“I can’t play like me. There are things I can’t do”: Mahogany Rush legend Frank Marino injured his finger while building pedals for his new company – and it’s affected the way he plays guitar

Frank Marino has revealed to Guitar World that he recently injured his hand while working on his own recently launched pedal business, and it’s had a profound impact on the way he plays guitar.

Last March, it was reported the Mahogany Rush guitar legend would be launching his own line of hand-built stompboxes. Earlier this month, the first three entries to that lineup were unveiled.

At the time, Marino reiterated he’d be assembling each Frank Marino Audio pedal himself. However, the decision to build those effects units by hand has resulted in a rather nasty injury.

Speaking in an upcoming interview with Guitar World, Marino explained how he originally turned to the effects game after a health issue prevented him from touring. Unfortunately, the process of pedal assembly took a toll on him, and he damaged a nerve in one of his fingers.

“I'm making all these pedals by hand, and basically, by doing the grinding, pressing, and everything that I was doing by holding stuff in my left hand, I damaged a nerve in the index finger of my left hand,” says Marino. “So now, I'm seeing a specialist for that, which stopped me from playing guitar.”

It’s had a transformative impact on his playing. According to Marino, he can still play the guitar, just not as he used to: “I can't play like me. There are things I can't do because I can't stretch.

“I've been playing nonstop for 55 years,” he continues, “so suddenly, when I play my guitar, I've got to be careful about how I do it because it hurts.”

Currently, Marino is seeing a specialist, who informs him his injury will “clear up” if the right steps are taken. An operation might be required, but, as the guitarist assures us, “I can get back to normal.”

That didn’t stop Marino from weighing up some other, potentially more difficult, remedies to his current situation.

“I even thought about turning it around and learning to play left-handed!” he goes on. “I did seriously think about it. But then my wife said, 'Look, go for the operation.' I was having all these tests and stuff to see what the hell I damaged, but I really damaged something in my finger.”

Keep an eye on GuitarWorld.com for the full interview with Frank Marino.