Patrick Eggle Los Angeles UK Pro

Built in 1993 in Britain on a low serial number, I spotted this beauty in Music Machine Maidenhead and had to have it on sight alone! I clinched the deal by trading my Fender Tele Thinline on the spot due to low liquidity at the time but because I gig now I should have dug deeper to keep a backup guitar and the Tele was a beauty too.

The Eggle has all the attributes as in other reviews so I won't burden the reader by repetition but what I did get once I'd paid the man was an original flight case WITH a key case AND the manufacturers spec sheet for the guitar and the Wilkinson trem spec.

My only modification has been to get it setup on 10's instead of 9's. Now I have a fuller sound and don't bust so many top E's and B's as I might.

I am inclined to the blues but I am involved with a reggae outfit on rhythm with possible prospects and I get all the sound I need from the single coil setting ranging to the first indent on the active control using my Bandit 112 and a board of Ibanez FX pedals (sparingly applied)

It howls when I'm allowed to let rip simply by winding the active control up and flicking the selector switch to bridge.

My only dislike is the fact that occasionally it is tricky to extract the ball end of a broken string quickly. I'll get used to the technique I guess.

The setup was allowed to go unchecked until I got it. The truss rod was a bit loose and the locking trem was out of proper alignment but there wasn't a mark on the finish probably due to careful use by the one (?) previous owner who went for a Les Paul Gold Top and needed the money.

It takes to live playing without a buzz and holds its tuning well due to the quality of the Sperzels and Wilkinson unit. I've had it about 18 months now and I cannot flaw it. If I damage the finish with a large metal belt buckle then that's my look out. I give it a wipe over with guitar polish occasionally and use lemon oil (as suggested) to protect the finger board.

I did put a locking strap on it for peace of mind. I have and will gig without a backup until either, a) I save enough and am lucky enough to find another one, which is very unlikely, or b) our front man runs out of audience placatory witicisms while strings are hurriedly replaced. That's the only reason I need a backup.

One thing is for sure, I have a damn good and fairly rare guitar and I won't be trading it in for any other whatever the cash flow is like.

I've had a guitar of one kind or another close by me for more than 30 years. I use a Boss DR5 and a PC loaded with Cakewalk 9 and WaveLab 4 for creating my own "doodles".

If my Eggle went on the missing list it would not be replaceable so I would have to buy something else out of necessity. I would check the internet but I don't think that I would find any sellers.

I love it because it sounds so good especially when picked up by more skilled hands than mine and I hate it when it faithfully reproduces my own inept fingering, but as Chuck Berry once said, "I play better than I did yesterday but not so well as I will tomorrow".

I bought it, as I said, on looks alone but it spoke to me off the rack and like Gandalf it didn't lie as I discovered when Dave Cottle lifted it into my hands.

This is a very rare guitar made by Patrick Eggle. The "Los Angeles" model is a Strat-Type guitar with three Seymour Duncan Pickups. The neck and middle are SD Vintage Singles and the bridge is a Seymour Duncan JB Jr. humbucking pickup (in a single coil space). The UK Pro model differed from the other Los Angeles guitars because of the Seymour Duncan Pickups and pearl pickguard. The serial number on this guitar is #108 and it was made in England. This is a short-scale guitar with a bolt-on neck with an interesting neck joint. The neck plate is in the shape of an "E". The guitar uses very high quality jumbo frets and a Wilkinson Tremelo. Tuners are locking Sperzel w/ satin tuning keys. The color of this guitar is metallic purple which is kind of hard to tell from the above picture. This is one of the smoothest-playing guitars I own. Sounds like a strat unless you're in humbucker mode... then it rocks!

This guitar sounds good but is a little on the noisy side. It could use some more shielding. Very bright sound.

This is one of the best set-up guitars I've ever played. Someone e-mailed me and told me that because of the low serial number, it could have been built by Trevor Wilkinson himself. This would probably be why it plays so good.
My only gripe is that the neck creaks a little. This is probably because of the unusual neck joint.

I don't play gigs much, but for the past few years I've used this guitar on every one. It's never let me down even once. It's perfect for live playing. One of the best things about it is it's superior tuning stability. The Sperzel locking tuners are almost impossible to throw out of tune. The straight string pull helps, too. If you can find one of these, you should consider buying it.

Great solid guitar. Lots of fun to play.