Cort MBM-1 Manson Meta

K
ill switches have become a
popular addition over the
last decade, but if you’re
still unsure about what they
actually do then here’s a brief
explanation. Quite simply, a kill
switch momentarily mutes your
signal, allowing you to create
rhythmic stuttering eff ects with
the touch of a button. Players
have long utilised the neck and
bridge volume controls and
pickup switch to achieve the
same result by turning one
pickup off and switching
between the two with the
selector. But a kill switch gives
you a dedicated button, freeing
up both pickups at once and
allowing you to apply the
eff ect whenever you wish.
Engage Kill
Switch!
All about that little
button
Our review model came set up
with a buzz-free, lower-than
average action which made it
even more comfortable to play.
The laurel fi ngerboard is even
and dark throughout, and our only
complaint here is cosmetic. While
the bare-bones design of no inlaid
fret markers looks great, it can be
disorientating if you’re not used
to it. Instead, you’re forced to
rely on the top-mounted dots.
Sound-wise, the MBM-1
performs how we expected, those
Manson ’buckers supplying us with
thick, harmonically rich modern
rock sounds under the distortion
of our Diezel emulations. Jumping
between the two gives seamless
tonal change with the levels
matched perfectly. Rolling back
the volume cleans things up, and
while weeping blues tones might
not immediately spring to mind
with this guitar, they are versatile
enough to throw at pretty much
any tone across the rock spectrum.
The only thing that could make
it better would be the inclusion of
a singlecoil. Manson off er a coil
split as an upgrade, but we’d love
to see a version of this guitar with
a true singlecoil pickup in the
neck position, too.
There’s no shortage of brands
off ering incredible quality in
the mid-priced battleground,
but Manson have delivered
a workhorse clothesline to its
competition here. Contemporary
feel, ergonomic playability,
effi cient design and killer sounds
should cost more than this.
Stuart Williams
EVH WOLFGANG
STANDARD
EVH is another frequent
list-topper, and the
Wolfgang offers a similar
body shape, compound
radius neck, and dual
humbuckers with the
addition of a licensed
Floyd Rose.
PRS SE MIRA
With a more double-cut
approach, the PRS SE
Mira gets you a solid
dual-humbucker design
with PRS’ ‘in-between’
25” scale length. Like
the Meta, it’s a fixed
bridge, but also
includes a coil split.
CORT M-JET
Remove the signature
association and kill switch
from the MBM-1, and the
M-Jet is a pretty faithful
model. You get similar
construction,
pickups and
many shared
features.
ALSO TRY...
£465
£599
£469
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
USABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
88
TH
E G
AS
S
T
A
T
I
O
N
TOTAL GUITAR SUMMER 2020
TH
E G
AS
S
T
A
T
I
O
N
TGR335.gear_lead.indd 88 16/07/2020 16:34