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Brand New w/ Warranty. We are an authorized Mario Martin Dealer.
Like what you see? All photos are of the exact instrument you will receive.
Mario Martin guitars are hand built in Murfreesboro, TN just 40 minutes down the road from us! Undertaking the entire build process from cutting the body blank to spraying the final touch of nitro, Mario Martin achieves a level of guitar making well beyond partscaster builders who may look alike on the surface. These guys maintain one of the best collections of tonewoods around, and every neck/body/pickup combination is chosen carefully to amplify the personality of the guitar as a whole. Whether you crave an S-style guitar straight out of 1958 or the unique Tele-Strat mashup that is the Honcho, we are confident you’ll find what you’re looking for in a Mario Martin.
What Do We Think?
This is THE Tele for players who don’t want to be constantly rolling back the tone knob on guitar or amp to tame that infamous Tele top end. And yet, the guitar lacks nothing for snap and clarity. The low strings are punchy and articulate, the middle strings warm and complex, and the high strings round and resonant. The only time we find ourselves wanting to reach for the tone knob is when pushing an amp with a fair amount of gain. More on that later.
David Budz winds and builds his pickups with the materials, wire gauge, coating and procedure of the great pickups from the 50’s. But with a twist. This set features a mixture of Alnico 5, 4, and 3 magnets in the bridge pickup to carefully tame the trebles while balancing a rich midrange with the right amount of sparkle. And it pairs perfectly with the Alnico 5 pickup in the neck.
The low strings are clear and punchy for clean riffs and arpeggios through a clean amp, with perfect string-to-string definition. The bridge pickup delivers your riffs with power and a hint of midrange grunt, while the middle position favors a bit more snap and chime with subtle scoop to the mids. The neck pickup is warm and juicy and has no problem coaxing some Strat-y blues tones.
Through gain, the bridge pickup is where it’s at. With volume and tone fully up, it has a gritty texture that handles swampy country licks with authority. Rolling down the tone knob to around 6 gives you smooth, humbucker-inspired tones with a little added thump in the attack. Rolling down the volume instead will help clean up your amp, and keeps your tone completely transparent as it does so.
How Does It Play?
The string action measures barely a hair over 4/64” on the low E string at the 12th fret and under 4/64” on the high E, without buzz. The C neck profile measures around .830” at the 1st fret and .900” at the 12th. It has very nicely rolled edges and supportive shoulders.
Weight: 6lbs 6oz
The Mario Martin Deluxe padded gigbag is included.
Specifications
Model: T-Style
Body: 1pc Swamp Ash
Neck: 1pc Maple
Nut Material: Bone
Nut Width: 1.65”
Fret Size: 6125
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5-12”
Neck Shape: C
Top/Side Dots: Black
Strings: String Joy MM Set
Tuners: Gotoh Staggered Vintage
Pickguard: Bakelite
Pickups: Budz 543s
Finish: Nitrocellulose
Body Color: Vintage Amber / Med Relic
Neck Color: Gloss w/ Vintage Tint
Accessories Included: Deluxe Gig Bag and Certificate of Authenticity / Dated & Hand signed By Mario Martin
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