Eastwood Guitars Messenger

I got the greenburst Messenger new, straight from Eastwood. Mahogany back and sides, maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard, no-name tuning keys & New York MINI Humbuckers (which I've never heard of.) Case fits the guitar well, plus is has a cool, giant Eastwood logo on it. I do wish it had a high 'D' but I suspect the original didn't...

It sounds a lot better than the original Musicraft Messenger Mark Farner used to play. No where near as brittle sounding. You could even play jazz on this thing, it has such a sweet tone. Sounds like if they scrunched down an ES-335. Doesn't feedback, and I've turned it up LOUD out of a Hughes-Kettner tube amp.

Eastwood is known for setting up the guitar for you before it leaves the shop, but in my case all they did was to put my preferred gauge of strings on. The action was higher than expected, and the intonation wasn't even close. The finish is much better than expected. It's really handsome to look at. Everything lines up great, with the exception of the nut which is angled too low on one side (though the grooves are all uniform.)

The guitar is very solid. I would have been happy with a cute toy that looked like a Messenger, but the guitar is at least as good as a mid-level Gretsch. Eastwood make better guitars than what they charge for them (unlike my horribly overpriced Parker's which I also review here.) It really is a nice guitar with great tone, and after I set it up it intonate's perfectly. Great fast neck. Now for my only MAJOR complaint... As expected, it is neck heavy (the body is smallish & light), but it is REALLY neck heavy, and annoyingly so. If you move more than a few frets to hit a note, the guitar is trying to drop, so your picking angle can change resulting in some messy notes. I'm not really sure what can be done about it. It's better for sitting with at this point. I've never had a guitar that fought you like this one, but I still like it heck of a lot...

Eastwood/MyRareGuitars respond faster than anyone I've ever dealt with, plus most times it's the owner. First rate guys, though they are busy and not as chatty as most reviewers say they are.

The Grand Funk 'Red' LP (1971ish) was the first LP I fell in love with, and it took me 35 years to figure out the oddball guitar Farner was playing. Real Messengers are in the 5-10K range and I guarantee they don't play or sound half as good as an Eastwood version. The finish is gorgeous, the neck is top notch and it's just a handsome guitar. They sell these for a good price as well. If anyone ever stole it I'd get another one tomorrow, neck weight and all. My only suggestion for Eastwood would be to charge $35 more and put some better tuners on it. Otherwise it's awesome...

Eastwood green Messenger with mini humbuckers and case as extra

Further to my Davy Doo entry, I've left the Iron Gear Rolling Mill 2 replacement mini in the neck wired as a single coil, very 'Heartbreaker' Grand Funk. I've lived with the other wired as a single for a while but like Mark who started souping up his guitar in '71 I've wired the bridge IGRM2 back as a mini for a hotter sound. Unusual set up for a guitar mini and a single!. The mini will never be a PAF but it does just that bit hotter. The single sounds good for lead too, lovely flat smooth planky Fenderish sound.

I've now whipped off the scratchplate like you do with a LP, to be honest the guitar looks sweeter especially with the cat's eyes. There is a flaw on the side under where the scratch plate was, but it adds character. The nut will have to go at some point, it's very poor!.

I've added real Grovers, the bridge from an SG and a Dobro style tailpiece. This guitar is very unusual, so therefore a good live guitar. No-one's playing one round here.

I did email Mike Eastwood and he was nice enough to email back.

Been playing 20 years, also have a souped up Melody Maker. Big GF fan hence the purchase. Favourite guitar after the first LP I ever owned which I sold!!. It would be nice if it had the Musicraft Messenger decal on the head....haha!!

Purchased new on Ebay for ??525 (UK currency) The serial would suggest 2008. Made in Korea for Canadian company Eastwood. Unusual semi-acoustic based on the original 1967 Messenger as played by Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad during their 3-piece garage rock period 1969-71. This guitar keeps the look and general vibe of the original, though the construction and pickups are more conventional. The set neck is maple/rosewood...the body top is apparently spruce...I'm not sure about the rest of the body materials. There is a centre block and the neck allows easy access to all of the frets. This is unique for a semi...normally only found on Gibson SG's and the likes. The pickups are mini humbuckers, the bridge is Gibson tunomatic style while the tuners are good quality Grover copies. The volume/tone and switch controls are Gibson style.

Will be used mainly for recording and practicing. I use a Gibson SG live. The sound of the Messenger is as you would expect for a semi...think Gibson 335 and similar. It doesn't really sound like Farner's original which is probably a blessing! It worked well for him in the studio but his live sound with the original Messenger was muddy and troubled by feedback. Thankfully Eastwood have kept the best bits and left out the worst.

