This is a modified Chapman ML-1 in Natural Mahogany finish. Modifications include a DiMarzio DP161 Steve's Special humbucker in the bridge, replacement nut and string trees with higher quality components. I also had the frets leveled and fret ends rounded by my guitar tech when he replaced the bridge pickup.

I bought this guitar back in 2015 as my first "shredder" guitar and played it a ton for a couple years. I swapped out the bridge pickup for a DiMarzio Steve's Special, which is like a PAF pickup on steroids. High output and big, honky tones with rather scooped midrange to make complex chords more audible under heavy distortion. The original bridge pickup comes with the guitar. The middle and neck pickups are original, and are very bright single coils with a very "stratty" tone.

There is a dent and a few scratches on the body and headstock. You can see the dent in photos with my finger for scale. The tremolo is currently decked but can be loosened to allow for use of the tremolo system. Tremolo arm comes with the guitar. The guitar also comes with the original Chapman gig bag, which has backpack straps. Worthy addition too, since this guitar is rather heavy. That solid 2-piece sapele body (not a veneer) adds a lot of weight to an instrument.

Note that the "Coil split" also changes the sounds of all positions on the pickup selector.

Body wood is actually Sapele, aka "Striped Mahogany." Very warm but articulate when paired with the ebony neck. There are a few dings in the body, but only minor cosmetic damage.

Plays great, feels great, sounds great... if the heft isn't a deal breaker. I recommend getting strap locks and a nice thick, wide strap.

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Chapman ML-1 Original Description

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The Chapman ML-1 electric guitar in Natural Mahogany is the Swiss Army Knife of guitars, combining high-powered brutal yet clear tones from the [modified DiMarzio DP161] humbucker, through to the crisp, woody tones from the Extreme Victory single coils. Equipped with coil splitting, this guitar can deliver a myriad of awesome sounds to suit any guitarist.

Chapman ML-1 Specifications:

Solid Mahogany Body

25.5" Scale Length

Maple Neck

Ebony Fingerboard

Thin C Neck Contour

Recessed Bolt-on Neck Construction

13.8" Fretboard Radius

22 Extra Jumbo Frets

Grover Machine Heads

42mm TUSQ Nut

Wilkinson WVPCR Tremolo

1 × [DiMarzio DP161 Steve's Special] Humbucker ([Ceramic] Passive, High Output)

2 × Chapman Guitars Extreme Victory Single Coil (Alnico Passive, Medium Output)

Gig Bag; Tools; Tremolo Arm + Extra Spring

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DiMarzio DP161 Original Description

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Steve’s Special™ is a non-traditional approach to high-output bridge humbucking pickup design. Hot humbuckers usually concentrate most of the pickup’s power in a narrow frequency bandwidth for maximum impact. Using our patented dual-resonance design, Steve’s Special™ takes the opposite path, spreading the sound over a broad range. Bass and treble frequencies are boosted while the mids are pulled back, so the pickup’s power doesn’t kick a high-gain amp into overdrive as easily. This makes Steve’s Special™ a good choice for both fast soloing and clean chords, because individual notes won’t smear together with heavy overdrive, and clean sounds have an almost “hi-fi” quality.

Clean overdrive with high-gain amps. Steve's Special™ is very effective in Dual Sound® and coil-splitting clean modes. For soloing, this is a very good pickup to play with a midrange-heavy amp: the mid-scoop in the pickup's sound keeps the initial pick attack clean, and the notes don't run together as much with legato playing, even with heavy overdrive.