J. Parsons Solomon, made in Australia 2015, hand rubbed sunburst. Jon Parsons has been building beautiful guitars from his workshop in Launceston, Tasmania for several years. Many of his instruments sell to overseas customers and there's often a waitlist if you're after a custom build. This is one of his earlier builds; it was the second guitar he finished and sold and was a built to specs according to the original owner's wishes. What have we got on our hands, exactly? The Solomon shape is based on a Jazzmaster, but this one has the distinctive trademark 'swoop' semi-hollow cut on the top shoulder making this easy to spot for fans of Jon's work. The top and headstock cap are American white ash, which has a beautiful wide grain and is brought to life with a hand rubbed satin sunburst finish. The body and neck are made from meranti, also known as luan or Asian mahogany, which has a lovely tight grain offering a nice 'doghair' type look. The Kinman pickup is a cranked noiseless P-90 style, so this is most at home with a generous dollop of overdrive playing hard and fast. The workmanship is excellent, so this feels very tidy and classy in the hands; it's fun to feel the eccentricities of a true handmade guitar that's this good. Something like this would list at around $3400aud new and incur a wait of several months, so this is a huge bargain for an exceptional instrument. 

Model: J. Parsons Guitars Solomon Semi Hollow 
Made: Launceston, Australia, 2015
Finish: hand rubbed sunburst, satin
Body: meranti (asian mahogany), American white ash top
Neck: meranti/maple combo with rosewood board, 25.5" scale, 12" radius
Weight: 3.265kg
Mods: pickup replaced
Pickup: Kinman HX Nasty 90 Heavy
Case: none

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. Headstock has a couple of marks on the end. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, just a few minor dimples on the back. The back has some light scuffs but no major marks. Sides have no major marks, just some dimples and glossing from play on the shoulder and some light scuffs near the jack. The front is also pretty clean, just a couple of dimples near the knobs, glossing on the shoulder and some play scratches above and below the strings. Overall: very good condition (8/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. Frets look awesome, barely any wear, 9/10 for fret life left. All electrics tested and working properly. Wearing fresh 11/49 Moonshiners strings.