MAKO LX-2 Traditional

This is a Mako Explorer copy, made in the late 70's or early 80's. One says it's MIJ (Made in Japan), others say it's mexican. It's very difficult to have any information on this brand on the internet. What I can say for sure is that it's an average to low built quality, but still better than a more recent (late 80's / early 90's) Mako Strat copy I own. So maybe there have been 2 or 3 periods for Mako, it was MIJ earlier, then bought back and mexican, then after Korean made...

Anyway, this instrument has an Explorer body shape, very close to the original Gibson sister. It's plywood, roughly shapped (some bevels are awkward !) The neck is straight, 22frets, with a kinda strat-shaped headstock. Nothing fancy but nice though ; I prefer that than the banana headstock you have on most Explorers. The tuners are original crappy ones, like on most Squiers you know : when you turn it up, the string doesn't tune up untill this metallic sound and you're half a tone above in one shot !

The nut is plastic, the neck is bolt-on, the pickguard (white) is roughly shaped. Features 2 humbuckers, no brand, low-quality. Fancy speed knobs on the pots, these old ones with littles "dents" all around. 2 tones and 1 volume. Vibrato bridge (Wilkinson-like). And a 3-way selector on the low horn.

I'll develop the finish later, but just to say, this one has a very particular khaky metal sparkling color. Yummy !

All in all, it's basic, and low-quality oriented, but does the trick at that price. But definitely low quality though. I should give it a 6, but the nice headstock and unusual color make 1 more here.

I mainly play Rock music. More precise would be, let's say from pop rock to "easy metal" if I can say so. But that's mainly for the shape that I bought this guitar first.

The 2 humbukers are very different between neck and bridge, and the tone pots do quite a good job here, no doubt. They hum a little, so maybe grounding in a better way is a clever move.

Overall, nothing awesome, it's just like the "Features" part above, low-quality but OK. It lacks precision, power, and quality feeling. But still, it's more interesting than a Squier : very warm neck PU, and heavier bridge PU, with a good action range thanks to the tone pots.

Now, I changed the PU's for Seymour Duncan SH something (can't remember, but it's a matter of taste, so go pick your own and it's gonna work), and the sound is way better. Of course, the luthery here is very poor, so no miracle expected, it doesn't turn the instrument into a Custom Shop Gibson Explorer, but the evolution is quite impressive to me.

I play with a Boss Enhancer for clearing the sound in the mix, a Boss compressor for punch, a Boss SD-1 for the Overdrive, a Boss equalizer for "fine-tone-ing", and plug that into a Crate V33-212 (33W all-tubes). Almost never in clean sound. And it does the job, no problem. Give a try at www.myspace.com/spewmen for examples of the type of sound, if you want.

But keep in mind it's with effects and Seymour PU's.

6 here, because it's bad, but still hope because you can chnage PU's.

I bought mine on eBay, and when I received it, the neck was broken just arount the nut. Bad luck. I got it fixed now, the only thing is I didn't ask for a paint job, just varnish, so the "scar" is still visible. Which is actually fitting with the guitar.

The whole finish on this instrument is really cheap : something like one layer paint, one layer varnish, period ! So mine, leaving the factory early 80's or something, has had it's share of dents, dings, and all kind of missing paint or even wood pieces. Actually, it lets you see that the neck wood seems really better than the body plywood, no problem.

For the action and everything, no idea. Since it's vintage, I doubt I bought it 2 years ago with still its factory setup !

One good point is the balance : it's perfect ! Nice comfort, then, and it's all original. On some Explorers copies, they put the upper strap button on the top profile of the body ; here, it's directly attached to the neck plate. And this little detail does the difference for the balance and comfort.

The comfort made me appreciate this guitar, but the overall finish quality is so bad I have to rate it 5. Bad but average if you keep in mind the price.

25 years old, or even more, loads of chips everywhere, and maybe some losen wood pieces in different places of the planet today ! So even if low-quality, as said, it's still working, and roaring, and giving me good moments.

The paint job is really poor, but since it's an old instrument that traveled, it already has its worn off paint parts. The tuners are just crap, then I changed them. Same for the PU's.

