VanZandt Bronson, vintage white, made in Japan circa 2018. This guitar is two things: holy-heck-outrageously-good, and shrouded with a generous dose of mystery. VanZandt is a high end boutique pickup maker, based in Texas USA and founded by W.L. Van Zandt in the 1980s. They still operate today, with WL's widow Gloria and nephew JD Prince doing the winding work these days. VanZandt sell their pickups in Japan via a distribution company that also happens to own PGM, or Professional Guitar Makers, the parent company behind cult favourites Moon Guitars. PGM license the VanZandt brand name in Japan to adorn a line of very high end Fender-style guitars for the local market, blessed with the USA-made pickups to boot. To buy a VanZandt in Japan, you can't order via the builders directly like other small brands such as Moon or Momose, you have to buy what's available via their dealer network across the country, so there's generally a random selection of maybe a dozen examples available new at any given time across Japan. There's no website or social media accounts, and yet... the reputation these guitars is such that used listings often fetch more JPY than new ones, and anyone who mentions them online does so in glowing terms brimming with superlatives. The Bronson model is a relatively recent addition to the lineup, and is based on the original Fender Duo Sonic. It gets a few modern touches: 42mm wide nut, 8.25" radius and a two piece slab alder body. The body is lightweight and perfectly balanced, and the neck is carved to a very comfy vintage C and made from some excellent quartersawn maple and Madagascar rosewood. The thing that really makes this excellent, aside from the eye-watering build quality, is the finish: it's a super thin coat of full nitro, which is different to the more common nitro topcoat-only style finishes you get on top models from Edwards or Fender Japan. It's extremely thin, so it behaves much like an original fifties or early sixties Fender finish: the grain is on show even under a solid colour, it chips easily, it rubs and scuffs quickly, but it breathes naturally. Needless to say it also looks beautiful. The flat-pole single coils are great: super punchy in the low end, snappy on the top, with a wide and deep midrange that's very responsive to differing attack. The middle position is wired in series, which adds a little pizzaz and keeps the level consistent. Being a short scale, this has a natural darkness and a short sustain, but the hardtail bridge and natural resonance lend it a certain liveliness to balance it all out beautifully. This is built and finished to a standard that not every Fender Custom Shop manages, and it's extra fun that it's a short scale offset: heck, you don't see that everyday. I've been meaning to buy one of these to see if the hype is legit, and oh boy: the hype doesn't cut it, it's even better than I hoped. 

Model: VanZandt Bronson
Made: Japan, 2018 approx (serial 6465)
Finish: vintage white, 'cloudy' style semi-gloss thin full nitro, 3-ply tort guard
Body: alder, two-piece centre join
Neck: maple, Madagascar rosewood board, 24" scale, 8.25" radius, 42mm nut, vintage C
Weight: 3.030kg
Mods: bridge replaced
Pickups: VanZandt flat pole single coil x2
Case: original gig bag, original bridge included

Cosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. The headstock has some minor dimples on the top edge and a little bit of stand burn on the sides near the nut, no major marks. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, no major marks. The back has  Overall: excellent condition (9/10)

Playing condition notes: Action is low, intonation is good, neck is straight, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. The frets have minor wear only, 9/10 for life left. Wearing fresh 11/49 Moonshiners strings.