Newly introduced by Hottie Inc, the Portland, Oregon, based company known for Hottie Amps and Hottie Pickups, Hottie Guitars are made by respected independent luthier Saul Koll, also of Portland, and Hottie owner Jean-Claude Escudie. Blending Koll’s design ethos with Escudie’s affection for muscle-cars, the 327 and 454 present a sultry, stripped-down hot-rod look that is at once original and somehow familiar, an esthetic that makes them easy to embrace right from the start.”. Broadly speaking, both are Gibson-esque in specs and construction, but in each case several original stylistic touches and design twists coalesce into a whole that is unique. More than just a vehicle for Hottie’s humbucking pickups, they also provide another avenue for the work of one of the country’s most adventurous, yet under-recognized, makers to reach the guitar-buying public. Each comes with a super-cool, mock-crock formfitting hardshell case made in the USA by Cedar Creek Cases. I tested both guitars with a wide range of amps, but spent most time ramming them through a TopHat Club Royale MkII 1×12 combo.

Hottie 327

Strutting onto the scene like a dressier Les Paul Junior back fresh from the city with a new sharkskin suit and a crisp, flat-top haircut, the 327 is the more retro-inspired of the pair. It beautifully embodies an era of chromed diners and custom-color muscle cars in its two-tone white and metallic-orange finish, curvaceous white pearloid pickguard and matching pickup mounting ring, and Gumby-shaped metallic-orange headstock. We have experienced something of a renaissance in quality, no-nonsense, single-pickup guitars in recent years, and this one sits comfortably at the upper end of this trend. As befits the template, it has a flat-topped solid mahogany body and a one-piece mahogany set neck with an unbound ebony fretboard that’s devoid of inlays and graced with side-dot position markers only. I’ve always been a sucker for the soft-V profiles that necks of many great electrics of the ’50s wore, and the 327’s fits beautifully in my hand, being thick enough at around 0.825″ at the first fret and 0.937″ at the 12th to afford plenty of grip, yet so sleek and ergonomic that it never impedes my motion. Spec’d out with a 1.6875″-wide bone nut, 22 well-polished medium-jumbo frets, a 12″ fretboard radius, and vintage-Kluson-Style Gotoh tuners, the end result it simple, yet extremely elegant.

The business end of the 327 is equipped with a single Hottie Alnico II humbucking pickup with a DC resistance of 7.92kΩ. Downstream are a push/pull Tone control splits it into single-coil mode, and a single Volume control, both of which are topped with Tele-style knurled metal knobs. Finally, a stud-mounted Pigtail wrapover bridge with individually adjustable saddles keeps the tuning and intonation solid and tuneful.

The 327 is crisp and cutting in full-’bucker mode with controls maxed, yet there’s a sweetness amid the bite that keeps it from ever sounding harsh. It’s that breed of vintage-humbucker tone that surprises fans of more contemporary, high-output ’buckers with its jangle—a quality your rarely hear outside of vintage Gibson PAFs—yet you can still achieve a warmer, rounder voice with a slight roll of the Tone knob. Step on a good overdrive pedal, such as a Barber LTD, or switch to a high-gain amp channel, and the 327 sizzles and sings, while this pickup’s clarity keeps it all from ever going mushy. Pop up the Tone knob to split the coil, and it’s all cleaner and brighter, though I found the full-humbucking setting the most dynamic and inspiring option here.

Hottie 454

The big brother of the pair is also available in a simple one-pickup, wraparound-bridge configuration, although our 454 on review carries the upgrades of an added neck pickup and a Bigsby tailpiece with Tune-o-matic-style bridge. Think of the 454 as the LP Sr. to the 327’s LP Jr., an analogy that almost all of its specs uphold. Another set-neck, 24.625″-scale guitar, it has a one-piece body of Honduran mahogany with a carved maple top in “Malibu Gold” metallic finish, a one-piece mahogany neck, cream binding around the body top, neck, and headstock, and a rather more thrusting body style in a semi-double-cutaway design with rounded, offset horns. Its soft-V neck is extremely similar to the 327’s, and equally playable, as is its unadorned 22-fret ebony fretboard and asymmetrical headstock—though the latter is faced with a fillet of striped Brazilian rosewood. While the 454 carries another low-wind Hottie Alnico II humbucker in the neck position, its bridge position is loaded with a hotter Bettie model that also hides an Alnico II bar magnet, but is wound to a punchier 14.5kΩ DC resistance. A traditional 3-way toggle switch routes your signal to independent Volume controls with push/pull pots that split their respective pickups for single-coil sounds, and a master Tone control, all capped with gold speed knobs.

