WHAT'S THE FUTURE OF CHAPMAN GUITARS? 

They just don’t standout in any way for me and I used to be a big Chapman and Andertons fan and that has waned over the years. I still tune into Andertons from time to time but Rob kind of lost me as a fan with his behavior the last few years.

I completely understand if I come across as petty and childish in saying this but, the whole drama with Rob a couple years ago still runs me the complete wrong way and turn me off of the brand forever. Not to say the guitars are bad I'm sure they are great, it's just he himself comes across as arrogant and annoying

“If it wasn’t for those meddling kids, sorry, KDH , I would have got away with this”. Rob Chapman.

No artists, no luthiers among the team, no offices and no production site. It’s gonna be hard to relaunch a brand that’s just outsourcing specs to a manufacturer. A brand based on one’s personality is a difficult endeavor. Good luck to them I say. Hopefully all works out.

I’ve had minimal interaction with Chapman guitars as a company, but I did purchase a thinline ML3 used a while ago, and it’s an amazing guitar. I’ve played other Chapman guitars, and they haven’t resonated with me as much, but they have all been nice guitars. Hopefully they can keep the quality up through this transition.

doesn't help that Rob is basically a real life Jackie Daytona, regular human bar tender 🤣 dude's a caricature

Agreed. I just bought a new Chapman, and plan on another one down the line as well as a Solar. But they could use a better online presence to showcase them a bit more and keep them in the limelight and stay more relevant.

You are light,Ray. Love the channel

I recently bought a Chapman ML1 Baritone and it's one of the best feeling guitars I've ever played

Rob tarnished the name of the company honestly. I still love Andertons and Bea but Rob really ruined the companies reputation. If he had called them anything else they probably would have been fine.

I recently got the ML3 Bea Baritone and it's a thing of beauty, plays amazing und sounds very good. QC is top notch, build quality is definitly up there with my schecter and fender which are well above a grand... And the chapman was around 700 bucks! I got mine a few weeks before the announcment that Rabea is leaving, I was very sad about the news but I'm happy I got one for myself before they will end that line of guitars. I definitly know what you mean that they kind of vanished. Around 2017/2018 I was suppper into Chapman Guitars and the whole Andertons RU-vid-verse. I didn't have that much money back then and my dream guitar was always the ML2 Pro in this cool blue faded finish. After Rob started to appear less and less in the videos and it generally got quiter around them and the company I lost interest in Chapman. Just now as I was searching for a good baritone with humbuckers I started digging back into them and the Bea Baritone had all the specs I wanted and looked amazing so I pulled the trigger on it and haven't regret it since!

This company is so greasy, I think they'll struggle to attract big name artists. The negative PR follows this company around like a stink cloud.

I saw your channel for the first time today, you're probably the most wholesome metal guitar dude on RU-vid :)

The Chris Robertson PRS SE was pretty cool. Interested to see what they’ll do.

I once checked out a used strat-style Chapman at a local music store up in Northern California. It was merely okay. Basically a decent studio instrument, but it seemed like something that would gather dust instead of being played frequently(by me, anyways). I checked out some others during NAMM and they looked great but didn't have that 'feel' that I look for in a guitar. Rob is the face of the company, and he did a very bad job doing damage control years ago. He has a lot of homework if he wants to help his image and his brand.

I think the problem with Chapman guitars is, Rob. He comes across all wrong . I think he needs to step back and let someone else be the face of Chapman. I had a ML2, loved it. I ended up swapping for a thinline Tele, love that more.

Yo X I think that’s a perfect way to put it and I agree them getting a big artist on the roster would help them a lot. The guitars themselves are great no doubt but they need a big artist. Great video! 👍🏼

I got my ML3 Trad in 2016 from Riff City. I think they would have done so much better on this side of the pond if they would have stuck with them instead of the major chain they went with later. That chain guitar store totally undersold and downplayed Chapman in favor of the more legacy brands they carry. In Detroit when I went in there to try out the one ML2 they had, I knew more about the guitar then the sales staff. I'm still on the hunt for that MLB DH FF. Was not ready when they announced that #theinternetneedsmoredave .

I own 3 Chappers and from my ML1 standard to my 2 ML3 Pros they have the same build quality and aesthetic. The pickups on the standard aren’t great but it looks and plays the part. To me they’re as well built as any major American or Japanese brand models.

