The Messenger guitars were hand made in Astoria, Oregon by Musicraft. There were less than 300 produced with production running from 1967 through to early 1968 when the company went out of business. The most famous player of these rare guitars was Mark Farner of Grand Funk Railroad fame.
The Messenger has a rather unique design featuring a hollow body and an aluminum neck that runs the length of the guitar. The portion of the neck that runs through the sound chamber is apparently tuned to 440 cycles/sec (A) to provide greater sustain and a consistent response to tonal control. This 1967 model is finished on “Rojo Red”. The serial number of A1273 indicates that this was made fairly late in the company’s short history. The Bigsby tail piece was an option offered in the ’68 catalogue for $59.00. The guitar has a slightly different control layout from the standard Messenger setup, with a master volume control in the treble horn (like a Gretsch) where normally the pickup selector switch would be located. The pickup selector is instead located above the 2 volume and 2 tone controls. This is a Stereo model with the 2-way toggle switch below the control knobs used to switch from stereo to mono. Towards the end of production Musicraft did make several custom made models and this configuration was definitely factory fitted – note the small brass indictor insert to the body top at the master volume control knob to match that of the 4 others. Other indicators of a late model are the use of ¼ “ marker dots on the fretboard (where earlier models used 1/8 “ dots) and the later design scratch plate (earlier models had more rounded design).
The guitar would appear to be all original with the exception of a couple of the control knobs and the later added tune-o-matic style Gotoh bridge. The guitar is in great condition with frets in great condition and fretboard only having very slight grooves to the upper end of the fretboard. The body has no real marks or dings, however the back has worn down to a matt finish. The neck looks to have been refinished as some point with the headstock logo covered over, and there are some small marks in the gloss black finish around the headstock (couldn’t pick these up on pictures due to the glossy finish). The guitar comes complete with a period correct rectangular black hard case.
A true vintage and rare guitar – extremely well sought after, especially by Mark Farner fans.
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