Joe Doe by Vintage Punkaster & Lucky Buck review

A ridiculously affordable future country classic six-string meets a Heath Robinson punk Fender mash-up in the mosh pit...

Joe Doe by Vintage Punkaster & Lucky Buck review
(Image: © Future / Olly Curtis)

Guitar World Verdict

Niggle finish issues aside, these limited-run electrics have a charm, performance and tone that belies the modest price tag.

Pros

  • +

    Punkaster is a wacky but brilliant design.

  • +

    It is also a tone machine.

  • +

    The Lucky Buck is a great l'il thinline.

  • +

    It's lightweight, too.

  • +

    Excellent pickups on both.

Cons

  • -

    Stiff tuners on the Punkaster.

  • -

    Sharp fret edges.

  • -

    Warped scratchplate on the Lucky Buck.

You can trust Guitar World Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing guitar products so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Every guitarist remembers where they were when we first became aware of Brandon Hicks. That infamous leader of FistMeetsFace. Irritant of the New York punk scene. 

The troubled genius behind the 35-second classic Riot In My Brain blew our collective mind when he glued together pieces of smashed-up guitars to create his iconic six-string Frankenstein’s monster, the Punkaster. 

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Ed Mitchell

Ed Mitchell was Reviews Editor on Total Guitar magazine from 2003, and his guitar-modding column, Ed’s Shed, appeared in print on both sides of the Atlantic (in both Total Guitar and Guitar World magazines). He was the Editor of The Blues Magazine from 2012-16, and a contributor to Guitarist, Classic Rock and Louder. He died in October 2022, aged 52. Between them, the websites Guitar World, Louder and MusicRadar host over 400 of his articles – among them interviews with Billy Gibbons, Paul Weller, Brian Setzer, profiles on Roy Buchanan, Duane Allman and Peter Green, a joint interview with Jimmy Page and Jack White, and dozens of guitar reviews – and that’s just the ones that made it online.