Laurent Brondel’s Honeycaster Hybrid is a striking blend of Tele and Strat DNA, reimagined through the lens of boutique lutherie. This one-off build, finished in a beautifully aged Firemist Silver lacquer, stands out with its custom Spitfire pickguard and finely contoured alder body.

The curly maple neck is paired with a round-lam Amazon rosewood fingerboard; a style Fender began using in mid 1962 and well into the 1970’s. These laminated boards offer an exceptional feel, though few modern builders go to the trouble of producing them due to the added complexity. It’s fitted with Jescar 51100 fret-wire and shaped to a Chunky “C” inspired by a 1958 Fender neck profile, measuring .84” at the 1st fret and .98” at the 12th. A 10” fingerboard radius and 1 5/8” nut width provide a perfect blend of vintage character and modern comfort.The guitar is truly a masterpiece of tone and ease of playability. A beyond high-end feeling guitar. Total weight is a very manageable and balanced 7lbs 1oz.

Sonically, it’s loaded with Ron Ellis pickups: a 52T in the bridge and a 50/60S set in the middle and neck. The bridge pickup delivers bold midrange and snap with the character of a great 52 Telecaster, while the middle and neck pickups offer that unmistakable woody clarity found in golden-era Strats. The 3rd position is the outer two pickups together, to further the Tele-like tonal qualities.

Hardware includes a Kluson bridge with Rutters steel saddles and Gotoh staggered vintage-style tuners. Comes in a G&G custom case.

Brondel Honeycaster Hybrid – Firemist Silver #226:

Specifications:

• Body: Alder
• Finish: Aged lacquer – Firemist Silver
• Neck: Curly maple
• Fingerboard: Amazon rosewood (round-lam)
• Neck Profile: Chunky “C” (.84” at 1st fret, .98” at 12th) – based on early ’60s pre-CBS Fenders
• Fingerboard Radius: 10”
• Frets: Jescar 51100 nickel-silver
• Nut: Bone
• Nut Width: 1 5/8”
• Pickups: Ron Ellis 52T (bridge), 50/60 set (middle & neck)
• Pickguard: Custom Spitfire
• Bridge: Kluson bridge with Rutters steel saddles
• Tuners: Gotoh staggered vintage-style
• Controls: Volume, Tone, Tone, 5-way (3rd position Bridge + Neck)
• Custom wiring with Super Switch: In the blended positions of the 5-way switch, the tone controls are bypassed to deliver a clearer, more dynamic pickup response; preserving the full character of the classic Strat tones.
• Tone 1 controls the neck pickup when selected alone, and Tone 2 is assigned to the bridge pickup when used on its own.

• Case: G&G custom hardshell case
• Weight: 7lbs 1oz
• Hardware: Aged nickel