NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Discussion of newer designs, copies and reissue offset-waist instruments.
User avatar
Hrbadrb
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 8:00 pm

NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by Hrbadrb » Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:39 am

A little over a year ago I made a post on here asking for advice on specs for a Fano JM6 and got turned on to Dennis Fano's (relatively) new brand, Novo, by eurotrash. I had the chance to play a couple Novos before putting in the order and felt confident that I'd get a good guitar, but I have to say I was pretty nervous throwing down a fairly large chunk of money for an instrument I'd never get to play before paying for it.

I got my guitar in the mail last Wednesday courtesy of Infinity Guitars down in Houston (Randy was a pleasure to work with and was very responsive to all my questions), and my trepidation vanished immediately. As soon as I picked the guitar up, I fell in love. It's easily the most comfortable guitar I've played. It's incredibly lightweight, and the neck plays like butter. It has sustain for days, which surprised me a bit considering how light the body is and that the model is clearly inspired by jazzmasters. The pickups are pristine and crisp, and I find myself having a hard time getting away from the neck pickup.

The pictures don't do the finish justice, either. It's a darker, fuller color in person, and while I expected the finish to be opaque, you can see the grain through the paint, which I love.

Here are the options I chose for those who are interested:

Burgundy Mist/matching headstock
Tortoise pickguard
Extra Clean finish
Rosewood fingerboard
7.25" -9.5" fingerboard radius
2 Lollar Firebird pickups
Setup with 11-49

Image

Here's a picture Novo took for their Instagram page since I'm not a great photographer:
Image

My only concern may not actually be an issue at all, but I thought I'd ask y'all for advice on it. My brother and I noticed a slight crack on the lower-right corner of the neck joint, and I was wondering if there is potential for a developing issue down the line, or if it's simply a finish crack. Not sure if y'all are able to tell from this picture, but figured it can't hurt to ask:
Image

Lastly, the guitar was supposed to come in a Mono Hybrid case, but they were backordered, so Novo upgraded me to the G&G you see in my first picture as well. Infinity thought they might be able swap the cases when the Monos are in since I was actually more interested in them than the G&Gs, but I wanted to get y'all's opinions if you have any on the Mono vs a G&G case. I'm not an active gigger now, but I hope to be in the future, and I'm also making a cross-country move in the next couple months, so I'd like to take that into consideration.

User avatar
bacca51
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 377
Joined: Wed Apr 27, 2016 5:14 pm

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by bacca51 » Mon Apr 09, 2018 8:53 am

That's a beautiful guitar... nice job ordering it! I know you dropped a lot on it already, but I don't think this guitar will be complete until you upgrade that tort to spitfire!

User avatar
sirspens
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 786
Joined: Sun Nov 08, 2015 8:26 pm
Location: Austin, Texas
Contact:

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by sirspens » Mon Apr 09, 2018 4:36 pm

What wood is the body made of?

blackbox
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 376
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2016 6:14 pm

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by blackbox » Mon Apr 09, 2018 4:42 pm

I have a J also. Incredible guitars.

User avatar
Kihtaristi
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 175
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:46 pm

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by Kihtaristi » Tue Apr 10, 2018 1:40 am

Hrbadrb wrote:
Mon Apr 09, 2018 7:39 am
A little over a year ago I made a post on here asking for advice on specs for a Fano JM6 and got turned on to Dennis Fano's (relatively) new brand, Novo, by eurotrash. I had the chance to play a couple Novos before putting in the order and felt confident that I'd get a good guitar, but I have to say I was pretty nervous throwing down a fairly large chunk of money for an instrument I'd never get to play before paying for it.

I got my guitar in the mail last Wednesday courtesy of Infinity Guitars down in Houston (Randy was a pleasure to work with and was very responsive to all my questions), and my trepidation vanished immediately. As soon as I picked the guitar up, I fell in love. It's easily the most comfortable guitar I've played. It's incredibly lightweight, and the neck plays like butter. It has sustain for days, which surprised me a bit considering how light the body is and that the model is clearly inspired by jazzmasters. The pickups are pristine and crisp, and I find myself having a hard time getting away from the neck pickup.

The pictures don't do the finish justice, either. It's a darker, fuller color in person, and while I expected the finish to be opaque, you can see the grain through the paint, which I love.

Here are the options I chose for those who are interested:

Burgundy Mist/matching headstock
Tortoise pickguard
Extra Clean finish
Rosewood fingerboard
7.25" -9.5" fingerboard radius
2 Lollar Firebird pickups
Setup with 11-49

Image

Here's a picture Novo took for their Instagram page since I'm not a great photographer:
Image

My only concern may not actually be an issue at all, but I thought I'd ask y'all for advice on it. My brother and I noticed a slight crack on the lower-right corner of the neck joint, and I was wondering if there is potential for a developing issue down the line, or if it's simply a finish crack. Not sure if y'all are able to tell from this picture, but figured it can't hurt to ask:
Image

Lastly, the guitar was supposed to come in a Mono Hybrid case, but they were backordered, so Novo upgraded me to the G&G you see in my first picture as well. Infinity thought they might be able swap the cases when the Monos are in since I was actually more interested in them than the G&Gs, but I wanted to get y'all's opinions if you have any on the Mono vs a G&G case. I'm not an active gigger now, but I hope to be in the future, and I'm also making a cross-country move in the next couple months, so I'd like to take that into consideration.
What a beauty with that matching headstock!!

