Rapier Guitars

30/04/2026

Our hearts and thoughts are with Alans family and friends.

RIP Alan Entwistle 🙏

GOODBYE TO OUR FEARLESS LEADER

It is the saddest of days as we have to announce the passing of Alan Entwistle.

Some of you will already have seen that Alan Entwistle, Fearless Leader, innovator, guitar and pickup designer, historian, 'sonic alchemist', joker, vivid imaginer and very dear friend has left us.

I have known Alan for close to 35 years and over that time he went from enigma to family friend to mentor, business partner and close, personal friend. I was fortunate to have spent a lot of time with Alan, both personally and professionally. He really was an amazing person who always lifted any room he entered with his jovial manner and quirky sense of humour. Even at nearly 80 years old he was still creative and highly motivated, looking forward to what his next range of guitars might be. Over the last 6 years I got to help him develop certain products and learned a wealth of information from him (although probably only a fraction of what he had in his head). I know that I will never meet anyone quite like him and that the world is now a sadder place, but I will treasure those times.

I will be closing the Alan Entwistle Pickups store for a few days, and over the coming week I will post pictures of Alan. Please feel free to share them with anyone and let us know if you had any great experiences with this lovely guy.

James
Brand Manager
Alan Entwistle Pickups

16/04/2026

Rapier Saffires in store at 💚🤍

guitars
[rapier, guitars, guitarist, guitar players, rock, music]

16/04/2026

Rapier Saffires in store at Ayr Guitar 💚🤍

That’s something you don’t see every day! 😋😋😋

Some lovely new additions to our electric section from Rapier Guitars, very retro and “Burns-esque” styling and finishing must say! 😁

Each are available in store now at only £449 each, come and try em for yourself! 😍🤘

Mon-Fri: 10am - 5:30pm
Sat: 10am - 5pm
Sun: closed

☎️ - 01292 260001
📧 - [email protected]
🖥️ - www.ayrguitar.com

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-

18/02/2026

GO FUND ME AT 90%
https://gofund.me/deeb7b3a6

On behalf of all of Alan's family, friends and colleagues, we would like to thank you all for your generosity in donating to the Go Fund Me campaign set out to help with Alan's mounting medical costs as he fights for his life in a hospital in China, where he was working on new designs (no...not in the hospital!) even at 79 years of age, You can't say he isn't committed to his work!
Many of you who have donated may not have ever met or even spoken to Alan, but have been touched in some positive way by his life's work with guitars. You have helped get the campaign to 90% completed, which is amazing and will be a colossal help to Alan and his family. With your help, let us get it to over 100% and secure the financial assistance we all want him to have.
Please share, like, comment and if possible, add a donation, however small. It is all so much appreciated for someone that we dearly love and respect.
Thank you, all.
https://gofund.me/deeb7b3a6

18/02/2026

Buy Now ➡️ https://ivormairants.co.uk/collections/rapier-escort

Whilst the single cutaway, solid bodied Rapier Es**rt is immediately attractive to the eye and available in 2 Tone Sunburst, Arctic White and Gloss Black, guitar players not only aspire to the guitar’s outstanding playability, they are also in awe of its tonal range, thanks to the wide spaced installation of the two Alan Entwistle VX63 alnico pickups.

With this wide spacing, the Es**rt delivers superb isolation when switching between the natural hard-edged attack from the bridge pickup to the warm flutey sonics of the neck unit and, with both combined via a 3 way selector switch, the Rapier Es**rt emphasises strong mid-frequencies and pronounced separation with outstanding sonic versatility, for a rich tonal spectrum that’s ideal for a host of musical styles from country to blues, pop and rock.

Impressive tonewood and hardware specifications include an okeume body, bolt-on maple neck, 22 fret rosewood fingerboard, Wilkinson E-Z Lok machine heads, Graphtech nut, roller bridge and a redesigned, super-smooth operating Hi-Lo Resonance long-plate vibrato system.

16/02/2026

Alan Entwistle Pickups
ALAN NEEDS OUR HELP - URGENT FUNDRAISER

This is an appeal that we hoped we would never have to make.

We are extremely sad to say that our Fearless Leader, Alan Entwistle, has been taken seriously ill, with a recurrence of the aggressive brain tumour that he valiantly fought last year. But it gets worse.....he is currently in intensive care in a hospital in China (where he has continued to work on guitar development), facing high medical bills just to try and stay alive. We know this is distressing news, but please take a minute to read the ‘Go Fund Me’ campaign that his family have set up to try and help get him through these dark times. Here are some words from his family, appealing for help, however large or small:

“Hello, I wanted to share something important with you. Alan is currently in Intensive Care battling a rare cancer, and the medical costs are overwhelming for his family. Every little bit helps, so please consider donating or sharing the link to support his fight for recovery. Thank you for your kindness.”

https://gofund.me/deeb7b3a6

We know that the community will send good thoughts and hope. Thank you everyone.

12/02/2026

Rapier Es**rt designed by world-renowned guitar builder and designer Alan Entwistle.
Buy Now ➡️ https://ivormairants.co.uk/collections/rapier-escort

Whilst the single cutaway, solid bodied Rapier Es**rt is immediately attractive to the eye and available in 2 Tone Sunburst, Arctic White and Gloss Black, guitar players not only aspire to the guitar’s outstanding playability, they are also in awe of its tonal range, thanks to the wide spaced installation of the two Alan Entwistle VX63 alnico pickups.

