Novo Custom Idris H2 w/ Fralin Modern PAF’s – Starry Night

Information

Brand New w/ Warranty. We are an authorized Novo Dealer.

Like what you see? All photos are of the exact instrument you will receive.

What Does Josh Think?

The Idris HH has some serious mojo and begs you to dig in. Yet no matter how hard you play it, you’ll find it is nearly impossible to knock this thing out of tune. The nut slots are perfectly cut, and the MannMade tremolo both feels smooth and returns to “zero” every time.

The Fralin Modern PAF’s have the muscle to push an amp into glorious, sweetly-compressed breakup. But they have a softer and more nuanced side on tap as well. Roll back the volume or lighten the pick attack to put more emphasis on the string attack. And to take it a step further, Novo has the guitar wired with mini toggles to individually switch each pickup from coils-in-series to coils-in-parallel configuration.

In standard series configuration, the neck position is fat and throaty. Think warm jazz tones or big, soaring leads. Flip the series/parallel switch and you’ll trigger an open midrange that makes way for a dreamlike sparkle, even while retaining the big bottom end inherent of a good neck position.

The bridge pickup has a perfect grind all the way from the lows to the highs. And man, it has energy. It really likes an amp with some dirt, and will send you into that territory a bit quicker than a true vintage wind pickup. There’s not a frequency that’s missing, and a strum of a big chord will reflect that with balanced articulation across all strings.

Without even realizing it, you’ll be enjoying the contribution of the ebony fretboard as it tightens up the notes and accentuates their knockout punch. Of course, you have a coils-in-parallel option on the bridge pickup as well if you want a softer, more single coil vibe. And this will be a thicker take on that vs. a coil split, so you’ll find it very usable.

One of my favorite tones comes from putting the neck in parallel mode and flipping the 3-way switch to the middle position. It delivers a great blend of the two pickups delivering their own unique tonal contributions… the snappier coils-in-parallel tone of the neck pickup and the thick grunt of the bridge in normal coils-in-series operation. But play around and find the combinations that work for you, because you have eight different options at your fingertips!

How Does It Play?

We spec’d this beauty with a medium C neck paired with jumbo frets. It’s fast and easy to navigate, but maintains a vintage feel through and through. The ebony fretboard is as smooth as the sanded down back of the maple neck. The guitar is free of buzz up and down the entirety its twenty-two frets, with the string action hovering just around 4/64” at the 12^th fret.

Weight: 7.7lb

The Novo Deluxe Padded Soft Case pictured is included!

Specifications

Finish: Starry Night

Distress Level: Medium

Body Wood: Tempered Pine

Neck Wood: Tempered Maple, 4/4

Fingerboard Wood: Ebony

Inlays: MOTO Dots

Neck Shape: Medium C (.830")

Scale Length: 25.5”

Nut Width: 1.65”

Fingerboard Radius: 9.5"-14"

Frets: (JUM- N/S) .110 X .057 Jescar 57110

Pickups: Fralin Modern PAFs (pair)

Pickup Covers: Nickel

Pickguard: 3-Ply Black

Bridge: MannMade Vibrato

Knobs: Black

Mini Toggles: 2x series/parallel switch

Switch Tip: Black

Strings: Stringjoy 10-48

Case: Novo Deluxe Padded Soft Case

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