Lonnie Mack's Guitar and Amplifier on the Auction Block

 

Lonnie Mack with #7

Attention Joe Bonamassa, George Gruhn, Mike Reeder, Gary Dick and everyone else in the vintage guitar market. Lonnie Mack’s prize 1958 Flying V is going up on the auction block on September 26th of this year.

Holly with Her Dad

Sadly, Lonnie's daughter, Holly Mack, passed away July 28th, 2026. She was the keeper of Lonnie’s guitar, and equipment, including Number 7 and all things pertaining to her father. 

Number 7 was the name Lonnie gave to his original 1958 Gibson Flying V, serial number 007. Lonnie passed away in April of 2016.

Lonnie's #7 when it was new

The history of this guitar began when Lonnie MacIntosh purchased it from Hughes Music in Norwood, Ohio. 

As a young man, he hung out at this music store. The owner, Glenn Hughes thought this young player would be interested in owning this unusual arrow shaped guitar because of his native American heritage. He was correct.

Mr. Hughes made the 600 mile trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan and bought this guitar, an Explore bass, and some other instruments directly from the Gibson Factory. Lonnie immediately purchased the guitar. 

According to Holly Mack, another music store in Indiana (where Lonnie made his home) fashioned a bent stainless-steel bar to hold the Bigsby B7 Vibrato that became an integral part of his sound. The Flying Vee originally had a natural Korina wood finish. 

Lonnie would eventually paint the guitar's body and neck, using red automotive spray paint. He liked that color since it resembled the finish on Gibson's 335 series. 

1963 Magnatone
440 amp

Lonnie also owned a 1962 Magnatone 440 amplifier. 

This amplifier featured “True Vibrato”. At the time, most amplifiers had a tremolo circuit that produced an effect by having the sound rapidly turn on and off. But Magnatone developed an actual vibrato circuit that raised and lowered the pitch of a note. This created a unique organ-like tone, which is why Lonnie used this amplifier. 

Since the Magnatone amp only put out 18 watts of power, Lonnie’s friend, and drummer, Gene Lawson devised a step-down transformer for the Magnatone amp so Lonnie could run that into a 1960’s Fender Bandmaster that had 45 watts of power, so he could be heard in a band setting. 

In 1963 Lonnie Mack and other studio musicians were backing a session for a girl group called The Charmaines at King Recording studio in Cincinnati Ohio. These ladies were artists for Fraternity Records. 

Memphis

There was 20 minutes left of studio time on the session that Fraternity Records had purchased.. Lonnie and the session players used this time to record a version of the popular song "Memphis."  

Lonnie did not know the song's lyrics, as his keyboard player, Dumpy Rice, usually sang that song when the band played at clubs. So Lonnie improvised a guitar version of the song. Little did he realize this would become a #1 record by June of 1963. 

The Wham of that Memphis Man 

That record was receiving a lot of requests for air play on the radio, so Fraternity Records issued an LP of  Lonnie and his band playing guitar based songs. This was called The Wham of that Memphis Man. In addition to Memphis the album included Lonnie's next big song, Wham!. 

Lonnie and the band didn't pay much attention to the charts since they were a bar band, traveling from city to city to earn a living. A DJ had to tell Lonnie that he had a hit record.

Lonnie's guitar style has influenced countless guitar players. Yes, this LP from a small Cincinnati, Ohio influenced so many famous players from the US, and around the world,including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards.

Lonnie Mack's Guitar & Amp

As of September 26, Heritage Auctions is offering Lonnie Mack's 1958 Gibson Flying V 'Number 7' Red Solid Body Electric Guitar, Serial # 176051 & Magnatone Custom 440 Amplifier. Starting bid is $300,000. 

The guitar was refinished in red by Gibson circa 1963. It has a well-documented neck repair, with two Korina wood dowels visible at the heel. 

