Eastwood Marksman 5

Eastwood Guitars releases the Marksman 5, a tribute to the now rare Paul Bigsby designed 1957 Magnatone Mark V.

Eastwood Marksman 5

The guitar mimics the look and sound of the original while implementing intonation and playability improvements.

Since the ultra-rare 1957 Magnatone Mark V is currently selling for around $7,500+ in the vintage market, Eastwood decided to make a more accessible and affordable replica. The result is the Eastwood Marksman 5, a classic looking guitar that would look nice in a glass display and at the same time be gig-worthy, thanks to its modern durability and playability improvements.

To start off, the guitar’s curved double cutaway mahogany body is tone chambered to make it lighter and more comfortable to carry and play. It comes in a vintage sunburst finish that wraps the guitar with a vintage appeal.

The guitar features a set mahogany neck with a 24.75″ scale length. It is topped by a rosewood fretboard with 22 frets. This combination of mahogany body and set neck is commonly found on expensive LP style guitars with humbuckers, but this guitar has two single-coil pickups – allowing for a distinct bright vintage sound.

The tone is delivered through two custom designed EW Alnico SCP90s with a 3-way switch, one volume and one tone control. As expected from single-coil equipped guitars, the sound is bright and “glassy” clean. The pickups are also tweaked to respond well with distortion, adding to the instrument’s versatility. RJ Ronquillo did a great job showcasing the guitar’s various sounds in this demo video:

Eastwood equipped the guitar with a modern adjustable roller bridge to improve the setup and intonation, this is one of the major upgrades when compared to vintage Paul Bigsby designed Magnatone guitars. Rounding off the features are a Bigsby Tremolo and detailed replica of the nickel/chrome hardware aesthetics, as found on the original.

Mike Robinson, President and founder of Eastwood Guitars said: “The ’57 Magnatone is one of my personal favorites in today’s vintage market, but unaffordable to most, therefore I wanted to make a replica that did it justice and the Marksman 5 nails it.”

The Eastwood Marksman 5 is currently being sold for $999. For more details and to check on Eastwood’s collection of unique looking vintage reissues, you can visit Eastwood Guitars.

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