I have Lollar Firebird pickups in custom doublecut (pickup choice was hugely inspired by one Fano I tried) and those are really nice. I really like everything you have going on with this guitar. Reliced guitars look cool when someone else plays them, but I prefer my guitars clean! Any chance that you could record something for us?

User avatar
DesmondWafers
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1746
Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:15 pm

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by DesmondWafers » Tue Apr 10, 2018 5:40 am

Beautiful, my bilt has lollar firebirds and they're seriously amazing sounding pickups. They have this natural compression sound to them that sounds so good for cleans. As far as the neck plate goes, it's not something to worry about. It looks like the plate was maybe tightened a little too far at some point.

User avatar
blake480
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2560
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:10 pm
Location: Arizona

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by blake480 » Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:07 am

Congrats on owning the best guitars ever!

I love my Serus J, and its spec'd the same way. Mine is IBM with a gold guard. So light, so resonant. They remind me of the perfect mold between my other two favorite boutique guitar builder BiLT, and Danocaster. They nail all the great things about a Danocaster (plays perfectly, light, great pickups, the perfect worn neck) But have the cool uniquness, and color combos of the BiLTs.

I would just contact Novo directly on your concern. They are very responsive, and will help you out. I'm sure its just part of the Relic job, and is nothing to be concerned about.

User avatar
blake480
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 2560
Joined: Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:10 pm
Location: Arizona

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by blake480 » Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:08 am

sirspens wrote:
Mon Apr 09, 2018 4:36 pm
What wood is the body made of?
Usually Tempered Pine.

User avatar
wproffitt
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 1263
Joined: Wed Feb 24, 2010 8:48 pm
Location: Ellicott City, MD, USA

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by wproffitt » Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:32 am

Nice one!
I’m considering going with this color scheme on an upcoming build so this is reassuring to see! I, too, would love to hear clips.

User avatar
Musjagjazz
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 447
Joined: Sun Jul 21, 2013 8:57 am

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by Musjagjazz » Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:35 am

Maybe Firebird and Mini Humbuckers pickups will be the new Gold Foils.

Don't know why these pickups are not more popular.

User avatar
Embenny
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 10363
Joined: Tue May 24, 2016 5:07 am

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by Embenny » Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:53 am

That is one fine guitar, congrats! Play the heck out of it.
The artist formerly known as mbene085.

User avatar
Don_Karnage
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 72
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2018 4:42 am

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by Don_Karnage » Tue Apr 10, 2018 12:29 pm

If that plays half as good as it looks then you’re lucky!

Have to agree about what people are saying about the lollar firebird pickups as well, great stuff!

User avatar
Hrbadrb
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 8:00 pm

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by Hrbadrb » Tue Apr 10, 2018 5:43 pm

Here's a little demo I recorded. I don't have the best recording setup, so don't expect the best quality. I'm plugged into a Blues Deluxe reissue with a EHX Cathedral reverb, and I flip on my OCD for the dirt at the end : https://soundcloud.com/user-433637862/novo-demo/s-b5oKk

The first part is based off of a rendition of Pure Imagination from a Collings I-35 demo courtesy of the Chicago Music Exchange that I think was beautifully done (the original, not mine). Here's the link if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wV7_J-m3Pb0

I'm rotating through the neck, both, and bridge pickups in that order with each phrase. I threw on a snippet of me noodling on the intro to Right Off off of Miles Davis' Jack Johnson at the end.

Another reason I love this guitar is I love its sound with my Blues Deluxe, which I'd kind of mostly moved away from when I got my AVRI 65 JM, as I prefer running that through my AC15.

User avatar
Hrbadrb
PAT PEND
PAT PEND
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 8:00 pm

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by Hrbadrb » Tue Apr 10, 2018 5:43 pm

blake480 wrote:
Tue Apr 10, 2018 9:08 am
sirspens wrote:
Mon Apr 09, 2018 4:36 pm
What wood is the body made of?
Usually Tempered Pine.
Yup! That's what I went with.

User avatar
thatfenderguy
PAT. # 2.972.923
PAT. # 2.972.923
Posts: 266
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2014 5:49 am
Location: Ohio
Contact:

Re: NGD Novo Serus J with Lollar Firebirds

Post by thatfenderguy » Wed Apr 11, 2018 8:13 am

I’ve been debating on ordering one for a long while now. I just can’t seem to justify that price tag...

Post Reply