From Guitar World · · 1m 30s
Manson builds one-off beasts for President's masked pair
Matt Bellamy's guitar company just made custom seven-strings and basses for British metal's most mysterious new band.
In brief
Matt Bellamy's guitar company just made custom seven-strings and basses for British metal's most mysterious new band. Manson is using President's two guitarists as its way into the extended-range metal market, and the guitars it built for them don't exist anywhere on its site. Originally reported by Guitar World.
Booked before they released anything
President were announced for Download Festival 2025 without putting out a single second of music. An EP and a debut album later, they're playing sold-out shows in the US.
Manson signs them both
Manson Guitar Works, bought by Muse's Matt Bellamy in 2019, has added both of President's guitarists, Heist and Protest, to its artist roster.
“We're incredibly proud to be involved with both Heist and Protest from President”
Protest got there first
He's been playing an extended-scale five-string MV bass for a while now, well before the second half of the deal landed.
Heist's baritone seven
His new Verona Modern is a baritone seven-string loaded with Fishman humbuckers and an EverTune bridge. Both players get custom logo inlays at the 12th fret.
Neither guitar officially exists
You won't find either model on the Manson site, which points to pure one-off builds. By Guitar World's count, Heist's could be the company's first seven-string baritone ever.
“Any of you lucky enough to be seeing their sold-out US rallies, let us know what you think of these beasts!”
The bigger play
It follows Bellamy going full Meshuggah with an eight-string Oryx on Muse's new album. Manson is aiming at a growing market, and production runs could follow.
“a real statement of intent from Manson to integrate itself into the extended-range modern metal scene”
In short
Manson is using President's two guitarists as its way into the extended-range metal market, and the guitars it built for them don't exist anywhere on its site.
