Alan Entwhistle Revives The Watkins Guitars

[mark76]

Oh yes he does!

Some mighty fine looking geetahs.

[fuzzjunkie]

I like the Strat meets Burns vibe from the Saffire

[mgeek]

These look cool (apart from the 12s having tuneomatic bridges which lets them down a bit) but I’m not sure if being pitched slightly above what the sixties ones sell for will harm their chances?

[mark76]

Are the original guitars that common though? I only saw one Watkins/WEM on ebay and that was £499. And they're not any cheaper on Reverb.

[mgeek]

Are the original guitars that common though? I only saw one Watkins/WEM on ebay and that was £499. And they're not any cheaper on Reverb.

Yeah, Watkins Rapiers are by far the most common UK made electric of the era, they were very keenly priced back in the day, sold sh*tloads and were made from 1960 well into the seventies. Most comparable models by Vox and Burns were only made for a year or two, so even ones that sold well don't turn up nearly as often as the trusty ol' rapier.

Check ebay 'sold' items, 12 original Rapiers on there, which went for between 89 and 400. I see that one up for 499, it won't shift. If I wanted one I'd be aiming to pay about 200 and I'd want a goodun at that price

[Lost In Autumn]

These look cool (apart from the 12s having tuneomatic bridges which lets them down a bit) but I’m not sure if being pitched slightly above what the sixties ones sell for will harm their chances?

that's an easy enough fix: they make 12 string T-O-M bridges with individuals adjustable saddles.

[mgeek]

These look cool (apart from the 12s having tuneomatic bridges which lets them down a bit) but I’m not sure if being pitched slightly above what the sixties ones sell for will harm their chances?

that's an easy enough fix: they make 12 string T-O-M bridges with individuals adjustable saddles.

Nah I just have a thing against boring off the shelf Chinese hardware on otherwise interesting designs. Stop tail and tuneomatic just looks wrong on a watkins.

As it happens I think individual saddles on a twelve is overkill. The slightly imperfect intonation on the octave strings is a crucial part of the jangle!

[mark76]

Maybe revive the original bridge design?

[mgeek]

I don’t think people now would stand for a one piece aluminium bridge, everyone thinks you need to be able to fiddle with stuff, but I just reminded myself of Watkins’ 12 string tailpiece and it’s just a flat bit of sheet metal with some eyelet holes for the strings. That’d be pretty easy imo, and much more visually appealing

[s_mcsleazy]

i like the price point they've picked. old watkins guitars are very cheap feeling and the sub £500 range seems to be what most people consider "worth a punt"

honestly, i've never been blown away with watkins guitars and i've tried a few over the years. but wem amps (watkins electric music) were great and still able to be had for a good price. i got a dominator for £110 and got a rodan CD thrown in. i've sold a set of wem 4x12 speaker cabs with celestion creambacks for £500 a few years back. i also have a copicat.

[mgeek]

i like the price point they've picked. old watkins guitars are very cheap feeling and the sub £500 range seems to be what most people consider "worth a punt"

Haha I’m *such* a tightwad. Most I’ve ever paid for a guitar is £450 and that was a 1965 uk made Vox Phantom, can’t get my head round current price points

[LVC]

If Entwistle went with the same Chinese manufacturer that made his previous Revelation range (and the finishes, the block markers and the 12-string headstock shape suggest this might be the case) then these should be great guitars.

I hope they don't suffer the same fate as the Revelations though... Going out of stock at a time of substantial demand because of covid-related logistics issues, then rapidly fading out of view, with relatively poor support the whole time ― the later models weren't even referenced on their website.

[MC5tooge]

The Rapiers have been out for a while. Nearly got one last year. Still tempted TBH but Brexit makes it very expensive to bring one into the EU. One of those times the reissue is probably significantly better made than the original. Would still be up for it if an EU distributor stepped in.
The 12-string looks really cool too but too similar to my Burns Double Six for me to actually buy one.