Unfortunately for Rob and Chapman as a Brand is that "old school" Rob and his apparent "charm" doesn't really exist for a lot of people now. He comes across as disingenuous after all the BS. TBH, I think he's doing it best by staying away from YT and social Media all together. I don't think too many people miss him online.

I agree with your take. I never fully understood the hate. A RU-vidr put out a negative video, Rob responded in a defensive manner, like most of us would and the guitar community lost their minds. I own a number of Chapman's. They are my favorite guitars I've played. I have personally had more qc issues with the big brands. But I hope they do well. I don't know Rob, and I don't know the business deals and I'm assuming most who are bashing him don't either.

I know that Rabea said in his video on the subject, that he thought long and hard about the issue, but that he doesn’t plan to stop playing his signature Chapman guitars, just that he doesn’t plan on working with the company anymore.

hey mam, about the QC, I dont know how is it in UK or US but here in europe, I tried about 10-15 chapmans both hight end and low end, all were really badly build and there were awfull finish issues on guitars that are 1000€+ and I am talking huge stuff, I had several harley bentons and none had those type of blemishes or playing issues, and when i compare chapman to the same price category like Ibanez or Schecter... chapmans dont even stand a chance

I got a ML1 Hybrid when I decided to pick up the guitar again. Far better to re-learn on than the Jackson/Epiphone buried in the loft, and more cost effective than similar options. One niggle, the width of the neck at the nut is a couple of mm too narrow, making it far too easy to roll a string in standard E. Looks great, very very quiet compared to other guitars and fun to play barring the niggle. At the time it ticked the boxes, especially for the price. Would I get another? Maybe, but I’d want to play it first, and I went for LTD instead. Their new Les Paul type looks tasty, but there’s alot in that price range, especially the Solar’s, or a decent Harley Benton as an upgrade platform. It would be cool if they can improve and elevate the brand.

As soon as the Danish Pete Sig comes out, I’m getting one.

I love my ghost fret, plays great well built. I think that people’s dislike of Chapman guitars, centers around a general dislike of Rob Chapman, the person, & it’s being projected onto the guitars

I have 2 of the early Chapmans, ML7T (the 7 string Tele) and one of the Blackout CAP10 (Lee's "signature" that came with Seymour Duncan Jazz/JB) and they are both solid instruments. Won't buy another after the way they basically put Riff City out of business/tossed them aside after Joe and family were the only US dealer to take a chance on Chapman initially. I bought a lot of gear from the Riff City folks and was very sad to see them go under. Best customer experience I've had from a music store.

Signature guitars for an Anderson's employee, Danish Pete, and an Italian nobody heard of. That's me convinced!

Interesting video. I live in the UK and whilst I haven't ever owned a Chapman guitar I've watched the development of the brand, which appears to have been inextricably linked to Rob Chapman, his relationship with Captain Lee Anderton and Rob's talented protege Rabeea, 6-8 years ago. Undoubtedly Rob's moving - or being removed - away from the Anderton's channel together with his YT activity and fallout with Riff City Guitars has damaged the brand. A look at Chapman Guitars Ltd's company accounts which currently cover the period to February 2022, would indicate may be a 50-60% fall in sales over the past three years... and the growth in more powerful competitors such as PRS (SE line) and Harley Benton hitting the same SE Asian manufacturers will have impacted them, driving up quality (PRS) and driving down retail prices (Harley Benton). Lee Anderton - who along with Rob - is a major shareholder must also be under considerable pressure, as he can't be seen to be both poacher and gamekeeper in promoting Chapman when he has core-relationships for Andertons with Gibson, Fender, PRS etc. It would seem that Rob moved to Malta some time ago, so I can only assume that relationships with Rabeea and Lee must have been strained. Taking everything in to account, Rabeea would be mad to not capitalise on his success and garner equipment deals from Fender, Gibson, PRS etc. and my guess is that this will be the death-knell for Chapman Guitars, who appear to be winding things down. 2023 accounts are not due out until the end of October but the downward trend is there for all to see.

Did you change your Channel to three first names?