Set up very well. The intonation needed sorting out...no big deal. The strings were too heavy for my tastes. I've replaced them with 9's and the feel and action is now superb, I'm not sure that I like the tail-piece. I may replace this later with a standard Gibson stile stop-bar.

Nothing wrong with this. I won't be using it live though I'm sure it would be fine if I did. Its a good guitar - well built and reliable.

Unlikely I'll need their help.

Been playing guitar and bass since the '70's. I always wanted a Messenger...big GFR fan way back...though this guitar goes beyond that.
I would definitely look for another if it was lost/stolen.

You can look up the specs at Eastwood or myrareguitars.com, the workmanship, finish, quality are all there. The real surprise with this guitar is how well balanced EVERYTHING is on it: Range of tone with the newyork mini's is absolutely professional grade. Basic easy-to-find tone is somewhere between a lespaul and an SG, but you can go anywhere with this- very suitable for jazz, then mess with the amp and you have a very passable tele twang. I never write reviews on anything I buy, but this guitar is simply a versatile, very fine, pro-level player's axe. Don't let the price fool you. Very cool balance, looks are deceiving- neck IS within reach, and the balance between body and neck is perfect. Peter at Eastwood did an excellent setup, exactly to my specs. Very high end notes are crystal clear, bell-like sound.

If there is a sound you want and you can't find it, it's not this guitar's fault.

One 1/32" slight overspray on one f-hole binding, just a slight mist of paint. That's just another way of saying there is nothing wrong with this finish.

Guitar of course will withstand live playing- this is a guitar, not a snow shovel- If you don't take care of your toys/tools of the trade, again, that is not the guitar's fault. Excellent finish. However, I care about sound, tone, action. You don't play a finish. This guitar is all 10's on the things that matter.

They employ real people, and a real person, Peter, handled the set up per my email request. What more could you ask for.

Been playing 38 years, my son played it too and loved it. Even our friend Woody liked it, and Woody doesn't like anything. Asolutely great guitar, if you are thinking a Gibson semi-hollow or Electromatic, think about the Messenger. Way finer workmanship than the Gretsch, and more playable (lighter, better balance) than a higher priced Gibson. Very unique instrument.

2008 made in Korea
Greenburst finish, it has the same features as posted by the other
reviewers. Got the case also for it.

I really like the tone and sound of this guitar, it isn't just limited
to Mark Farners tone. Through my gear I have been able to get more
of a Alvin Lee sound when overdriven. I have played it through orange,
marshall amps with OCD,808-TS,Keeley FuzzHead, greenback speakers. It has great sustian with out noisy massive feedback. You can play many styles of music with this guitar. Clean it has a very clear full tone.

This guitar was special ordered and came with a case. Set-up was very
good, I lowered the action just a little and changed the strings to my
preference. Everything on it works great and it looks great.

I have been playing it every day since I got it. It is a very well made guitar. It has become my favorite over my fender strat, Les Paul
studio and SG.

So far Eastwoods customer service has been very good and prompt. I got the guitar last Nov. 2008 and have not had any problems.

I have been playing guitar for over 30 years and this was the first guitar that I have ordered with out playing it first! I saw the YouTube
videos of it from Eastwoods site and checked out their site. I like everything about this guitar, easy to play and sounds very good .

Eastwood Messenger guitar ??? 2008 model ??? Korean made ??? 21 frets ??? 25.5??? scale length with maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, spruce top, mahogany back, sides and center block. Body shape somewhat similar to an acoustical style guitar. I was pleasantly surprised how easily accessible it is to get to the last frets on this model, something I really didn???t expect of a guitar that has no cut-away???s on the body. The set-in maple neck is a very good job that I prefer to the aluminum neck of the original Messenger guitar. I also prefer the semi hollow body style over a true hollow body like the original had.
This guitar employs a Tun-O-Matic type bridge and although the string slots in the saddle pieces are cut in pretty deep I cannot report that this has caused any issues or problems with the instrument as the strings ring clear and sustain well. The bridge has a nice feature all it???s own that I really like. By using a small screwdriver, one can actually turn the threaded bridge posts in or out of the post support on the guitar. Stated another way
one can turn the actual post upwards or downwards. On some guitars, if the neck allows it I can sometimes lower the thumbwheels to the point that the posts stick up past the top of the bridge. Here you just take a screwdriver and turn it in until the posts are no longer sticking up past the bridge. The biggest difference is the tailpiece. While I like the one on there I had hoped to see one like the original Messenger had but I understand that economics apply. The Korean made tuners have the look and feel of Grover Rotomatics, and work well, but if desired, Grovers could be installed without modification to the instrument. The control cavities on this guitar are somewhat shielded which is welcomed and unlike many other semi hollow body guitars, the control cavities are accessible from the back. This is a feature I really like. The output jack is located on the lower side of the guitar and is mounted on a metal late that is oval shaped, chrome plated and smart looking. This model came with nice, large strap pins. Still, I chose to install Straplock type pegs on my instrument which is something I???ve done to every guitar I???ve owned. The pickup selector switch is mounted below and more forward of the scratchplate and it, as well as the volume and tone controls are wired in the usual Les Paul type fashion with the front, rear, &r both pickup type switching. Moving to the case, it???s made in Canada, and features a good heavy duty covering and stitching on the outside, with heavy duty latches, hinges and handle. The maroon inner lining is a welcomed relief over the loud colors used in other cases. The case is not included in the basic price tag, but for the money it???s an exceptional value. The case does Have an odor inside that smells somewhat like Play-Doh but I???ve been leaving the case open to air out and it has greatly diminished. Given decent hardware throughout, and adding the unique, and helpful properties of the bridge, coupled with maintaining the look and feel of the original and I give them an above average rating at features.

