My Accidental Dream Guitar: The Chapman ML3 Pro Modern
On my hunt for a second guitar, I started with no idea what I was looking for and ended up finding the guitar of my dreams.
As a lefty, the search for the perfect guitar seems impossible. The guitars I thought I truly wanted were either not available for lefties or were way out of my budget. For my first guitar, I settled for a black Fender Highway One Strat. While I initially thought its simple design was a good thing, I soon found myself neglecting it. It was uninspiring, and I would only pick it up about ten times a year. Many years later, I went on a journey to find something more—something that actually felt cool and inspiring, without being over the top.
The Impossible Search
I had a very specific list of things I thought I didn’t want and a very short list of things I did want. I hated reverse headstocks—they just looked and felt weird. Fretboard inlays? Simple dots were boring, triangles, blocks even more boring but bigger. Anything fancy like birds felt very distracting and busy. The colour needed to be vibrant but not over the top, and the body shape had to be classic, not some wild, outlandish style.
I struggled to find anything that matched my requirements and was about to give up when I did one last search and found a brand I’d never heard of: Chapman. After a bit of research, I learned their quality and price was exactly what I was looking for.
The Chapman ML3 Pro Modern
I was immediately drawn to the Chapman ML3 Pro Modern—a guitar that defied my rules. It had a reverse headstock and a body shape somewhere between a Telecaster which I hate and a Stratocaster which I’d grown bored of. But somehow, this was different. The shape just worked visually, and the vibrant hot blue finish popped beautifully against the black hardware. The fretboard, with its single, simple infinity sign, felt so clean and light. The locking tuners made things just feel so much more stable than what I was used to.
What’s even crazier is that the reverse headstock now feels like the “correct” way to me. It was love at first sight, and even two years later, I can’t imagine a combination of features I’d enjoy more. I’m so glad I found my electric blue companion.
How Does It Sound And Play?
Although I would love to give a detailed review, unfortunately I’m just not qualified at all. For me, virtually a perpetual beginner, it sounds great and feels great. It inspires me to pick it up and play, and I believe that is one of, if not the most important things.
