I love this guitar, and have owned it for about a year or so. Much better than a strat, to me. It's a prototype, but there is now a full line of Tonemonger production models. Check 'em out at http://www.alamoguitars.com

It has an oversized Tele headstock, flame maple fat V neck, rosewood fingerboard(9.25 radius), Grover tuners, medium jumbo frets w/ a good crown, unique centerpont tremolo that feels like an improved bigsby, swamp ash body in desert blonde finish, tortoise shell pickguard, 3 reverse-slanted Super Grande pickups(Rio Grande), usual strat contours, volume and tone knob, 5 way switch, and slight contour on heel. (slanted to allow easier high fret access) The body and back of neck are finished in nitrocellulose lacquer.

It's an Uberstrat with great tone. The reverse slant pups provide a tad more twang on the low strings and fatter sounds on the high strings. The basic tone of this guitar is very round with a great fatness to it. It's not fat with tons of bass and treble like a regular strat...that's why I say round with the right amount of fatness. Very smooth tone with great articulation and no harshness. What's really awesome is that it retains the best out of phase (quack) tones at the same time. I like it better than any strat I've played, and I think most of you would, too. (I've tried tons of Fenders, Suhr, Grosh, G-n-L, etc.)

The playability is second to none. Very effortless. It never frets out the way I have it set up. The crown on the frets is nice, too, and the fretwork itself is superior. No jagged edges along the neck from frets not being filed. The guitar feels great standing up, too...very balanced with great contours.

I will be ordering one with flame maple neck and fingerboard, flame top, and locking tuners. That's how much I love this guitar. I usually hate the grainy feel of rosewood fingerboards, but I play this guitar constantly. That says something. It plays awesome. The tone control, too, is so much more effective than a regular strat. (and there's only one) Once you try one you may never go back. It's only a matter of time before these guitars become known. A true work of art, tone, and playability.

If any of you get sick of the harsh high end, are looking for a meatier strat tone, or want something between P90s and strat pickups...try one out. Any Austinites can contact me and I'll let them demo it. These guitars are made in Houston, by the way. (same people who make Robin guitars, Metropolitan guitars, Rio Grande pups, etc.)