Manson Guitar Works is a British

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

manufacturer based in Devon, England. Initially focussed on one-off, customised instruments, Manson Guitar Works has since extended its range of products into bass guitars, accessories, and, after forming a relationship with

Cort Precortistatin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''CORT'' gene. The 105 amino acid residue human precortistatin in turn is cleaved into cortistatin-17 and cortistatin-29. Cortistatin-17 is the only active peptide derived from the prec ...

, has recently launched more affordable ranges. The

Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

guitarist

Matt Bellamy Matthew James Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English singer, songwriter and producer. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and lyricist for the English rock band Muse. He is recognised for his eccentric stage persona, wide tenor vocal ...

has used Manson guitars since 2001, and in 2019 he bought a majority share of the company.

History

The company was started by Hugh Manson after following in his brother's footsteps in the guitar building scene, specialising in electric guitars. After moving from Crowborough to Exeter, Manson set up Mansons Guitar Shop alongside Adrian Ashton and Jay Henson. The company separated from the guitar shop in to avoid confusion. In 2019, the long-time Manson player

bought a majority share in the company. In 2023, Bellamy revealed that the company is working on a line of pedals as well as more affordable instruments and more integrated effects, hinting at potential collaborations with

DigiTech DOD Electronics, or simply DOD, also known as their brand name DigiTech, is an American manufacturing company that makes guitar effects pedals, as well as active crossover gear. DOD is owned by Cortek, the parent company of Cort Guitars. Thei ...

Matt Bellamy

Since the early 2000s,

has worked with Manson Guitar Works to create his electric guitars. They have released several "M-series" signature models. The early years Muse were based in their hometown of

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14 ...

, and the band sourced much of their equipment from Mansons Guitar Shop in Exeter. After the release of '' Showbiz'' in 1999, Bellamy had the funds to purchase his first Manson guitar — a 7-string that is most notably played in the song " Citizen Erased" —and ordered a customised guitar known as the 'De Lorean', after the time machine in ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...

.'' The guitar's shape was inspired by a

Fender Telecaster The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele (), is an electric guitar produced by Fender (company), Fender. Together with its sister model the Fender Esquire, Esquire, it was the world's first mass-produced, commercially successfulLes ...

and Bellamy's previous Yamaha Pacifica, featuring custom electronics which allowed for the integration of a ZVEX Fuzz Factory and

MXR Phase 90 The MXR Phase 90 is a phaser effects pedal introduced in 1972 by MXR. History The Phase 90 was the first pedal sold by MXR and helped launch the company in 1974. The original model had a simple orange enclosure with a script style MXR logo. In ...

and a custom aluminium finish.

MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface (; MIDI) is an American-Japanese technical standard that describes a communication protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, ...

integration is the next phase of Manson and Bellamy's innovation with the instrument, first seen in the guitar dubbed the "Manson 007" in 2001, which Bellamy still uses in studio recordings. After the formation of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

tribute

the Jaded Hearts Club The Jaded Hearts Club is an English rock supergroup and covers band consisting of Miles Kane (of the Rascals and Last Shadow Puppets), Nic Cester (of Jet), Matt Bellamy (of Muse), Graham Coxon (of Blur), Jamie Davis (of Coxon's former lab ...

, Bellamy purchased a

Höfner Karl Höfner GmbH & Co. KG is a German (originally Austro-Bohemian) manufacturer of musical instruments, with one division that manufactures guitars and basses, and another that manufactures other string instruments, such as violins, violas, ce ...

bass. By the time the group extended their repertoire and released the singles from the debut cover album, Bellamy had acquired a custom Manson violin bass with integrated LEDs. Bellamy's signature models have also been manufactured by Cort, first as the MBC model and now as the MBM. The newly dubbed "Verona Sky" - an S-type guitar - debuted on the '' Will of the People'' tour and is used in the performance of the song ''

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

.''

References

{{reflist Companies of England Guitar manufacturing companies