When Rob left Andertons, it was doomed to happen. We all bought them because of Rob and Cpt Lee and sometimes Rebeah. When they split, Chapman guitars was doomed to fail and especially when I went to being a posh, upmarket brand was way too soon. They're fine, but just another brand without Rob AND Lee or AT LEAST Rabeahr and Lee lost the magic entirely. I don't think a comeback is even possible without Rob and Cpt Lee getting the band back together. That ship had well and truly sailed and the magic has gone. It's just another Chinese guitar brand now with,likely exact clones being rebranded by Chinese manufacturers coming soon. Their time has passed and ists just a downhill slide from here, but on the brightside. Lee probably made a few million pounds off of Chapman for Rebeah.

I think the move to guitar center from Riff City in the states was very shortsighted. Ppl bought into chapman because between the online personalities and crowd-sourcing design origins, it felt like a community, and RC were part of that community. Moving to GC really hit that sense of togetherness that helps push a brand forwards, and that, coupled with some rushed decisions to push into the top price brackets and subsequent PR disasters, undermined the whole brand. Coupled with what I can only assume are now strained relationships between Lee and Rob over gear videos moving to Anderton’s YT channel and the aforementioned bad decisions and PR blunders, I don’t see a way back sadly. It was good while it lasted though and I hope all parties go on to success elsewhere.

Chapman isn't really my thing, im more interested in ESP and Schecter. BUT, i want to see good guitar companies succeed. I know about their reported QC issues, not a fan of Rob's behaviour in the past. But i've also heard people say good things about their Chapmans. Maybe a Chapman is someone's favourite guitar and that's cool for that person. Im indifferent, they have some potential and i hope they don't set the bar too high. Good on you for giving a look on both the good and bad and giving ideas about where Chapman could go. Really appreciate the positivity my dude

Well, if you remember that video KDH made, it would appear the biggest issue with Chapman guitars would infact be the QC and Rob himself. I'm not going to pretend to understand what all went on. You can venture down that rabbit hole yourself. The brand has been tarnished a bit, and I hope the boys can bring it back to the shiny jewel it once was. All I know for certain is that there are a lot of Chapman guitars that come up for sale on Craigslist and Facebook market place in my area and they all have some issue that wouldn't have passed QC if a shop would have set them up proper before selling. The Chapman brand is direct from the warehouse or factory most of the time. One of those American stores that briefly sold the brand had almost every guitar come back because of some flaw that shouldn't have passed, or they had to do major work to the guitars before selling. This is all documented in the KDH/Chapman rabbit hole I mentioned before. I'm not throwing shade, I'm a fan of Rob, and I wish him the best. I've bought several guitars because he reviewed them, one of which I've had for 10 years now.

They need to get them into the hands of some big 'mainstream' artists. Internet 'celebrities' are one thing, but they need to be more than an 'internet brand'.

I've got a couple of used Chapmans I picked up quite cheap. A ML-2 Classic and a Ghost Fret Pro, both are decent but not worth the new retail price. Particularly when you remember that Schecter, ESP and Solar are using the same Korean and Indonesian factories (just Indonesia in the case of Solar) and are putting out better quality guitars at the same, or sometimes significantly cheaper, price point!

Pretty sure people just don’t like Rob, not a like able person like Ola, that’s why solar is popular and has been since the start.

Ya Rabea leaving chapman guitars was a very big deal for them for sure he is the reason I even know what a chapman guitar was. I have never played a chapman guitar but I would not mind trying one out. I know that Rob chapman has had a lot of controversy around him but like you said none of us were in the room when things happened.

More retailers here in the US at least. Guitar Center where they already are is fine for local buying, but their online reputation isn't very good. Places like Sweetwater would be a good choice for selling them online in the US.

Bea’s sig models were the only Chapman’s that appealed to me in any way. Their presence as a brand is definitely gone for sure as you mentioned. I wonder what will come out of the recent merger between Chapman and Guitarmory pickups / Cerberus guitars.

If they make a V shaped guitar, I'll definitely check one out

I love my ML3 Bea and definitely want another one and a baritone somehow

I personally like the stuff Jericho guitars has been making. Fairly priced to. Clean, and sleek. And from a comment response I got on IG is they may be developing a RD version of their own. Granted it takes A LOT to grow because it takes a lot of online weight to move products and convince people to shell out $$$$ for non major brand gear. Music companies not taking advantage of social media is death. Reason why I went Meinl and left Sabian which sucks. You want to see companies do well but management can be SO detrimental.

