Here's a real rare piece of vintage guitar history: 1958 Magnatone Mark IV model. This guitar is in very good condition. These early Magnatone guitars were designed by the legendary Paul Bigsby and were produced at the Magnatone facility on Freeman Ave, Los Angeles California, U.S.A. This one has been professionally set up and is ready to go-it needs nothing. Let's get crazy...
The body appears to be constructed of basswood and it is indeed hollow. The Honduran mahogany neck is a set-neck design and the neck angle is great. The Sunburst finish is brilliant and unfaded. The double cutaway design is comfortable and looks wild. The pickguard is nice and flat and the chrome hardware looks nice with a slight patina. The neck joint is solid and the neck angle is great. The neck itself is smooth and straight with a vintage C-shape profile. The neck girth measures .820" at the 1st fret and .931" at the 12th fret. The nut is 1.61" wide-similar to a vintage Stratocaster width. There is minor wear in the finish on the back of the neck in a small spot-see photos. The truss rod has been inspected and it works smoothly. The tuners all function and the headstock and logos display excellent with a killer vintage vibe. The rosewood fingerboard is clean has a nice soft feel. The binding on th neck is in very nice condition. The frets are the original units and have been professionally leveled, crowned and polished. They are a vintage fret width. These guitars had speed frets from the factory-marketing jargon for low height. They aren't as low as a Mosrite, but more like a vintage Gretsch guitar. The guitar plays great up and down the fingerboard with no dead spots. The action is set low for a fast and easy feel. The string height is currently .010" at the 1st fret and 055" at the 12th fret. The action can be easily raised if you prefer a higher feel.
The pickups both have a good signal and tone: brilliant and organic. The Magnatone pickups were Microphonic in a good way by design, which gives it a very 1950's sound. The neck pickup reads 4.58 ohms and the bridge pickup reads 4.98 ohms. The switch and controls all function as designed. The potentiometers date to the 12th week of 1958. According to the original owner, the tailpiece and bridge are original to the guitar. It is possible, but unconfirmed, as Mark IV models typically came with a trapeze style and maybe a wood saddle-as this one has some sort of metal saddle. The bridge is a floating design, so it can be easily adjusted. The metal saddle fits perfectly. It is very old, and it is possible that it is original. The switch tip was replaced with the same style vintage telecaster-type tip. The vibrato arm rotates down and will come in contact with the switch tip if you are not careful. The mailbox letters with the Initials W & E were affixed when the guitar was new-according to original owner. Everything else on the guitar is original.
The guitar is very lightweight and super comfortable. It only weighs 7.65 lbs-so you can forget about shoulder fatigue... It has a perfect balance and feels nice whether on a strap or in your lap. Comes with original brown case which is in very nice condition as well.