Playing what is now labeled as ???classic??? rock-n-roll has long ago led me to use the large style Gibson humbuckers in all my guitars and I am used to the more powerful output of these larger humbuckers so I decided to do an A/B comparison test.
I set up a Marshall TSL 60 head with a matching straight 4x12 cabinet featuring four 12??? Celestion 25 watt reissue greenback speakers within and compared the Eastwood Messenger to a 57 reissue Les Paul goldtop guitar. This difference between the two is about what I expected, the mini humbuckers give the Messenger model much more of a brighter top end to it and not too bass heavy. The Les Paul had a little less treble, more of a midrange peak, and close to the same amount of better bottom end. Also it seemed to have a bit more sustain to it when playing leads solos and I think this is due to the larger humbucking style pickups. Then I cranked up the volume of the amp to full power. If I held a guitar chord long enough the Messenger guitar would resonate just enough to begin to feedback. It???s the type of feedback one can work with however, not the screeching type of feedback, but resonance and harmonics working together. In the clean channel the sound is nice & smooth with more of a warm wooden tone one would expect to hear from a semi hollowbody. Given the type of music I do, I may try installing a hotter direct type replacement pickup for the stocking bridge pickup to get a touch more sustain on solos. However, I feel that the two mini humbuckers were a smart choice to put on this model as I feel it helps to somewhat maintain the overall look and feel of the original Messenger while providing additional power and hum cancelling capabilities of a humbucker. While I am looking for a hotter output bridge pickup, I give them an above average rating on sound.

The neck on this guitar is way better than I expected it would be. The factory setup was ok but it came strung with too large a string gauge set for my taste. I moved down both the string gauges and the string action and now the guitar plays as good as any of my Les Paul guitars. With all these changes I have not had to adjust the truss rod at all. The frets are fairly meaty and very highly polished. The ends of the frets are finished smooth with no sharp or extended edges to dig into your hand as you go up and down the fingerboard. The frets match up perfectly with the neck binding, almost as if they were one. However, after playing the guitar for awhile I noticed a dark film on my fingers that I think is debris left over from the polishing stages of the frets. Like every rosewood fingerboard on any guitar I have ever purchased, the rosewood looked very dry so prior to restringing it with my gauges I applied a light but thorough application of lemon oil to the fingerboard and the rosewood sucked it right up. I applied more then worked it in and when I was done the cloth I was using was full of this dark film. I used another cloth and continued to rub it parallel with the fingerboard until it too, had picked up a fair amount of film. Now I no longer get any film on my fingertips when playing it. The binding on this guitar is out of this world. It???s actually flush with the rest of the guitar and finish. Even the cats-eye type ???F??? holes have binding which, like the rest, is nice and flush with everything. I decided to get the Messenger model in the Greenburst finish and am most impressed with the consistency of the sunburst fade effect on my model as well as the final finish. The transparent colored finish allows me to see the wood grain underneath and even the backside of the body is beautiful. The shades of green used are very tasteful. Given a well made neck that allows good action, but minus a bit for debris left on the fingerboard, then add again for nicely trimmed and polished frets, flawless binding and an attractive finish and I would rate this category somewhat high.

I guess only time will tell, but everything is made and assembled right on these guitars. The hardware is solid and I suspect that given a reasonable amount of care, like that you would give any other well made instrument, it will last a lifetime. I???ve played it a few times in a band setting now and it seems to have what it takes to make it on stage. I would have no fear of using it alone on an engagement and I rate it as no more or no less durable than any of the semi hollow body guitars on the market.

