Moffa Mithra Violin Burst

I'll be blunt; I just love this guitar. This is the second Mithra, in the new violin burst finish, to arrive this year. It's just an awesome guitar. Nico really nailed it!

I'm very partial to builders who have a deep understanding of a player's needs. These days, there are many fine young builders who are making well-crafted (and beautiful) guitars but have very little experience making fine guitars for those of us who really PLAY. Nico Moffa, on the other hand, has a well-deserved reputation for building guitars for some of the finest players in the world, artists like Kurt Rosenwinkle and Wolfgang Muthspiel (try to say that 10 times quickly). Moffa guitars answer the needs of musicians who require a guitar for a particular musical situation - and Moffa does this with the amazing skill of an old world artisan. D'Aquisto, Benedetto, and D'Angelico would find much to love in his guitars.

Moffa's newest model, the Mithra, is his expression of semi-acoustic excellence. Mithra, by the way, is a Zoroastrian angelic divinity - and angelic is a word that is completely apt for this beauty. It's just simply one of the finest small body jazz, fusion, blues guitars I've played. Ever. Unlike a traditional semi that uses a center block, Nico has, brilliantly, created a thinner depth hand-tuned archtop with extended parallel bracing that connects the top to the back. The result is an instrument that's sonically alive and superbly balanced when plugged in.

The woody quality is always present. It's incredibly versatile and a complete inspiration to play. The neck is a seductively carved elliptical C that fits perfectly in your hand. It is definitely made by someone who has had a tremendous amount experience with fine players and their needs. The fit and finish are all first rank. From the hand made pickups, to the smallest capacitors, Nico only uses the best of the best.

Here is the icing on the cake though; this guitar is a thing of stand-alone beauty, something that a collector of fine artisanal objects would immediately appreciate. From the violin-like extended bindings, to the warm glow of its hand-rubbed unique bursted varnish finish, to the master grade woods, it's all here in a seductive (in every aspect - from playing to aesthetics), perfect package.

As its name implies, it's divine. My only wish is that I could get more of these gems. It's here, at least for now.

If you'd like to find out more about this item, just call or e-mail me. It would be my pleasure to talk to you about it.

ABOUT MOFFA GUITARS
Nico Moffa's guitars were first noticed when Kurt Rosenwinkel started playing them. Nico comes (in the craftsmanship sense) from the long tradition of Italian violin and cello making. His aim is to give guitars the nobility of those instruments - in their pure acoustic sound, and in their aesthetics as well. He favors minimal elegance - no fretboard dots, no inlays (whether mother of pearl or plastic), and you can see the elegance radiating from the instrument. It’s simply a beautiful object. But beyond that, Nico’s finishes are recipes based on those used for violins, cellos, etc., as he believes that is the best means of allowing the wood to resonate at its best. Further, the colors are natural and obtained from vegetable extracts, which allows for great nuance. Beyond that, the color and the finish are a complete entity - there’s no “paint” involved. Those finishes, in Nico’s opinion, give the instrument a warmth that is more typical of the way instruments used to be made. A pre-industrial look, as it were. The guitars themselves, while crafted following traditional means are anything but that in use.