T H E GA S STATION 90 TOTAL GUITAR SEPTEMBER 2022 TGR362.gear_test2.
THE TG TEST Words Stuart Williams Photography Phil Barker MANSON META MBM-2 We take a look at two new Matt Bellamy guitars built on an identical platform, but with very different offerings “T he Meta series don’t always have all the electronics built-in, but I’m hoping that if our collaboration with Cort goes deeper, we might be able to get some guitars with some of the more special effects stuff built-in.” That’s what Matt Bellamy told us when we spoke to him back in 2020.
T H E GA S STATION 92 and that last point is something we’ll be seeing throughout the MBM-2’s spec sheet. It’s cut out of basswood, and finished in either Dry Satin Black or Starlight Silver for the P-90equipped version, or Dry Satin Black/ Meta Blue for the tech-heavy model. The necks on each guitar follow the same format with Canadian maple, carved to a ‘soft V’ profile and fitted with an Indian laurel fingerboard.
THE TG TEST FINAL VERDICT Which of our Meta MBM-2s is best for you? W e weren’t sure how different these guitars would be from their – let’s face it – already extremely good predecessors. In a nutshell, we’d say that to the regular player, the P-90 MBM-2 represents a jump forward in versatility, with that neck pickup really adding an additional dimension that’s preferable to a coil split, while still maintaining a thicker sound so you don’t miss the humbucker.
