Vola Guitars and Argentinian polymath electric guitar virtuoso Maycown Reichembach have put their heads together for a new signature guitar that first of all looks like it’s built to play fast, and secondly presents us with some intriguing tonal options.
Made in Japan, and available to order direct for a very approachable $1,149 street price, the Vola Oz MRM is based on the brand's Oz double-cut and debuts its take on the classic P-90, single-coil electric guitar pickup, the VFP90. With the VFP90 offering turn-of-the-‘50s mojo at the neck, the bridge position is occupied by the evocatively titled Fire Ice humbucker.
Vola has wired this up for maximum versatility with a push/pull coil split on the volume pot, plus a push/pull bright/mud switch on the tone pot for adding clarity or removing any of the ice-pick treble to taste.
The specs are stacked here. Gotoh locking tuners, 22 stainless steel frets for slinky bends and vibrato, roasted one-piece maple neck, roasted maple fingerboard, and there’s one of our favorite tremolo units, the Gotoh 510T – it’s the platonic ideal for those of us who find the Floyd Rose overkill but still like the idea of a whammy bar for the final few bars of a solo.
The body is solid alder and generously contoured. We can call this an S-style but the apple has fallen far from the double-cut tree, with sharpened upper and lower horns, and sculpting around the lower strap button. Note the ample belly cut, sculpted heel and contouring in that lower horn; this is a guitar that wants to get your fretting hand up to the dusty end with no delay.
The neck proportions should play well to the shred and prog metal guitar demographic. We’re talking 20mm at the first fret, 21mm at the 12th, on what is described as a Modern C profile. Said neck is finished in satin so it won’t gum up on you.
Other points of note: the scale length is 25.5”, the fingerboard has a 14” radius, the nut is Graph Tech Tusq, and there is something about a reverse headstock on a state-of-the-art S-style that gets us all week at the knees.
With Reichembach a southpaw player, it is something of a relief that there are left and right-handed models. You can have any finish option you like so long as it is Malbec Black Metallic Gloss. There is a clear plastic pickguard on the guitar, too, which looks good but please remember to remove it and clean under it every now and again.
The Vola MRM is available now. Pop over to Vola Guitars to order – $1,149 / £1,179 seems like a square deal. Shipping is free to most countries.
