The Mark Chapman signature model started life when I met Mark backstage at the UEA in Norwich. I had known of Mark's difficulty in finding a decent left handed guitar, so I volunteered my services and left him my number.

A month later Mark visited the workshop and we sorted out a rough spec for the guitar. His initial brief was relatively simple: An ash body, unfinished maple neck, Seymour Duncan pickups and simple switching. The guitar also had to be small & manageable. Apart from that, the design was more or less left to me.

Knowing that Mark was a huge Eddie Van Halen fan, I went for a Peavey/Musicman look, but with an offset shape and an arched top. During the build process, Mark visited the workshop many times to view the guitar in it's various stages of construction. Before the finish was applied, the guitar was assembled and strung up so that it could be checked for feel and balance. This is the time to make any alterations.

Mark had asked for a black finish, but being swamp ash, the body had a beautiful bold grain, so we agreed on a translucent black with solid black edges.

Soon after taking delivery of his guitar, Mark has put it to good use with writing and rehearsing, and it is now being used exclusively for recording A's fourth album.

Mark's verdict on his new guitar...