classycamaro

In a nutshell. It is a Les Paul Standard with no bindings, no weight relief, no pick guard, with (2) Tim Shaw "Dirty Finger" humbuckers and a coil tap (splitter). This guitar sounds clear and tough. Steve Clark of course used it on most of the early songs, and he used it stock. Except he seems to have reversed the polarization on neck pickup on "Let it Go" (see the video). And, this guitar is all rock and roll with those super hot pickups. People say it was the "Prelude" to the Studio. Well, yes and no. It was developed as its own model. Other than the shape, it is has little resemblance. The Studio, is relieved in weight, has cooler pickups, no coil tap. There were 2 other models, the XR-2 and X-3. Neither of those two models come close to the the rocking sound you get from the XR-1. The XR series was made from 1980 to 1983, and some copies are floating around from late 1979 (like December late). This is a aesthetically stripped down standard, with arguably a more rocking sound in comparison. And, on the slower clean songs, you can still get the Standard sound by flipping that "Tap".