- Yamaha releases the Revstar RS20MM, Matteo Mancuso's signature guitar, the Palermo native who plays electric guitar fingerstyle, without a pick.
- Under the Vintage Sunburst finish: chambered mahogany, flamed maple top, carbon-reinforced neck and 22 jumbo stainless steel frets.
- Two DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary pickups, a 5-position selector and a push-pull Focus Switch take you from wide clean tones to articulate saturation.
- It targets intermediate to advanced guitarists in rock, blues, fusion or electric jazz, whether fingerstyle or with a pick. The gig bag is included.
Matteo Mancuso will turn 30 on November 22, and Yamaha didn’t wait for that date to engrave his name on an electric guitar. The Yamaha RS20MM arrives in Vintage Sunburst, chambered body, carbon-reinforced neck and a pair of DiMarzio pickups under the strings. The guitarist has been playing the Revstar series since 2017, the year he founded his trio SNIPS and earned a scholarship to Berklee. From the choice of neck to the pickups, several aspects of the lutherie make perfect sense once you know how he plays.
The design is that of the Revstar: a double cut with sharp lines, here in glossy Vintage Sunburst on a flamed maple top, with gold hardware and a three-ply cream pickguard. The chambered mahogany back lightens the instrument and opens its resonance. Under the finish, the specs show stage musician choices: glued neck, carbon reinforcements, stainless steel frets, locking tuners.
Specifications - Yamaha RS20MM Matteo Mancuso
| Type | Chambered solid body electric guitar, double cut |
|---|---|
| Construction | Glued neck |
| Body | Chambered mahogany back, maple top |
| Neck | Three-piece mahogany with carbon reinforcements, satin finish |
| Fingerboard | Rosewood, 12-inch radius / 304.8 mm |
| Scale length | 24.75 inches / 628.6 mm |
| Frets | 22, jumbo stainless steel |
| Width | 41.9 mm at nut · 52 mm at 12th fret |
| Neck thickness | 21 mm at 1st fret · 23.9 mm at 12th fret |
| Nut | PPS |
| Bridge and tailpiece | Tune-O-Matic and Stopbar |
| Tuners | Locking |
| Pickups | DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary Neck DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary Bridge |
| Controls | Master volume · Master tone with push-pull Focus Switch · 5-position blade selector |
| Strings included | Elixir Nanoweb Light 0.010-0.046 |
| Finish | Vintage Sunburst, glossy polyurethane, gold hardware |
| Gig bag | Included |
| Verdict |
Pros
Worth noting
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Matteo Mancuso, electric guitar played like a classical guitar
It all starts in Palermo, with a guitarist. Vincenzo Mancuso plays and produces to make a living, and his son Matteo, born in 1996, picked up the guitar at ten, alongside him. A year later, he was on stage. In 2009, at twelve, he played at the Castelbuono Jazz Festival in Sicily.
His educational path sheds light on his playing. At music high school, he learned classical guitar and flute. At the Palermo conservatory, jazz, until he graduated with honors in June 2022. In between, in 2017, a concert at the Umbria Jazz Festival earned him a scholarship to Berklee in Boston.
This dual culture shows in his right hand. Matteo doesn’t use a pick: he attacks the strings with his index and middle fingers, using free stroke, the classical guitarist’s technique, applied to an electric plugged into an amp. A reviewer from the webzine Velvet Thunder heard echoes of Santana, John McLaughlin, Steve Vai and Al Di Meola in it.
In classical guitar, free stroke (or tirando) means the finger plucks the string then passes over the next without resting on it. Its counterpart, apoyando, rests on the adjacent string after the attack.
From SNIPS to the Vai Academy
In 2017, he founded SNIPS with drummer Salvatore Lima and bassist Riccardo Oliva. Their take on The Chicken, a jazz-funk standard by Pee Wee Ellis popularized by Jaco Pastorius, has over 2.2 million views on YouTube. Invitations followed: NAMM Anaheim in 2019, festivals in Bangkok and Pattaya, clinics in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. In 2022, he played duo with Al Di Meola at the Eddie Lang Jazz Festival, then held the guitar chair for PFM, a monument of Italian progressive rock, at the Estival Jazz in Lugano.
