Long version:
A while ago I came across a vista musicmaster on eBay that looked like it might go cheap. I knew Johnny wanted one so I dropped him a link, and he ended up winning it for a great price. Cut forward, he has a ‘56 custom and doesn’t have enough space. I’d asked for first refusal when he sold it, so after a mad deal on a 94 Guild Polara fell through I sent some money Johnny’s way and we figured out when I could collect it. Today was the day.
What I know you all want to hear about first is if I met any cats. Siouxsie is adorable and very very happy to get chin scratches, 10/10 cat. The custom is also pretty cool. Neck profile way more to my taste than any 50s style Gibson I’ve played - full without being a baseball bat or at all wide - and the pickups have a brightness and clarity to them that I’ve not heard from any other P90s.
The Musicmaster has 12s on it, and is in Eb. The tuning of punk on a guitar with just one pickup and a volume control works great. I only really know Green Day riffs but it smashes them through my AD5 at frankly antisocial volumes. The neck feels great, super smooth with a satin finish and profile that’s very middle of the road and pretty comfy. Johnny swapped out the tuners and the electronics, both of which I’m happy about. The whole guitar feels rock solid.
This will probably end up staying with 12s and switch between Eb for home use and D Standard if I ever take it out with my band. Time to learn a whole load of punk tunes and get my downstrokes sped up.
Here it is with the other vista I own:
Matching headstocks are far too cool.
