Spira Guitars S-450 TPP Poplar Burl - Transparent Purple

Some guitars are designed to blend quietly into the background. The Spira Guitars S-450 TPP in Transparent Purple has looked at that idea, laughed, and covered a burl poplar top in glorious purple gloss instead.

Underneath the spectacular finish sits a roasted poplar body with a burl poplar top, giving the S-450 TPP plenty of natural visual character before that Transparent Purple finish even enters the equation. Black hardware completes the decidedly modern look, and because burl figuring naturally varies from piece to piece, each guitar gets a little visual personality of its own.

The neck tells you very quickly what sort of playing Spira had in mind. It's made from Canadian roasted maple, paired with a roasted maple fingerboard and shaped into a Modern D profile. A relatively flat 14" radius, 24 jumbo frets and full 25.5" scale length make it a particularly inviting setup for quick lead playing, wide bends, chunky rhythm work and the sort of upper-register adventures that eventually result in somebody turning the gain up again.

And gain is something the S-450 handles rather happily. You get a pair of Spira's custom-made Villain humbuckers, each using a ceramic magnet and 12k output. They're voiced with rock and metal very much in mind, offering the power and articulation needed for big distorted riffs without sacrificing the definition you want when things get faster or more intricate.

Controls remain refreshingly straightforward: one volume, one tone and a three-way pickup selector. No control panel resembling the cockpit of a small aircraft. Just choose your pickup, dial in the sound and get on with playing.

A fixed bridge keeps things equally uncomplicated at the other end of the strings, while black locking machine heads provide additional tuning stability and make string changes considerably less irritating. There's also an artificial bone nut, 43mm nut width and double-action truss rod completing a specification that feels remarkably serious for a guitar in this price bracket.

The Spira S-450 TPP Transparent Purple is essentially what happens when somebody combines modern playability, high-output humbuckers, sensible hardware and a finish with absolutely no intention of being ignored. Fast neck, hardtail stability, 24 frets and a pair of ceramic Villains – subtle it isn't, and that's rather the point.

Features

• Spira Guitars S-450 TPP

• Six-string solid-body electric guitar

• Striking Transparent Purple colour

• High-gloss finish

• Roasted poplar body

• Eye-catching burl poplar top

• Natural burl figuring gives each guitar its own visual character

• Canadian roasted maple neck

• Fast, modern Modern D neck profile

• Roasted maple fingerboard

• 14" fingerboard radius

• 25.5" scale length

• 24 jumbo frets

• 43mm nut width

• Artificial bone nut

• Double-action truss rod

• HH pickup configuration

• Two custom-made Spira Villain humbuckers

• 12k output

• Ceramic magnets

• Powerful, articulate response suited particularly well to rock and metal

• Simple 1 Volume / 1 Tone control layout

• 3-way pickup selector

• Fixed bridge for a straightforward, stable setup

• Black locking machine heads

• Black hardware

• Modern design suited to heavy rhythm work and technical lead playing

• Model: S-450 TPP