The folks at Morgan Monroe have introduced a number of new instruments which may be of interest to the bluegrass/acoustic market. They are even giving away one of the new banjo models in July from their Facebook page to help spread the word.
Two of these are electric, a six string banjo and a solid body mandolin, offered at a price meant to be attractive to pickers looking for an axe to add to their arsenal. The third is a striking 5 string banjo, offered in a solid black finish.
The MMT-1E is a solid body electric mandolin with four full courses of strings, just like its acoustic brethren. The maple neck is bolted on to a solid basswood body, powered by a pair of single coil pickups, set up Telecaster-style with a fixed bridge and individual saddles for each course. It carries a recommended retail price of $414.95.
Bluegrass banjo aficionados often sneer at the 6 string banjo, but they can be useful for guitarists who need to cover some banjo parts on stage – or who just want to experiment with a differet sound. Morgan Monroe’s MPM-1 is built as an acoustic tone ring banjo, but with a single magnetic pickup mounted on the coordinator rod beneath the head.
The MPM-1 has a mahogany neck and resonator, and a 3-ply maple rim with a rolled hoop ring and 24 shoe brackets. It is listed at $799.95.
For five stringers looking for something different, their MB-75-BK offers a student model done almost completely in black. The neck and resonator are black with white binding, and the one-piece metal shell is finished with a black chrome look.
Even the head is black. Ninja banjo – they’ll never see you coming!
The MB-75-BK has a recommended list price of $499.95, but Morgan Monroe is giving one away this summer. To enter, simply fill in the simple entry form on their web site, and then like their company Facebook page.
You can find more details about the Morgan Monroe family of instruments online.