I got a ML1 special with Seymour Duncans last year and I love it. Great build quality, great playability, great tone, great looks.

What's the artist and customer service like at Chapman Guitars? If an artist is playing a show in Europe, or somewhere, and they need a replacement guitar for whatever reason, would Chapman Guitars be able to deliver the goods?

I myself have never played a Chapman guitar. I've seen & heard good along with bad reviews on certain models. One feature that has been mentioned alot is the location of the volume, tone, pick-up switch. If anyone can clarify if this is BS or something that needs to be brought to Rob's attention.

Damn, first they lost Rob Scallon and now Rabea.

I think the biggest problem with them outside of Rob being a fairly polarising character is that the guitars just don’t look that exciting or special to me. They just look like standard copies of the classic shapes. Other brands have put their own spin on it (Solar have made slight tweaks to the classic shapes, and have a fairy recognisable headstock) whereas Chapman have just gone with a fret inlay and called it a day

I would love to try out a Chapman sometime. Seems like their baritones sell well. 🤔

did ola tell u wen the x is releasing?

Fish for a signature without saying it 😂. But in all seriousness, yea they need a huge boost. I remember when I got big on Rob and Lee and they announced Chapman I was excited, but slightly bummed. Nothing was really “for me”. So I waited and eventually they released a V. While cool, not quite to my taste as I’m picky on V proportions, and it seemed a bit too big in my opinion. They’ve waned over the years and to now come out with a pricey guitar range in the midst of their current reputation is a rough thing. Hopefully they bounce back, I never got into the details of whatever was going on with the internet drama so I’m clueless. That being said, I’m happy for Rabea but that is a huge hit to the company. With their guitars not speaking to me personally, his signature was the only thing I truly loved everything about and seriously considered getting one. Only time will tell.

Ever since the video 10 days ago when Rob announced Chapman bought Cerberus Guitars, and Guitarmory Pickups I have been curious where they are headed.

Rob, pete, bea and Lee were all like cartoon characters. So entertaining

I think their biggest issue at the moment is that they are moving away from their core audience - in my view they were always more budget-friendly but we'll built guitars. They're still mostly an online brand with a younger fan base that doesn't have a spare £3k to blow on a guitar. In my experience, anyone looking for a new guitar in the price range of where they are going is going to be more willing to pull the trigger on a bigger company (Gibson, fender, PRS) or a more boutique brand (suhr etc). If they went back to that more collaboratively designed, guitars for the people attitude, along with more signings they can come back around.

Honestly, I think the biggest thing they could do to help their brand is invest in fixing Rob's bad PR he's accrued over the years. I honestly believe, so long as people dislike or distrust him the way many online do now, it doesn't necessarily matter what they're doing guitar-wise. People won't bite simply because it's his name on the headstock.

Company hasn’t been the same because people don’t see Rob the same anymore. Since the fallout from the KDH video, Whatever you thought of it, Rob’s reaction video did not paint him favourably (something I believe he has since acknowledged and regrets posting that video) but people won’t forget. There was another video in particular where he put the boot in on Reverend guitars and in particular the use of a standard neck plate on their bolt on guitars rather than sculpting it. That left a sour taste in a lot of peoples mouth’s a number of years ago now as it was just uncalled for to be so harsh on a brand. I do feel he was having an off day, but it’s still on RU-vid for posterity. Rob will turn it around, I have nothing but good vibes for him as he has shown growth on a personal level and is willing to learn from his mistakes. He’s just become part owner of two other brands so he can’t be this evil human that some corners of the web would have you believe he is. As for Bea, dude is a total legend, one of the nicest people I’ve ever met and he will go from Strength to strength. A genuine, salt of the earth dude. I seem to say that on many videos regarding him haha.

Let’s be real here, a huge part of the guitar community (you know…the one buying guitars) basically hate Rob Chapman. Until the name is on the headstock I don’t think they’ll ever get back to what they once had

I enjoy the two Chapman I have owned. They look and play great.

What Chapman needs, and I can’t emphasise this enough, is pickguards. Give me a deluxe telecaster. Give me a standard strat looking guitar but with the chapman headstock and all the modern features.

