As the owner of a signature ES-345 signature guitar, and the loyal custodian of numerous Les Pauls and SGs, Marcus King is widely regarded as a Gibson man through-and-through.
But the blues rock ace recently defected to the Fender ranks for a brief period, picking up a Stratocaster to play a handful of tracks in the latest episode of Signal’s Cardboard Sessions.
It wasn’t just any ol’ Strat, though. Like the many who’ve featured on the show before him, King completed his session wielding the wild, awe-inspiring instrument that has been fashioned from cardboard.
First devised in 2015, the concept for the Master-Built absurdity came about following a collaboration between Signal Snowboards, Ernest Packaging and the Fender Custom Shop, who plotted to create a Strat that would strap conventional electric guitar specs to, erm, a cardboard body.
Over the years, it’s been played by a raft of A-list guitar heroes, with the likes of Billy Gibbons, J Mascis, Terry Reid and the Keanu Reeves-featuring Dogstar all donning the cardboard creation for a set. Now, Marcus King’s name can be added to that list.
After getting comfortable with the bio resin-covered cardboard neck – and marveling at its playability – King then rips through his new track F*ck My Life Up Again, which gives the guitar ace a bed to push the Strat to its limits with some setup-testing bends and performance-probing scale runs.
Though the idea of a cardboard guitar might sound like just a novelty to most, it turns out this Strat is a serious player, with King giving it the highest possible praise.
“Probably one of the greatest Strats I’ve ever played really,” King commented. “It’s set up really well, it looks cool, plays really great and it's recyclable which I love… and I can see through it.”
When one considers just how many vintage Strats King has most likely come across during the course of his career... well, this is high praise indeed.
He’s not the only one to have been taken aback by the cardboard Strat, either. Speaking to Guitar World, Cardboard Sessions’ Dave Lee noted how one player singled out its sonic performance for praise.
“The last session, someone remarked about how the notes tend to sustain,” he said. “They hold longer. I’m not that good a guitar player to notice that! When I’m playing it plugged in, though, it really does come down to the fact that the pickups are amazing in it.”
As for what it’s like seeing the Strat get put through its paces by a class of guitar icons, Lee went on, “It was a total privilege. We started this off as a jam format, because we didn’t have a lot of money to talk to labels about music rights.
“But, yeah, Billy [Gibbons] came in with a song! A legit song about him playing a cardboard guitar, done in a traditional sort of blues format.
“I’m almost like speechless thinking about it. It was so incredible to watch a legend just come in have fun with it.”
It’s the first of four Cardboard Sessions that will feature King and his cardboard Strat, with the next three tracks set to be released across March.
Visit the Signal YouTube channel to catch King's upcoming Cardboard Sessions.
