The Michael Messer Lightning is a nickel-plated bell brass body, 1930’s style 12-fret single cone resonator guitar, intended to provide the tone and vibe of a vintage blues guitar, and it does this well. You get the vintage look and tone, but with modern playability and reliability at an affordable price. These are great instruments for fingerstyle and bottleneck blues playing. The Michael Messer Lightning has the characteristic attack, projection, resonance and volume of a ‘steel body’ guitar. As expected, it’s bright, but with a warmth and depth that avoid harshness and add a sweetness to the edge. The modern features include an adjustable truss rod.