Ernie Ball Music Man reveals ornate Mariposa Omar Rodríguez-López signature guitar
Get all the details on the At The Drive-In/Mars Volta guitarist’s mystery model
After its surprise appearance at the UK Guitar Show, the Mariposa has now officially been unveiled by Ernie Ball Music Man.
The signature electric guitar for At The Drive-In/Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López, the Mariposa is most notable for its distinctive angular look, which is accompanied by an ornate laser-etched pickguard.
It offers pickups custom-designed to handle bucketloads of distortion while still packing classic humbucker sounds, with individual volume controls for each pickup - there’s no tone control here, but rolling back the volume will also tame the high-end.
Other specs include an African mahogany body, roasted maple neck with ebony fingerboard, Music Man Modern tremolo and Schaller M6-IND locking tuners.
Two versions are available: the gold-hardwared Mariposa Deluxe comes in Imperial White and Imperial Black finishes, while the regular Mariposa features chrome ’ware in its Pueblo Pink and Dorado Green guises.
The new guitar appears to take its cues from the St Vincent and Albert Lee HH models, which Rodríguez-López had been playing on At The Drive-In’s recent tours.
The Ernie Ball Music Man Mariposa is available now for $2,899 (regular) and $2,999 (Deluxe). Head over to Ernie Ball Music Man for more info.
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Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com, in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and over a decade's experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe.
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