“I asked Ibanez for a Telecaster-style guitar with a single neck pickup. I was expecting them to make fun of me and say no!” Standards’ Marcos Mena is bringing joy to virtuoso playing with his custom mint green tapping machine

Marcos Mena of Standards.

While the virtuoso world can sometimes feel like a deeply serious place, Standards architect Marcos Mena has perfected a uniquely light-hearted and fruity brand of pop-shred that will make your toes wiggle with pure joy and your jaw drop in pure astonishment.

If you didn’t think you could possibly dance to instrumental math-rock, then it’s time to take a trip into his happy, tappy guitar universe and think again. Having first caught attention with their Fruit Island debut back in 2020, Standards doubled down with an even juicier sophomore effort in the form of 2022’s Fruit Town.