The Half Nelson is the kind of guitar that had us laughing out loud at how fun it was to demo, how well it plays, and how amazing it sounds. We're gushing, we know - but trust us, it's that good.

The most obvious Gibson reference on the Half Nelson comes via a Mojoaxe compensated wraptail bridge, Fralin P90, 24.9" scale, and TV Yellow finish. The remaining specs fall squarely under the Fender umbrella - body shape, early style volume and tone control plate, and an early "snakehead" Telecaster style tort pickguard, and bolt-on construction.

So...it looks awesome, the build quality is incredible....how does it play, feel, sound? In a word? Remarkable.

It feels solid, stout, responsive, alive.Thomas is one of the rare builders that simply has "it". Everything you love about vintage guitars and newer boutique instruments rolled into one - folks, that's not easy to do and not every builder has this ability. It's that extra % of vibe, soul, mojo, whatever you choose to call it, that some guitars have - his work has it, no question.

Tonally this guitar maintains a surprising amount of Tele twang, but with a fatter, musical midrange.