In the end, it's an instrument with life, history, and very comfortable.

And I rely on it without any doubt. I use it at every practice, and it's even my main guitar on stage. I don't even bring my PRS Custom at the concerts anymore. Poor her.

No idea. Nothing about them.

I think with that kind of instrument, it's better to do it yourself. And actually, it's even part of the process, I think...

So, here we are.

I've been very objective all along, because it's a real test here. I own this Mako for 3 years now, have been playing the guitar for 15 years, at home, with bands, rehersal and gigs. Last concert was in front of 500 crazy kids. I own other guitars, bad ones, and way better ones.

This Mako here is really poor. That's for sure. But if you fall in love like I did, you will like its age, you will change its tuners and PU's, you will bring her to practise first, and then when it starts turning into love, you're proud to play it live in front of people who weren't even born when it was made !

Last gig, it received it's first beer thrown from the first rows, and it's also a good point, that made me realize that with my PRS, I would have freaked out ! Whereas with this one, I just stared at my pickups for half a second when the beer exploded on the guitar body, and smiled and played again, just happy that I feel (and play) good with a real rock'n roll guitar !

I'm not that old, I am 28, but am also very happy to see kids (I mean kids, between 14 and 20, no offense guys and girls, I like you) after concerts asking for the type of guitar, and the changes I made, and the sound, and the color, and everything.

So don't get me wrong here, I keep saying that it's a very cheap guitar in almost every aspect, but with few clever changes, it's your perfect lady for the concert.

So I give it a 7. Could have been a 5/6, but the fact it's cheap means you can open it and change whatever you wanna change without worrying about breaking it. And then if it works, you end up with a guitar of your own, somehow. I like it.

By the way, I live in France, and these axes don't appear often in my local guitar stores, so if anyone owns one and don't want to keep it, I would be more than glad to buy it (Mako LX-2 or even Mako TX-2, which is also explorer).

vincent // v.montel[a]laposte.net

This company made some fine looking and playing guitars (Mako) in Japan. My 1980's "Explorer" type is a beautiful, mint shape solid body with; silver laquer finish, large white pickguard and 3 speed knobs. Six on a side Chrome tuners (Gotoh),22 jumbo frets on an ash 4 bolt plate neck,and a Wilkinson Tremelo unit (that a Fender Strat whammy bar screws into).The string action is low with adjustable heel string guides.The 2 humbucker pickups have a high output and volume and tone controls work great! This guitar is lighter than my 90's Dean ZX and the neck is slightly thinner.I only wish I could find the missing rectangular backplate to fit.The Mako is well balanced .

It has a GREAT sound(bright) on clean channel and muffled for that jazz midrange tone when tone turned down. It is a rock guitar like me, clear note distortion when needed, but can sound nostalgic when playing sustained notes on Peter Drake's "Forever" song.There is NO noise from controls when switching or adjusting knobs.I use a Randall practice amp(40 watts) with distortion and echo built in.It works for me!I play all styles, my way.(What's in a style....just play!) Only thing I don't like ...is hunting for a case and backplate for this mint copy!

I lowered the string action about 1/8 inch and lowered the humbuckers a tad. All in all, (other than missing backplate) this axe is in brand new, mint, virgin condition with all chrome shining, finish exquisite, and sounding like a rock God's guitar!

I would bet my life on this Japanese made axe at ANY gig! This Japanese model beats ALL American models (except the earliest Gibsons)

This Mako company doesn't exist anymore and it is a shame!

I like this Mako over the Dean since the Dean ZX neck is wider, and body heavier(probably one of the heaviest around).I played bass for 5 years and teaching myself guitar for 6 months weekly.I love the look,contrast of white and silver and body style and sound, fretting ease, dependability.I would search out another Mako "Explorer" (in mint shape) in a NY second if I lost this one. I'd like to say...forget the HIGH markup manufacturer's and dealer prices on guitars...go to eBay...and try the better Japanese and Korean assembled guitars. Fender sucks!Gibson isn't far behind either.