In the late 60's, a San Francisco-based company called Musicraft was way ahead of its time. Almost a decade before Travis Bean got started making aluminum neck guitars, they made the Messenger: a semi-hollow electric with a unique bolted-in metal neck that extended to the tailpiece. The neck was removable (!) and tuned (!!) to ring A440 - a built-in tuner, ages before that was a thing.

A flock of Musicraft Messengers

In addition, the Messenger featured dual outputs and a switching system that allowed each pickup to be sent to different amps, or they could be routed to a single output. Does that sound like enough wires for one guitar? Not for Musicraft, who added a fuzz circuit called the "Tone Messer," which offered a massive signal boost and spitting distortion. The mostly hollow Messenger could barely handle the sheer force and the sound often combusted into wild feedback.

Mark Farner and the Messenger

The Messenger was an odd duck, but it's likely an odd duck you've heard before. Mark Farner, the founding vocalist and guitarist in Grand Funk Railroad, was a Messenger user. In 2009, he was interviewed for a series of "Living Legend" Music Interviews where he describes being offered a Messenger to try out.

Farner loved the guitar, but he did not love the feedback. So he stuffed the body of the guitar with foam and covered the F-holes with masking tape to create a Messenger he could work with.

Mark Farner and his taped-up Messenger

In the early days of Grand Funk Railroad, the wild distortion could be heard all over Farner's distinctive solos. There's an amazing live version of Inside Looking out, filmed in 1969 when Farner was just 20 years old. Watch as his tone switches from crunch to gritty, ratty fuzz when he flips a switch at 4:31.

Eastwood's Modern Take

When Eastwood set out to create a tribute to this iconic oddball, the goal was to capture the aesthetic of the original but simplify the design with more traditional electronics. The Eastwood Messenger features two New York MINI humbuckers with a 3 way switch, and individual volume and tone controls for each pickup.

The Eastwood Messenger

To our delight, a Californian customer of ours named Chris reached out via email. He told us about the work he'd been doing to his Eastwood Messenger to make it more like the original Musicraft model, and asked if we would like to see pictures. Dear reader: we ALWAYS want to see pictures of the cool things you are doing with your Eastwoods!

Chris' modded Eastwood Messenger

We're going to go out on a limb here and say our man Chris is a detail-oriented dude. Check out all the cool mods he's done to his guitar! He switched out the knobs, bezels, bridge, and tailpiece. He added pickups that capture the look of the DeArmond pickups Musicraft used, though Chris noted to us that he liked the sound of the original New York MINI humbuckers just fine.

Chris's Messenger Headstock

He even went so far as to replicate the original headstock logo. "To say I'm a little proud of the guitar is an understatement, I'm not going to lie," Chris told us in an email. "All the effort was truly worth it." We think so too, Chris!

Whether you're chasing the vintage vibe of the original Messenger like Chris, or looking for a modern guitar with character and soul, Eastwood's tribute delivers in spades. The Messenger is a nod to the innovation and spirit of a bygone era, brought to life with contemporary craftsmanship. It's one of our most acoustically resonant models and it's a joy to play, available in the Grand Funk Railroad-reminiscent Trans Green or a more traditional Dark Cherry.

Ready to make some noise and create your own legend? The Messenger is waiting for you.