Sovereign SV1 Special
Review by Paul Slater: Guitar Buyer, January 2004

"Wiltshire-based Sovereign Guitars is realising its dream of taking its place among the best that the rest of the world has to offer; launching in promising style with a range of guitars based on a familiar shape with some interesting features and options.

Body & Neck: Every guitar needs a distinctive design feature. As recessed scratch plates are rare, this characteristic of the Sovereign SV1 Special will certainly stick in the mind. The poplar body's contouring is fairly unusual as well, as the edges are very rounded.

It all starts to make sense when you consider the bolt-on neck joint. This sympathetically approached design has plenty of snug contact between the body and the one-piece maple neck, yet enables a rounded and unobtrusive heel to allow generous upper-fret access.

The shaping around the neck joint that allows such good access to the higher frets of the SV1 provides a good solid joint, with fewer restrictions to the design possibilities of a hand-friendly shape. The neck is a very slick, flattened C shape that, thanks to the design of the neck joint, manages a consistent depth of around 19mm from the first fret, right through to the 15th, giving a uniform feel. A rosewood fingerboard with a 12-inch radius and 22 small frets add to the easy playability, although it does avoid falling into the soulless speed-neck category and retain a friendly and comfortable vibe.

Hardware & Parts: All Sovereign SV guitars have the option of locking or non-locking vibrato systems. The non-locking varieties have natty looking roller nuts which may be worthy of a look-see if your repertoire doesn't extend to Vai-type abuse.

For the confirmed dive-bomb devotee however, the fully locking Floyd Rose Licensed system as fitted here is a fine choice. The bridge unit picks up on the recessed motif of the scratch plate, which offers a low-profile feel while still enabling a good degree of upward bend. In use there's little to complain about as it works smoothly, and returns to pitch accurately, even after heavy use. The arm is attached with the collared method, so it's easy to set it so it either swings down out of the way when not in use, or stays put.

Sounds: This brings us to the single-coil pickups, custom wound by pickup maestro Andy Blake who offers his magical wares under the name of British Wizard. These are configured to the previously mentioned five-way selector switch, and the single volume and tone controls.

The three single-coil pickup format is always a good choice for those requiring a wide tonal palette to work from. This is even more relevant with the SV1 Special as each pickup has a strong character of its own. The bridge unit has a pleasing warmth that's not often found in this position. It's quite a bold tone too, with a strong midrange and a fairly restrained treble that makes for a gutsy rhythm sound, both clean and with a mild level of overdrive. Raising the gain somewhat and cutting back a little on the tone control, produces a probing and focused lead sound that sounds really prominent and fiery against a humbucker-based rhythm guitar.

Flicking the five-way switch to positions two to four presents some fine examples of the 'in-between' tones, that's if a honky quack is what you look for in these combined settings. As is often the case, the volume does drop a little, but either sound encourages you to palm your pick and dig in with your fingers for what is a splendid country, or Knopfler-esque vibe.

The middle pickup does an admirable job for the polite stuff, being less bland by its virtues of a nice poppy attack, a touch of twang, and a good deal of definition - great for fluid runs and emphasising individual notes in chords.

However, the highlight tones of the SV1 are derived from the neck pickup. It sounds huge, with a lovely mellow richness that retains a strong clear core in each note, and a dynamic richness that's quite flattering with a wide range of amp tones.

Guitar Buyer Verdict: 4/5

"It's a tough market for Brit builders, yet the Sovereign acquits itself well. Any new company has to make an impact right from the start with its products, and there's little doubt in our minds that the playability and tones of the SV1 have the sheer quality to win over the undecided. Sovereign Guitars Ltd are surely a company with enough substance to make a definite mark."

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