SOLD Unique MANSON Strat – Martin Barre of Jethro Tull

Gadget

This was custom built for Jethro Tull guitarist Martin Barre by luthier Hugh Manson in 1995 and is the very guitar featured on the inside sleeve of Martin’s solo album 'Stage Left' (see pix below).

Main features include...
• Double cut str*t shaped body
• Quilted maple top
• Very thin clear satin finish on body
• 22-fret maple bolt-on neck
• Ebony fingerboard
• 25 1/2" scale length
• Side marker dots
• Black Wilkinson trem with three rear springs (arm included)
• Black sperzel tuners
• Currently strung 9/11/16/24/32/42
• One body-mounted passive humbucker
• Two body-mounted EMG active single coils
• Two pots with push/pull
• Three mini toggle switches

The wiring is quite complex and I won't pretend I ever fully got to the bottom of what all the knobs and switches do!   Suffice it to say, there are many tonal options. A stereo cable can apparently be used to split the output between two different amps.

Condition is excellent. Despite its pro ownership, it has surprisingly few dings and scratches (such as on the back, near the neck) and no actual damage anywhere. The frets are also in excellent condition, with no nasty buzzes.

The guitar came to me in a gig bag (yeah, I know) but will be supplied to the winner in a used, but serviceable hard case.

I know there may be quite a few questions on this, so feel free to ask and I can supply more pix / details as necessary.

This is a unique instrument, built to Martin's requirements, so who knows how much it cost...

... but I know cash is in short supply at the moment, so I'm asking what I believe is a very reasonable figure of £1650 £1500 cash / PPG
Trades-wise, I'm after a 1978 Les Paul Standard or other high-end Les Paul, a Cornford RK100 or Soldano SLO.

This is a reluctant sale, but I’ve barely played it in all the time I’ve had it and it deserves to get more use. It's spent it's time at home in my studio safe, so has been well looked after.

Personal collection with cash is fine and so is Bank Transfer or Paypal Gift (but collection will not be possible until all monies have fully cleared to my bank account in the last two cases).

I don't want to ship this, for obvious reasons, but will happily meet-up part-way up to 50 miles radius of Telford for £20 fuel or 100 miles maximum for £30 fuel.

impmann

Jealous.

If that had been the Hamer Chapparal custom he used for Quest of a Knave, I'd be out selling both kidneys.

Lovely guitar

Gadget

This will only cost you half a gonad

Fuzzdog

Pretty sure I saw Martin playing this one a few years ago at a gig, sounded rather spiffing indeed.

Sadly not in my realm of current affordability. (

Gadget

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I took a picture of him playing it live, well before I bought it - but it was on that old fashioned 'film' type stuff and I don't think I ever had it printed.

robwright

impmann said:

Jealous.

If that had been the Hamer Chapparal custom he used for Quest of a Knave, I'd be out selling both kidneys.

Lovely guitar

Thats offal!

carlos

First time I've ever seen active and passive pickups in the same guitar. Wonder how they got all the impedances and what not to work.

Fuzzdog

carlos said:

First time I've ever seen active and passive pickups in the same guitar. Wonder how they got all the impedances and what not to work.

Martin seemed to have that setup on a few of his guitars, certainly always sounded good.  EMG sell a little interface board for using passives alongside their pickups, although I was not aware of this when I used a similar active/passive setup so just plonked a passive humbucker in the bridge of one of my EMG equipped guitars and compromised with the pot values - sounded really good, despite all the theory saying that it shouldn't!

Gadget

I have EMGs in most of my guitars and get on with them really well.

However, whilst I like the mix and match idea, I wouldn't fancy wiring-up my own attempt at a hybrid!

Gadget

Still for sale

Gadget

Bump for the weekend...

Gadget

A steal for a unique piece of rock history... oh, and a brilliant guitar to boot

Gadget

---

Gadget

*UPDATE*

Trades-wise, I'm after a 1978 Les Paul Standard or other high-end Les Paul, a Cornford RK100 or Soldano SLO.

Gassage

@bucket ...

Gadget

Slightly disappointed and surprised that I've had zero interest in a guitar built for and played by one of the world's top players?...

impmann

I'm interested - very - as Martin Barre is a great player and it's a lovely instrument.

BUT I have no money to buy such a thing. :-)

richh

Would it be possible to put some info on this up on one of the Tull fan sites?  I'd imagine it could get quite a lot of interest among Jethro Tull fans.

Gadget

impmann said:

I'm interested - very - as Martin Barre is a great player and it's a lovely instrument.

BUT I have no money to buy such a thing. :-)

Thanks anyway for the reassurance that someone is actually interested

Gadget

richh said:

Would it be possible to put some info on this up on one of the Tull fan sites?  I'd imagine it could get quite a lot of interest among Jethro Tull fans.

Good idea - I shall research whether or not a suitable sales section exists

Gadget

Bump...