“Built to a standard that few can come close to – and for a grand under aFender Custom Shop Strat”: Patrick James Eggle 96 Rob Harris Signature review
Anyone who’s played one of UK luthier Patrick James Eggle’s instruments knows how beautifully conceived and constructed they are. Pat knows what makes a great guitar, so doesn’t spare the horses when it comes to seeking out the finest parts and materials to do so.
And with an eye for refining past designs to his own highly critical tastes and unimpeachable standards, he has created a small but select range, of which the 96 is a stalwart.
Patrick first got to know Jamiroquai’s guitarist Rob Harris after Rob bought one of his Oz models from MusicStreet in Huntingdon, UK. Rob posted online about his new acquisition and the two got talking.
“Rob was looking for a replacement or addition to his Squier JV Strat,” Pat told us, “something that shared the unique qualities of the guitar he’s been playing for years. It still needed to be an S-style guitar but with a darker, bigger sound.”
The two sat down to discuss the project and although what they came up with was not exactly groundbreaking timber-wise, there are a couple of nice twists.
The alder body has been specially selected for its light weight, while the neck is an attractively figured piece of roasted maple topped off with a 304mm (12-inch) radius, dark rosewood fingerboard. “This meant the basic ingredients were all in place from the start,” says Patrick.
Rob also wanted Stuart Robson from Sunbear Pickups to be involved, so the two spent the afternoon together with his old Squier JV, going through the tones and working out how to best achieve what he was looking for. For versatility, Rob decided on an HSS pickup configuration with an auto coil-split on the bridge humbucker.
There are, of course, many switching options for achieving this, but on reflection Rob decided he’d most likely use the split-coil in tandem with the middle pickup, in position 2 on the five-way pickup selector switch, so only in that situation do we get the split-coil function. And with just master volume, master tone and a five-way, the layout is fuss-free and the operation simple.
Rob also chose a vintage-style vibrato bridge with bent steel saddles, from respected German manufacturer ABM. These are mated to a set of Gotoh Magnum Lock tuners with ebony buttons that work well and look great against the guitar’s Olympic White headstock facing, which matches the body finish.
In their discussions, Rob, Pat and Stuart decided on Jim Dunlop 500kohm Super Pots with no treble bleed on the volume control. Tastes are split when it comes to this feature: some like the tone to remain constant when turning down the volume, while others make use of the slight variations, especially those who love to ride the volume pot while playing.
Rob is one of these and likes how the sound darkens when the tone is backed off a notch or two. He’s also a fan of the brighter tone that 500k pots bring, especially to humbuckers, compared with lower value potentiometers like 250k.
With its heat-aged, subtly lacquer-checked nitrocellulose finish Rob’s signature model looks particularly attractive. Its neck’s playing area is also lightly dulled off so should feel comfortable and drag-free to play, while the beautifully sculpted heel and cutaways maximise access to the 22 medium frets.
Rob also chose the guitar’s monochrome look – the pickguard is black Bakelite against the stark white body – due to his love of the late, great session guitarist Alan Murphy. Alan worked with Kate Bush, Go West, Level 42 and many others, and one of his main guitars was a white Squier Strat with black ’guard. It was this vibe that Rob was keen to capture.
As always with Eggle, the build is flawless, fit and finishing superb, and the entire thing reeks of care and attention to what the guitarist wants.
Feel & Sounds
Eggle’s 96 body style has obvious origins, but its dimensions have been streamlined to produce a design that’s Patrick’s own take. This and its lightweight alder build means it sits on a guitar strap super comfortably.
The Signature’s neck is a good palmful, too, and again Rob decided on the dimensions with guidance from Patrick. At 22.5mm at the 1st and 23.5mm at the 12th fret it’s around a millimetre deeper than this reviewer’s own Fender Custom Shop Strat.
Deep cutaways mean that even the uppermost of the guitar’s 22 perfectly dressed frets are accessible, and the fingerboard’s flattish radius provides an unfettered playground for the fretting fingers. Plus these medium frets take up a little less real estate than jumbo wires might, so the small chord inversions, quick riffs and licks that typify Rob’s style get a touch more space to do their funky thing.