Lonnie Mack's Flying V

The original string-through-body holes have been filled. Both original PAF humbucking pickups are present and functioning, with the bridge pickup measuring slightly weaker in output than the neck pickup. 

Lonnie Mack's Flying V

The bridge has been replaced with a post-1964 chrome patent number ABR-1. The installed tuners are correct reproduction Klusons. Included are the original Kluson tuners with shrunken buttons, along with an additional set of original gold single-line Kluson tuners in good condition. 

'62 Magnatone 440 amp

The 1962 Magnatone 440 amp is all original and is the other half of Lonnie's signature sound. Should be services and tested by a qualified technician. Included in the auction are the guitar's hard shell case, and cables, Lonnie's guitar strap, plus the road travel case.  

In a second auction, Lonnie's very own Gibson 1993 Lonnie Mack Signature Flying V Cherry Solid Body Electric Guitar, Serial #003. 

1993 Flying V

This guitar, offered in 1993 by Gibson, was a tribute to the original Lonnie Mack Signature Flying V solid body electric guitar, The Serial #003. The guitar features a Cherry finish. 

This example was  personally owned by Lonnie Mack and based on his original 1958 Gibson Flying V, known as "Number 7." Shows only a few minor scuffs from storage and handling. 

1993 Flying V

The guitar remains essentially unplayed in as-new/shop-worn condition. This second instrument was consigned alongside Mack's original 1958 Flying V that served as the basis for this signature model by the estate of Holly Mack. The original hard case included. Starting bid is $5,000. 

 

Ovation 1987-4

Finally Lonnie Mack's personal Ovation 1987-4 Collectors Series Natural Acoustic Guitar, Serial #230 of 1000. This fine example of an Ovation Adamas acoustic electric guitar has a natural finish with an AAA Sitka spruce top, a carved walnut bridge, burled walnut veneer peghead, and 24-karat gold tuning machines. 

It also features the "1987" abalone inlay at the 12th fret and Ovation's Adamas-style sound holes bordered by maple, mahogany, teak, and padauk veneers. Consigned alongside other guitars from the personal collection of Lonnie Mack. Shows a few minor dings and scuffs from use, with no significant damage. Owned and played by Lonnie Mack. Ovation hard case included. Starting bid for this instrument is $500.  

Bidding on all items starts on September 26, 2026 and concludes on October 15th, 2026.

Lonnie Mack Band in the 1960's

If you are interested please register at Heritage Auctions.

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Gibson's Model B Series Of Guitars

 

1965 Gibson B-25N

A friend sent me a picture of his 1965 Gibson B-25N guitar recently.  This got me reminiscing about the Gibson B series of guitars. 

Around 1965 I wanted a 12-string guitar. My teacher brought in his Gibson B-25 12-string for me to try out. It sounded like a cannon, big, full, and loud. As I recall the neck radius was flatter than what I was used to, however the action was great. This guitar had a belly bridge with a trapeze tailpiece, which I imagined was due to the string tension. 

B-25N 12 String

He was asking $250 for the guitar, which was out of the price range of a 13-year-old kid. I wish I had that kind of money then as these guitars are being sold at around $9,000 in 2025. 

Back in 1961 Gibson created the B Series of guitars which included three different models. The B Series guitars were sort of a successor to the Gibson L series, although there was some overlap. The B series eventually were constructed with square “shoulders” on the upper bout instead of the more rounded ones found on the L-series. 

The B-45-12, is a 12-string edition guitar that was introduced in 1961. This was the first 12 string guitar that Gibson had ever offered. The Folk Era had started and many performers were using the 12 string guitar.

1961 B-45 

B-45-12 also happened to be the first model in the B series. This guitar was built with a spruce top, a mahogany back, sides and neck. The fretboard was made of rosewood. The initial models had rounded shoulders through 1962 when Gibson changed the design to have the square shoulders. 

