Novo Serus T Guitar Review: Vintage Gets A Facelift 

Harley Benton: "Eyyyy cool body shape ya got there. Shame if anyone were to borrow it..." Drop by discord and say hi! discord.gg/KjWzGpx

Still want to try one of these!

The finish looks better the more I look at it. Definitely neat!

I just ordered a new Novo, 3 years after this video. There's still a 1 year wait list. I should receive mine sometime around November 2024. Hopefully it will be worth the wait.

Last yr I had an opportunity to go to Nashville and check them out direct. they were super nice treated me like I was a rockstar. By far the best playing and sounding guitar. Humbuckers is a great store. Since I only live about 20 minutes away great video!

I'm completely content with my Silver Sky I say to myself as I constantly check if the Novo site is up.

This is probably the only relic job I've ever liked. Awesome review!

I AM a tele-guy and I LOVE my Novo. I have McNelly pickups on my Serus T, and it took a while to warm up to them. Like in your case, the neck-pickup (the Swagger-Stagger) was a mystery, but I love it now. I believe the most common configuration is pickups from Lollar, but I like the vibe I get from the McNellys. Great showcase of a great guitar!

I totally agree, that bone nut on your Novo looks so cool!!!🤗😇😉

I can't unsee the wooden shoes now! While surfing randomly on Instagram, I was attracted by the shape of this guitar without knowing any backgrounds. So hard to come with a new successful shape!

Nice video, I received my Custom Serus J in August, blue sparkle. It took 8 months, covid didn't help but nonetheless it does take awhile. That being said, this guitar is worth EVERY dollar. I would say cent but that doesn't apply with Novo's, lol! They are not cheap however you will not be disappointed. The craftsmanship is like no other, I own or have owned MANY top guitars, Les Paul's, Custom Shop Fender, Tele's, currently selling my Suhr Classic Pro. The best way I can describe the tone, it is perfectly balanced in every frequency. Nothing shrieks out at you on this guitar, the clarity and power is amazing, from clean funk to Rock n Roll. Ive had the opportunity to perform twice now and the feedback from band and people in crowd after show has been nothing short of amazement on this guitar. There might be a video on band page, flyte band tampa on facebook. We are just a cover band but sure is fun. Anyway, my ramble is over, lol! Im currently saving to purchase another Novo.

When did you get the two rock? Can you review it?

nice I bought a J a while back full retail but when I listed it a few months later it sold same price same day. win win!!

That neck pickup sounds amazing. I don’t think you have any issues if you just play heavy big fat chords... sounds legit.

Very cool vids! I was wondering you end up doing with your Novo? Sold it? New pickups? I am currently in an "unplanned but not unpleasant" situation, I have both a Serus J with P90 and a Solus M1 (P90). I am not interested in having them so similar sounding, so one or the two need some changes. What would you do? ;)

I sent you a message on Reverb! And I just noticed after I purchased mine they all come with 11s? I like 9s sometimes 10s.

The neck color and headstock shape seems to be taken from the'60s Japanese guitars. I guess it doesn't matter if I think they are a wee bit overpriced because I don't have to buy one. but I do like it.

Sounds great. And crazy how much people want one including me. You got a piece of gold right there 🤣. That neck heel did scare me though. Another great video.

I now want a Novo acoustic 7 string in this shape. I want that to exist.

I’m digging the playing. When I see someone play opeth riffs all the time, I know I can appreciate a diverse assortment of playing styles and riffs from death metal to jangly cowboy chords.

Great review. These guitars do nothing for me personally. Give me a Suhr or PRS. But they clearly have a hungry target market!

Nice guitar and review. Inspiring me to put on a flannel shirt and play grunge!

FINALLY a Novo!! LOL I am glad to see you like it for the most part...after hounding you about Novo's for so long I would have felt bad if you didn't like it! I'm a little surprised to hear your comments about the pickups, I have the Amalfitano pickups in my Serus T, but I do have the Fralins in my Mirus and they sound great in that. The Amalfitano's are magic, but don't think those are available anymore. (My Serus Athena has Lollartrons, and my double-bound Serus T has a Firebird and a Goldfoil). I dig the color of yours...I don't see too many Novo's where I don't like the color though. I think they do fantastic finish work. So, you gonna keep it for awhile?!? EDIT: Ooops...did you sell it already?!? Jeez!

Looks like the website is back up and orders are open. Any videos coming on the AXE 3 or the two rock?

