Haar Trad '58 Aged Lemon Burst

Since the late eighties, Haar Guitars in the Netherlands have been building instruments you'd struggle to match for quality at this price anywhere else. Among people who know they've long had an excellent reputation, above all for relic and ageing work that's among the most authentic in Europe.

The Trad '58 is Haar's take on the classic singlecut, and this example shows exactly why it pays to look beyond the familiar names. Aged lemon burst is a colour plenty of builders break their teeth on. Too yellow and it looks cheap. Too brown and the appeal is gone. Here the transition sits exactly right, and it gives the flamed top the depth that makes a good burst. The flame moves through the wood as the light changes, and you keep finding new details in it.

The ageing is typically Haar: understated and full of mojo. Exactly the sort of guitar you take on stage without a second thought.

The Throwback humbuckers are the key to the sound. They're a homage to the early PAFs and the approach is the right one: moderately wound, Alnico magnets, and no attempt to manufacture output. The result is a pair of pickups that leave the wood room to breathe. You hear the guitar, not the electronics.

At the neck you get a warm, woody tone with a vocal character that stays defined low down. At the bridge it turns wiry and cutting without sounding sharp. Pushed, it develops the creamy saturation you love this design for, and rolling the volume back opens everything cleanly up again. Ede reaches for this one whenever Gary Moore territory is called for.

It's worth saying that this is one of the first Trad 58s built. Those were put together even more painstakingly, come in a special case, and carry the best pickups Haar could find in his boutique stash for these guitars.

A first-class burst away from the big names, from Ede's Private Stock.