Mine was handmade in 1998 by Ralph himself (Mr. Ralph Novak, his name be praised ;-) and is a solid body laminate mix of German spruce back and Australian lacewood with a sliver of black maple inbetween; stain/finish is natural and satin --- no modern gloss here, thank God.
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The neck is Ralph's patented fanned fret masterpiece; variable scale length, fairly flat in radius, with jumbo frets, and made from a single piece of mahogany; very comfortable and playable if you like more of a classical flat thin neck feel...which I do. While the Novax neck took some getting used to, it was more optical than anything else; as long as I didn't look at it, it was perfect. After a little while though, it was effortless.
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Electronics feature two pots only and a 5-way selector switch which is all that clutters this stunning instrument or saps its strength; well, that and the two beautifully subtle active/passive Bartolini pickups (switchable via tone pot push/pull; really nice feature and would highly recommend opting for this option). Bridge is made up of individual bridges for each string anchored into the guitar body side-by-side, yet not touching each other. The tone this provides is awesome and unrivaled in all my other custom and vintage instruments.
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Body style is smaller and more aggressive than I prefer; much like a Strat, only thinner and more ergonomic with a more pronounced upper and trimmed lower horns (see http://www.novaxguitars.com)...yet it has grown on me.
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Tuners are grover-type and non-locking...sorry, haven't made the jump to locking hyperspace yet and like my tuners old school.
Bartolinis. Jazz. Full. Rich. And, with the push-pull passive/active electronics, it's as cutting as it is mellow and warm. I could not ask for more in a solid-body jazz guitar...hollow body for that matter either --- [NOTE: I didn't sell my vintage '69 Gibby Jazzbox because I needed the money for this guitar, I sold it AFTER I bought the Novax because I no longer needed it.]
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I play it clean through a high-end acoustic amp set-up. It can handle jazz, blues and pretty much anything else I choose to put through it --- haven't tried country or punk because who could do that to a custom jazz guitar ;-)
Set up was great from Novax, Ralph Novak; a person not a factory --- (special "thank you" goes out to Ralph and all custom shops for being so old school). Also love the big fat jumbo frets with the 11s I'm currently running on it, although am tempted to go heavier. Pickups are perfect. Finish is flawless and the lacewood is as ear-catching as it is beautiful to look at.
While the natural oil satin finish may not take the abuse more glossy non-natural finishes may provide, it is far superior in tone. And I'm not planning on destroying stage sets or Marshal stacks with it either, so I think it'll do just fine.
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Yes, I suppose I could gig with it without a backup, but I usually bring a backup so as not to inconvenience the audience while changing strings or what not.
If you've ever dealt with a "company" (fill in the blank with any number of big-brand guitar mills), then you know some are good and some aren't...but they are "companies." With Novax, you deal with a person. When I call Novax, I get to speak with Ralph; the guy who designed my instrument; the guy that invented it, patented it, and actually built it from beginning to end. Big difference than dealing with a "company." If there was a rating higher than 10, I'd give it. Since there isn't, I'll just let you sense how pleased I am.
Learned a little from my father growing up, but took to the piano and left the guitar far behind. Bought my first guitar a few years ago and went through about a dozen before this Novax. This guitar stays. Have reduced my guitar stable substantially because of this guitar. It does what the others used to do...or try to do as well. Blues, Jazz and contemporary cross-over jazz is what I do...and this Novax helps me do it more effortlessly than the many guitars that have come and gone before. Sorta like the perfect girlfriend...only she doesn't mind when I play my Tele every now and then ;-)
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