Mayones: The Range Explained
Published on 21 March 2024
Mayones are really putting Poland on the map as far as guitar building is concerned! From their humble beginnings in the 80s to their current status as one of the world’s hottest custom builders, Mayones is a tale of success for sure.
Over here at guitarguitar, we’ve long since been taken by their charms, and have supported the brand since we first tried one. For contemporary players who want the best, Mayones are an obvious shortlist brand, though which model should you go for?
In fact, what are the differences between the models? Today, I’ll run through all of this with you, so that you can be armed with all the brand info you need on what is easily one of the most exciting companies out there.
Contents
Who Are Mayones?
So who are Mayones anyway? Good question! Mayones are a Polish guitar maker who specialise in their own original design guitars. These are all hand made in their own facility in Gdansk, and they’ve been building since 1982, a good few years before the Iron Curtain came down and allowed Polish industry more worldwide freedom.
We have a blog on our visit to the Mayones factory for those who want an exclusive behind-the-scenes peek at the company’s inner workings, but the main takeaway here is that they are putting together amazingly impressive instruments, built with super-precision, imagination and character. If you’re one of those players who have seen enough Strats, Teles and Les Pauls already, then your ideal axe may well be a Mayones Regius, Hydra or Duvell! Keep reading and I’ll show you them all…
Mayones Regius
I’ll start with the Mayones Regius, since it’s my personal favourite. The Regius is a versatile double cut design made with a through neck design, and often (not always) sporting a carved top.
The Regius is almost always built with a hardtail, be that a Hipshot design on equivalent. This decision is probably down to the Regius’ construction style: it’s a through body neck join with multiple species of timber used in the distinctive striping on the back. There are typically 11 pieces of wood used in a Regius neck, and for strength and stability, this is unbeatable.
Shape-wise, I suppose this sits somewhere in the land that exists between a Schecter and a PRS. This type of thick-bodied double cut (with a slight offset) is very prevalent amongst boutique builders, and for Mayones, it’s fast becoming one of their most recognisable body styles.
Mayones Regius guitars can arrive to us as standard guitars with an interesting 25.4” scale length, and also as 26.5” baritone models. 7 strings are popular in this style too, often with some quite incredible stain finishes over whichever tonewood is selected for the top. I’m not going to go too far in detailing different timbers in this blog, since we order a vast range of wood combinations from Mayones. Suffice to say that you can go as flamed, quilted, burled or whatever else you fancy: all you need to do is glance at the pictures here to understand how committed to amazing woods this brand is!
Many Regius guitars also have lush binding and purfling on the top of the body, the fingerboard and the headstock, making them perhaps the most obviously attractive guitars in what is a great looking group of instruments!
Mayones Hydra
The Mayones Hydra is the company’s headless design. Mayones actually took a chance on a ‘sans-head’ style quite early into the whole headless renaissance, and they seemed to have been pretty accurate in their crystal ball gazing, since the Hydra is one of their most popular designs!
Available as a 6 or 7 string guitar, the Hydra adds to its already distinctive look with an interesting carved section behind the bridge that distinguishes it visually from all other headless guitars. Another interesting design decision is to have 6 screws at the neck join, not a feature shared by the whole stable by any means.
Other than that, you’ll notice Mayones trademarks aplenty here: the figured top, the stainless steel frets and the inclusion of top quality hardware & pickups. Mayones have actually started to produce their own pickups under the name Velvetrone, but as of writing, they are still offering other brands such as Bare Knuckle and Fishman Fluence on all models.
The Hydra is also available as a multiscale instrument, in both 6 and 7 string iterations. Just look for ‘VF’ in the guitar’s name and you’ll have the fanned-fret model!
Mayones Duvell
The Mayones Duvall is a sharp-horned, slightly sinister looking Superstrat type that looks like it was designed to unleash hell. The prolonged upper horns are great for intense shredding too, but they look very ‘metal’, which will be entirely in keeping with the company’s primary market.
The Duvell is a bolted-on neck design, so the sound and feel will differ quite notably from the likes of the Regius. Again, impressive woods and hardware prevail, and you’re more likely to see tremolo units on this style, even though they are still few and far between!
As with the Hydra, the Duvell can be had in multiscale format, as the Duvel VF. These have a multiscale of 25.4” - 27”.
Mayones Aquila
Perhaps the most obviously derivative of Mayones’ designs, the Aquila is still pretty far from most standard takes on the famous Stratocaster! It’s all tighter, trimmer angles here, with quilted and flamed tops aplenty! It’s an elegant take on the ol’ S-type, with easily enough of Mayones’ own chemical involved to keep it from looking too ‘other’ besides the outlandishly good looks of the Hydra, Regius and the rest.
This is the Mayones for someone who is well versed on the company’s famously high build quality, but needs a guitar that will perhaps blend slightly better into more situations. Studio players, session/function sidemen and cover band guitar heros will undoubtedly love this energised take on the classic.
Mayones Legend
The Mayones Legend strikes me as being a mix of a Telecaster riff and an almost Wolfgang-ish design, with even a touch of the Parker Fly? Well, I see it!
Anyway, this is a bolted-on singlecut design and, like the Aquila, it presents a slightly eccentric take on an old classic. The Legend looks fresh and original without being so ‘out there’ that nobody can get on board with it. Mayones’ bread and butter is undoubtedly the Prog Metal scene, but it’s clear that there’s plenty of fun to be had here for everyone else, too! If you need one instrument to cover a lot of genres and musical tasks - and you would like the best construction available on a design that’s a little left of centre - the Legend or Aquila will be right up your alley.
Building a New Future
It’s so refreshing to see a brand enjoying success on their own terms. They aren’t rehashing the past, nor are they rewriting the rulebook so much that nobody else can understand the game: they are simply taking style into their own direction amid a commitment to excellent quality, great components, and let’s face it: awesome looking finishes! To me, Mayones can be summed up like this:
- Amazingly playable
- Eye-catching in a great way
- Masterfully crafted
- Sonically excellent
- Refreshingly modern/contemporary/futuristic.
I mean, what else is there? If you make unique music then why not choose a unique guitar to play that music on, right? Head into any guitarguitar store and have a good sit down with a Mayones. It’ll be the best thing you do all day.
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