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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?
Holy smokes! Before we even chat weight and reverse headstock, let’s talk tone. The Fralin Vintage Hots are absolute beasts in this guitar. High output? No. Actually we always like to emphasize the “vintage” over the “hot” when talking about this pickup set. But they do sound awful big through a 30+ watt power section, tight and percussive.
The pickup set is also nicely balanced across all positions. The neck position is open but delivers a textured bite when digging into an edge-of-breakup rig. Neck & middle immediately sounds SRV or John Mayer… stab a big low note and follow it up with a chord rake or double stop. You’ll know what we’re talking about!
The middle pickup is surprisingly shimmery. Not a position we usually gravitate towards, but on this guitar it really hits a sweet spot. We suspect it will find a lot of use! Neck & middle takes you “Where The Streets Have No Name.” Like, surprisingly close. Even plugged straight into and amp without a delay, you can fill in the holes and hear it!
The bridge pickup is full and vibrant. The second tone knob is wired to the bridge if you want to roll off the top end. But quite frankly, you might not even find yourself reaching for it unless you want to fatten up some lead tones with the gain turned up.
And weight… this one weighs in at 5lb 5oz. It’s possible you’ve played a Strat twice its weight at some point! And before you worry, the Paulownia body has been carefully paired with a light quartersawn roasted flame maple neck to keep it balanced on a strap. This one also features a couple fun specs in its reverse headstock and open grain finish.
How Does It Play?
The string action hovers right around 4/64” at the 12th fret without buzz. Mario’s “Chunky C” profile is nice and supportive, but not exactly chunky by most standards. We think of it as a nice round C. It measures .860” at the first fret and is very approachable for players who don’t generally gravitate towards chunky necks.
Weight: 5lb 5oz
This guitar ships with a Mario Martin Deluxe padded gigbag.
Specifications
Model: S-Style
Body: 1pc Paulownia
Neck: 1pc ¼ Sawn AAA Flame Roasted Maple
Headstock: Reverse
Nut Material: Bone
Nut Width: 1.65”
Fret Size: 6105
Fingerboard Radius: 9.5”-12”
Neck Shape: Chunky C (.860-.930”)
Top/Side Dots: Black
Strings: String Joy Balanced Light Set
Tuners: Kluson Deluxe
Pickguard: Mint
Pickups: Fralin Vintage Hot
Finish: Nitrocellulose
Body Color: Tru Grain Olympic White over 3 Tone Burst / Heavy Relic
Neck Color: Gloss
Accessories Included: Deluxe Gig Bag and Certificate of Authenticity / Dated & Hand signed By Mario Martin
Total Weight of Guitar: 5 lbs. 5 oz.
Serial Number: 1123881
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