Cort MBM-1 Manson Meta

F
or most of Muse’s career,
frontman Matt Bellamy
has played custom-built
Manson guitars, designed
and built by Hugh Manson
and Tim Stark. Famously, this
long list of guitars has included
everything from built-in X-Y
pads, Digitech Whammy pedals,
Z.Vex Fuzz Factories, even lasers.
But in 2015, Muse fans who
couldn’t stump to the four-fi gure
prices of Manson models had their
dreams realised with the release
of the MBC-1: a collaboration of
Manson and Matt Bellamy’s
designs and guitar manufacturing
giant Cort to produce an aff ordable
signature model.
That guitar was released to
supermassive acclaim, bagging
awards left, right and centre
simply as an incredible, aff ordable
electric, regardless of the signature
association. The Cort/Manson
series followed with the Classic
TC and M-Jet models, but
fast-forward to 2020 and the
partnership continues – with
a few important changes.
First up is the big news that
Matt Bellamy is now the majority
shareholder in Manson – based in
his native Devon. Next is that the
start of 2020 brought us a brand
new signature model in the
Manson Meta MBM-1.
Out of the box, the MBM-1 cuts
an identical fi gure to the previous
signature model – the distinctive
part-Tele/part Les Paul mash-up
body, complete with a well
thought out contour to help
make it comfortable to play.
Elsewhere, the MBM-1 is loaded
with a number of contemporary
features – the matte black fi nish
that’s seemingly impervious to
fi ngerprints, the satin neck, Cort
locking tuners, and the spoke
wheel ‘hotrod’ truss rod nut which
means you don’t need to remove
the neck or fi ddle with a restrictive
channel to make adjustments.
Electronically, the MBM-1 is
equally utilitarian: two Manson-
branded humbuckers, a master
volume, master tone and
a three-way pickup switch, but
this being a Matt Bellamy model,
there’d be something amiss if
there wasn’t a small hint of
on-board experimentation. That
comes in the form of a kill switch,
neatly mounted to the upper bout.
There’s a common theme
with every Manson guitar we’ve
played, and it’s a combination of
resonance and feel from that neck.
Unplugged, the guitar is spritely,
chiming away as we ring out
some open chords.
V-shaped neck profi les can
be Marmite to some players,
particularly in a more vintage
context, but Manson’s shape is
referred to as a ‘soft V’. There’s
defi nitely the distinct hump that
you get from this type of profi le,
but it’s toned-down from, say,
a 50s-style Strat, and combined
with the 12”-16” compound radius
adds up to a very comfortable
playing experience. Throw in the
satin fi nish and you have a speedy,
slim neck that is a great trade-off
between vintage chunk and
modern manoeuvrability.
MANSON
META MBM-1
When a signature guitar belongs to the
company’s owner, it’s gonna be good…
1
2
3
£569
BODY: Basswood
NECK: Maple, soft V
profile
SCALE: 25.5” (648mm)
FINGERBOARD: Indian
Laurel, 12”-16”
compound radius
FRETS: 22
PICKUPS: Manson
Humbuckers
CONTROLS: Master
volume, master tone,
three-way pickup
switch, momentary
kill switch
HARDWARE: Chrome
T-o-M-style bridge and
tailpiece, Sort locking
tuners
LEFT-HANDED: No
FINISH: Satin Black,
Starlight Silver
CONTACT: Manson
Guitar Works,
mansonguitarworks
.com
AT A GLANCE
EFFICIENT DESIGN AND KILLER
SOUNDS SHOULD COST MORE
1
NECK
The Fender-style
25.5” scale length and
12”-16” radius meet
with a satin finish to
produce one of the
most comfortable
necks we’ve played
in this price range.
2
KILL SWITCH
The switch is fast
and reacts noise-free,
so you can get your
Bellamy/Morello/Van
Halen/Greenwood
effects on with ease.
If nothing else, you
now have the perfect
addition to those big
rock end-of-song
cacophonies.
3
PICKUPS
The Manson
dual-humbuckers are
punchy, versatile tools.
However, given the
well-rounded nature of
this guitar, we’d love to
have seen a singlecoil,
or at least a coil-split
fitted as standard.
Photography: Neil Godwin
REVIEW
87
SUMMER 2020 TOTAL GUITAR
TGR335.gear_lead.indd 87 16/07/2020 16:34