I love this company, and I want one! I’m a larger dude and like lighter, larger guitars. Appreciate the “vintage” vibe, and sound. Like that they make a super quality instrument, with a funky vibe. -- I really enjoy Lindy Fralin pickups? They are out of my budget ☹️😤

UPDATE for NOVO ordering, They have a SELECT series that takes 4-6 weeks to get to your door!!!!! not months but weeks!!!

Gorgeous guitar. And I love the sound. Not entirely sold on the glitter, but not enough that I wouldn't buy it because of it. I just wouldn't add that as a feature if I was customizing.

I’m so in love with the way it sounds and looks, I want one so bad it’s a shame that it’s pretty expensive for me right now 😓

I had the impression those guitars are massive. Really great tone outta that thing!

I thinks there’s something to the reclaimed / aged wood concept. The sound is there. Killer sound, really. And what more is there? Looks, I guess. And on looks I think the Fano-branded guitars win out. A clean gf6, hard to beat that.

It’s cool but I’m guessing you don’t keep it long..

I'm not a fan of the body design, but it sounds nice and by the way you described the neck, it should feel good.

wow that looks really cool.

That is a cool guitar. Great color.

You should try and get a Kauer guitar on

I was here on warmoth's website configuring a tele with the same exact layout lol

You desperately need a Tom Anderson. Best bolt on guitars on the market IMO.

Not my thing at all, the shape or the pait, but cool review.

is the neck pickup position 3 or 4?

I want to hate the shape, but I just.....like it.

Want a sevenstring novo !!!!!

Cool feature - you can get all your money back and then some , if you’re not happy with it 👍🏻

Really appreciate the review Chris. Still fail to understand the hype around these guitars. Nicely made, but EXTREMELY conservative-they could basically have been made in the 1950s from what I can see. But this is coming from a guy who plays Steinbergers and thinks the guitar world has been going backwards rather than forwards pretty much ever since...What's the neck radius?

When I see the guitar (which I love btw) I just think Rhett Shull.

@The Guitar Pit : Just flip it for you paid for it, and spec out of new one more to your liking.

Chris can you do amp review amps i see you change amps but never talk about them?

I have a Serus T. Will never sell it.

People bored with standard shapes should go Boyarsky or similar ^^ but honestly - when is the Metro D review? (scnr)

Headstock looks like my grandmas shoe 😭

Can you say novo headstock without giggling?

Who knows what people will think about Novo guitars say 20 years from now

Yes, they are unique, but i just think they’re ugly, 😂 I don’t get it, honestly. It’s like the ultimate offset for a trust-fund hipster. I appreciate you covering all these high end brands Chris, it gives us regular folk a chance to check them out as well. Nice Two Rock Flex btw 😂, did Cheddar peer pressure you into pulling the trigger? 🤣

Novo looks cool, and I'm sure they're good instruments, but I think they are WAY overhyped right now. There are plenty of comparable guitars that are easier to find, play better, and don't sell for ridiculous prices.

It's definitely "a thing." Not my kind of thing, but a thing. I like a relic that has wear marks where your hands and arm constantly make contact with it, but not one that looks like someone chained it to the back of a truck and drove up and down gravel roads all night....I'd rather save 800 to a grand and get a Friedman any day.

LOL...wtf were they thinking with that hideous horn shape and "speckles" that look like sand glued to a wet mess? People will spend an extra $500+ for an expert luthier to artlessly apply fake wear&tear that looks like what a monkey with a can of krylon could do in about ten minutes. _Send 'em my way! Discount relic'ing at yer soy-viss!_

Killer tones and I dig the shape... but that finish is not for me, lol. It looks like a worn fence that has overspray on it from an ill thought out DIY project. I like relics that look like they are honest. This one is past the line for me.

painful to watch

They are a pine block, super unimpressed

Everything about a Novo screams 'trying too hard' to me. However, I still want one like you wouldn't believe!

Novo guitars are the ugliest and stupidest guitars ever made. Whoever came up with the idea and shape of it , has a problem with esthetics : it's way too big, uncomfortable just to look at it, let alone holding it in hands. It is a display of bad taste all over and I cannot understand those that sing praises to it. It also sounds crap.

I built guitars for a number of years and just never had the heart to do a finish like this. It felt like I would be destroying my work, I just couldn't do it. I know these are great guitars, and lots of people like the aged or relic look of a ACTUAL vintage guitar...so do I, I just believe it has to be earned, like faded jeans. I long assumed that builders just do this with guitars whose finish has gotten screwed up, this is a way to salvage it without a complete strip & sand down, but it does seem to be an intentional thing.