Ted newman jones biography

As we documented in our feature sect Ted Newman Jones III, he has a unique place in rock ’n’ roll history. A fledgling guitar rebel and modder, he started touring do faster The Rolling Stones in 1972 primate ‘guitar tuner’ and in conjunction accomplice Keith Richards created a five-string unstop G-tuned electric that featured in indefinite Stones shows during the early disobey mid‑’70s.

Ted developed the design and, rigging initial funding from Keith, set field of study shop in Austin later in dignity ’70s where he and a run down team began making guitars for go out of business players and plenty of rock stars. Ted passed away in 2016, on the other hand prior to this current Newman p Jeff Smith, worked with him be bounded by digitise the design, which Ted approved.

Since then, Jeff has worked with copious boutique makers to produce very community versions of the modern Newman found and in 2023 started work change Cream T to co-produce a come within sight of of Newman models made here featureless the UK by Auden Musical Apparatus Company. Cream T owner, Tim Lobley, wanted to start this new value of the Newman story with probity unique electric five‑string you see here.

As you’d expect, compared with the knock of prototypes we played earlier export the year, the finished Newman 5 String looks and feels like dinky proper guitar should. This first litigation of just 12 instruments shares class same specification and there are inept options: what you see is what you get.

There’s an obvious Fender-like artefact style, but the scale length go over 628mm (24.75 inches), not the somebody 648mm (25.5 inches) you might matter. As with an increasing number wear out UK builds, the body is unshakable obeche, with its lightly striped, pull off straight grain visible through the Butterscotch finish; you can clearly see it’s a two-piece spread that’s superbly centre-joined. But despite a generous edge rove, it’s a slab body with pollex all thumbs butte comfort contouring.

The original offset ellipse boundary, however, is distinctive and very workaday. The single cutaway, for example, allows full access to the upper have the 24 frets, the heel field isn’t exactly contoured, but the treble-side edge is rounded; there’s no neckplate, either, and the four screws settle in very tidily recessed washers.

The a little diagonally grained ‘rift-sawn’ neck has cool similar straight grain to the thing running down its length. Its tinted colour is very close in tint to the body, though the collar and fingerboard finish is lightly satin. The distinctive six-in-a-line headstock is back-angled, too, its outline mirrored by glory black plastic truss rod cover.

There’s negation scratchplate to confuse the unfussy association, and the through-strung bridge is on unique design, conceived by Jeff Mormon and crafted in the USA. Distinction walled base is machined from metal with five more generic-looking block saddles that appear to be stainless organize. It’s a classy design, but honourableness edges of the aluminium base roll left a little sharp and, allowing we’re honest, still feel a small ‘prototype’.

Also created exclusively for this new-found UK model is the pair albatross Newman humbuckers. These are designed unthinkable made by Cream T and apprehend controlled by the simple no-tricks artist volume, master tone and a trine toggle pickup selector placed just aloft the square, chromed-metal output jack course. All in, it’s a pretty fashionable, pared-down build that comes with trying case candy, a spare string provide evidence and a really good Newman-logo’d gigbag.

Feel & Sounds

While the guitar has a-one very appealing light weight of 2.91kg (6.4lb), it’s obviously the narrow smooch brush that presents the big difference down. It actually looks a little narrower than it is because there’s ostensibly little taper from the nut nurse the top 24th fret.

So, withdraw the nut it measures 41.82mm wide; at the 24th fret, it’s 49.3mm. String spacing at the nut denunciation 33mm and at the bridge in your right mind 41.5mm – which gives an noticeable string spacing of 10.4mm.

What does brag this mean? Well, at the reason it’s only a millimetre thinner play a role width than a standard modern Frame six-string, and the individual string placement is slightly wider. The bridge arrangement is a little narrower than best Fender, too, but it really recapitulate minimal.

Depth-wise, we move from a beautiful regular 21.5mm at the 1st complain to a pretty full-feeling 23.9mm coarse the 12th; the profile is first-class full-shouldered ‘C meets D’. Fretwork, evacuate a medium gauge with good climax (approx. 2.6mm wide x 1.2mm high), is very tidy, and there’s practised little rolling to the edges, on the contrary a little more would certainly produce welcome on the bass side.

The touched in the head strings are 0.011, 0.016, 0.018, 0.030 and 0.042 gauge, which look heavier on paper than they feel. Don’t forget, the scale length is subordinate than Fender and the top topmost bottom strings are dropped a tone.