I???ve emailed Mike Robinson (owner of Eastwood guitars) several times prior to the purchase of this instrument, and more times since. Each and every time he has responded in a timely, professional manner & answered my questions, while sharing his thoughts. This is not only rare, but very refreshing in this day & age. When I got my Eastwood Messenger in, the chrome plating on the tailpiece had a flaw at the hinge part. I went to their website and emailed Eastwood guitars about it. I was still on my computer when I got an email back from their support man Peter saying he will ship me a replacement. The very next day I got an email from UPS showing Eastwood guitars had sent me a package and it had the tracking info & arrival date on it. Three days later I had the replacement tailpiece on my guitar. Given their warranty, and for already experiencing this level of service, both before and after the sale leads me to give them a perfect rating.

I???ve been playing guitar now for 35 years & have owned many fine instruments during this time. This time around I wanted to try a guitar that would look a bit different, and I haven???t seen these in use since the Grand Funk days. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would acquire another one in fairly short order. There are a lot of things I love about this guitar and really noting that I hate about it. If I have to pick something I don???t like I guess I would choose the truss rod cover and ask that they leave it blank as the Eastwood name is already on the headstock, and having it again on the truss rod cover is a bit of overkill. As for wishing what it might have had, I would refer back to the features portion where I mention the tailpiece and then I wish they would ship with a built in fuzz tone unit like some of the original Messengers had. Given the price range, this instrument is an excellent value.

Eastwood Messenger guitar ??? 2008 model ??? Korean made ??? 21 frets ??? 25 ????? scale length with maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, spruce top, mahogany back, sides and center block. Body shape somewhat similar to an acoustical style guitar. I was pleasantly surprised how easily accessible it is to get to the last frets on this model, something I really didn???t expect of a guitar that has no cut-away???s on the body. The set-in maple neck is a very good job that I very much prefer to an aluminum neck like the original Messenger guitar has. I also prefer the semi hollow body style over a true hollow body like the original Messenger given the volume levels I often play at.

This guitar employs a Gibson style Tun-O-Matic type bridge and although the string slots in the saddle pieces are cut in somewhat deep I cannot report that this has caused any issues or problems with the instrument as the strings ring clear and sustain well. The bridge has a nice feature all it???s own that I really like. By using a small screwdriver, one can actually turn the threaded bridge posts in or out of the guitar. Stated another way ??? one can turn them upwards or downwards. On some guitars, if the neck allows it I can sometimes lower the thumbwheels to the point that the posts stick up past the top of the bridge which ends up cutting into my hand a bit, especially when muting strings and my hand is lying on the bridge. This usually forces me to cut or grind down the posts but on this guitar there is a slot machined into the top of the post where you just take a small screwdriver and turn it in until the posts are no longer sticking up past the bridge.

The biggest visual difference or feature is the tailpiece. While I like the one on there I had hoped to see one like the original Messenger used, but I understand that economics apply. The Korean made tuners have the look and feel of Grover Rotomatics, and seem to work well, but if desired, it appears that Grovers could be installed without any modification to the instrument at all. The control cavities on this guitar are somewhat shielded which is welcomed. The output jack is located on the lower side of the guitar and is mounted on a metal plate that is oval shaped, chrome plated and smart looking. The Eastwood case is made in Canada, and features a heavy duty covering and stitching on the outside, along with heavy duty latches, hinges and handle. The maroon inner lining is a welcomed relief over the loud & gaudy colors so often used on other makers cases. Although the case is not included in the basic price tag, for the money it???s an exceptional value. Some have mentioned that the case has an odor inside that smells somewhat like Play-Doh and I would have to agree with them. At home I???ve been leaving the case open to air out and it has greatly diminished. Usually a couple of engagements in a night club will replace any factory guitar or case smell with its own scent anyway. If playing live isn???t part of the plan then air fresheners coupled with leaving the case open would help.

The unique pickup mounting rings are smartly designed and blend in very nicely with the rest of the instrument. The pickup selector switch is mounted below and more forward of the scratchplate and it, as well as the volume and tone controls are styled in the usual Les Paul type fashion with the front, rear, or both pickup type settings.

Given decent hardware throughout, and adding the unique, and helpful properties of the bridge, coupled with maintaining the look and feel of the original I have to give them an above average rating at features.

Playing what is now labeled as ???classic??? rock-n-roll has long ago led me to use the large style Gibson humbuckers in all my guitars. Since I am used to the more powerful output of these larger humbuckers I decided to do an A/B comparison test.