Our test amp was your reviewer’s own Mesa/Boogie Mark I Reissue, with the added bonus of an Echoplex delay, Hermida Audio Zendrive distortion and Providence Anadime chorus to spice things up.
The three Sunbear pickups are graduated to provide the output balance that Rob requires: the neck single coil comes in at 6.0kohm, the middle a tad down at 5.8k, and the bridge humbucker a cool 8.6k. This gives the bridge ’bucker just the right lift for boosting lines, riffs or arpeggios but with the slightly lower‑output middle coil tempering position 2’s output.
With the Boogie set clean, each pickup or combination reveals its personality, the humbucker being crisp and up-front but neither too sharp nor too pushy.
At the other end, the neck single coil produces a rounder tone than some, and rolling off some treble reveals a pretty convincing jazz tone.
Our friend in the middle doesn’t disappoint, either. With that Custom Shop Strat on hand to compare, it matches it for both funky clank and Hey Joe-style Hendrix-isms.
Neck and middle pickups together create a warm and pleasing version of the Knopfler tone, while Rob’s ‘secret weapon’ split-coil humbucker and middle pickup together is pure funk. With a trickle of chorus and delay it puts us in mind of David Williams’ work with Michael Jackson or Madonna.
Jumping on the Zendrive, the bridge Sunbear is instant Robben Ford, and slapping on more gain we enter Lukather territory for an articulate tone that responds superbly to all types of pick attack.
Position 2 also works great with the gain piled on, its mix of powerful bridge and spikier middle pickup sounding warm and vocal.
There’s even a bit of Money For Nothing with the tone reduced some. And, as Rob tells us, the ‘no treble bleed’ volume pot provides a host of tonal variations on every pickup or setting, clean or dirty. But with no complicated switching, it’s an elegantly simple guitar to control.
Verdict
As is the case for many aspiring guitarists, a signature model was something of a dream for the young Rob Harris. Now, after many years as a successful pro player, that dream has come true, as witnessed by his moniker etched subtly into the rear of the headstock.
With experience he also knows exactly what he wants in a guitar, and it looks like Pat Eggle has fulfilled those wishes to a T. The meeting of the minds of Rob Harris, Pat Eggle and Sunbear’s Stuart Robson has created a guitar that suits its intended recipient perfectly.
But in truth Rob’s signature model would appeal to any player looking for a superb-playing, great-sounding guitar that can cover any base from rock, pop and blues, through to (obviously) funk, fusion and even a bit of jazz or country.
That it’s built to a standard that few can come close to is the icing on a pretty formidable cake. And for a grand under a Fender Custom Shop Strat. C’mon!
Specs
- PRICE: £3,499 (inc case)
- ORIGIN: UK
- TYPE: Double-cutaway, solidbody electric
- BODY: Alder (extra light)
- NECK: Roasted AA flamed maple, bolt-on
- SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
- NUT/WIDTH: Bone /42.8mm
- FINGERBOARD: Dark rosewood, 304mm (12”) radius
- FRETS: 22 medium (Jescar 55090)
- HARDWARE: Vintage-style ABM 5050 vibrato bridge with bent steel saddles, ebony‑button Gotoh locking tuners – chrome and nickel plated
- STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 53mm
- ELECTRICS: Sunbear 8.6k humbucker (bridge), 5.8k single coil (middle), 6.0k single coil (neck), 5-way lever pickup selector (with auto-coil split on position 2), master volume, master tone
- WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.18/7
- RANGE OPTIONS: Eggle’s 96 range starts at around £3,000 and comes in Vintage, Contour Top and Carved Top variants. An array of body and neck wood options are available, with all manner of hardware and electrics to be had, plus a plethora of natural wood, sunburst and solid finishes
- LEFT-HANDERS: No
- FINISH: Heat aged Olympic White (as reviewed)
- CONTACT: Patrick James Eggle
Responses