Patrick Eggle New York Plus

My New York deluxe was made in 1992 in the UK factory, prior to the takeover, of which Patrick is not associated. 24 Frets, one vol, one tone (with push-pull coil tap), one two way toggle switch. One Dimarzio humbucker in bridge, one s/coil in neck. Passive electronics. Body is mohogany with a beautiful flamey maple cap; neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard. Body style is very unique and very small - the closest that comes to it is perhaps the shape of a Dan Armstrong plexi guitar. Tune-o-matic bridge with the strings then going through the body via individual ferrules. Sperzel tuners. It came in a very stylish and tough Hiscox case, with the old Eggle logo molded into the top.

Out of the four sounds on offer (humbucker bridge, s/coil bridge, s/coil neck and both s/coils running in parrallel), two are absolutely beautiful. The humbucker gives you a gibson-like roar, and sounds rich and full - the two s/coils running in parra is a beautiful, bright and full sound unique to the guitar. Almost tele-like. The other two sounds really don't do it for me, but I'm not deducting points because the sounds I use are very practical. I play through a hand built Lab Systems Cage 30 (Vox/Matchless like), which runs through an open-backed cab loaded with 2 Celestion Greenbacks. In my FX chain is a Vox wah, a Line 6 MM4, and a Z-Vex super hard-on, which stays on all the time in small venues. I have played in predominantly power-pop/ Rock bands for 19 years. I bought this guitar new in 1993, played it for a year and put it away. I am predominantly a Strat player, and have also owned Les Pauls, SG's, Rickenbackers and Teles. I have just rediscovered the joys of playing this baby, as it is the only guitar I currently own with a humbucker in it. I have once again fallen in love with it, and it is always a talking point when I take it out to play. It is noiseless, which is a plus. The neck's thin profile takes a bit of getting used to.

The set-up wasn't fantastic - I had to tinker with the relief on the neck, however everything else is rock solid. The official colour of the thing is 'Lemonburst'. The paintjob is a translucent gold in the middle, which ends up as a translucent bottle green. The flame in the maple top shines right through it. The pickguard is a white MOTS, and the vol and tone controls are black, similar to mid-70's 'budget' Gibson stuff.The fact that the strings go through the body means the guitar has quite a deal of sustain for a bolt-on neck job.

I have toured with this guitar all over Australia, and it stands up to any treatment. It still looks like a new guitar. The hardware is basic and will last a lifetime, as will the finish. The strap buttons are non-locking but are quite large. My strap is leather and I feel confident enough to not replace these with Schaller strap locks. I always take a backup guitar, but I am using this one for the whole gig, pending a string break.

I once met the Australian distributor at a music show in Sydney, who gave me a Patrick Eggles T-Shirt. does that count? I heard a rumour that the split between Patrick and the company that kept his name was acrimonious, so I don't expect any support - I've owned the thing for 11 years now.

I have been playing for 25 years and have owned all sorts of new and vintage guitars and amps, as above. This guitar has been played through a Marshall 30th anniversary head, the Labsystems, and various Mesa Boogies and Fenders - The guitar sounds great through all of these. I love the way it looks, and it never fails to get a reaction. The sounds are spot-on for what I currently need, be it alt-country, Power Pop or balls-out-of-the-bath Rock. It does it all.