I set up a Marshall TSL 60 head with a matching straight 4x12 cabinet featuring four 12??? Celestion 25 watt reissue greenback speakers within and compared the Eastwood Messenger to a 57 reissue Les Paul goldtop guitar. This difference between the two is about what I expected, the mini humbuckers give the Messenger model much more of a brighter top end to it and not too bass heavy. The Les Paul had a little less treble, more of a midrange peak, and close to the same amount of better bottom end. But it seemed to have a bit more sustain to it when playing leads solos and I think this is due to the larger humbucking style pickups. Then I cranked up the volume of the amp all the way to full power. The goldtop whistled a high end screech when directly next to the amp & facing the speakers, but that was all. The Messenger guitar would screech when facing the cabinet too, but unlike the Les Paul, when turned away from the amp, it would often resonate just enough to begin to feedback if you held onto a chord, long enough. It???s the type of feedback one can work with however, not the screeching type feedback when facing the amp but resonance and harmonics working together to make a controlled feedback sound. For my kind of music this is awesome, and I???ve been having a lot of fun with it, but for others who may need this amount of volume (and distortion) without any resonating going on they may need to pad the body some. In the clean channel the sound is nice & smooth with more of a warm wooden tone one would expect to hear from a semi hollowbody when compared to the Les Paul. Given the type of music I do, I may try installing a direct replacement Seymour Duncan pickup for the stocking bridge pickup to get a touch more sustain.

I feel that the two mini humbuckers were a smart choice to put on this model as I feel it helps to somewhat maintain the overall look and feel of the original Messenger while providing additional power and hum cancelling capabilities of a humbucker. For me this is a welcomed improvement over the DeArmond single coil pickups used on the original Messenger. Together, the pickups, and the body resonance leads me to give them an above average rating on sound.

The neck on this guitar is way better than I expected it would be. The instrument came strung with a string gauge set something like a .010 to a .042 with a medium action. I moved down both the string gauges and the string action. Expecting to quickly hear fret buzz, I was delightfully surprised when I heard none, and I lowered it so much that the threaded bridge posts were actually sticking up past the top of the bridge. As mentioned above, I was able to solve this issue by simply turning the post downward with a small screwdriver. With the string action ???down on the deck??? this guitar plays as good as my Les Paul guitars. With all these changes I have not had to adjust the truss rod at all. The frets are fairly meaty and very highly polished. The ends of the frets are finished silky smooth with no sharp or extended edges to catch & dig into your hand as you go up and down the fingerboard. The frets match up perfectly with the neck binding, almost as if they were one.

After playing the guitar for awhile I did notice a dark film on my fingers, probably from the polishing stages of the frets. Also, like every rosewood fingerboard on any guitar I have ever purchased, the rosewood looked very dry so prior to restringing it with my gauges I applied a light but thorough application of lemon oil to the fingerboard and the rosewood literally sucked it right up. I then worked it in and when I was done the cloth I was using was full of this dark film. I used another cloth and continued to rub it parallel with the fingerboard until it too, had picked up a fair amount of film. Now I no longer get any film on my fingertips when playing it.

The binding on this guitar is out of this world. Run your fingers over the binding on the body and neck of even expensive electric guitars and you will often feel where the wood and binding meet as many times the wood was routed too deep for the binding. As a result, you will feel an indentation where the wood meets the binding. Now try it on the Eastwood Messenger body and neck and you will feel no difference whatsoever. Even the cats-eye type ???F??? holes have binding which, like the rest of the binding is nice and flush with the top.

I decided to get the Messenger model in the transparent ???Greenburst??? finish. I am most impressed with the consistency of the sunburst fade effect on my model as well as the final finish. The transparent colored finish allows me to see the wood grain underneath and even the backside of the body is beautiful. The shades of green used are very tasteful and ironic as it is not a color that I would expect to look good on a guitar yet it does. Given a well made neck that allows good action, minus a little debris on the fingerboard, add in nicely trimmed and polished frets, flawless binding and an attractive finish and I have to rate this category somewhat high.

I guess only time will tell, but everything is made and assembled right on these guitars. These models come with nice, large strap pins. Still, I chose to install Straplock type pegs on my instrument which is something I???ve done to every guitar I???ve owned. The hardware is solid and I suspect that given a reasonable amount of care, like that you would give any other well made instrument, it will last a lifetime. I???ve played it a few times in a band setting now and it seems to have what it takes to make it on stage. I would have no fear of using it alone on an engagement and I rate it as no more, and no less durable than any of the semi hollow body guitars on the market.

