MAYONES GUITARS REGIUS 6 – The Gear Gods Review

Poland is a country I can honestly say I know very little about. I know that when I get lunch at Costco, I opt for the Polish dog over the regular hotdog, because it’s just plain better, although who knows how authentic those are. These past few weeks I discovered something else awesome about Poland – the Mayones Regius.

I’d be a pretty pathetic Gear God if I was somehow unaware of the Mayones brand or their reputation for making killer instruments – I was of course very aware of them, I’d just managed to only get one in my hands for a very brief time on the floor of the NAMM show which is hardly the best environment for a thorough review. So when the chance came up for me to play one in the comfort of my own lair for a few weeks, I had been piqued just enough to straight up JUMP at the opportunity.

The guitar arrived sporting a kind of root beer-looking Antique Oil Brown finish that exuded class (probably more than I can justify holding, considering I don’t wear pants unless I absolutely have to) and an all-the-way-around white binding. A Schaller Hannes bridge held the strings onto the flame maple top, and a pair of Seymour Duncan Sentient/Nazgul pickups added a significantly bright edge to balance out the darker mahogany body. The neck-through woods were an 11-ply of hard maple/amazakoe/mahogany/wenge topped off with a streak-free ebony fretboard, and the tuners were Hipshot locking. Overall, a potent combination of specs that I am unlikely to dislike.

The main change that I understand Mayones has made to the Regius design is an addition that fans of the site will know I’m gonna like – an added forearm contour. It’s not exactly a massive cutout – it’s a very gentle slope. I really feel that all builders owe it to themselves and their customers to make their guitars as ergonomic as possible, and so I will continue to push for more aggressively sloping forearm contours, but considering that the Regius didn’t have one at all before, it’s a big step in the right direction for Mayones. I’m very glad that they decided to include this, as it would have previously been a dealbreaker for me, but as it stands now I am inclined to inquire as to the price of this guitar because I really don’t want to send it back. My only other criticism is the proximity of the volume knob to the strings – I kept accidentally rolling back the volume while playing.

The guitar handles like a powerful but comfortable car, something fast but not so low to the ground that you struggle to get into it – maybe that Porsche SUV? What’s it called? The Cayenne? Something like that. It’s classy as hell, but also clearly a tool made to do a job. The bridge is very comfortable to rest your hand on for lots of chugging, and the action was dialed in low and fast right out of the box (already with my preferred set of 10-52 SIT strings no less! How did they know?). It exceeded the expectations I had heaped upon it from years of window shopping online, scrolling through all the gorgeous pictures and wondering what they were really like.

I can confidently say this is one of the very best guitars I’ve played to date, and that if you’re thinking about buying one, you for sure won’t be disappointed. They’re not cheap – the exact guitar I reviewed has a MAP of $3499 with the case, and they start at $2820 for the base model – but they are very customizable, and you are definitely getting what you pay for. You can find more info about the Regius on the Mayones website.