Definitely QC issues, particularly on the 2020 pro models. They’re not worth 900+ rrp. That being said if you buy any guitar direct rather than in person you’re taking a huge gamble.

So, when will we see your 30" scale, EMG + Floyd Chapman signature baritone? :D

I wish Chapman was doing better than they love the brand and Rob revitalized my interest in guitar many years ago. Sick colors coming up interested in the pete sig if it's anything like his tele. Wish they were available at long&mcquade in Canada one of the stores here in western Canada was selling B-stock guitars with a finishing error for full price. It was the unicorn finish ghost fret with a natural back instead of the black back like it's supposed to be.

I have a ML3 Pro Traditional semi-hollow. Made in Korea. And it's perfect. Best guitar I own.

Change is just to grow. Much success to Rabea's future.

Xander, you say you don’t want to pass judgement but your thumbnail has their logo in a anti- sign and you say Rabea leaving is bad. Seems like a contradiction.

Anything made at WMI in Korea is gonna be good - their low bar is higher than a lot of factories' best. I played (and briefly owned) some of the Indonesian guitars, and they were... well, not better than Squiers, IMO. That's no knock on Indonesian guitars - my Ibanez and Cort guitars are actually my favorites! I sold my Fender and Balaguer because I was only playing thje Cort - but whatever factory they were using was squarely in the IYV/Harley Benton level of product. Earts and Fireflys worked better for me. But yeah, they could be fine still. They just need to make stuff that people want, which shouldn't be too difficult to figure out. Their whole thing initially was crowdsourced design - maybe they should give that another look.

How do I put my thoughts? They are going to be kind of scattered. The Chapman brand has always seemed poorly managed, I feel as if Lee Anderton does most of the heavy lifting, in my view Chapman is the house brand for Andertons. In the beginning, it was an interesting idea to have a democratically controlled design process, where most of the specs were put up for a public vote but in the last few years they have gone away from that and have been chasing trends instead of becoming the trendsetters. Almost all the guitars from every brand nowadays all basically have an equilivant of each other offering the same specs competing for the same market space, and Chapman always felt a year behind where the market was. I also think NOT having floor space at NAMM has hurt them in the past few years, at least in regards to public perception, being cheapskates and renting space at a nearby hotel is pretty weak. To me it screams, "we're a budget brand, all were ever going to is a budget brand, if you somehow find us here in the lobby in this random sea of hotels we rented instead of that Denny's down the street, we can show you what we can sell you for cheap." As far as signature artists, it's always felt to me like "Hey buddy, I have a guitar brand, want a signature guitar?" Most companies that offer signature guitars have high end custom shops that build the prototypes for artists, and that is something that Chapman has never been able to get off the ground, not to mention has lied about. Fender, Charvel, Jackson and Ibanez aren't giving the artists mass produced crap, they are giving them primo handmade (and in the case of Ibanez) exclusive work. What incentive would somebody like Guthrie Govan have to jump ship all of a sudden and join Chapman? I also don't see how Fender hasn't sued them for ripping off their headstock shape, if it were Gibson, Chapman guitars would be six feet under the grave by now. Rob Chapman is the biggest detriment to his own brand IMO. He has gotten lazy and it shows. His involvement with the Riff City Guitars debacle doesn't help his image any either.

When they started, as most of us know, they would make designs based off of customer polls. That was different. What are they now? Literally another import brand with guitars produced in the same factories as other import brands.

I think Ray might be one of the most mature dudes . Class

only tried a couple of Chapmans at guitar shows and tbh I wasn't impressed especially for the price point, at one show I ended getting an Ibanez instead and the price was the same on both guitars and a whole world of difference in quality, but if Rob wants to send me one to demo I'd be more than happy too, but I will give my honest opinion haha

I think you overlooked the financial part a tad. The guitars are not really a good deal and have horrible resale value. If you could gamble on a Chapman or a Charvel what would you choose? Etc.

