Mario Martin Guitars Honcho Swamp Ash w/ Maple Neck – Olympic White

Information

Brand New w/ Warranty. We are an authorized Mario Guitars Dealer.

Like what you see? All photos are of the exact instrument you will receive.

Mario Martin guitars are hand built in Murfreesboro, TN just 40 minutes down the road from us! Undertaking the entire build process from cutting the body blank to spraying the final touch of nitro, Mario Martin achieves a level of guitar making well beyond partscaster builders who may look alike on the surface. These guys maintain one of the best collections of tonewoods around, and every neck/body/pickup combination is chosen carefully to amplify the personality of the guitar as a whole. Whether you crave an S-style guitar straight out of 1958 or the unique Tele-Strat mashup that is the Honcho, we are confident you’ll find what you’re looking for in a Mario Martin.

What Do We Think?

This is a super light build. We weighed it at just a half ounce north of 6lb. It will be easy on the shoulder all night long, and you may find it’s the only guitar you need all night long as well! A true master of many genres, the Honcho features a custom-tailored Fralin pickup set, a Tele-style bridge plate and a Strat-style Wilkinson tremolo.

This Fralin set is on the lower-wind end of the spectrum, giving a nod to glassy ‘60s S-Style tones and letting the guitar really breathe through the pickups. The neck pickup has a warm—yet tight and confident—low end. The pickup can really grind as you start to turn up the amp, all the while remaining clear and bell-like.

The bridge pickup hints at Strat-inspired jangle, but the bridge plate beefs it up with a Tele-inspired midrange. This added “body” allows it to handle gain with perfect poise. It doesn’t fall apart in the upper register, and it can get quite gutsy if you role the tone knob back. But even with the tone knob at 3 or 4, you still get a sweet transparency in the low mids.

Mario chose to wire this one with the bridge and middle pickups on a shared tone knob, which makes it especially easy to dial in what is quite possibly my favorite pickup position on the Honcho. And here you have it folks: the vaunted position 2 (blend of bridge and middle). This position has the quack of a Strat mixed with the punch of a Tele. Funk heaven. And should you desire a more scooped “in between” tone, position 4 will be your ticket.

How Does It Play?

This C neck has healthy hints of “slim D” written all over. It feels fast in the hand but the shoulders are still nice and supportive. The string action measures barely a hair over 4/64” on the low E string at the 12^th fret and right at 4/64” on the high E. As part of the relic’ing, Mario knocks the gloss off the back of the necks so they feel silky smooth, with no stickiness.

Weight: 6lb 2oz (we in fact weighed it even lighter at just 6lb 0.5oz)

The Mario Martin Deluxe padded gigbag is included.

Specifications

Model: Honcho

Body: Swamp Ash

Neck: 1-pc Maple

Nut Material: Bone

Nut Width: 1.65”

Fret Size: 6125

Fingerboard Radius: 9.5”-12”

Neck Shape: C

Top/Side Dots: Black

Strings: String Joy Balanced Light

Tuners: Vintage Staggered

Pickguard: 3-Ply Parchment

Pickups: Fralin Honcho Set

Finish: Nitrocellulose

Body Color: Olympic White / Relic

Neck Color: Gloss w/ Vintage Tint

Accessories Included: Deluxe Embroidered Gig Bag and Certificate of Authenticity / Dated & Hand signed By Mario Martin

Total Weight of Guitar: 6lb 2oz