A stellar guitar from one of our favorite boutique builders. Truly a hidden gem in the world of electric guitars.

Let's get right into the important stuff - this guitar sounds unbelievably great, embodies the vibe of a great vintage guitar, but has none of the quirks of older guitars. For us? This is a total no-brainer guitar - it's just that good.

Another really cool fact about it? Tommy was able to source some bronze/copper powder from 1943 which he used to finish this guitar. In person, it's a stunning color and works so well with the tort pickguard.

On to the important stuff: tone, build quality, and feel. As mentioned, all of these categories are outstanding which is certainly what we've come to expect from Tommy's guitars. Interesting note about this guitar, the body is made from mahogany which eschews the logic that a Fender-style guitar has to be ash or alder (or even pine).

The combination of a mahogany body, maple/rosewood neck, 25 1/2" scale, and a single Fralin Blues Special results in a guitar that retains all the Tele twang and top-end sparkle you could want, but the mahogany adds in a fuller midrange and a little extra muscle. This is a big sounding guitar that is mostly Tele but adds in a bit of the tone and attitude of a great Les Paul Junior.

The neck profile - a Soft V, .90" at the first fret and .98" at the 12th - is based on one of Tommy's favorite Tele necks. It's a very comfortable carve that is on the chunky side but is shaped in such a way that most players would be right at home on it. Depth measurements are only one part of the overall picture when it comes to necks. It's really more about how it's shaped in our experience.

The 3-way switch yields a range of tones that make this Esquire more versatile than you'd first think. In the bridge position, only the volume works. This is great for lead work where you want just a little more sparkle (it's not shrill by any means). The middle position will be most familiar to Tele enthusiasts as it gives you both the volume and tone controls to work with. Lastly, the neck position, like the older Esquires, adds a capacitor to really alter the tone. Unlike the old Esquires, Tommy has employed a cap that gives you a really cool cocked wah type of sound that's really useable - far more so than the "blanket over the amp" sound of the old guitars.