In this video I review the Novo Serus J guitar with p-90 pickups! I include several sound comparisons, specs, and describe its playability. Happy to answer any questions in the comments! Rock on! Jonathan Z
The issue with the bar falling out is now solved! Thank you to everyone who shared advice. It simply needed to be pressed in with a lot of pressure. Thanks again!
Your channel HAS to blow up. Incredible playing and tone, great in depth and well spoken review, I could go on but this level of quality overall deserves to get noticed!
Finally it's here! My Novo Serus J is my favorite guitar in my collection. Absolutely a piece of art to make music with. It's an ice metallic blue over three color sunburst, with Lollar gold foils. It's a lifer :)
oh about the string tension. I went down a DEEP rabbit hole about this a while back. I think the reason it's tighter is because of the added length for the Mastery Bridge. Apparently the tightness or looseness of the strings isn't necessarily about the scale length, but the stringed length. That's why teles feel tighter that strats. The added tension of the increased string length makes the guitar feel different.
@@6oundStudio I'm not an engineer, so I'm using the word "tension" for the feel of "less string bendiness". The top load tactic is another good point. It shortens the length of the strings and makes it feel more bendy.
I really believe that your channel will blow up at some point man! I’ve been playing my Novo Serus S for a few years now, and I don't imagine playing another brand now!
I listened to the entire video first with just my headphones and didn't watch. It sounded incredible in every way. I live in Nashville and have played a couple Novos, but they're usually custom made and not a lot floating around. I'm glad you like it, it sounds great. You're playing is awesome as usual!
Got a custom Novo MIris P2 a couple of years, back. If I dont play everyday, I feel as though I have missed out on something. Great guitar, Great people. Enjoyed your video , Will subscribe now. ( Also yes, I bought because of Rhett Schulls videos )
Nice. I've owned two Novos - there Serus T and a Serus S. I moved them both along, although found them to be wonderful instruments. Neither had particularly high string tension as far as I was concerned. The T was wonderful, but the body size was just uncomfortably big for me. The S was a bit more ergonomic but it was a little sonically dull. But the necks and playability on both were some of the best I've ever played, and I'm on the lookout for one of their single pickup Solus F1's...
Helpful to know. Thanks, Brian. Another commenter mentioned the string length caused by the Mastery bridge may be creating the extra bit of tension. I’d love to try a Solus F1. Let me know what you think if you end up landing one.
Very nice presentation. I had a Serus J built to my specs, took about 7 months to get it, which was in 2020. Ice Blue Metallic with blocks and neck binding. Went we Lollar Mini HBs and Mastery trem. Was on fence about P-90s but didn't want to deal with the extra noise and I have P90s in another guitar. It is one of the finest guitars I have ever owned, and I've sold and still own a bunch. It plays great, the Lollars are exceptional in it. I never thought I'd own a "pine" guitar, but my prejudice was not warranted. It is crazy resonate.
Thank you! Thanks for sharing your experience with Novo. I've been really impressed as well and seems to be a strong consensus among Novo owners here in the comments! I'd love to spec one someday.
This time we have not waited months for a new video hahah... thank you very much. I love your way of playing, your improvisations/compositions... congratulations. I think it is an incredible guitar, and I would like to know your opinion about people who think that offset guitars are less comfortable to play, large and not completely balanced. On the other hand, I want to comment that I believe we are undoubtedly in the best time in history to buy a guitar, whether high-end, mid-range or low-end. The level of current guitar construction is incredible. I don't know if you think the same. Greetings from the sunny Barcelona
Greetings! Thank you for the kind words! Haha … I’m glad you appreciated a quicker release this time! I didn’t experience any comfort issues with this offset (it is my first one though). I did notice you can’t lean them anywhere without a stand or they fall over so have to be careful with that. I agree we are in the best of times with guitar quality and options at any price point . Truly incredible guitars out there!
Sounds beautiful, Jon! Aesthetically speaking, these never have “spoken” to me, but they do appeal to me from a sonic perspective. A local luthier named Eben Cole makes something similar to this and I’ve flirted with the idea of buying one from him.
Thank you! I know what you mean. It’s the best when a guitar speaks on all dimensions aesthetically, sonically, and feel. I like its sound and feel the best. Its looks have grown on me, but isn’t my typical taste.
Another great video and great playing! I'm on the fence about Novo, personally. I'm sure they play great, and they sound great. But the looks turn me off a bit. I love the wood and finish, but the shape is a little ugly to me. I also really take issue with the blocky neck heel. Nowadays, I think there is no excuse to have a blocky heel. BUT it does sound incredible. I love how the P90s sounds punchy, but clear, and the low end is full and JUST at the point where it starts to get wooly (which I love).
