Marco Polo P500E SM - Solid Spruce Parlor Electro / Solid Mahogany (with gigbag)
Marco Polo is recognized as one of the greatest explorers in the world. The EKO brand wanted to pay tribute to this Italian pioneer of exploration by meticulously designing high-quality “parlor” guitars, featuring the elegance of Italian design. The Marco Polo parlor series has more compact dimensions, a longer body with rounded shoulders, perfect for traveling and taking a serious instrument with excellent sound everywhere. The construction with solid wood for the top and back/sides delivers rich and impeccable sounds, as well as beautiful acoustic projection.
The rosette features engravings of the word “traveler” in different languages to represent the invitation to travel with these guitars, which come with a waterproof gigbag. For the onboard electronics, nothing is better than a Fishman Flex Blend system (piezo + condenser microphone) to best reproduce all the tones of your instrument and to mix the two pickups as you wish. The Marco Polo guitars are therefore beautifully designed travel guitars with an elegant and refined look!
The “parlor” guitar by EKO: solid woods and Italian elegance!
Marco Polo is one of the most famous explorers in the world, and the Italian brand EKO wanted to pay tribute to his legendary travels and discoveries through a series of refined electroacoustic travel guitars. The Marco Polo “parlor” guitars have a compact format with a 630 mm scale length to easily transport your instrument and enjoy comfortable playability wherever you are. The parlor format is perfect for arpeggios and fingerpicking, delivering rich and present mid frequencies, ideal for accompanying a singer.
The craftsmanship is taken seriously with quality materials to make no compromise on sound quality and projection. Thus, the top is made of selected solid spruce, sourced directly from the Italian Alps. The back and sides are made of solid mahogany to deliver rich and balanced sounds in combination with the top. The neck, also made of mahogany, is topped with a South American rosewood fingerboard with 20 frets, for easy playability with a 43 mm wide bone nut. The rosette offers an elegant and innovative design with a laser engraving of the word “traveler” in different languages to convey the invitation to travel with this guitar!
Finally, the glossy finish is elegant and allows the combination of solid woods to express and resonate. The gold hardware and open Grover tuners with Butterbean buttons complete the guitar’s design with refinement. A resistant and waterproof gigbag is included with the guitar to facilitate all your musical travels safely and stylishly.
High-quality versatile electronics: Fishman Flex Blend!
To enhance the acoustic design of the Marco Polo Travel, nothing beats an advanced and versatile Fishman preamp system to reproduce all the sonic richness of the carefully selected tonewoods. The built-in Flex Blend system consists of a piezo pickup and an internal condenser microphone, which the electronics allow you to blend as you wish. Perfect for gradually blending the internal microphone according to your taste and setup via the dedicated knob.
Pressing the right button activates the built-in tuner so you are always perfectly in tune. The system offers controls including a master volume potentiometer, a blend knob for mixing the internal microphone with the piezo signal, and an equalization potentiometer allowing you to manage mid frequencies for a flatter or scooped mid sound. Finally, pressing the left potentiometer activates a phase inverter to avoid feedback, perfect for all types of amplification.
In summary, EKO offers with its Marco Polo series parlor guitars of great quality, with serious craftsmanship and rich tones, all in a compact and very comfortable format. The ideal guitar to enjoy an elegant and very resonant instrument at a reasonable price considering the quality of the design!
Specifications
- Hardware: Gold
- Category: Electroacoustic folk
- Bridge: South American rosewood
- Strings: Steel
- Original strings: Bronze 12-53
- Color: Natural
- Scale length (mm): 630 mm
- Electronics: Fishman Flex Blend piezo + mic (volume, eq, mic blend, phase, tuner)
- Binding: Mahogany
- Finish: Glossy
- Back & sides: Solid mahogany
- Format: Parlor
- Neck shape: C
- Case: Padded waterproof gigbag
- Nut width: 43 mm
- Neck: Solid mahogany
- Tuners: Grover
- Number of strings: 6
- Number of frets: 20
- Special feature: Travel
- Radius: 14 in
- Nuts: Bone
- Top: Solid Italian spruce (Italian Alps)
- Truss rod: Dual-action
- Fingerboard: Rosewood
- Additional specs:
- Marco Polo travel parlor format
- Original rosette with the word "Traveler" inscribed in several languages
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