I???ve emailed Mike Robinson (owner of Eastwood guitars) several times prior to the purchase of this instrument, and more times since. Each and every time he has responded in a timely, professional manner & answered my questions, while sharing his thoughts. This is not only rare, but very refreshing in this day & age. When I got my Eastwood Messenger in, the chrome plating on the tailpiece had a flaw at the hinge part. I went to their website and emailed Eastwood guitars about it. I was still on my computer when I got an email back from their support man Peter saying he will ship me a replacement. The very next day I got an email from UPS showing Eastwood guitars had sent me a package and it had the tracking info & arrival date on it. Three days later I had the replacement tailpiece on my guitar. Their timing was excellent as I was ready to install the Straplocks which meant removing one of the three screws that secure the tailpiece to the body anyway. Given their warranty, and for already experiencing this level of service, both before and after the sale leads me to give them a perfect rating.

I???ve been playing guitar now for 35 years & have owned many fine instruments during this time, some that most people only dream of playing, let alone owning. My current collection consists of various historic Les Paul models, a Gibson SG style doubleneck, and several original Dan Armstrong clear guitars. This time around I wanted to try a guitar that would look a bit different, and I haven???t seen these in use since the GFRR days. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would acquire another one in fairly short order. In fact, I???m thinking of purchasing a red one with a Bigsby tailpiece ??? but am waiting in the hopes that I and others can talk Eastwood guitars into making one with the built in fuzz tone like some (though not all) of the original Messengers had. There are a lot of things I love about this guitar, much of it I have mentioned here and virtually nothing that I hate about it. Since this category asks me to pick something I guess I would choose the truss rod cover and ask that they leave it blank as the Eastwood name is already on the headstock, and having it again on the truss rod cover is a bit of overkill. As for wishing what it might have had, I would refer back to the features portion where I mention the tailpiece and again immediately above where I mention the fuzz unit. As one person mentioned this is a tribute guitar, not an exact copy but I for one like the changes that have been applied as I feel it makes it a more useful instrument than the original. Given the price range, this instrument is an excellent value.

This review is for the 2008 Eastwood Messenger tribute guitar purchased new earlier this year, with hardshell case. I own an original 1967-68 Messenger in near-mint condition so I have the unique perspective of comparing the two. I did a review on the Eastwood Messenger here on Harmony Central several months ago, but they must have decided not to post it for some reason. I hope this review is found to be "more acceptable". According to Eastwood their Messenger guitars are made in Korea. The Eastwood model looks very much like the original, with body shape, size, scale, knob location, pickguard, headstock, selector switch, and number of frets all the same. The biggest difference would be in the neck where the original Messenger has a very nice and unique aluminum alloy neck (straight as an arrow, and running through the full length of the body) and the Eastwood model has a (nice) set maple neck. Both guitars have a what I believe to be a rosewood fingerboard. The Eastwood even has offset dot inlay markers like the original, although they are much larger than the tiny dots on the vintage Messenger. I'd say Eastwood has done a pretty good job of representing the look of the legendary Messenger guitar. While the original Messenger is a true hollow-body (flat top, flat back, curved sides, binding front & back), the Eastwood model is more of a semi hollow-body (front binding only), with a scooped-out mahogany body and nicely carved spruce top with just a hint of profile. I can't tell for sure if the top is solid or laminated because of the binding, but I suspect it is solid. Pickups on the Eastwood model are "standard" set-up; one neck, one bridge; with 3-way toggle switch and a tone & volume knob for each pick-up; no active electronics. My original Messenger is wired in stereo (which is cool, if not impractical) but anybody who has played one will tell you that the single coil pickups are absolute crap. This makes the mini humbuckers on the Eastwood model a huge improvement. The bridge is a Gibson Tun-O-Matic style, nothing noteworthy but seems serviceable. I order my Eastwood Messenger in the transparent green-burst color to compliment my original Rojo Red Messenger. I wouldn't normally go for the green but I was surprised at how pretty and rich the color is...not puke green as I feared it might be. The blend on the sunburst feather-edge could be more uniform, but I suppose you could say it lends individual character due to hand vs. machine finishing. The spruce wood grain top shows nicely through the finish. Tuners are like the bridge and pick-ups, nothing outstanding but very usable and certainly not junk. Our friend with the funny name from the UK (ha ha, no offence Davey, greetings from the US) is correct: the hardshell case is nice but it has a really strong odor inside. Davey says his smells like Play-dough, I wish mine smelled even that good.

