REVIEW > HENMAN
reminiscent of the opulent lacquer on
1950s Les Pauls and almost as pretty as
Honey herself on the silver screen. Entirely
devoid of imperfections, the Rocka’s satiny
surface makes it a joy just to hold.
The Rocka comes in aluminum hardshell
case made by John Dixon cases in Hull,
England. Opening the case, I found some nice
bonuses that are included with each Henman
guitar: a deluxe leather strap, plus three
wrenches, for adjusting all of the hardware.
fabricates its own whammy-bar arms. Most
of the hardware is proprietary too, and
Henman makes its own pickup rings, control
knobs, and logos out of anodized aluminum.
Not only do these parts look really cool,
many of them are tuned to specific pitches
in the manufacturing process to further
enhance the resonance of the instrument.
The craftsmanship on our Rocka is
impeccable. The 24 nickel-silver frets, .084"
wide and with a .039" crown, are flawlessly
seated and polished. Made from an exclusive composite of graphite and glass, the
1. 7" nut is perfectly cut and doesn’t catch
strings, even under heavy whammy bar use.
All of Rocka’s solid finishes and stains
(most of them earth-toned) are named
after James Bond girls. And our Honey
Pale Gold (inspired by Ursula Andress’
character Honey Ryder in Dr. No) is both
Sound Performance
Where Henman-Bevilacqua guitars were
known to be a tad hefty, our Rocka was
light at just under eight pounds, thanks to
its new, chambered construction. Given
the guitar’s factory-perfect setup, the action
on its 25. 5"-scale bolt-on neck (with compound 10"– 14" radius) felt low and slinky.
Our Rocka had a Seymour Duncan
’ 59 neck pickup and a Duncan Custom 5
bridge pickup. Controls include a 3-way
selector and master Volume and Tone controls. (Other pickups, including Lollars and
Fralins, are available, or customers can send
156 PREMIER GUITAR MAY 2011
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