This Monroe Scorpio Custom is a seriously cool piece of American boutique guitar history, built at Monroe's own factory in El Paso, Texas.
Monroe's standard Custom construction included a quarter-sawn laminated rock maple neck running through the body, a 24-fret neck, 18-degree pitched peghead, 6-degree neck/body angle, medium-jumbo nickel-silver fretwire, fully shielded electronics and a double-locking Kahler tremolo system. The original literature proudly states that Monroe products were manufactured in the company's own El Paso factory and were Made in the USA.
This particular Scorpio is loaded with some fantastic period hardware, including black Sperzel tuners, a USA-made Kahler tremolo, a P.J. Marx humbucker and P.J. Marx single-coil rail pickup. It's exactly the sort of high-performance hardware combination that makes an American custom guitar from this era so much fun.
The neck measurements are equally interesting. The nut measures approximately 1.73" wide, with a neck depth of approximately .810" at the first fret and .960" at the 12th fret. That gives the neck a relatively slim-to-medium feel in the lower positions before becoming progressively more substantial as you move toward the upper frets. Combined with the compound-radius fingerboard, it's a neck designed with serious playing in mind.
The guitar weighs 8 lb. 4 oz., giving it a substantial, solid feel without getting excessively heavy.
The neck is straight and the truss rod turns properly in both directions. The guitar plays great up and down the neck and has exactly the fast, aggressive personality you'd hope for from a Kahler-equipped American custom guitar from this period.
If you're into obscure American builders, late-'80s/early-'90s high-performance guitars, Kahler-equipped instruments or simply want something you're unlikely to see another player carrying, this Scorpio is an awesome opportunity. Whoever ends up buying this guitar is going to have something genuinely unusual in their hands, and once you start playing it, you're probably not going to want to put it down. Don't wait too long and watch another player snag it first.
