I don’t know why I think this is really cool. Perhaps it’s the geek in me getting impressed at what the guys in Fender’s R&D department have engineered here.

What they’ve done is to take a solid block of Lucite and hack it into the shape of an Esquire. That’s nothing too unusual. However, they also hollowed out the body to enable it be filled with water.

You see, this guitar is a being auctioned to benefit NASH₂O, a charity helping out after the Nashville floods earlier this year. You’ve probably seen images of some of the guitar-related damage caused by the floods and that’s the least of people’s problems.

Fender built this crazy Esquire to aid the cause. And, to remind of the reasons behind its existence, this guitar is filled with flood-water. Yep, the water was taken from the Cumberland river and from a long-dry, farm pond that was filled by the flood. Bottles of it were shipped to Fender California and it was used to fill the hollow space in this guitar.

And I can’t help thinking it’s cool. Possibly, there are those who will scratch their heads but I like it. I even like the way there’s a ‘gap’ to allow the water slosh around. Nice.

I can’t afford it, unfortunately but perhaps one of you reading this will. Bidding starts at US$5,000 over at the NASH2O site.

There’s no doubt that this is something unique and I’d imagine it’s going to be quite a collector’s item. Just make sure you’ve a good case – it’s bound to stink if it breaks.