His first album, The Journey, was released July 21, 2023. Instrumental, it ranges from jazz fusion to hard rock and progressive rock, and Guitar World ranked it fourth among the best guitar albums of the year. Steve Vai calls him the "future" of electric guitar. In 2024, he invited him to the Vai Academy in Orlando for a jam with Jordan Rudess, then he played on Solar Wind, a track from Route 96, Matteo’s second album released in 2026. Joe Bonamassa, Jason Becker, Tosin Abasi and Trevor Rabin have also publicly expressed their admiration.
The Revstar, a constant companion
In this journey, one guitar keeps coming back. Matteo discovered the Revstar in 2017 and has played it about 90% of the time, according to Guitar World. Three years later, Yamaha entrusted him with a Custom Shop model. The RS20MM takes the relationship a step further: a series model, bearing his name, that any guitarist can grab off the wall.
The sound of the Yamaha RS20MM
The mahogany back provides the foundation: dense, warm, rich in mids. It thickens a chord and makes saturation sing. The flamed maple top adds attack clarity and brightness in the highs, so notes stay distinct when the gain rises.
The chambering, those cavities carved into the body, lightens the instrument and opens up its resonance. The glued neck ensures vibrational continuity with the body, resulting in a long sustain that gives you time to work on vibrato.
The two DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary humbuckers capture the spirit of vintage double coils with a response tailored for modern playing. At the neck, roundness and depth for melodic solos, the kind Matteo plays with his fingers. At the bridge, more bite and projection for riffs and pick attacks.
The Focus Switch engages by pulling the tone potentiometer. The electronics then take on a more focused and punchy color, handy for making a solo stand out without adjusting the amp settings.
The 5-position blade selector completes the setup. Between the warmth of the neck pickup and the attack of the bridge, the intermediate positions help you adjust the texture depending on the amp, effects, or song.
Revstar Matteo Mancuso: a neck shaped for fast phrasing
The 628.6 mm scale length (24.75 inches, the vibrating length between the nut and the bridge) gives a flexible feel under your fingers. Expressive bends, vibratos, and fast phrasing benefit directly.
The neck, made of three-piece mahogany, is reinforced with carbon. Its profile is generous but controlled: 21 mm thick at the first fret, 23.9 mm at the twelfth. The rosewood fingerboard, with a 12-inch radius, carries 22 jumbo stainless steel frets. Full chords hold as well as solo lines.
On the hardware side, a Tune-O-Matic bridge and Stopbar tailpiece, a PPS nut, and locking tuners for quick string changes and stable tuning. The guitar comes strung with Elixir Nanoweb Light 0.010-0.046: when you replace them, a set of strings with the same gauge keeps the original feel.
The Yamaha RS20MM in your hands
Yamaha targets it at intermediate to advanced guitarists, those who already have their own style and want an instrument that can follow nuances. Rock, blues, fusion, electric jazz, modern pop, instrumental music: wherever articulation matters, it fits in.
Playing fingerstyle like Matteo is not mandatory. The bridge pickup is even designed for pick attacks. Plugged into a guitar amp, it reveals the roundness of the PAFs clean, and on a saturated channel, the definition given by the maple top.
Take the neck in your hand before deciding. Generous profile, 41.9 mm at the nut, 12-inch radius: comfort is judged in the hand, not on a spec sheet.
FAQ - Yamaha RS20MM Matteo Mancuso
Who is Matteo Mancuso?
An Italian guitarist born in 1996 in Palermo, known for playing electric guitar fingerstyle with a technique derived from classical guitar. He released The Journey in 2023 and Route 96 in 2026.
Does the Yamaha RS20MM come with a gig bag?
Yes, a gig bag is included, and the guitar comes strung with Elixir Nanoweb Light 0.010-0.046 strings.
What pickups does the RS20MM have?
Two DiMarzio PAF 36th Anniversary humbuckers, one at the neck and one at the bridge, controlled by a 5-position blade selector.
What is the Focus Switch for?
It engages by pulling the tone potentiometer and gives the electronics a more focused and punchy response.
Do you have to play fingerstyle to benefit from it?
No. Matteo Mancuso plays fingerstyle, but the guitar does not require it: the bridge pickup is designed for pick attacks.
Is there a left-handed version?
No, the RS20MM is only available in a right-handed version.
In 2017, Matteo Mancuso founded SNIPS, earned his scholarship to Berklee, and discovered the Revstar. Nine years later, the guitar bears his name. The RS20MM puts in your hands the choices of a musician who plays every note with his fingertips: singing mahogany, a carbon-reinforced neck, pickups that let nuances through. It is available now, gig bag included.
