C
elebrating 10 years in existence,
Chapman Guitars announced its
overhauled Standard line earlier
this year. The Standard models are
still made in Indonesia, but production has
now moved to a different factory and the
V2 Standards also sport new pickups made
in-house at the same facility.
Chapman says the production change
was prompted by a lack of consistency of
fit and finish, with a small percentage of
instruments not hitting the necessary level
of quality. After extensive consultation,
including the perusal of many prototypes,
a factory change was approved.
The overwhelming majority of original
Chapman Standard-line guitars certainlyweren’t deficient in the quality department,
but here, there’s a notable improvement in
attention to detail and set-up.
The neck join on our model is exemplary
and the guitar is immediately perfectly
intonated and playable. Even the action is
set at a low and comfortable height and
with its 13.75-inch ’board radius, there’s
little danger of any string choking.
The Ghost Fret’s inspiration is fairly
obvious – and it’s the most striking shape in
the Chapman range. You’d be forgiven for
thinking it a potentially awkward fit but,
aided by a substantial ribcage contour, this
is a very comfortable guitar to play when
seated. Strapped on, however, our review
guitar is guilty of a little neck-dive.IN USE
The maple neck itself is a very comfortable
medium ‘C’ shape with a silky smooth
satin finish. With a 24.75-inch scale length
and the generous cutaway providing
almost unfettered access to the top frets,
we explore the higher registers with some
brave finger stretches – although no injuries
were suffered in the reviewing of this guitar.
Chapman’s own-brand pickups now
feature on all Standard V2 models and the
Primordial Zerø humbuckers in the neck
and bridge positions have been voiced in
accordance with the Ghost Fret’s body
shape: bold and impactful.
They are not quite as overwound as we
expected, but nevertheless, they are very
much suited to the higher-gain patches
on our Axe-Fx III, namely those based
on Marshalls and Mesas. In conjunction
with the mahogany/maple construction, a
pronounced midrange is evident, but the
wonderfully smooth ebony ’board adds a
touch of brightness that gives our down-
tuned riffage an extra helping of clarity.CHAPMAN GUITARS
V2 GHOST FRET STANDARD
WORDS DARRAN CHARLESUpdated for 2019, this angular, rock-ready machine features
new pickups and a sharper focus on attention to detailREVIEWS106