way, very durable, yet with a 'handmade' sort of worn-in feeling to it. The guitar's body is fairly square on the sides, not as rounded as a typical strat (or JEM), more tele-like. Doesn't get in the way though and looks beautiful (did I mention this guitar does not have a scratch plate either?). Neck's a bolt-on dream. Frets are medium gauge but finish (and resulting action) is perfect. I don't know what kind of guitar the guy in the first review got - never seen an Eggle with a bad finish, leave alone 'frets that come up from the fretboard'... Maybe someone started toying with that guitar before he got it?

"Rock solid" says it all. Very durable. Mine still looks like new although it's almost 12 years old. Finish is hard as a rock and it still has the original frets in real good condition. Strap buttons are big (but not straplocks), safe enough for most applications. Would be possible to use without a backup, even if you break a string (locking tuners make string change a breeze), but to avoid that hassle, beter always bring a backup guitar!

Company's staff used to be excellent chaps in the early 90s (they've well deserved a 10 here!). Then they went bankrupt. Company has been re-started several times under new ownership. Tried contacting them a while ago, got no response. From what I hear the current Eggles aren't any good either. If you want one of these guitars, buy one that's been built in the 90s! (Don't expect to pay the price the other reviews mention -- 550 euro for an LA Pro?! -- Eggle prices have gone up dramatically in the last 2 years...)

Been playing for 15 years now and have owned and played a lot of equipment. This guitar is up there with the best I've played. Beautiful machine, extreme playability and very versatile (just don't expect humbucker-like output). Handmade quality that you'd pay 10 times as much for if you got one from the big US companies. Oh yeah, if it were stolen, I'd get in touch with the other reviewers and buy their guitars for double of what they say they paid for them (or swap them for a guitar with humbuckers...)! Haha!

My LA Pro II was made in September 1993 and I've bought it a couple of months ago. As Patrick Eggle and some of the original crew left in March 1994, this is still one of the 'good ones'. Hand made (!!) in England, 24 fret, gorgeous red quilted maple drop-top (the cap is 'bent' over the contoured top) on a maple body, a maple neck (slight silck finish on back), ebony fingerboard with small abalone dot markers, ebony headstock. The neck is thin, but not Ibanez-thin, and is just right -- Eggle used the same neck profile on all their guitars and they all have great necks. It has the best Wilkinson trem I've ever used (I also have a Wilkinson VS100 on my Eggle Berlin Pro), it has two outer pivot screws and 4 extra inner screws (to give a classic strat-bridge appearance and apparently to add sustain) - very smooth with excellent return to pitch. Electronics are very straightforward: classic 5-way slider with the standard options, volume and tone and output jack on the side of teh guitar (as opposed to a strat). The body shape is like a strat but because of limited contouring and fake binding (edge to the top is left unpainted) it has somewhat of a Telecaster-look going as well. Verrrrry nice! It came with a fitted Hiscox case in racing green and embossed Patrick Eggle logo. Very high quality case.

I give an 8 because of the not so very creative features - especially the electronics options are a bit on the bland side. But, as will become clear throughout the review, this guitar aims to be a classic strat in a more fancy high-gloss package. I don't know how much points you'd have to give a USA Strat for features... I'd give it an 7, so I'll give this an 8.

I play mostly melodic hard rock, but also some more pop and funky stuff. I currently play through a Marshall JTM60 combo (very much underestimated!) and a Boogie Studio .22 - my effects board is minimal, with a Boss Super Overdrive for added grit, a Super Chorus and a Vox Wah. Soundwise, the guitar is a bit disappointing for me, but THIS REALLY DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU EXPECT! The sounds are very full, beautiful, well articulated, etc. It's just that the pickups aren't very high output! I suppose that if you'd take a late 60s strat and put it alongside this guitar, you'd get the same sounds! The classic single coil pickups on a strat are weak in output. That's very suitable for some things, but it tends to sound a bit small when you're used to humbuckers. But if you just turn your preamp up a bit, all the sounds are there: from the warmth from the neck pickup to the agressive funky bite in the bridge pickup. The pickups are really good, but not really suited for heavy metal.

Two bad things, though: The pickups are back-mounted. That's beautiful to look at (no screws or scratchplate on the front), a bit annoying to adjust but also almost impossible to replace! Some handiness is required to put in a JB Junior in the bridge, but it can be done as it has the same shape as the original pickups. Tringular single coils (with the extra bit on the bottom where the wires come out) are impossible to fit.
The other bad thing is the lack of reverse wind / reverse polarity of the middle pickup. This means there's hum (as much as you can expect from a good single coil) in ALL positions - no hum-cancelling in positions 2 or 4. :(

All in all: great Strat sounds for those who just want vintage strat sounds. Those looking for a rock machine should look elsewhere (or be prepared to start DIYing with pickups that fit).