If you are not British, might I suggest you watch "Alan Partridge", a comedy character, on RU-vid. Chapman, it seems, is an IRL version of Partridge: at best a buffoon, at worst, he is serious.

i got a chapman, the bloodred ML one, its ok. nothing exceptional, it was £400, 0 complaints really so cant fault it. just nothing incredible, also you should see i think it was KDH's video on chapman, because he goes into he history of the chapmans line of "custom shop guitars" that they are now bringing back, its kinda weird

Hey Ray, did you hear Chappers is now partners in Cerberus Guitars and Guitarmory pickups here in the US? They also just announced they moved from California to Texas this week. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't start seeing some custom Chapmans coming out of that shop as well. Be interesting to see if this helps or hurts any of the 3 companies. Great videos, keep em coming in '23. Thanks!

rob chapman is into his new guitar villian bad guy persona with his black shirts, dark framed glasses and shaved head........and new line of metal guitars.......aaandthe absurdist moments where he bites unpeeled garlic and fresh broccoli in his recent video. i think its cool

Love pixelated Bea. So cool.

I wouldn’t touch anything rob chapman sells with a barge pole

Chapman being a complete narcissist probably hasn’t helped.

Danish Pete has a signature guitar...... Nice. I will surely check one out once released. Danish Pete is more than adequate to replace Rabae, although I will miss his Baritone model.

I feel the controversy a few years ago really hurt his brand.

Does Malta have extradition? ha

Got a feeling Lee would cut ties if he could

The only “Hip” we should be thinking about as we get older is Hip replacement 😂😂

Wasn't collaborative design the unique angle and selling point?

Here in the UK.. a Chapman 'Made in England' guitar is listed a price point of 3.5k... no one is ever going spend that kind of cash on a Chapman when you can get an amazing PRS, Gibson or Fender for the same amount of money.. The Chapman brand just does not have the gravitas to command that price point... you'll just be pissing money down the drain. All the other Chapman guitar ranges are always sold at massive discounts at retailers, including Andertons... sadly this is a brand very much in decline

The videos moved to the Andertons channel. Still great content x

I owned a chapman for a short time and still don't understand the hype. The only props I can give is they have a somewhat modernized Tele option. To each their own though.

My Korean made ML3-RC and ML-7 s are the best guitars I ever played

I've seen a couple of very nicely priced second hand Chapman models recently, one being Bea's model. Looks great, and I bet is sounds and plays like a dream, but I just don't see me playing a Chapman guitar in public. The name is tainted by Rob's online persona. As for their custom shop models, at £3,500 and up, I don't see who would buy one? There's a shed-load of amazing guitars out there for that price. Personally, if I had that sort of money, I'd buy two cheaper guitars :D

Why would you buy a Chapman over a Solar, Harley Benton, LTD, Balaguer, Jackson, Charvel, Squier, Fender, Gibson, and or Epiphone? Because you like Rob Chapman. But I, and many others, don’t like Rob Chapman. So there goes the main reason to get one of their guitars. I think that’s their biggest issue.

Rebea is growing and is an awesome, awesome guitar player.I wish him all the best and will continue to jam his tunes as they are great and you should check them out.Getcha Pull 🥃-CHEERS 🍻

To stand out in this crowded market, you have to be exceptional. You need to be associated with high profile players, and/or have a compelling price point, and/or have a quality difference, and/or have an enduring, solid reputation with dedicated and passionate customers. Best if you nail ALL of the above. Does Chapman? Does Chapman do ANY of the above? That's the fundamental problem. Building a brand in this space is not easy.

IMO of course they need a big artist with an internet presence. But they also need to ask the question on why some artists are leaving. No sense in getting a big artist if you cant.. idk.. like keep them happy or whatever. I'm curious what Rob and Rabea would have to actually say on why exactly they left but I certainly don't want another big artist to get a bad deal. Not shaming anyone or anything but yea of course a guitar company wants/needs a good representation. Maybe that's just kind of the natural thing that artists come and go and it's completely mutual between all of them. If I was big artist I would only want to stay with a company forever if it was like my absolute favorite guitars ever you know. Maybe they life renegotiate the contract every couple of years and what the guitar company doesn't realize is that a worst deal is nonnegotiable to the artist lol I'm not gonna sign a worst contract. So idk, I'm with you though. They need ppl representing their guitars in a wide variety of music.

