Eastwood Debuts Micawber: A Five-String Tele Built for Keith Richards' Open G

What Is the Eastwood Micawber Guitar?

Eastwood Guitars has launched the Micawber, a factory-configured five-string Telecaster-style guitar built around Keith Richards' long-standing approach to open G tuning. Named after the original blonde Telecaster that Richards has played since the early 1970s, the Eastwood Micawber ships without a sixth string and is set up from the factory to handle open G playing right out of the box. This makes it one of the first production instruments to formally translate a famous guitarist's personal quirk into a standardized, purchasable guitar.

Why Did Keith Richards Remove the Sixth String?

For decades, Keith Richards has maintained that the lowest sixth string gets in the way when playing open G chord voicings, the tuning that drives iconic Rolling Stones tracks like "Honky Tonk Women," "Brown Sugar," and "Start Me Up." By removing the low E string entirely, Richards creates a tighter, more focused sound where every string in play contributes directly to the chord. The technique has become so associated with his style that the name "Micawber" - his original modified Telecaster - is almost as well known in guitar circles as the player himself. Eastwood has now codified that approach into a purpose-built instrument rather than asking buyers to modify an existing guitar themselves.

What Are the Eastwood Micawber's Specs?

While Eastwood has kept some specification details limited at launch, the Micawber follows the company's established formula of producing affordable, concept-driven instruments that reference iconic gear without crossing into licensed territory. The guitar is built as a Telecaster-type with five strings, factory-cut nut slots, and a bridge configured specifically for the five-string open G setup. Eastwood has confirmed the instrument is designed to be played in open G from the moment it comes out of the case, removing the guesswork that would accompany a DIY conversion.

The Micawber fits into a broader movement of builders producing artist-concept instruments that capture a specific playing philosophy rather than a literal replica. Eastwood has built a reputation on exactly this type of release, and the Micawber may be the most sharply defined concept the company has produced to date.

How Does the Micawber Fit the Current Vintage-Inspired Guitar Market?

The timing of this release is notable. According to Reverb's 2026 market data, Telecaster-style guitars remain among the most actively traded electric guitar categories on the resale platform, with vintage and vintage-inspired examples consistently outperforming other body styles in search volume. A purpose-built five-string Tele with direct ties to one of rock's most recognizable guitar setups gives the Micawber a built-in collector hook that straightforward Telecaster variants often lack.

Separately, Vintage Guitar Magazine's 2026 collector survey found that instruments with documented or well-understood artist provenance, even indirect provenance of the kind the Micawber carries, command 15 to 30 percent higher resale interest than comparable instruments without a recognized concept behind them. The Eastwood Micawber leverages that dynamic from day one.

Is the Five-String Guitar a Practical Choice for Most Players?

This is the honest question any prospective buyer should ask. The five-string open G setup is not a versatile configuration. It is optimized for a specific style of rhythm playing rooted in rolling, chord-based riffs, and it demands that the player commit to a tuning system that does not translate easily to standard chord work. For players already working in open G, the Micawber removes friction. For everyone else, it is a specialized tool.

That said, specialized tools often make the most interesting collector items. A guitar that does one thing and does it with this level of intentionality has a clearer identity than a guitar that tries to cover every situation. Eastwood is betting that there is a meaningful audience willing to own an instrument with that kind of focused personality.

What Does This Release Mean for Eastwood as a Builder?

Eastwood has spent years producing instruments that exist in the space between tribute and original design. The Micawber pushes further into conceptual territory than most of their previous releases. By building around an absence, the missing sixth string rather than a present feature, Eastwood is making an argument that a guitar can be defined by what it deliberately leaves out. That is an unusual creative position for a production instrument, and it will be interesting to see whether the Micawber develops the kind of word-of-mouth reputation among working players that justifies a second production run or expanded variant lineup.

For collectors, the first production wave of a concept instrument with this level of specificity is often where the most interesting examples originate. A first-run Eastwood Micawber with clean paperwork and original setup is the type of item that tends to carry disproportionate interest later.

How Fretfolio Collectors Can Track the Micawber

If you have already added an Eastwood Micawber to your Fretfolio collection page, the platform's Reverb market tracker will begin populating comparative sale data as the instrument moves through its initial retail and early resale phase. For collectors building a file on concept-driven Telecaster variants or five-string instruments more broadly, tagging the Micawber under those categories from the start gives you a cleaner historical record as the instrument establishes its market footing over the coming months.