1957 Magnatone Mark IV

£3,799.00

1 in stock

Rare to find in the UK Magnatone Mark IV in original Cherry red finish. Made in California and designed by the legendary electric guitar pioneer Paul Bigsby for Magnatone. It has many Bigsby features such as chambered body and swept neck joint with aluminium nut and neck inlays.. Comes with its original case. Our guitar is in good overall condition for its years but does show normal  wear. Its serial # plate is missing that would of been pinned to the back of the headstock It plays well and of course sounds incredible, perfect for rock n roll, hillbilly and western swing

The second Bigsby designed guitar that made it to Magna production was the Mark IV and V models. These were both really the same guitar except that the Mark V came a Bigsby tail piece, and the Mark IV came with a set tail piece. Materials were Honduran Mahogany and Basswood, and the mahogany neck was a set neck design like the Mark III (as opposed to a bolt-neck design). Initially, both guitars had a german carved top, but at some point, the carved top feature was dropped from the Mark V.

In 1957, for the Mark IV, a new Alnico 6 pickup was adopted to both steel guitars and the new Mark guitars.

Major endorsements came from Bob Gibbons of the Tennessee Ernie Ford Show and Gene Davis.

Whether these guitars were built at the Magnatone facility in Inglewood, or elsewhere is unclear. The production span of 1956 through 1957 straddled the Magna ownership change of early 1957 when Duhammel and Hellman sold the company to Chilton, Buckles, and Walsh (see history). By this time, Bigsby had moved on to other projects, and the new owners were left to find a new guitar designer.

Please call the shop for all details

01844 261447.