(MUSE) Stars & guitars: Manson MB-1 Matt Bellamy
Few modern day guitarists have gained more plaudits in the last decade than Matt Bellamy. The Muse frontman has tantalized the eardrums on lead guitar since the band's debut album, Showbiz, in 1999. He is known for his long association with Manson guitars; hailing from Devon, he collaborates closely with Exeter native Hugh Manson on a string of custom guitars that help him achieve his distinctive sound.
But it was Peavy EVH Wolfgang, one of the designs endorsed by U.S. guitar hero Eddie Van Halen, that Bellamy started out with when Muse debuted in 1999, he customized this in curious fashion with gray gaffa tape on its top edge, and it survived the album tour before it was launched into the crowd. A Parker Fly, made from futuristic composite materials like resin and carbon glass, has also since been seen in his hands.
When touring the second album, Origin of Symmetry, and later Absolution, Bellamy's weapon of choice was his Manson Delorean, which can be heard in the opening riff of "Plug In Baby", which has come first in many of the polls to find the riff of a decade.
The world tour for Black Holes and Revelations saw Bellamy use a MIDI Manson. This mirror plated guitar contained an integrated Kaoss Pad, which allows him to reproduce the DJ-scratch section from "Supermassive Black Hole". The pad is also used to control his Digitech Whammy effects pedal, ensuring maximum output through minimum effort.
The MIDI Manson, which became a Bellamy trademark, met its end at the Fuji Rock Festival in Naeba, Japan; at the conclusion of "Stockholm Syndrome," Bellamy launched the custom instrument at a strobe light, splitting it in half. It now resides as its maker's Exeter shop. Few guitars survive in Bellamy's guitar locker for more than a few years, but he plays them all with the same vigor and mesmerizing results. His innovation in conjunction with Manson has been a major factor in his and Muse's success over the last ten years.
Matt Bellamy's association with Hugh Manson culminated in the release of Bellamy's signature guitar, the Manson MB-1. Based on his main guitar, the MB-1 had a solid alder body, with a bird's eye maple neck-sturdy, but still guaranteed to survive the impact Bellamy subjects it to during a gig. It has an exclusive Manson MBK-2 Bridge pickup and a Fernandes Sustainer humbucker at the neck, the combination creating sustained crisp notes typical of a Muse track. Below the bridge is an X-Y MIDI pad, incorporated on all Bellamy's guitars since 2006. With it he can control a Kaoss Pad, allowing countless more sounds to emanate from his guitar. This touchpad MIDI controller, sampler, and effects processor is made by Korg. It's internal effects engine can be applied to a line-in. Effects available include pitch shifting, distortion, filtering, wah-wah, tremol, flanging, delay, reverberation, autopanning, gating phasing, and ring modulation.
Visually, the MB-1 comes either matte black, or as Bellamy prefers, gloss red glitter. Manson recalls Bellamy's initial request: "I asked him to write down what he wanted, and he wrote 'sparkles'. When I was making it, I used a, well, it was like a wheat sifter, and just put the glitter on a bit at a time, then blew off the extra. It reminded me of making Christmas cards!"
Similar to a Telecaster in profile, the Manson MB-1 reflects the demands of the guitarist whose initials it bears. Switches include the two that control the Fernandes sustainer pickup at the neck and a "kill switch" to turn off sound completely.
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