The Rooftop Singers

One interesting fact is that The Rooftop Singer, who recorded "Walk Right In" were the first performers to own twelve B-45 guitars. Both guitar players each used a B-45-12. One of the players in the group was left-handed so the trio had to wait until Gibson custom-made a left-handed model. This allowed them to record the song. 

'65 B-45 Square Shoulders

These guitars were available with a cherry sunburst or a natural finish. They were offered through 1979.

1961 B-25

Then in 1961 Gibson introduced the B-25. This guitar came with a solid spruce top, a solid mahogany back, but the sides were laminated mahogany. The neck was mahogany and topped with a rosewood fretboard. The body on this guitar was slightly smaller than the B-45. 

Gibson B-25N

By 1965 Gibson made this guitar's neck thinner, going from 1 11/16” to 1 5/8”. Many of the later models had an adjustable ceramic saddle that raised and lowered with screws on opposite sides. This guitar was offered with a cherry sunburst finish or a natural finish. A few came in ebony finishes with white pickguards. The model was discontinued in 1977. 

Gibson B-25 3/4

Gibson also produced a “student version” of the B-25 with a short scale. It was known as the B-25 ¾. This model came with a sunburst or natural finish. 

1964 B-25 12 String

Then in 1962 Gibson offered the B-25 12-string model. The first production models had the belly bridge/saddle with the strings anchored by pins. These guitars had rounded shoulders on the upper bout. 

B-25 12 String
square shoulders

Within a few years the upper bout of the guitar was redesigned with square shoulders. The strings passed over the belly bridge/saddle but were anchored with a trapeze tailpiece. 

1967 Spruce B-15

In 1967, the B-15 became the last model of the Gibson B series. This guitar was the budget model and very similar to the LG-0. These guitars were built with either a solid spruce soundboard, or one of solid mahogany. The guitars back and sides were made of mahogany ply. 

B-15 Mahogany

Instead of the fuller Gibson headstock, the B-15 came with the narrower Melody Maker shape. This guitar was built with ladder bracing, while the more expensive and larger models had "X" bracing. The B-15 was considered to be a "student" model. Gibson offered it through 1970.

©UniqueGuitar Publications (text only) 2026

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Fender Guitars I Wish They Would Reissue

 

Tom Morello Strat
$1800

Fender seems to be stuck selling tribute “artist” model guitars for folks that once were notable but no longer seem relevant. There are 20 or more of these available, ranging in price from $850 to well over $3,000. 

Fender Player ii

Many of Fender's latest creations are no longer made in the USA and given the designation of “Player” or “Vintera”. I am sure they are fine instruments, though they are pretty much the basic guitars that Fender had been offering since 1950. 

Lately the Fender Musical Instrument Company has accrued some pretty  bad publicity because of their cease and desist threats to other manufacturers and instrument retailers. The company's reputation has become so tarnished that they are now advertising their guitars on TV. I don't think my old granny cares a hoot about the new Mike Campbell Telecaster.

Perhaps emphasis on some of their previous creations might help boost the companies image and reputation. It couldn't hurt!

Over the years Fender has created some unique instruments that I wouldn’t mind seeing return. Here is a list of five guitars, and three amplifiers. 

2011 Fender '51

The Fender 51, and the Squier 51. These hard tail Strat shaped guitars included a single coil pickup in the neck position, and a humbucker at the bridge. While the control panel looked like it was taken from the original P-Bass. 

Squier '51

The Fender 51’s was a little pricey, but the Squier 51’s retailed for less than $200. Back in the day a lot of folks modified the heck out of the Squier versions. Some had brilliant results.   

The Squier '51 was first introduced in 2003 and made until 2006. Fender then introduced the Fender '51 in 2011 and offered it until 2013, when the Squier '51 was re-introduced. Production ended in 2013.  

The '51 uses a humbucker pickup in the bridge position and a single-coil pickup in the neck position. 

