Vintage have been making entry to mid level guitars for many years now, covering that middle intermediate ground quite competently. The V99 is closer to the entry level priced from as little as £128.98. However the only thing that gives away this price tag is the bolt on neck, apart from that this is a pretty chunky piece of kit.

The headstock boasts six vintage style Wilkinson WJ44 machineheads which are, as you'd expect from branded machine heads, very smooth ans well machined. The neck consists of a 22 fret, bound, Rosewood fretboard which is tidily assembled with Les Paul standard style inlays and certainly looks the part. The body is made from Eastern Poplar, which is surprisingly heavy with a very high gloss cherry burst finish.

Plugged in, it is very apparent that the Wilkinson pickups are very warm sounding with a high output. The neck pickup delivers that unmistakeable full bluesy sound, while the bridge pickup is sharper, but not as sharp as you'd expect, it still retains a warmth not usually heard from the neck pickup of a Les Paul style guitar. The pickup selector switch itself feels like it's particularly good quality and reflects the overall quality of the hardware on this guitar, the Wilkinson hardware makes a huge difference to the guitar. The only thing that gives away the fact that the guitar is actually sub £200 is the bolt on neck, but that's well seated and sports a comfortably low action.

To sum up, for less than £130 this guitar is a bargain. With branded quality hardware, a fantastic finish and a quality neck with low action it's a real testament to the quality of guitars coming out of eastern factories for very low prices.

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