“There’s more than a whiff of Keef’s fabled old Telecasters”: The Newman Torn and Frayed Edition might be the Rolling Stones-inspired T-type we’ve been dreaming of

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With vibe and mojo off the charts, this UK boutique build is a stunning example of what a little imagination can do with when applied to Blackguard inspiration

Newman Torn and Frayed Edition
(Image credit: Future/Matt Lincoln)

Although unavailable for many years, the late Ted Newman’s unique solidbody – originally conceived for Keith Richards back in the ’70s – has made quite a return since the introduction of the 5 String in 2024, the first of an ongoing series of limited-edition models made in the UK under the stewardship of the Cream T Custom Shop.

Along with that guitar, there’s been the single-pickup Honeycomb Junior GT-40, the dual-pickup Honeycomb Senior (both with either Guitar-X swappable or fixed-pickup options), and towards the end of 2025 this Torn and Frayed addition, “a limited edition run of guitars designed to celebrate the history of Newman Guitars and Cream T Pickups”.

It’s offered in artfully and heavily aged nitrocellulose Butterscotch Blonde (as pictured), Black, Cherry Burst and Vintage White.

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The Newman design centres around the offset single‑cutaway slab body, which – under the worn paint here – is solid obeche, contributing to its light weight of 2.58kg (5.68lb). With a comfortable asymmetric profile, the bolt-on neck has 24 frets and, with a shorter 629mm (24.75-inch) scale length, is topped off with that distinct and lightly back-angled six-a-side headstock.

There’s no Guitar-X pickup swapping here, though: the Cream T Banger & Mash humbucker mounts on the black scratchplate, the new Mint T single coil in the aged Gotoh T-style bridge plate. The controls obviously follow the Telecaster’s more modern configuration albeit with a pull-switch on the tone control to split the neck humbucker.

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Newman Torn and Frayed Edition
(Image credit: Future/Matt Lincoln)

Rolling Stones fans will know the origin of the name, and there’s more than a whiff of Keef’s fabled old Telecasters about the style, enhanced by pretty big frets suggesting an earlier refret. But it’s a seriously practical design, not least strapped on, with good access to the upper frets, the comfort helped by the lightly rounded neck heel.

At the bridge the Mint T doesn’t sound over-wound, it’s bright and spanky and seems to suit some crunch where it comes across as raw and cutting, while the Banger & Mash almost sounds like it looks – a big Tele neck voice that has clarity with humbucker width that can be split to clean things up and drop back to a really classic mixed pickup combination. It’s not just the finish that looks old – the guitar sounds it, too.

Newman Torn and Frayed Edition

(Image credit: Future/Matt Lincoln)

Just like the song goes, its “coat is torn and frayed, it’s seen much better days. Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away”.

Dave Burrluck
Dave Burrluck
Gear Reviews Editor, Guitarist

Dave Burrluck is one of the world’s most experienced guitar journalists, who started writing back in the '80s for International Musician and Recording World, co-founded The Guitar Magazine and has been the Gear Reviews Editor of Guitarist magazine for the past two decades. Along the way, Dave has been the sole author of The PRS Guitar Book and The Player's Guide to Guitar Maintenance as well as contributing to numerous other books on the electric guitar. Dave is an active gigging and recording musician and still finds time to make, repair and mod guitars, not least for Guitarist’s The Mod Squad.