Unplugged, the 454 rings a tad brighter than the 327, thanks perhaps to its marriage of dense maple top and Tune-o-matic bridge. The Bigsby is set up for a soft, easy action, and moderate use causes no dramatic tuning issues, while, of course, inducing a sultry wobble that adds another dimension to this instrument’s versatility. Amped up, however, the bridge pickup setting offers a darker, more aggressive midrange assault that really helps the 454 rock with a little crunch applied from a pedal or an amp. With the coil split, this pickup still has some sting to it, but a lot more shimmer, too. With the neck pickup also in split-coil mode, the 454 offers a range of Gretschy voices that excel at rockabilly and classic country, but pop that neck pickup back into ’bucker territory and there’s no end of smooth, singing, bluesy ’Burst-like fun to be had.

Both the 327 and the 454 are beautifully built, immaculately finished, and flawlessly set up. At the end of the day (or several) I probably had more fun with the simple, snazzy 327—which is more of a raw rock ’n’ roller—but both are great guitars, and there’s little to fault here on any front.

WHY YOU WANT IT: Hottie Inc. founder Jean-Claude Escudie, also a VP at Breedlove Guitars, can barely build enough of the custom toaster amps to keep up with the demand from those coveting his product, a group that includes big rock stars and legendary guitarists.

In this modern age we live in, everything we buy is all about function and portability. We’re all concerned about acquiring the latest and greatest technology and fashion, but there are a few exceptions to the rule, and I’m glad to say that the guitar-playing community goes against the grain. We might be modern in our lifestyles, but we’re classic in our tastes when it comes to guitars. The hottest trends in guitars right now are custom-made, vintage- style instruments and relics, and only a guitar player would pay more for a guitar that looks like it’s been through a war.

CRAZY LIKE A FOX?
The vintage-styled guitars we grew up with are as much a part of our being as the classic cars we fantasize about, and some new guitar manufacturers are figuring this out. But how do you sell a new guitar when so many of us want to play what we know and are comfortable with? How do you make it look and feel like an old friend without being a direct rip-off? Hottie Guitars, a company already well know for Hottie amps and pickups, is taking inspiration from the classic muscle cars of the early ’70s to come up with a guitar that is fresh but familiar, classic and retro: the Hottie 454.

When you first lay your eyes on this guitar, you’re instantly taken back to an era when muscle cars roared down the streets and you spent Friday nights cruising the strip looking cool and feeling badass. This guitar has instant sex appeal, and it’s designed to be played with lots of attitude. When you first pick up this guitar, you can feel right away that this is a quality instrument made from top-shelf custom parts and materials. The one-piece Honduran mahogany body and neck have girth, and the whole weighs in around the same as a vintage Les Paul. Mahogany comes in many different grades, and they’re priced accordingly. I can tell you the 454’s mahogany is the best grade you can buy. They also offer alder and ash body options. The carve top is comfortable and made from Eastern hard rock maple.

Hottie offers two types of neck shapes: a soft-V and a ’59-C. The review model came with the soft-V, and it felt very comfortable right out of the gate. A “V”-shaped neck can take a while to get used to, but this one is probably one of the best I’ve played in a long time. The ebony fretboard came with medium/jumbo frets, and the setup and fret job were perfect right out of the case. I would have preferred bigger frets, because the .010 gauge strings felt like .009s on the 24.625″ scale and 12″ fretboard radius. String bending was a breeze, with lots of volume and sustain. The Bigsby tremolo system was a nice addition to the flexibility and swagger of this guitar. The vintage tuners held their tune perfectly and the bone nut was cut to perfection.

