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The Knaggs Severn is a marriage of many different guitar aesthetic and design elements. It features a double-cut S style body and a 6 in-line headstock with a tremolo, but with set neck construction. It clearly pulls from different guitar design schools but manages to combine them with incredible results. Other features include an alder body, maple top, maple neck and binding, and an ebony fretboard.   

What Does Cam Think

The Severn is a very comfortable instrument. Weighing in at just over 8 lbs, it feels solid and sturdy, but not heavy. The neck joint is quite unique! It’s asymmetrical, carved to fit the contours of the palm of your hand. This makes playing above the 12th fret very comfortable, and the fit is rock solid. You can feel the guitar resonate as one complete unit.

The ‚ÄòChesapeake' tremolo is a proprietary design, one that I‚Äôve not come across before. It does not ride on traditional knife edges or screws like the majority of tremolos. Instead, it utilizes a hinge design. Because of this, the bar action is exceptionally smooth and the tremolo returns to pitch very well. It reminds me of a Floyd Rose in its smoothness and sensitivity. I could even get the tremolo to flutter, which I‚Äôve only been able to do on locking systems. The Chesapeake tremolo is recessed, so you can pull up on the bar or dive. I could achieve up to a whole step when pulling up on the bar, and full-on dive bombs when pushing down. It‚Äôs also low profile, about the same size as the hardtail bridge on other Knaggs.  

The Severn’s construction may share lineage with some of the set neck designs of the 50’s, but tonally it’s a different beast altogether. This Severn was optioned with a complement of Bare Knuckle and Fralin pickups. Specifically, an Aftermath humbucker in the bridge and Blues Special singles in the middle and neck. The Aftermath is described as a high output ceramic magnet humbucker. It is absolutely that, but I didn’t feel like the pickup was too bright or aggressive. It does lend itself to heavier rock or metal tones but works just as well in a cleaner setting. Higher gain tones were clear and articulate, while cleaner tones had a forward midrange and a PAF-like bark.

The Fralin Blues Specials pair well with the output of the Aftermath. They are beefier than traditional single coils, having more output and a thicker tonality, but they still sound like vintage single coils. They worked great with higher gain, providing thick articulate and punchy tones. I was still able to get all my bright single coil clean sounds, but the singles didn‚Äôt get lost while switching to the humbucker. Positions 2 and 4 still got the quack and scooped tones I needed. This Severn can go from blues to metal, and all shades in-between.  

How Does It Play

When I took the Severn for a spin this morning, I noticed just how well built the guitar was. The neck joint is rock solid, and the neck itself felt very comfortable. It’s a medium C profile with the edges of the natural maple binding comfortably rolled. The back of the neck is just ever so slightly V tapered, but don’t let that scare you. You don’t feel the V, but the neck fits your hand just a little more comfortably. The fretboard radius leans toward traditional, but the guitar sets up nice and low nonetheless. The string action hovers just above 4/64” on the low E string and right at 4/64” on the high E string. The body contours allow the arm to lay comfortably across the body without perceiving any edge, and the cutaway is extremely deep to allow easy upper fret access.

Weight: 8lb 1.4 oz

The Knaggs hardshell case pictured is included!

Specifications

Model: Severn Trem HSS

Serial #: 1507

Color: Light Blue

Finish: Gloss Nitro

Inlay: Dots

Body Woods: T1 Maple / Alder

Neck Wood: T2 Maple

Fingerboard Wood: Ebony / Maple Binding

Nut Width: 1 5/8”

Scale Length: 25.5”

Number of Frets: 22

Fingerboard Radius: 8.5”

Fret Wire: .100 / .051

Neck Shape: .850/.860 1‚ÅÑ2 fret to .940/.950 12.5 fret

Headstock Veneer: Ebony

Bridge: Knaggs Chesapeake Trem

Tuners: Gotoh

Hardware Plating: Nickel

Strap Buttons: Dunlop

Electronics: 1 Vol, 2 Tone, 5-way Blade

Pickups: Bareknuckle Aftermath/Fralin Blues Specials

Nut Material: Graphite

String Gauge: 10s

Weight: 8lb 1.4oz