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Electric · Hollow with sustain block

1996 Moonstone M-80

1996 Moonstone M-80 — body front, quilted maple, gold hardware, black humbuckers

About this instrument

I'm a huge fan of Moonstone Guitars. I consider the late Steve Helgeson to be one of the best guitar builders. He certainly was ahead of his time with his vision of high quality guitars. I don't care for this one though. It has a beautiful quilted Maple top & back, Mahogany sides and a Maple neck with a sustain block. How could you go wrong?

Like all Moonstones, this guitar could not have better wood selection and build materials. The workmanship is flawless and it plays well. The Joe Barden pickups prove to me once again that they are boomy and overemphasize the low mid frequency range. I personally feel that these pickups should never have been paired up with this guitar. The guitar is a bit brash sounding as well. I also felt that the guitar had poor balance between neck and body. The neck would actually start to dip down if you weren't holding it. That's a trap button placement issue. Ugh.

I really went out of my way to acquire this guitar used. The original owner was located in Germany. I ended up selling this guitar.

Specs

  • Year / model1996 Moonstone M-80
  • BodyMaple top & back, mahogany sides, hollow with sustain block
  • Neck3-piece maple & African padauk
  • FretboardEbony with pearl star inlays
  • Tuners & bridgeSchaller
  • TailpieceSchaller Fine Tune
  • PickupsJoe Barden
  • HardwareGold
  • Build materials & quality10
  • Sound3
  • Playability8
  • Appearance9
  • Overall design5

Personal instrument — not for sale.