VROOM!
Don’t be fooled by the simple sleek look of the 454; it has tone for days and is quite flexible for being a single humbucker guitar. The Hottie bridge pickup is another quality addition, and is made from the best materials available. This pickup gives you the impression that it’s the offspring of the classic PAF design, but it has way more personality and attitude. This little Hottie pickup comes stock with fancy flames on the nickel cover and is housed in a custom-made pickup ring. This custom-wound, U.S.-made 8.5k bridge pickup compresses really nicely and has a little more “Pow!” in the lower register. I had no problem dialing in a very nice Gibbons-style tone, and the pinch harmonics rang out with ease and delight. The pickup also cleaned up great when backing off the volume a bit. The 500k pots are a nice audio taper that gives you more control. It’s not one of those “it’s on or off” types of volume pots, and the sweep is very dynamic and usable. The Tone knob is a push/pull that allows you to split the humbucker from series to parallel. This feature shows off the quality of the materials, because most humbuckers don’t sound this good split. When you’re in split mode, you get very good Esquire-type tone, and the Tone knob also shares the same dynamic range that the Volume does.

These guitars are designed and built by Jean-Claude Escudie (Hottie owner) and master luthier Saul Koll (Koll Guitars). Their love of classic hot rods and their knowledge of guitar construction and design makes a noticeable difference. The nitrocellulose lacquer finish was flawless; it’s this step in the guitar building process that takes lots of time and skill. You can always tell if the lacquer was applied and finished properly by looking across the finish in the light. You should not see little waves, cloudiness, or unevenness in certain spots. If you do, the manufacturer may have rushed the finishing process, or used cheap lacquer. The finish should look like a thin layer of clear glass. The metallic red sparkle on this Hottie is beautiful. It’ll make anyone do a double take when lit under stage lights. This guitar will get you noticed!

THE FINAL MOJO
As I said at the beginning, there are no short cuts on this guitar—even the case it came in was quality and looked like a piece of furniture. The guitar is priced like a classic car— and I know not everyone can justify that kind of outlay—but those who demand style and quality will feel that this guitar is a bargain. I can tell you from my own experience that it’s not too often you play a guitar that you can’t really find anything wrong with. The only thing I can pick on Hottie for is that a guitar in this price range should come with strap locks. We get so used to buying guitars that are close to our expectations and then spending additional time and money upgrading them to our exact standards and preferences. You won’t need to do this with the Hottie 454. It’s as close to a mint-condition 1972 Corvette as you can get, and it will turn as many heads and get you the attention you deserve. And isn’t that why we play guitars like this and drive 1972 Corvettes in the first place? It sure is! (Tony Pasko)

The Hottie Amp distorts quickly, spreading its transitory grind at home-approved volume through the two toast slots. You can get a little more sonic oomph from the Hottie Amp by laying it on its side and opening the crumb door, but to fully experience the amp’s powers you’ll need to connect it to a speaker cabinet. Plugging it into a Marshall 4×12, for example, yielded the sonic equivalent of well-browned Texas toast at a perfect volume for recording or practice. The amp sounds great for slide or hard-rock riffing, and, unlike some micro amps, it doesn’t flip over at the slightest tug on the cord. I’m sure some toaster collectors will grumble over the fact that Escudie’s creations will never heat up an English muffin again, but what better way to enjoy a funky appliance that’s no match anyway for that six-slice wonder you just scored at Walmart? (Art Thompson)

KUDOS – A cool, one-of-a-kind practice amp.
CONCERNS – None.
CONTACT – hottieamps.com

Escudie recently started offering the Hottie Custom Amp, which features candy, pearl, and metalflake finishes like those on custom hot rods. My test example came with awesome red and yellow pearl flames on a black candy base, but Escudie also offers the solid color GT model with wheels (?!), as well as two-tone flame models.

The Hottie Amp is as simple as it gets. Its feature sets consist of a single input and an output that lets you connect the amp to an external cabinet – there are no volume ot tone controls to contend with other than those on your guitar. As you might expect, the Hottie Amp’s tone is warm, and when overdriven produces a satisfying crunch. (Chris Gill)