“Dude I used the ’67 guitar for a Hendrix show. Fucking thing absolutely decimated. 14 and a half minutes that song was. Wailing on the trem. By the end it was still in tune. Crazy!” (Joe Cirotti)
Misha Mansoor S2
This seems the right moment for a restoration and maybe also a re-appreciation for this journey. I’ve had Misha’s S2 in storage for half a decade — acquired after he traded it back to me for his Reptile Spearfish 6-string. I’d not forgotten about the S2 guitar. Other paths had assumed priority.
Plus there were some lingering puzzles to solve.
Restoring the S2 was fascinating. My hands retained muscle memory, remembering familiar mechanisms. That part was easy. Rediscovering my thought process from more than a decade ago was the deeper spiritual aspect.
In so many ways the S2 is still ahead of its time. Simultaneously the ancestor of Wingspan — yet equal in an alternate parallel timeline.
Looping With Spore
Reworked Sunburst Strat
“I bought this lovely nitro sunburst Fender Strat™ then gave it a complete reworking. The goal was to take an already fine USA built instrument and elevate it to a premium studio/stage guitar for the player who is seeking traditional Fender vibe but wants my latest technology.” (Rick Toone)
NAMM 2025
Tim Mills (founder of Bare Knuckle Pickups) was kind enough to invite me to display at their booth again this year. Two of my builds will be at the show. Gabriel Levi earned his return spot as well, and will be delighted to give you a test flight on these awesome guitars.
BARE KNUCKLE PICKUPS (BOOTH 5737)
Tim’s personal RICK TOONE ’67 is wired with Bare Knuckle ’63 Veneer Board set with ‘RWRP’ mid coils and zinc plated steel baseplate on the bridge coil. Custom BKP 280K pots -‘A’ taper for vol and ‘J’ taper and Vitamin Q 0.022ufd PIO cap. Tim’s guitar features the patented RICK TOONE ’67™ tremolo which brings revolutionary pitch bend performance (and is a direct retrofit) to the classic standard Stratocaster™ body routes.
Gunslinger Pisces™ is wired with Bare Knuckle PolyMath pickups designed by Tim Mills and Nolly Getgood. Freeway 10-way switching brings out all the delicious coil splits plus humbucking tones. Gunslinger features the leading edge patented RICK TOONE PISCES™ multi-scale capable tremolo.