Sterling by Music Man Kaizen 7

Progressive guitar icon Tosin Abasi's dramatic Music Man custom seven-string, re-imagined for players with lighter wallets

- CONNOR FLYS

IT'S SAFE TO say Tosin Abasi is already one of this century's key progressive players. This is someone who has made his name through pushing the boundaries of the electric guitar. Whether he's thumping, tapping, performing impossibly dextrous clean fingerstyle passages, shredding like a man possessed or churning out brain-breaking low-register metal riffs, Abasi has spent the past two decades rightly hailed as one of the geniuses of modern guitar.

Such a player requires a special instrument, and Abasi's latest weapon of choice is the Kaizen, which was developed with Music Man. It's a bold offset design, all angles and points, with fanned frets for balanced tension, proprietary pickups and custom shop build quality in a range of vivid colors. It's not a cheap electric guitar - but can those principles be adapted into an instrument that more of us can afford?

That's the question with the new Sterling by Music Man adaptation of the Kaizen. Music Man's sub-brand needs no introduction, having a lengthy track record of high-quality mid-range guitars and basses. This latest addition to the range will be welcomed by Abasi fans as well as anyone else exploring the forms that a modern electric guitar can take.