Wylde Audio Warhammer FR review

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  • £1199
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MusicRadar Verdict

A beautifully-constructed guitar with gargantuan tone and sustain.

Pros

  • +

    Fantastically-playable. Sturdy neck.

Cons

  • -

    Like all Wylde Audio guitars, may be an acquired taste

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There is no getting away from it.

The Warhammer FR looks like a subtly tweaked take on Zakk's Gibson ZV Custom Signature mode - the one that looks like an SG had a Flying V shoved up its arse.

The 'FR' part of the guitar's model designation refers to its satin black Floyd Rose Series 1000 double- locking vibrato. If you're not a whammy aficionado, you'll be pleased to know that this model also comes as a hardtail in the same Pelham Blue Vertigo finish, or our old friend, Death Claw Molasses. Both variants retail at £1,099.

Again, the satin black hardware is completed with the same well-regarded Grover Rotomatic tuners found on the other Wylde models.

The playability of our review guitar is, like its Odin and Viking V brothers, exceptional. The string height is set super-low, and it's buzz- and choke-free everywhere up the 'board, if you have a light touch. Heavy-handed shredders may want to lift the action a little.

The Floyd Rose is recessed into the Warhammer's top for a bit of pull back and, as expected, maintains its tuning faultlessly, no matter how many times you dump the strings on the pickups. Speaking of which, the EMGs sound as brutal as they do on the Odin and Viking V, but there's an increase in clarity to our ears here likely thanks to the big hole occupied by the Floyd Rose.

Ed Mitchell