We’ve come to expect some serious cool Matt Bellamy signature guitars from the Muse frontman’s Manson Guitar Works over the years, but how about a limited edition replica of the GEO Mask guitar that he played onstage during the Will Of The People Tour 2023?
This is the next-gen T-type with the multi-angled metal finish that was inspired by stealth aircraft and matched the mask that Bellamy wore on stage, and it has been released today, now available to buy direct from Manson.
There are two versions available, V1 and V2, both sharing the same core specs as Bellamy’s stage-played GEO Mask guitars, which means a Sustainiac Stealth Pro sustainer system and PF-1 MB bridge humbucker as standard; both 100 per cent high-end electric guitars with eye-watering price tags.
A deposit of £1,000 is required to reserve your guitar, whereupon Manson will contact you to arrange the balancing payment. V1 is priced £7,999 while V2 is priced – deep breath – £13,999. But before you protest, ‘No wonder he is wearing a mask!’ There is a lot of guitar for the money, and for the guitar player who is a Muse super fan, it does not get much more collectible than this.
These really are exacting replicas; the only difference being that Bellamy's original model had the names of Manson employees engraved on the electronics backplates.
The whole idea for this guitar in the first place came from head luthier Tim Stark, but it soon involved Manson’s best and brightest to work out a way of making this a reality. The guitar’s finish and topography are based on the “the angles and geometry of radar-deflecting aeroplane technology”. And here we thought finding book-matched figured maple was tough.
Manson CAD programmer whiz James Yarde gamed out the angles. Once they had the guitar they presented Bellamy with it at his home in Devon, and he got his tech, Chris Whitemyer, to fast-track it onto his touring lineup. It made its debut at the Stadion Wiener Neustadt, in Austria, on 3 June 2023. Now we have a production run.
Ostensibly, both guitars are very similar. V1 and V2 both have solid alder bodies, with that modernistic riff on the Telecaster contoured as per Yarde’s programming wizardry. Both have ebony fingerboards and figured maple necks, but the V2 has the top-grade 5A roasted maple for added luxury.
The hardware is top-shelf on both, with Gotoh 510 tuners and bridge, and Schaller S-locks to stop it breaking loose from your guitar strap. Headstock facings are finished in a metal paint to match the bodies.
But now we get to the key differences. V1 ships in a Hiscox hard-shell guitar case with a COA signed by Bellamy. V2 has a Protechnic GEO Graphic full flight case that would withstand everything but thermonuclear war.
Inside you’ll find a Manson Heistercamp Premium Special Edition GEO strap, Manson GEO guitar picks, a hand-signed photo print, a laser cut numbered certificate, and, best of all, the actual mask. Amazing. As Proposition Joe said, “Look the part, be the part, M.F.”
You can check out more pictures and order these direct from Manson Guitar Works. Both editions are limited to 10 units each.
