Ernie Ball Music Man and St Vincent give her signature electric guitar a stunning makeover
The Goldie comes in three classy new finishes, a reverse headstock, has revised hardware and a trio of gold foil pickups
Ernie Ball Music Man has unveiled the St Vincent Goldie. The latest signature electric guitar for St Vincent, aka Annie Clark, the Goldie offers a very stylish twist on the pop-rock iconoclast's number one instrument .
When Ernie Ball Music Man debuted its St Vincent signature model, it felt like one of those moments for guitar design. Here was a new shape that was slim-waisted, angular, retro-futuristic and almost bow-tie-esque in profile.
Since then we have seen EBMM offer a more affordable Sterling By Music Man version, a plethora of new finishes, a dual-humbucker option, and some super-limited edition Masseduction tie-in models, but the latest update to the St Vincent series might be the coolest yet.
The Goldie arrives resplendent in Cashmere, Velveteen and Silk Charmeuse finishes and has three Music Man Custom gold foil mini-humbuckers. There is also a reverse headstock with signature inlay, an updated St Vincent Modern Tremolo with brass saddles, and a parchment pickguard.
Elsewhere, the Goldie has the familiar okoume body, a figured roast maple neck and a 25.5" scale. The Cashmere and Silk Charmeuse models come with ebony fingerboards while rosewood is used for the Velveteen model. All have 10" radii and are fitted with 22 stainless steel frets.
On the headstock you'll find Schaller M6-IND locking tuners with pearl buttons, and throughout you have EBMM's high-end finish, with little touches such as the gunstock oil and hand-rubbed wax on the neck sure to make the Goldie a treat to play. There are controls for volume and tone and a five-way pickup selector.
Those who caught St Vincent's performance of The Melting Of The Sun on Saturday Night Live will have seen the Cashmere Goldie in action. The rest of us will have to wait until June to get our hands on one. Though it is available to preorder, priced $2,999. See Ernie Ball Music Man for more details.
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St Vincent's new album, Daddy's Home, is out 14 May 2021 through Loma Vista Recordings.
Jonathan Horsley has been writing about guitars and guitar culture since 2005, playing them since 1990, and regularly contributes to MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitar World. He uses Jazz III nylon picks, 10s during the week, 9s at the weekend, and shamefully still struggles with rhythm figure one of Van Halen’s Panama.
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