Axe Limited was a mail order musical instrument company headquartered at Star Works, Salter Street, London, United Kingdom. It traded between October 1987 and March 1990. The company specialised in three primary musical instruments, electric guitar, bass guitar and drums; targeting at fans of Rock and Heavy Metal by advertising predominantly in Kerrang and Raw music magazines. In 1987 the first instrument sold was an electric guitar that included a small battery powered practice amplifier and all necessary accessories. In February 1988 they expanded their range of instruments to include a bass guitar, a drum kit as well as guitar effects pedals and new instructional book and tape sets. In September 1989 they added four electric guitars with custom finishes to their line-up. Axe used several advertising slogans emphasising their rock music credentials and how simple it was to learn the instrument using the bundled instructional book and tape set: “No rock fan can afford to be without one” “By selling direct to you we’ve cut out all the shops profits” “Axe, the new concept in selling quality musical Instruments” “Too good to be true? Seeing IS believing” “Choosing your first guitar has never been so easy” “For the Lord said... and let there be rock” “It used to take 5 months to sound good. With Axe it takes 5 minutes!” “Get ‘eavy in an hour wIth Axe” “Born to rock” “Armed & dangerous” “Are YOU ready to rock” Instrument reviews There were several positive reviews printed in music magazines that concentrated on the Axe electric guitar, these included “A mammoth guitar for a measly price” Kerrang. “Tremendous value for money!” Kerrang. “Priceless!” Sounds. “Impossible to pass up... it’s the guitar pack that has everything.” Sounds. “Very, very competitively priced... to frills, just thrills. Marks out of 5...5!” Melody Maker. “Until now I’ve not been able to recommend beginners on a limited budget, now though there’s Axe, and I can’t imagine any person being anything but delighted. It sounds good and looks the business.” International Musician. Axe instrument range Electric Guitar In October 1987 Axe released their first instrument, the electric guitar. Price October 1987 to March 1988: £78 April 1988 to May 1989: £81 June 1989 to August 1989: £89 Bundle specification The guitar included a choice of four colours (red, white, grey and black), tremolo arm, 22 frets, two humbucker pick-ups, a three-way toggle switch, fine action adjuster,