Manson MBK-2 Pickup
Manson Pickups are designed and made in the UK. Our MBK series were initially designed to complement our MB signature guitars but you'll also find them in our new MA series guitars or as upgrades in a multitude of popular guitars.
The Manson MBK-2 pickup design is our original humbucker design, created to fulfill a clear gap in the market for a custom pickup that needed to tick a lot of boxes! Great drive qualities, the ability to match and work with a Fernades sustainer system, an ability to clean up for player dynamics but retain thick, warm distorted tones on demand! Phew! The original destination for the MBK-2 was as a retro fit into Muse's Matthew Bellamy's guitars, which at the time of recording for Black Holes And Revelations numbered several instruments including the original 'DeLorean', '007' (Matt refers to this guitar as 'Black Ed'), 'Laser' and 'Bomber' variants. Seeking to address particular tone and output issues Hugh Manson and his team finally came out with the MBK-2 design ready for retro fitting. Just one problem - Muse were in residence at Miraval studios deep in France and time waits for no band in the recording process! Hugh armed himself with a selection of pickups, jumped into his car and headed to Miraval studios just in time to get the guitar sound ready for recording.
Our neck pickup partner is similar, but not identical to our MBK-1 neck model. Whilst it would be a cheaper and much easier option to simply place our MBK-1N pickup as the 'match' to our MBK-2 bridge pickup, the slight difference in design required a more involved and detailed approach. So whilst our neck model of the MBK-2 is actually a P-90 design it is tweaked to perfectly suit our MBK-2 humbucker.
The MBK-2 is now our most popular pickup as a Manson standard or retro fit and can be found in the following guitars: Manson MB-1, Manson DL-1, Manson MA Series, Manson Works
Four Conductor Wiring