Noah Miller
From:
Rocky Hill, CT
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Posted 9 May 2012 3:32 pm |
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I bought this last year when I was looking for something slightly brighter, approaching Fenderish tone. This guitar has the tone I was looking for, but I ended up not working it into my sound and it's sat in its case most of the time.
Most people, if they even know that Magnatone made guitars, are familiar with either the rare and expensive Paul Bigsby-designed Mark III, IV and V from the mid '50s or the mediocre-quality Starstream series from the '60s. Few are aware that there was a series of Magnatone guitars built between those two eras: the Mark VII, VIII, IX and X. These models (along with a bass and a couple of other similar designs) were built in the late '50s into the very early '60s and are very nice guitars indeed. They were designed by Paul Barth, who worked for a number of major players: National/Valco, Rickenbacker, Magnatone and his own Bartell brand.
Barth designed the later Mark series around 1959. Not surprisingly, their appearance and construction have some not-so-subtle similarities to contemporary Rickenbacker models. Although this guitar looks solid, it's actually a semi-hollow; a center slab of birch was heavily routed and two thinner pieces of solid birch were glued on to form the top and back. It's not far removed from the construction of Harmony Stratotones or Danelectro guitars, although the wood is all solid and the overall attention to detail is superior. The pickguard isn't actually plastic but fiberglass, which explains how it's survived five decades without any shrinkage cracks.
The pickups were designed by Barth and I believe they're identical to the ones used on his guitars. The ones on this guitar don't have adjustable poles, but the balance across the strings is perfect. The tone is scooped and cutting, not unlike a Strat but without the Strat's tendency to get icepick-y on the bridge. It's a bit warmer and more rounded than the classic Fender tone, but clearly designed toward the same cutting clarity. The hollow body and short 24 7/8" scale give it a more open, airy tone than a Strat without sacrificing much sustain. The zero fret does an excellent job of evening out the tone between open and fretted notes. The neck has a narrow D-shaped profile that reminds me of early '50s Valco guitars. The thick slab of Brazilian rosewood has a 12" radius (I think) and normal-sized frets for the day. I've had the frets dressed, so it plays perfectly up the neck. The guitar is very light - my scale puts it at just 5.4 lbs - and the center of gravity is correctly located around the neck joint.
All the other Mark VIIIs I've seen had one volume and one tone control; this one has a volume and tone for each pickup as seen on the more expensive Mark IX and X models. I suspect that this is a later Mark VIII, probably from '60 or '61, due to the ashtray bridge cover; earlier ones, including the ones in catalog pics, had a smaller tailpiece cover that left the bridge exposed. Everything appears to be all original.
The overall quality is quite high. Despite its light weight, the guitar is solidly built and I'd have no problem gigging with it. The woods are all of high quality: the maple neck has a light marble flame, and the solid birch top is unusually even-grained. The guitar is in excellent condition overall, with average wear confined mostly to the sides and corners. The worst is some damage to the finish on the back where the guitar lay on a coiled cable for a long time; this is purely cosmetic.
I'm asking $800 including the guitar, the original chipboard case, Paypal fees and shipping in the continental US.
Click here for larger pics.
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