Rating:
Clean-toned altered chords sustained with great clarity,
and overdriven lead runs played with bends and legato
phrasing sounded rich and defined.
their own to be installed.) The Tone control
also functions as a coil tap for the pickups,
and the Volume control works with the
same push-pull action to boost the gain.
To experience the amplified sound, I
plugged straight into a Blackstar HT Stage
6 and was wowed by the Rocka’s complex
and singing tone on all settings. Clean-toned altered chords sustained with great
clarity, and overdriven lead runs played with
bends and legato phrasing sounded rich and
defined. The Skyway vibrato helped me add
everything from a subtle shimmer to more
dramatic fluctuations in pitch, and I was
impressed by its responsiveness, smoothness, and stability—a trio of attributes
rarely found on the same tremolo unit.
Splitting the coils added a luscious chime
to some ringing arpeggios à la Jeff Buckley,
and the notes merged together with great
definition and dynamic balance. Boosting
the guitar’s gain via the Volume knob,
on the other hand, made an explosion of
pentatonics sound downright mean. This
is definitely a guitar that can fit almost any
situation—and one that players of all stripes
would find inspiring.
Buy If...
you’re looking for a thoughtfully
designed, marvelously versatile, and
almost perfectly executed handmade
modern guitar.
Skip If...
you’re a traditionalist or are not ready
to splurge on a boutique guitar.
The Verdict
Henman’s Rocka is an uncommonly good
boutique electric built around tastefully
streamlined and adventurous design, and
packed with thoughtful features like a reengi-neered truss rod and tuned aluminum hardware. It plays extremely well and its expansive
range of complex tonal colors is very impressive. While not cheap, it is a high-perfor-mance guitar that can become a mainstay in
a player’s arsenal. Indeed, it’s hard to imagine
much the Henman Rocka can’t do.
Henman Guitars
As reviewed: MSRP $5150 ($4850
with custom Mono gigbag)
henmanguitars.com
or use a mobile device to download
audio clips of the guitar at
CLICKHere…
premierguitar.com/may2011
rest give it a
introducing the guitar rest by planet waves
• turns any flat surface into a guitar stand
• works great on amps, tables, road cases, and studio furniture
• inert material will not damage guitar finishes
in the studio · at home · on the stage · anywhere
where do you rest your guitar?
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Planet Waves is a registered trademark or trademark of D’Addario & Company, Inc. or its affiliates in the US and/or other countries. © 2011 D’Addario & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
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PREMIER GUITAR MAY 2011 157
