Handmade in Japan, there isn’t much information about Combat Guitars. They were formed in 1989 and have remained resolutely dedicated to building each guitar by hand, shunning computer aided manufacture. They pride themselves in their careful wood selection and their many years of experience. This guitar came to us via the family of Darel Bath who toured extensively in Japan and used this guitar extensively during the 2000s and up to his untimely death. We've included a link to a video of him using the guitar at The Ship in Kennington in 2013.

The guitar itself is a signature model for the Finnish guitarist Nasty Suicide (real name Jan-Markus Stenfors) of the band Hanoi Rocks who themselves had great success in Japan as well as the US in the 1980s. We have been reliably informed that this would have cost around $5k when it was made, quite a few years ago.

This guitar is in good condition. Its certainly been used as is evident by the various bumps and knocks. Having said that there is no obvious ware and the poly finish still retains that lustrous gloss finish. The wonderfully book-matched and bound flamed maple top is a nice touch, making it more than just another double cut copy. Everywhere you look there are signs of fine craftsmanship but also a nod to the original with correctly radiused body, nut width and Melody maker style headstock.

The mahogany neck too is in good condition, free of any knocks. Rosewood fretboard too is in good shape with plenty of life left in the frets.

Hardware and plastics show some signs of use, particularly has the hardware is gold plated. The volume knob has been changed.

Electrically everything looks to be correct. The pickup is a Seymour Duncan. Pots from the far east can be hard to date but these seem to be imported CTS pots.

The guitar comes with a hardshell case.

As you can probably imagine, this is classic single pickup, Gibson-esque territory. Lots of scope with simple controls, from sweet rhythm to screaming lead, what more do you want?

Definitely not your run of the mill copy, this guitar is testament to Japanese craftsmanship. It isn’t too over the top but is certainly no shrinking violet. What’s for sure is, this is a machine ready to rock…