Sterling by Music Man Valentine Chambered Bigsby review: it may borrow from the Tele and the ES-339, but this affordable offset is very much its own guitar – and it’s an absolute must-play

I’m pretty sure signature guitars have outpaced most standard production models. After all, an artist’s collaborative input often brings into focus a nouveau guitar that might offer a refreshing update or integrate timeless looks and modern features, with the potential to surpass anything that came before it.

With that, there’s no point arguing with the fact that Sterling by Music Man’s new Valentine Chambered Bigsby guitar encapsulates both of the latter views; however, I also believe the brand’s Valentine collection has somehow flown under the radar for most players considering an artist model.

And that’s a shame because I always felt the Valentine is a beautiful offset guitar design that paired the stripped-down nature of a Tele with the diminutive shape of an ES-339.

Still, now, with the Valentine Chambered Bigsby, this revitalized signature guitar has graduated to an unforgettable musical instrument that’s more compelling than ever with its inclusion of a Bigsby vibrato and a chambered body with an F-hole.

Features

Although the Valentine Chambered Bigsby is the fourth addition to Sterling by Music Man’s Valentine artist series collection, it stays true to the original specs that made it noteworthy while elevating its features with a custom-chambered body design and an angled Tune-o-matic bridge with a Bigsby B50 vibrato to dig on a completely new set of tones.

The guitar features a white ash body in a gorgeous butterscotch finish along with a classic F-hole and black pickguard. Completing its eye-catching appearance is a roasted maple neck and fingerboard that also maintains resistance to temperature and humidity changes while adding unparalleled stability.

There are also 22 narrow jumbo frets, a super-flat 12-inch fingerboard radius for buzz-free bends, steadfast locking tuners and a handy and conveniently placed heel-adjust truss rod nut.

The Sterling by Music Man Designed pickups are a versatile combo configuration of a neck humbucker and a Tele-voiced single coil bridge pickup (cleverly presented as a covered humbucker) that’ll provide a bright, snappy response.

The neck humbucker will yield warm and fuller tones, all of which are easily accessed by its three-position blade switch. What’s more, an active 12dB push-push boost circuit at the volume knob increases your output when you need to stand out for soloing or to add a little oomph. Finally, the guitar comes with an included gigbag.

Performance

Since there isn’t an Ernie Ball Music Man counterpart to it, the Sterling by Music Man’s Valentine Chambered Bigsby becomes all the more the enticing choice for an elegantly understated guitar with exceptional tone and playability.

With its chambered construction and F-hole, this Valentine is a noticeably lighter-weight instrument that emits a deeper resonance and woodier tone as you ring out chords acoustically, which is a great indicator of what it will sound like plugged in.

Clean and tidy pretty much sums up its overall construction from top to bottom, and frankly, it’s astonishing how well this guitar feels once it’s in your hands. The rounded C-shape profile neck is precisely crafted and comfortable, with a low-action string setup that is on the money.

The Bigsby vibrato is an ideal inclusion for this Valentine model – adding another level of nuanced expression with its gentle wavering throw, while also coaxing a steely ring to the guitar’s semi-hollow overtones.

Tone-wise, I find the single-coil and humbucker configuration to be a protean pairing for the Valentine’s genre-bending leanings – as long as you’re not dabbling in the aggressive metal zone.

The single-coil bridge has all the requisite slice and snap of a Tele-voiced pickup for more rock and country styles, with a blazing top end that kicks in once you activate the 12db boost. And if you need to tame the beast, the neck humbucker balances the roar of the bridge with a rounder and much warmer output for softer lead passages, clean runs and jazzy stylings.

The beauty of the Valentine is its chameleon-like utility, and factoring in its affordability, there’s very little reason not to have a guitar that looks and sounds like nothing else.

Specs

• PRICE: $849 / £1,149 (inc gigbag)

• TYPE: Chambered electric guitar with 12dB onboard boost

• ORIGIN: Indonesia

• BODY: Chambered white ash

• NECK: Roasted maple, bolt on

• SCALE LENGTH: 25.5"

• FINGERBOARD: Roasted maple with dot inlay, 12" radius

• PICKUPS: Single-coil (bridge), humbucker (neck)

• CONTROLS: Push/push Volume with boost, tone, 3-way pickup selector

• HARDWARE: Tune-o-matic bridge with Bigsby B50 tailpiece, locking tuners

• FINISH: Butterscotch

• CONTACT: Sterling by Music Man