With this wide spacing, the Es**rt delivers superb isolation when switching between the natural hard-edged attack from the bridge pickup to the warm flutey sonics of the neck unit and, with both combined via a 3 way selector switch, the Rapier Es**rt emphasises strong mid-frequencies and pronounced separation with outstanding sonic versatility, for a rich tonal spectrum that’s ideal for a host of musical styles from country to blues, pop and rock.

Impressive tonewood and hardware specifications include an okeume body, bolt-on maple neck, 22 fret rosewood fingerboard, Wilkinson E-Z Lok machine heads, Graphtech nut, roller bridge and a redesigned, super-smooth operating Hi-Lo Resonance long-plate vibrato system.

30/01/2026

Arctic White Rapier Deluxe 🤍 Designed by world-renowned guitarist builder and designer Alan Entwistle.

Whilst maintaining all the visual charm of the originals, like all models in the Rapier Series, the Rapier Deluxe features significant upgrades to meet the needs of the modern player. These include okoume the chosen tonewood for the body, a maple neck and 22 fret jatoba fingerboard, modern hardware includes a sensitive Hi Lo vibrato system where stable tuning and accurate intonation and return to pitch are spot on every time, via Wilkinson machine heads, a precision cut GraphTech nut and a fully adjustable roller bridge.

It’s arguably the classic 60’s Rapier sonics that contributed to a host of famous pop songs during the British Beat Boom, it’s here again, where Entwistle has excelled by installing 3 Entwistle low-noise EWR 64 pickups in the flagship ‘angled middle’ format, which, combined with Volume and Tone controls and slide switches for middle pickup on/off and Bass-Cut, offers an array of sounds from warm smooth jazz to jangly bright.

Looking effortlessly stylish finished in See Thru Red with a White Pearl scratchplate, Gloss Black with Tortoise scratchplate or Arctic White with a Black Pearl Scratchplate.

27/01/2026

New Rapier Rocket launched 🚀
Buy Here ➡️ https://ivormairants.co.uk/collections/rapier-rocket/products/rapier-rocket-electric-guitar-metallic-silver

Designed by the legendary UK guitar builder and hardware specialist Alan Entwistle, the new Rapier Rocket is based on original 60s iconic brands that played a major role in the industry of British built guitars and basses from the 1960s.

With its distinctive symmetrical, swept-wing okoume body, neck and angled headstock, all finished in a striking metallic silver, offset with a single ply black scratchplate and chrome hardware, the Rapier Rocket looks unquestionably cool.

Straight string-pull from the Wilkinson E-Z lok machine heads to the Entwistle designed Hi-Lo Resonance long-plate vibrato system, via a precision cut Graphtech nut and roller bridge, ensures accurate return to pitch, stable tuning and pinpoint intonation over the Canadian rock maple neck with double action truss rod and 22 fret, bound rosewood fingerboard.

With a low DCR output of 5K ohms, the Entwistle FireStar pickups are more open sounding with a massive dynamic range, whilst heavy gauge winding wire and powered by a single Neodymium Rare Earth magnet, they’re extra hot, whilst also highlighting Entwistle’s extraordinary talent for guitar wiring.

Rapier Rocket Electric Guitar - fitted with Elixir Strings as standard

13/01/2026

Rapier add the Es**rt to its Series of electric guitars and basses, designed by the legendary UK guitar builder and hardware specialist Alan Entwistle.
Buy Now ➡️ https://ivormairants.co.uk/collections/rapier-escort/products/rapier-escort-electric-guitar-gloss-black

Whilst the single cutaway, solid bodied Rapier Es**rt is immediately attractive to the eye and available in 2 Tone Sunburst, Arctic White and Gloss Black, guitar players not only aspire to the guitar’s outstanding playability, they are also in awe of its tonal range, thanks to the wide spaced installation of the two Alan Entwistle
VX63 alnico pickups.

With this wide spacing, the Es**rt delivers superb isolation when switching between the natural hard-edged attack from the bridge pickup to the warm flutey sonics of the neck unit and, with both combined via a 3 way selector switch, the Rapier Es**rt emphasises strong mid-frequencies and pronounced separation
with outstanding sonic versatility, for a rich tonal spectrum that’s ideal for a host of musical styles from country to blues, pop and rock.

Impressive tonewood and hardware specifications include an okoume body, bolt-on maple neck, 22 fret rosewood fingerboard, Wilkinson E-Z Lok™ machine heads, Graphtech nut, roller bridge and a redesigned, super-smooth operating Hi-Lo Resonance long-plate vibrato system.

12/01/2026

New Rapier Rocket launched 🚀

Designed by the legendary UK guitar builder and hardware specialist Alan Entwistle, the new Rapier Rocket is based on original 60s iconic brands that played a major role in the industry of British built guitars and basses from the 1960s.

With its distinctive symmetrical, swept-wing okoume body, neck and angled headstock, all finished in a striking metallic silver, offset with a single ply black scratchplate and chrome hardware, the Rapier Rocket looks unquestionably cool.

Straight string-pull from the Wilkinson E-Z lok machine heads to the Entwistle designed Hi-Lo Resonance long-plate vibrato system, via a precision cut Graphtech nut and roller bridge, ensures accurate return to pitch, stable tuning and pinpoint intonation over the Canadian rock maple neck with double action truss rod and 22 fret, bound rosewood fingerboard.

With a low DCR output of 5K ohms, the Entwistle FireStar pickups are more open sounding with a massive dynamic range, whilst heavy gauge winding wire and powered by a single Neodymium Rare Earth magnet, they’re extra hot, whilst also highlighting Entwistle’s extraordinary talent for guitar wiring.

Rapier Rocket Electric Guitar - fitted with Elixir Strings as standard