Lets face it, if you know about the famous Messenger guitar you probably know all about the tones and sounds that Grand Funk Railroad's Mark Farner squeezed, pounded and stroked out of it, and THAT'S the sound people associate with the Messenger...period. My vintage Messenger is no exception and you can almost hear songs like "I'm Your Captain" and "Inside Looking Out" jump right out of the guitar. Farner wasn't a virtuoso, but he had a style that worked and I spent countless hours of my youth learning every note of the Grand Funk Live Album. The Eastwood Messenger can be made to get "that sound" without much coaxing. Acoustically (unplugged), the vintage and Eastwood Messengers have pretty much the same punchy tone that I like to call a whumpy midrange, not unlike the hollow Res-O-Glass guitars made by National in the 60's, with the difference being that the Eastwood is not as loud because of the mass in the hollowed out body (vs. vintage true hollow body resonance). I would not limit the Eastwood Messenger to copping the Mark Farner sound though. You can get different tones by switching pick-ups (I wouldn't mind a coil cut or out-of-phase switch). I think it stands well on it's own as a decent guitar and a competent player could do just about anything he or she wanted to with it.

My Eastwood Messenger came from the factory about 80% set up...good enough to play but needed some tweaking to dial it in. Action is very good...again par for the course for a modern day guitar but not the best I have ever played. I think it will improve once the frets and fingerboard are broken in a little. The guitar looks great, nice finish (deep, uniform), no complaints. Even the binding on the cool cat's-eye F-holes is nicely done.

I haven't performed in years, but I wish I had this guitar when I was playing. I used to keep three or four on stage to use for different tones, looks, etc. I would have included this guitar in the stage rotation (ever since I broke two strings playing a birthday party in my 6th grade rock band and had no spares, I never played without a backup guitar). It seems well built to me, solid, and of course it looks cool. It may not be up to my main axe (Les Paul Deluxe), but this is no cheap imposter either. I'd like to know from other players how it holds up on stage.

I started corresponding with Mike Robinson, owner of Eastwood Guitars a couple of years ago while searching the internet for anything I could find on Messenger guitars. We share a passion for the vintage off the wall stuff. Anyway, Mike has always been responsive and reliable and I think that is a great way to run a company. My Eastwood Messenger came with a three-year limited warranty, which I thought was pretty generous in today's market.

I started playing guitar in 1964 (like so many others!), final stage show was in 1983. Today I have a modest collection of 21 vintage electrics mostly from the 1960's. I have a MusicMan 110 amp that is small but really can scream. Unfortunately I don't have much time to play anymore. I have no regrets with this guitar, but I'm not sure I could afford to replace it if lost or stolen. I love how they embodied the original Messenger (it's a tribute though, not a replica)...I hate the smell in the case. If anybody wants a Messenger and of course you can't find one (sorry, mine's NOT for sale) you should take a look at this guitar as an attainable alternative. I hope my ratings aren't too high for Harmony Central to post this...I spent a long time on it!

Eastwood Messenger in green without Bigsby plus case. Purchased from Rose Lane Music in Liverpool UK.
Closest you'll ever get visually to Mark's GFR Messenger without the tape.
The case is nice with dark maroon interior, but it does smell of PlayDoh. There were no freebies either!
I swapped the cheap Grover knock off's for real Grover N102's, nickel looks classier. I don't like the tailpiece but I'll live with it. The bridge is OK, but the grooves in the saddles and also the nut look like they were cut by a blind man on a galloping horse.

I had to tie some thick green cord around the strings at the top of the tailpiece to stop the chiming when you kill the sound...now sorted. I swapped the cheap mini's for UK made Iron Gear Rolling Mill 2 pu's. These are mini's with cabling for coil tapping. So I have wired as singles which as any half decent Grand Funk afficionado will be able to tell you, is what Mark F had on his Musicraft for the 'important' albums!!. These guitars don't have a Tone Messer but a decent boutique fuzz, or a Wattkins Super Fuzz will do.

The action was bobbins, uk speak for 'not good'. Now sorted. There were a couple of flaws on the finish, but the axe did only cost 600 English pounds. The tailpiece was not fitted straight and the straplock needed replacing with a StrapLok. The fretboard was actually green in hue, but some dark beeswax furniture polish and an old toothbrush sorted that. I don't like the truss rod cover but will live with it. I wish they had squared off the back, the rounded corners are bobbins. Guitar stays in tune really well, but that's down to me.

Now I have improved the guitar it is sweet!, easily my favourite axe!. I hope they discontinue the model soon so no one else will have one in the UK.

After trying to get a shop in Manchester to get me one, the shop in Liverpool had it within a week.

Been playing 21 yrs, have wanted a guitar like this for years ever since seeing GFR at Cincinnatti Pop Festival (on video), along with Alice and Mountain.