The 4-wire bridge pickup allows for coil splitting by pulling up on the volume control knob to limit the humbucker to single-coil output. The neck pickup is slanted with respect to the strings, better aligning the single-coil pole spacings under narrower spacing of the strings. 

The lower control knob is a three-position rotary switch, selecting between the neck pickup, neck plus humbucker, or humbucker. It was a very unique electronic design.

Fender Bullet #1

In 1980 Fender designer John Page was given the task of producing an inexpensive guitar that would boost Fender’s sales. He created The Bullet #1. 

This unique instrument had a Telecaster neck, and a smaller “Tele” style body. It had two single coil pickups that were in a similar arrangement to those on a Fender Duo-Sonic. This guitar had a 3-way Stratocaster style switch, and a volume and tone control. The scratch plate on the standard version was made of black, or white, anodized metal and had a lip at the distal end to attach the adjustable bridge saddles. 

Fender Bullet #1 Deluxe

The Bullet #1 Deluxe came with a white scratch plate, and a separate metal plate to hold the bridge-saddle, and strings. Originally both guitars came with a molded hard-shell case and sold for less than $200. 

Fender Bullet Package

In 1981 the American made Fender Bullet #1 was paired with a 20 watt Fender Harvard solid state amp as a Christmas promotion. 

Bullet H-1

By 1982 the American made Fender Bullet was changed to have a Stratocaster style body shape. In 1982 the Bullet became the H-1, which had one humbucker and a coil tap switch. Fender also offered the H-2 with two pickups.

Fender B-34 Bullet Bass

During this same time Fender also produced the American made B-34 Bullet Bass. This was made like a Precision Bass, but it was considered a budget or beginner instrument.

Vista Venus

Then in 1996, under Fender’s Squier name, the Venus series of guitars were produced in Japan, and came in several version.. The Vista Series were uniquely shaped electric guitars that came in several different versions. My favorite was the Squier Vista Venus 12 string. 

'97 Vista Venus

The Squier Vista Venus had a slanted single coil pickup in the neck position, a humbucking pickup near the bridge, and an  adjustable tune-o-matic style bridge. The strings were anchored through the guitars body through six grommets or the front and back of the body.. The neck was bound. 

The six string version came with a Strat-style headstock. The Maple body was wider than a Strat shape. The pickguard covered much of the instruments top. The Vista Venus had only a volume control and a pickup selector switch. 

Vista Venus 12 

The much rarer Vista Venus 12 string came with all of these features, but included split pickups in the neck and bridge position, a volume and a tone control, and a selector switch. The strings were attached to a large adjustable, metal bridge/saddle. The pickups were split, like on the 1966 Fender XII.

The bound neck had a straight painted headstock.  On the used market these guitars are selling for around $1800. They are definitely some of Fender's more unique guitars. 

Fender Lead ii and Lead iii

The Fender Lead ii and Lead iii were both offered in 1979 and lasted until 1982. Both instruments were built in Japan. They were seen as Stratocaster stylings paired with the simplicity of a Telecaster.  

Fender Lead ii

The Lead ii came with two offset single coil pickups that emphasized the bright sounds. In addition to the pickup selector this guitar had a phase switch allowing the guitar to achieve a unique "quacky" sound. 

Fender Lead iii

The Lead iii had a similar shape but came with two Alnico humbucking pickups, a 3-way pickup selector, plus a 3-way coil split switch. Both instruments came with a 22 fret neck, string through maple body, and volume and tone controls. The Lead iii was launched in 1982, then reissued in 2020. The later version had a Pau Ferro fingerboard instead of Rosewood.

1956 Electric Mandolin 

And though it is not a guitar, the original Fender electric mandolin, aka The Mandocaster always fascinated me. In 1965 there was one hanging on the wall at my favorite music store. This unusual instrument first appeared in 1956. This solid body mandolin was shaped much like a tiny Stratocaster. 

It had only 4 strings, and one single coil pickup. The original instruments had a miniature slab body made of ash, and a one piece maple neck. 

