Kevin Chilcott

Luthier

REVIEW ON "HARMONY CENTRAL"
( September 2004 )

ROYAL X-PLORER

Royal X-Plorer Custom Natural

Price Paid: £400 (Pounds) used

Purchased from: N/A
ABC Music, Exeter , England

Features: 10
This guitar was made in Exeter , England in 1986 by master luthier Kevin Chilcott. I bought her in 1992 and she remains my favourite guitar. She was originally made in 1986 as a one-off for a customer, and is therefore a unique guitar. The design is clearly based on the Gibs*n Explorer, but is slighly smaller and more ergonomic in design. She has a mahogany body and neck finished in a clear lacquer which reveals her golden brown wood colour. She has a bound, set-neck and custom inlays. She currently has two EMG humbuckers, and 85 in the neck and an 81 in the bridge (she was orginally fitted with Royal's own custom pickups, but they were replaced with EMGs before I got her). The hardware is gold plated, and she is fitted with a Washburn 2001 "Wonderbar" tremolo.

Sound: 10
It was the sound that made me buy this guitar. She has a lovely rich sound similar to a Gibson, great for heavy rock styles but very versatile for other styles. The pickups have no coil tapping option, so you don't get the single coil sounds, but that's fine for someone like me who prefers a more ballsy sound. The wood brings out the harmonics like no other guitar I have played. The EMGs ensure that there is virtually no noise and she really sings.

Action, Fit, & Finish: 10
Despite the potentially awkward shape, Kevin has made this guitar balance perfectly, improving on the original design slightly for comfort. Sitting down to play takes a bit of getting used to, but still remains comfortable. It's really meant to be played standing up. The neck is very comfortable and feels like it was crafted just for me. The glued-in neck joint gives unhindered access to the highest frets. Kevin usually made his guitars to have very low action, and the action on this one is very low indeed. This is well suited to my style of lead playing. The Washburn Wonderbar tremolo never goes out of tune and is superbly engineered (apart from the string lock, which is rubbish). The only adjustment I had to make was replacing the nut which had been ruined by a previous owner, and I wasn't so impressed with the Washburn string lock, which broke twice, but other than that, this guitar really has no flaws.

Reliability/Durability: 10
This guitar saw me through my wild teenage years and suffered a few knocks on the way, but she has helped me through many gigs and recording sessions. I damaged the guitar severely during a recording session a couple of years ago. I almost cracked the headstock clean in two, but thanks to the carbon-fibre headstock face, the repair job was a lot easier than it would have been.

Customer Support: 10
I cannot speak highly enough of Kevin Chilcott. He is one of the nicest and most genuine guys I know. He sadly had to retire in 1989 due to ill health, but has recently been able to do the occasional repair job and has even begun making guitars again, though his health still means he can't do as much as he used to. Kevin and his wife Lyn have been very helpful to me in terms of advice and support and has very kindly offered to help restore this guitar to her former glory, along with one of my other Royals.

Overall Rating: 10
I now own 5 Royal Guitars and apart from one other (an Overwater) that was given to me as a gift, I wouldn't want to own anything else. I have been playing for 17 years now and have tried Gibsons, PRS, Fenders, you name it, I have probably tried it. For me, Royal outclasses them all. Each Royal Guitar is crafted individually by hand, usually with a person in mind, and this is apparent when you play them. If any of them were stolen, I would be mortified, as they are unreplacable.

Submitted by DT Giles at 09/13/2004 05:36

MAGAZINE REVIEWS

REVIEWS PAGE

ROYALE GUITARS HOMEPAGE

ROYAL GUITARS HOMEPAGE
INDEX + NEWS & INFO