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Musicraft Messenger 1967 Fireglow. Metal Neck. Messenger Prototype . Ultra rare, Very collectible.
MESSENGER GUITAR
1967
By Musicraft
EXTREMELY RARE PROTOTYPE.
ONE OF A KIND.
HIGHLY COLLECTIBLE AND INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITY.
Early 1960’s rock and roll music belonged to the far east coast in the UK.
Mid 1960’s rock and roll music seismically shifted to the West Coast of the USA.
And with that shift in politics and culture came innovation and improvisation both in the music written and played but also for the instruments and amplifiers built. Like Alembic.
Musicraft was one of those “new west coast” builders. The original locus assigned to them is San Francisco but their most famous guitars, the MESSENGER models, were built in Astoria, OR in 1967 and 1968.
Then came the Messenger disruption starting at the neck.
For the first time in the guitar marketplace, Musicraft chose to make its neck out of metal (magnesium-aluminum alloy). This predated other builders using metal necks (Kramer, Valeno, and Travis Bean).
This complete “metal neck” includes the headstock as well and acts like a very large “tuning fork” that is tuned to “ring A440*” (see definition of A440 below). The neck extends through the body connecting to the bottom end of the guitar body. It was the intention of these builders to create a “one of a kind” resonance interaction between the neck vibration and the echo of the hollow body that was then met by the steel string vibrations that were all “picked up” and processed by the legendary DeArmond single-coil pickups thereby producing an incredible high end “scream” then tempering back to low tone levels of clean clarity.
Official records are scarce, but most Messenger guitar fans seem to agree that only approximately 250 Messenger guitars were built during the years of 1967-1968 and are becoming rarer in the marketplace. Their unique design, scarcity, and notoriety (thanks to Mark Farner Grand Funk RR) make these very collectible and excellent investments.
Based on information and belief, this guitar was among the first prototypes hand built in Astoria in 1967.
Look closely to see the features on this guitar that mark it as a precursor to the final Messenger design and construction of the final market offering.
1. Headstock is square.
2. Neck joint to body is totally different.
3. Electronics are basic without any enhancements, i.e. fuzz.
4. Fretboard is different.
5. Sound produced by this prototype is deeper and throater than final mode.
NOTE: This prototype has been totally restored and refinished in a subtle 1960’s Rickenbacker fireglow finish by Kevin Smith of TONESMITH Custom Guitars. Tuners have also been replaced. There are two DeArmond single coil pickups but no active effects (like the fuzz that came later). Originally it showed signs of breakdown at neck joint (where wood sides met metal at neck pocket). Fretboard has been refreshed and frets dressed. Yes, this does affect the valuation of this example but not significantly. It was almost unplayable in its original condition but now plays great.
It is heavy for an acoustic electric thanks to the metal neck at 8.5 lbs. but is well balanced due to the length of the neck inside the guitar body and placement of front strap button.
Case fits but it is not original to the guitar.
Musicraft Messenger 1967 Fireglow. Metal Neck. Messenger Prototype . Ultra rare, Very collectible. | Reverb