Well said! That is a great description of how I’m hearing it as well. I can totally see how the shape could be polarizing. Those p-90’s are killer indeed!
Stellar playing and tones as always! Love the lighting and other subtle effects in your editing. Mind if I ask which camera/lens combo you are using? Cheers!
I too have a mastery on my Jazzmaster… I think you just have to push it down a little harder and it won’t pop out like that. If you takeoff the vibrato, there is an adjustment inside and you can tighten the action of your tremolo arm.
You can press the bar down with force and it will click into place. Be brave. The Mastery is built that way. Then it will no longer fall out. The guys in the store had no idea.
Great playing! Love the guitar though the vibrato arm thing is a shame, but sure there’s a fix for that somehow. I know it’s a small thing, but I can’t get over how much detail they went into with the nut and how it looks on camera. It’s flawless! Think it’s a great guitar!
What was your signal chain for the beginning jam? Definitely Eric Johnson vibes but the specific overdrive sound is so hard to get in my rig haha! Looking for some direction. Great playing as always, love your videos! Also the tapping on the guitar around 15:15 is ridiculously resonant, super cool to see the quality from just tapping!
Thank you! I used a BK Butler Tube Driver boosting a Vemuram Jan Ray into a pair of blackface style amps in stereo set clean with a Keeley Halo for delay. I was blown away by the tapping resonance when I listened back so kept that in. I’m glad you noticed that!
Great video quality and congrats on the guitar! That Mastery vibrato arm should not be that loose. It is either not pushed in all the way (takes a lot of pressure sometimes to pop in), OR the internal set screw on the arm needs tightening. If you need to adjust the set screw for the arm, you can only do this by removing the assembly so you can do this at next string change. Also, Mastery has crazy-tight tolerances. Once the arm is in, there's no need to take it out...even when cased.
If the bar is falling out of your Mastery vibrato, then it is NOT pushed in all the way. It has a machined tip that locks it in place. I've had 3 Serus Js and a Jazzmaster that I put a Mastery vibrato on and 1) you are supposed to leave the arm in at all times, even in the case, and 2) it takes a lot of effort to get it to pop in, and it's very pronounced when it does - you'll know when it's installed properly. Just push it hard and when it seems like you are pushing a little TOO hard it will pop in.
If you close your eyes and focus on the sound, this could easily be a Gibson or a Fender as it has amazing sounds, a quality guitar! Where's the beer? Lol. Thanks for sharing Johnny!
I’m surprised the shop didn’t adjust the trem bar. There should be a claw inside that the bar sits in that they should just need to tighten. On a mastery you are not supposed to take the bar out. It also needs to snap in you should hear a light snap if it’s engaged correctly. Just remember not to remove it after
Hmmm… never had that issue with p-90’s. Have you tried experimenting without pickup height? I made a video to help explain my signal chain linked below. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SvkG5UMZUVY.htmlsi=janueasvCKV2owBZ
I've chasing that guitar for a while. If you decide you don't want it I'll buy it from you for what you paid and shipping. Or I have a Gibson Custom Shop SG 64 Reissue if your interested. Either way I want that guitar.
I'm playing through a Two Rock Bloomfield Drive and Blankenship Twinplex in stereo. I do have an almost undetectable amount of modulation dialed in - nice ears!
Is it me imagine or is this a pretty dark-sounding guitar? Also, that bar looks to stick up from the mount pretty far. Seems like it would get in the way. As far as the bar falling out, when I stripped out the threads in a Strat vibrato I would buy small plain black rubber hair ties. I’d cut a piece then push it into the mounting hole with the bar, making sure most of it was at the side of it. It would be held in place and I could have it sit where I wanted.
These Novo guitars, have me rethinking my belief that wood doesn't affect tone of a guitar, does pine have a resonance that other wood doesn't, I would say it's a combo between the pickups and body, the price is almost worth it, but not all of them sound like Rhetts Novo, just like all guitars some play like butter and one exactly like it may not.
Thats to bad the only true way the guitar was heard was when unplugged. Plugged couldn't hear it souded like it in the other room, buried by reverb and delay!
it is weird, the sound is good, and you play great but somehow it feels stiff....is not you as you play awesome...is just how translates that guitar...
Why spend that much money and it’s not perfect. With the complaints and malfunctions that you have demonstrated is from poor quality parts and workmanship.
