I love P90 pickups, that's a fact. When Mikaël Springer posted some pics of his Spartan guitar, his Les Paul Junior inspired beauty, on his personal Facebook profile, I immediately said I would love to review it. A couple of weeks later I received the guitar at home to spend some quality time with this awesome instrument.
Spartan guitar in video
Specifications
We are in the specifications realm of the Les Paul Junior, a mahogany body, a P90, a volume and tone. Only change to the tradition, the tone knob is a push-push switch which allows to go from a standard mode of the P90 to a mode with slightly more level and a slightly rounder sound (see video).
The pickup comes home Häussel a German manufacturer whose products can also be found on the instruments from Nik Huber (no less). It responds very well to all the nuances whether you play with a pick or without, with a clean sounds, crunch or full overdrive tones: pure bliss.
What I liked the most
- The huge range of tones with the tone pot
- The quality of the instrument
- The expressivity of the Haüssel P90 pickup
- The playability of the guitar
What I liked the least
- Nothing really
Conclusion
At this level of quality, we are really flying high. I had a lot of fun playing this instrument, I think it shows in the video! At a price slightly around 2 000 € (price to be confirmed with Mikaël) it is clearly a high-end guitar. However, the quality / price ratio remains excellent. The attention to details and and the quality of the finish are awesome.
With the Spartan, Mikaël succeeds in reinventing this classic recipe while bringing his own twist (his trademark singlecut shape, the push-push feature).
Until the next gear review, keep on playing your guitar!
Pierre Journel.
