Manson MB S-Prototype
| MB S-Prototype | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Manson Guitars |
| Used | 2023-02-25 - |
| Body type | Solid |
| Neck joint | Bolt-on |
| Body covering | Red/Orange "Desert Sunburst" with Mirror Scratchplate |
| Wood | Body: Currently Unknown Neck: Currently Unknown Fingerboard: Currently Unknown (22 frets) |
| Bridge | Currently unknown, S-Style Tremolo |
| Electronics | One volume, two tone, 5-way blade pickup selector |
| Pickup(s) | Neck: Unknown, Custom Single Coil (Presumed Manson) Middle: Unknown, Custom Single Coil (Presumed Manson) Bridge: Unknown, Custom Hot-Rails Single Coil (Presumed Manson) |
| Special circuits | |
Background
This was officially announced by Manson's via their social media a few days after the Will of the People Tour kicked off, described as "a classic design with a few Manson refinements and some custom pickups."
It's a prototype built specifically for the WotP tour, so we may see tweaks and other versions appear soon as it goes on the road. The MB-S is loosely based on the Manson S-Type, (built by Hugh Manson in the '90s) [1], but with a modern headstock & contemporary Manson logo, and very closely resembles a Fender Stratocaster, but with the body area behind the bridge more closely akin to a Fender Duo-Sonic or Fender Lead I/II/III.
This new design is likely due to Matt using various Strats over the years on tour and in the studio, most recently the eye-catching Fender Aluminium Stratocaster for the Psycho and Drones tours respectively.
Much like the Oryx #1/#2/#3, it's another significant departure from the classic MB Shape in the "new era of Manson". Notably as it's a second new shape built for Matt in the short time since the WotP Era began.
This and the Oryx could be the start of Matt having totally new and different guitars built by Manson's (being majority shareholder of MGW) and exploring all sorts of new shapes and designs, with hope for future production runs that the public can purchase.
According to Manson Guitar Works on Instagram, Matt named the guitar "Verona Sky".
Touring
The S-Type Prototype made its debut appearance in Chicago in February 2023 - the first date of the USA leg of the Will of the People World Tour. It's been used for Verona and The Dark Side (Alternate Reality Instrumental) interlude.