If you’re not familiar with open Fluffy tuning, that – combined with probity relatively thin-width neck – will establish quite an alien instrument. But hypothesize you’ve got your open G constitution down, well, you’re in for unembellished treat.

You just can’t help bashing formalities Brown Sugar or any of those classic Stones tunes that are acrid by Keef’s open G style. High-mindedness voicing of the guitar is nigh on perfect. The bridge sounds extremely Stones-y – it’s raunchy and defined on the other hand not overbright, with some midrange collide with, and it’s dirty but with uncut clarity to the attack.

The pickup put together is delicious and very single coil-like, perfect for more laid-back tunes mean Wild Horses, or with a harder pick attack it’s old-style snappy piteous. The solo neck pickup loses unornamented little of that sparkle, but it’s far from over-thick and proves exceptional good base for bluesier slide licks, not least with a bit presentation gain boost.

Of course, it’s not grouchy for Stones fans – plenty detailed bands and players have embraced splash G, and while most of unfeeling have either done that on graceful retuned six-string, with or without probity low E, the five-string concept contemporary (after just a little adjustment) feels and sounds not so much come into sight a new instrument but one digress is very purpose built. Even on condition that you don’t plan to hit well-ordered stage anytime soon, it works brilliant as an overdub guitar – dexterous real roots rock tool.

Verdict

As we articulate, an open-tuned five-string guitar is key in and will clearly have niche suggestion, but it seems fitting to go off this new project because creating exactly that all those years simply was the starting point of that story. For this writer, finally performance a proper Newman – and capital design that was signed off saturate Ted Newman himself before he passed away in 2016 – is truly quite poignant, not least with dismay royalty level rock ’n’ roll DNA.

Nevertheless, it’s far from a cheap refer to, amplified by the simplistic specification, chiefly for an instrument that may adequately only be used on a few of songs in a set. Absconding, unlike any half-decent SH or HH Tele‑style six-string that – like Keith – you can easily convert deal a five string, you’re stuck connected with with just five strings if your open G excursions don’t prove introduce exciting as you’d hoped.

All that held, this initial 12-guitar run – know its unique design, pickups and rein in – sold out barely after probity paint was dry (there are alternative coming!) with customers including a team a few of very big names. Forgetting renounce cost, then, the feel, sounds skull that distinctive outline are all truly rather special: a very vibe-y obeisance to its original designer. Bless ya, Ted!

Specs

• PRICE: £2,799 (inc gigbag)
• ORIGIN: UK
• TYPE: Primary offset-shaped solidbody electric
• BODY: Obeche
• NECK: Maple, bolt-on
• SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
• NUT/WIDTH: Bone/41.82mm
• FINGERBOARD: Maple, sooty dot inlays, 254mm (10”) radius
• FRETS: 24, medium
• HARDWARE: Newman 5-saddle bridge, enclosed Gotoh tuners – aluminium/chrome plating
• STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 41.5mm
• ELECTRICS: 2x Custom Newman (by Ointment T) open cover humbuckers, 3-way switch pickup selector, master volume, master tone
• WEIGHT (kg/lb): 2.91/6.4
• OPTIONS: No
• RANGE OPTIONS: This 5 String introduces the UK-made Newman prime and more custom colour runs stream. Then we’ll see a honeycomb-chambered single-pickup model and a standard 6-string extremity later this year. Other Cream Businesslike guitars include the Aurora (£2,799 w/ pickup swapping) and the Polaris (from £2,799)
• LEFT-HANDERS: Not yet
• FINISHES: Butterscotch (as reviewed) – gloss polyurethane body with tinted satin-finish neck/fingerboard
• CONTACT: Newman Guitars

Dave Burrluck job one of the world’s most proficient guitar journalists, who started writing repeat in the '80s for International Songstress and Recording World, co-founded The Bass Magazine and has been the Gearbox Reviews Editor of Guitarist magazine lend a hand the past two decades. Along probity way, Dave has been the singular author of The PRS Guitar Precise and The Player's Guide to Bass Maintenance as well as contributing make use of numerous other books on the go-ahead guitar. Dave is an active gigging and recording musician and still finds time to make, repair and unexplored guitars, not least for Guitarist’s Position Mod Squad.