Wish they would make a non reversed headstock. I’d buy the ML3 pro modern if it was a regular headstock. T shape guitars don’t go well with reverse headstocks

I've been playing for over 35 years and like to try different guitars by different brands as and when I can, but, I've never felt the urge to try one of theirs for possibly a variety of reasons. From the beginning it always felt like a bit of a con in that the marketing was always front and centre in the videos from Andertons and I hate a hard sell approach, no matter the chemistry of those doing the presenting. There didn't seem to enough intrinsic value in the instruments designs or concepts to stand out from the crowded market place either. I think the only exception to this was the model with the limited edition JB bridge humbuckers, harking back to a more eighties rock heritage. Otherwise they do come across as guitars built for a budget niche as opposed to a recognised trend or need for players per se. The loss of Rabea as a brand ambassador is a significant loss. They should have made him a partner in the business rather than letting him go. Obviously these are just my personal feelings on the topic but I do hope they continue and perhaps spread their wings and provide a more diverse range of instruments that reflect the personalities of players of differing genres rather than being so Djent or Metal pitched overall. The Tele/Strat/Gibson LP derivatives have been done to death by everyone. Time for a change in direction for my money. Easy for me to say of course! Plus another observation, in the UK as a 'tribe' we have a tendency to support the underdog and at some point the projection of success from Mr R C became a little distracting and unpalatable. I know it's a crazy thing to say or acknowledge but I believe it's true. The PRS ultra in your face marketing tone doesn't necessarily sit well with a UK audience in my view. Anyway for the sake of the staff, the manufacturer and all those dependent on the success of Chapman guitars I hope I'm proved wrong as I do respect what they've collectively achieved, it can't have been easy.

the problem i see now is that chapman started with us the people given a voice of what kind of guitar we wanted it was basically a way to get a custom guitar for a lower price and when they started they were kinda affordable and now they are trying to compete with jackson esp gibson selling guitars about the same price sometimes even more like i went to andertons some of their pro models not even signatures just basic pro models are about 1500 the lowes one i found was about 900 and at that price point i might as well go for a jackson or esp so even if they got an artist atleast for me they dont have the rep to make me choose them over jackson or esp same goes for their hitch about made in England unless you from england it dont mean much, once again trying to compete with made in usa or made in japan and use that to set a high price point which is why the two attempts they have had to use that dint work out its good to have ambision but its like a mom and pop shoe store trying to compete with nike i feel if they go back to their roots it might work but even now with brands like harley benton and sire its tough, like i personally would rather buy a harley benton or a sire over chapman and i was a chapman fan boy when it first launched i was their waiting for the poles to come up to see what the next body shape was gona be the next woood type and head stock shape another thing to consider unless ur a hard core rob chapman fan boy chapmans have no real re sale value like atleast if i spend over half a grand on a jackson or esp theirs a chance that if in a pinch i might be able to re sell it and maybe get the same back or more depending on how much the value of it goes up you cant do that with a chapman

I doubt anything will change.

I used to be a pretty big Chapman fan. These past few years have drained that though, mostly because the lineup guitars has become less interesting and more expensive. They used to be great value, and now they're nothing special.

I'm calling it now, Rabea is going to Cerberus, something Chapman is owner of. It's a natural move forward with a more signature guitar instead of a tele clone.

i think you right, they need someone famous to endorse their guitars. and they should go back to the 'affordable guitar you're meant to customize', which IIRC is how they started out with fan poles and stuff on what people want, but also pushing people doing their own mods. i think Chapman left that behind years ago and decided to go for a more 'premium' guitar, which can be fine, BUT keep around those affordable, customizable guitars for the people who originally got the brand off the ground and new players looking for that as well. there's a hundred million guitar brands out there so the fact Chapman is even still in business after (10?) plus years is impressive. if i were Chappers id also have a beginners guitar bundle. cheap, but decent beginner guitar, with a cheap but beginner amp for like under 200 quid. cause we all know young kids are all about shredding (pretty much), so i think they would be more drawn to a Chapman vs the Eastcoast that I know Andertons put out a while back as a cheap bundle for the holidays. great idea, i just think they should do the same with the chapman. keep Eastcoast as the bottom of the line (my kid wont touch it after x-mas) kinda thing, and for a little bit more if you think Johnny will stick w/ it, or you know he loves metal, than that's where the chapman can fill in a niche. i also wish Andertons would go back to challenges like when Rob was w/ them. i think pete n lee have done a few but Chappers n the Captain have like a hundred different fun videos on the subject.