PRODUCT REVIEW
comprised of a laminate of mahogany, rosewood and maple that gives the guitar an
attractive appearance and prominent acoustic tone. The one-piece, solid mahogany
back is more than 20 years old, features a
tummy cut and is finished with three coats
of urethane in an opaque brown vintage
tint. Atop the mahogany body sits a 1/8"
rosewood slab followed by a 3/8", two-piece
bookmatched figured maple top. The top
is finished in a very subtle blue burst (yes,
I know that sounds like an oxymoron) that
starts with an aqua hue and darkens to a
Caribbean blue that accentuates the beveled
edge of the top—which is carved in perfect
unison with the dual ebony carved pinstripes
that frame the top. Overall, it’s an impressive
feat of craftsmanship.
Likewise, through the expert use of taping,
the sides of the guitar give off the appearance of having a six-layer, wood-striped
binding from the three wood types used in
the laminate body. This deft execution of
scraped binding also adorns the fretboard
and headstock. The urethane-finished neck
is also an attractive tonewood laminate, featuring five layers in total and comprised of
mahogany, curly maple and wenge. The neck
is topped with 22 6105-sized nickel-silver
frets, and features an ample ebony fingerboard with shell dot inlays best described
as “companion dots.” The headstock shape
approximates the body profile and features
a figured maple matching headstock veneer.
The hand-shaped, 12"-radius neck has the
feel of a ’59-style carve, but with a little
more taper. It meets the body at the 15th
fret. The dual-action truss rod is accessed at
the headstock through a handcarved rosewood and maple cover.
The guitar is voiced with three chrome-covered Lindy Fralin Humbuckers—a 7.5K
Pure PAF model in the neck, a 13.5K High
Output Humbucker model in the middle
and an 8.0K Pure PAF model in the bridge.
This seemingly unorthodox pickup combination of vintage and high-output models is
another smart design decision. To enhance
playability, Mellozzo purposely lowered the
hotter middle pickup to create more picking space while maintaining output balance
amongst the pickups. The humbuckers are
wired to a 5-way Switchcraft switch as follows: pos. 1, bridge, full humbucking, series;
pos. 2, neck and middle, both pickups full
humbucking, parallel; pos. 3, middle, full
humbucking, series; pos. 4, neck and middle,
both pickups full humbucking, parallel; and
pos. 5, neck pickup, full humbucking, series.
I’m a fan of unsplit humbucker combinations
and was glad to see them incorporated in
the Classic’s design. That said, I did experience volume loss in positions 2 and 4, which
according to Mellozzo has been addressed
on new guitars going forward.
The guitar has some innovative design ele-
ments that are precisely executed. For
example, the strings are strung through the
lower end of the instrument at a 12-degree
pitch to match the 12-degree pitch of the
headstock. The added six inches of string
length and symmetrical string pull certainly
contribute to the resonance and sustain of
the guitar. These sonic properties also appear
to be augmented by the modified neck-
through design, where the neck is set into
the body up to the bridge prior to the top
being installed. The handcarved rosewood
and maple laminated control knobs, truss rod
cover and pickup surrounds are nice design
touches that are functional and add to the
guitar’s attractive color palette. The strings
pass over a chrome Tune-o-matic bridge and
a 1-11/16" black Earvana nut, and anchor
into a set of locking chrome Sperzel tuners.
One of my few nits with the guitar was that
I noticed some glue residue around the nut,
which had some sharp edges that could’ve
been softened. The chrome strap buttons
pair well with the chrome Switchcraft side-
mounted input jack. The size of the neck
joint, along with the location of the strap but-
ton set into it, did hamper upper fret access,
but it’s my understanding that Mellozzo is
addressing both of these issues on future
models. Lastly, the Nikita signature on the
back of the neck joint is classy touch.
PREMIER GUITAR APRIL 2010 171
The high degree of craftsmanship embodied by
the Classic model translates into an instrument
that has exceptional natural sustain and tone.
The guitar is lightweight, resonant and