One word: great. My setup probably wasn't the factory setup (as I bought the guitar when it was 10 years old - still in shiny new condition!), but in 1993 Eggle were known for their great setups. Action is superb (less than 2 mm at the 12th fret without buzz and lower if you want it). I put the pickups closer to the strings to get more output out of them (a bit of a hassle, see above). The top is a one piece drop top, no bookmatching. Bridge route is very good. Only thing that kind of worries me is that the screws for the trem don't go completely straight into the wood. But maybe that's just normal. All electronics worked without any noise, crackles, whatsoever - and this is a 10 year old guitar.

I have owned an Eggle Berlin Pro for over 7 years now (I think) and it's reliability is just amazing. The finish on these guitars is so thick that they always look as if they came out of the factory yesterday. This LA Pro II is no exception: fabulous work, extremely reliable, great wood, excellent quality hardware all around. You could easily gig without a backup (but I wouldn't as I'd take my Berlin Pro along for some more humbucker-oriented work).

I've dealt with Eggle a couple of times over the years. Because the company has changed owners a couple of time and has moved from Coventry to Birmingham now, costumer care hasn't always been constant, but the times I needed them (always in Coventry, never in Birmingham), they were always super-friendly, very willing to help out and just very dedicated and caring.

Top notch. A shame the pickups are so hard to replace as they can sound a bit weak. Eggle LA's are not so well known but they are great guitars (a lot better than USA Strats, imho). Patrick Eggle guitars in general are just very high quality instruments that have all the right things on them for me. Because of the confusion surrounding the company changing ownership, it hasn't always been easy to find information about these guitars (especially outside the UK). As a result, second-hand prices were very low, but they seem to be rising very quickly now, with some models going for more than their original price. Considering this LA Pro II was around 1000 pounds new, I got myself a great bargain!

Made in England 1993

This guitar is more vintage than the previous LA plus.

The guitar has a 24 fret maple neck with ebony fretboard and spertzel locking tuners.

The body is a strat style, square cut like a tele where as the LA+ was rounded like a strat. Again it is swamp ash but with a quilted maple top and natural binding. and aqua burst and matching headstock.

It has 3 custom Armstrong single coils with ebony covers No pickguard (Sheer class) The design of the guitar is such that the front of the guitar has no screws except the two for the 5 way switch.
Also a vintage type Wilkanson bridge which is not the locking type apparently it was designed for this guitar. (Trevor Wilkanson now owns the Eggle guitar company)

Controls are a 5 way strat switch a volume and a tone knob very basic compared to the LA+ (See my LA+ review)

The neck profile is fantastic perfect for me. Those with large hands might think it's too small.

I'm only giving it a 7 since there's nothing that hasn't been done before

This only suits bluey rock not metal. It's not a shred machine as the pickups are single coils. It can be pretty noisy. I'm used to humbuckers so I find it annoying that I get hum. It probably wouldn't annoy a seasoned strat player though.

It can make all the same noises a Strat can.

I bought this second hand and it needed a refret. The previous owner had the action that high you could limbo dance under it. But that was because the fret ends were not glued in properly so some were raising from the ends of the fretboard. Very poor considering that this was a #1000 + guitar new.
The pickup height needs to be adjusted from the back of the guitar also if the pickups ever fail it would be hard to find replacements as they don't have the V shape that comes out most single coils.
Also on this guitar the neck pickup screws are not long enough I like the neck and bridge pickups high and the middle low but I'd need to find the proper screws.

I'm basing my rating if this guitar was new.

It's built to last. The Quilt isn't great i know someone with another one and the quilt/finish is fantastic which i'd be scared to wear away but this one I'm not bothered about It would look good beaten up SRV style but it's far from that.

I usually fir dimarzio clip lock straps so strap buttons arn't an issue (One of the questions)

The only thing you would need to worry about is breaking strings.

Pretty good

I wish i'd noticed the frets before hand. I'd just assumed it was poory set up from the previuos owner I had to then get the frets replaced and set up costing an extra #150.

The guitar looks fantastic and plays better than any strat. I'd buy another if anything happened to it- not straight away I'd need to find one first and even then it would depend on the colour/quality of quilt.

I do wish it had the pickups that are in my LA+ since they are pretty weak in comparison.