This review is for the Eastwood Guitars reissue of the long since out of production Messenger guitar. The original company that made the messenger guitar was Music Craft out of California and this model guitar was made popular by Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad fame. This was made in 2008 in Korea and looks very close to the original with a few differences. Some of these differences are no aluminum neck with the A-440 tuning fork on the end that went into the body like the original ones but a newer style maple 21 fret neck but with the trademark 2 position markers at the 12th fret, no built in fuzz unit, 2 mini humbuckers instead of the full size bridge humbucker that Mark installed in his Messenger at a later time. Hollow body with a solid centerpiece and a spruce top, body/neck and "cats eyes" F holes are all bound. The head stock has the tapered slope like the original, passive electronics are a 3 way selector switch, 2 volume and 2 tone controls for the 2 mini humbuckers. The pickups resemble the original DeArmond pickups with the center row pole pieces. Chrome trapeze style tailpiece close to the original look, beautiful transparent green finish (also available in transparent red), ES-335 type body without the horns and tapered towards the neck slightly. ABR-1 or Nashville style bridge, Grover tuning keys. The neck is a little thicker than I normally use, but it is still comfortable and probably still way thinner than the original aluminum neck. I have been spoiled by the 60's tapered neck. Nice HSC included with case candy, guitar fits snug as it should. I have searched high and low for an original Messenger but the few I have come across were around the 10K price range, so this was a welcome addition to my guitar family for a fraction of the price. I grew up with GFR and always loved Mark's guitar sound, so I was excited to see someone finally decide to reissue this beauty. I give it a 9 for the no fuzz and the thicker neck as I probably won't find a 10 out there anywhere.

I love to play the old Grand Funk stuff but I had to back off on my amps preamps to get the proper sound. I use an Aiken Intruder and Sabre amp and I had to go up on the volumes and way down on the preamps. The West amps Mark used were basically nice Dynaco style tube power amps (200 watts worth) with only a volume control, so he had basically a clean sound (high volume though) and kicked in the built in fuzz when needed for solos. I use a Seymour Duncan Boost pedal set at about 12 o'clock to bring up the volume, neck pickup, and it gets the familiar "Closer to Home" sound pretty close. Volume pots and tone pots are smooth and not noisy. The rhythm pickup gets a nice mellow sound, middle position gets a more midrange sound and the treble/bridge pickup does what it is supposed to do. The tone controls interact with each other nicely in the middle position and just a small amount of movement makes a big tone difference. This guitar ranges from bright to dark with any combination in between depending on the pickup selection and tone control settings. Using the amp settings like I normally do I can get a whole different variety of sounds from this guitar. No feedback problems like the original ones. I believe Eastwood has done a good job with the hardware and electronics they have chosen, having never played a real Messenger to compare.

Set-up right out of the case was simple. Just tuned it up and plugged it in. Action is low enough for me, I might do some adjusting on down the road. Pickup height was fine, beautiful green top and the chrome hardware really compliments the look of the guitar. Cosmetic wise the guitar looks great, one smidge of green inside an F hole, but you have to be looking for it. Otherwise not bad for a guitar in this price range.

Seems like the hardware is quality made, only time will tell. The guitar is solid and is not top heavy like it would be with an aluminum neck. Nice finish, doesn't apear to be thin, nice binding on the body and neck. I changed out the factory strap buttons to Strap Locks for my safety, they were nice though. I have several other guitars to choose from and as I do not only play GFR stuff, there will still be backups. This is not my main guitar but used for a specific type sound that only it can get. It seems well made enough to gig alone with if you had to. Not much to go wrong here. Inly a 9 here cause I haven't had it that long.

I have e-mailed Michael dozens of times and he is always timely with a response and very courteous. He really seems to care about his products and I am sure it would be the same for the customer service end if there was a problem. I originaly ordered this guitar back in February and Michael was great at keeping me informed during the manufacturing of this guitar. So, a 9 on this as I have not had to use customer service. I am not sure about the warranty, it might be included in the information in the case.

I have been playing about 30 years and have been through a TON of equipment. I have 4 Les Paul Classics (all early 90's) a Strat and a Kramer Pacer. I play through an Aiken Intruder, an Aiken Sabre, both with Swanson 2x12 cabs loaded with Scumback 12" speakers. GCX rack switching system, lots of pedals, Heil talk box. All of my questions were answered by Michael before ordering so no surprises when I got it. If this were lost or stolen I'd be on the phone the next day ordering another one. I love the look, features, sound, I wish the neck was a little thinner/smaller for my hands. I chose this for the Mark Farner/Grand Funk Railroad sound that I love so much and it delivers. I know as time goes on I will find that "sweet spot" for the GFR sound. If Eastwood decides to come out with a Mark Farner model with the built in fuzz I'll be ordering one. Thanks Michael and Eastwood Guitars for bringing to life such an important part of my musical history growing up, that being the wonderful Messenger guitar! If you love Grank Funk, you've gotta try one of these!