By 1957 the body was reshaped with a rear contour and top forearm relief. For both years the pickguard was anodized metal. 

1958 Electric Mandolin

In 1958 the body came with a three color sunburst finish. 

1959 Mandocaster

In 1959 the pickguard was made of faux tortoise shell celluloid, and a rosewood slab fretboard was added to the neck. This was the instrument hanging on the wall at my favorite music store back in the 1960's.

1965 Mandocaster

The Mandocaster resurfaced in 1965. The specifications were similar, but the pickguard was now plastic instead of celluloid. 

The Fender Mandocaster was offered until 1976. Although this is not a guitar, it was a very unique instrument. It found favor with Country Swing players like Tiny Moore, and Johnny Gimbel.  

2007 Fender Champion 600 

In 2007 Fender offered the tiny Fender Champion 600 tube amplifier at a very reasonable price. It was not a reissue, since it had a circuit board, but was more of a tribute to one of Leo Fender's earliest amps. 

Champion 600

This little amplifier pumped five tube driven watts of class A power into a six inch speaker, courtesy of a 6V6 power tube, and a 12AX7 preamp tube. Around the time these amps first came out many of my friends purchased one. They discovered that the Japanese manufacturer put a dab of glue on the tubes to prevent rattling. One interesting fact is that the circuit on this version is the same as a Blackface Fender Champ.

Fender Champion 600

The back panel includes two jacks, for high or low sounds, a single volume knob (that goes to 12), a pilot light, and an on/off switch. The basic six inch speaker was adequate, but a lot of folks swapped it out for an eight inch speaker. What you get with this amplifier are basic pure guitar sounds that can be overdriven at peak volume. 

In January of 2012 Fender offered their Pawn Shop Prize amplifiers. These were a series of tube amps made in Japan. By 2014, two new amps were added to the collection. 

Fender Vaporizer

My favorite was the Fender Vaporizer. This 12 watt amplifier looked like something from a late 1960's catalog. The amp was powered by a pair of EL84 power tubes, and two 12AXY preamp tubes. 

This amp included two 10" 16 ohm speakers, a spring reverb, an independent volume and tone control, and a reverb adjustment knob. The two inputs were for normal, and bright sounds. 

Fender Vaporizer

The special feature was to foot operated "Vaporizer" button. Activating this bypassed the volume, and tone controls giving the player a full strength overload for crunchy lead sounds. It was an interesting concept for Fender that had never been found on other amps. 

This feature combined with the futuristic cabinet design made this a wonderful, desirable amplifier. 

These are still available on the used market in the $550 range. 

Fender Excelsior

The first series of Fender Pawn Shop Prizes from 2012 included The Excelsior Amplifier. This amplifier put me in mind of a 1965 Supro Thunderbolt amplifier that was advertised as a a bass amp because of the 15" speaker. 

Much like the Excelsior, the Supro did not have enough power to drive a bass, but it was an excellent guitar amplifier. 

The Excelsior is equipped with a 15" speaker, twin 6V6 power tubes, and twin 12AX7 preamp tubes. It only produced 13 watts of class AB power. 

The controls were minimal; one volume knob, a bright/dark switch, and a tremolo adjustment. There were three inputs. One for guitar, one for microphone, and one for accordion. The accordion feature harkens back to the 1950's when many bands included an accordion player. 

Fender Excelsior

This amp tends to break up after three when using the guitar input. The cabinet design is reminiscent of amplifiers found in an old Sears, or Montgomery Ward catalog. These amplifiers are still available for $300-$350 on the used market.

  

Jack White Tele

Although I would love to see Fender reissue some of these products, it is unlikely to happen since they are stuck in a rut of creating some instruments that seem to appeal more to the creators than the customers.  I would be more likely to purchase a Squire '51 for $200, than a Jack White Telecaster for $3800.

Perhaps revamping one or more of these products might help improve Fender's current tarnished image.

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