Feline Lion Cub singlecut Guitar and Bass

FELINE LION CUB £2,200
ELECTRIC GUITAR
Feline Lion Cub
AWA R D
The Lion Cub is a deceptively simple guitar, with a set-neck, allmahogany construction. HUW PRICE finds it’s all in the fine details
J
onathan Law set up Feline Guitars
in 1997 as a Surrey-based guitar
repair business that also produces
high-end custom-built electrics. The
Lion Cub is one such guitar, with an
understated design that belies its
quality construction and sounds.
Individual string saddles combine
with an Earvana nut for the ultimate in
intonation accuracy and a set of smooth
Sperzel tuners keeps things stable.
A Bare Knuckle Mississippi Queen
is chosen because it’s a P-90 in PAF
clothing. So you get vintage Junior-style
tone, but there’s the option of installing
a humbucker, Filter’Tron or whatever
else takes your fancy in the future.
Under the metal shield plate
are two Bare Knuckle 550K control
potentiometers for extra brightness.
A BK-branded Jensen paper/oil tone
capacitor is wired 50s-style and the
value is 0.015uF rather than the
usual 0.022uF.
At 1.5 inches deep, the body is fairly
slim. The neck is slim, too, and a heel
chamfer eases upper-fret access. The
gloss polyester finish is applied well and
the build quality can’t really be faulted.
In use
I’ve rarely played a well-set-up
all-mahogany electric guitar with
a set neck that didn’t sound lively,
harmonically complex and resonant
when unplugged. Throw in a wrapover
tailpiece and it’s a simple formula that
seems almost foolproof. The Lion Cub is
exactly that sort of guitar. Some guitars
of this type fall into the ‘one pickup one
sound’ category. It’s fine if that sound
is one you like and suits your needs.
But those who have experienced the
thrills of a vintage Les Paul or SG Junior
will know they can be very versatile.
Fortunately, the Lion Cub follows the
vintage Gibson tone trail. Versatility is
dependant on two things. Firstly, the
and add cut for soloing by turning the
tone up to 11 (yes, 11) – maintaining
consistent volume and amp-driving
power. Conversely, rolling the treble
completely off produces an absolutely
convincing ‘woman’ tone.
There’s no treble bleed capacitor, but
no clarity is lost when you turn down
volume. With treble fully up, you can get
jangle and even funk or country licks.
Reducing the treble sweetens the sound
There’s so much woody tone on offer
that, wherever you set the controls,
the Lion Cub always sounds good
pickup and volume control need to
interact in a way that allows you to back
off the volume while retaining clarity.
Secondly, the tone control must have a
usable taper, preferably connected to
the output of the volume control.
The Lion Cub ticks all these boxes
and the Mississippi Queen is a peach
of a pickup. It’s microphonic, so every
ounce of detail comes through and
the pick definition is outstanding.
With everything fully up, the Lion Cub
produces a roaring chime laden with
harmonic overtones. When you roll
back the tone the darker grind of the
midrange becomes more apparent
and the sound gets closer to a nice
humbucker. You could even use the
rolled-back tone for your rhythm sound
LIKE THIS? TRY THESE... A singlecut Gibson Les Paul Junior £499 is the most obvious
alternative, but you’ll have to install your own intonateable bridge. For £1,750 Dave Dearnaley
will build you a custom instrument with a vintage-correct eye for detail.
without making things muffled and
there’s so much woody tone on offer
that, wherever you set the controls, the
Lion Cub always sounds good.
I love the Lion Cub, although I could
gripe about the nut’s sharp corners and
the cream pickup surround. I’d prefer a
chunkier neck with smaller frets, but
those features can be specified.
CHOICE
9/10
KEY FEATURES
Feline Lion Cub
• PRICE £2,200
• DESCRIPTION Solidbody
electric guitar, manufactured
in the UK
• BUILD Two-piece mahogany
body with three-piece set
mahogany neck, 12” radius
rosewood fingerboard,
Earvana nut and 22 frets
• HARDWARE Tonepros
wrapover tailpiece,
Sperzel tuners
• ELECTRICS Bare Knuckle 550K
volume and tone controls,
Bare Knuckle Mississippi
Queen pickup
• SCALE LENGTH 628mm/24.75”
• NECK WIDTH 43mm at nut,
53mm at 12th fret
• NECK DEPTH 18.5mm at first
fret, 21mm at 12th fret
• STRING SPACING 35.5mm at
nut, 53mm at bridge
• WEIGHT 6.8lbs/3.1kg
• LEFT-HANDERS Yes
• FINISHES Polyester – you
choose the colour
• CONTACT Feline Guitars
0208 680 9131
www.felineguitars.com
VERDICT
+ Surprisingly versatile
+ Controls work exceptionally well
+ Fabulous tone
+ Impressive build quality
– Corners of nut are sharp
– Some may prefer the dogear look
Much like a Junior with the rough edges
smoothed over but the character intact,
Feline’s attention to small details lifts the
Lion Cub’s playability, versatility and tone to
a very high level
9/10
guitar-bass.net JANUARY 2016 77
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