Moffa Maestro Archtop (store owned)

The 16" Maestro is Moffa's most traditional archtop model.

This is a great guitar.

I’m very fortunate to have owned some of the world’s best, most sought after archtops ever made.  I know my way around this kind of guitar so I hope you’ll trust me when I say that Domenico Moffa is an archtop master. Nico appeared on the scene fully formed, and all of his talents are immediately apparent.

This guitar has all the traditional archtop beauty and flair, yet at the same time, has perfectly modern playability.  It has a wonderfully shaped C profile neck that any electric player will immediately feel right at home with. The taper of the neck has an ineffable bloom to it as it gets closer to the heel – something I’ve felt on vintage Gibsons and Fenders.

The hand rubbed satin finish on the neck plays smooth and fast.  It’s as gorgeous to feel as the guitar is to look at.

And the sound is just outstanding. Acoustically, it’s warm, woody, yet with great punch and volume.  Electrically, it rates as one of the most usable floating pickup set ups I’ve ever encountered.  Not only is the pickup itself exquisite; the volume and tone controls are equally fine. Nico clearly gets the “electric” part of archtops as well.

This guitar is very light for a handcarved archtop and the top and back are stunningly hand graduated. For anyone – and I do mean anyone – interested in a modern archtop, you have to check this beauty out.

Bottom line: I think that Moffa is one of the most talented archtop builders on the scene today.  I’m not alone. The jazz guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkle thinks so, too.  Here’s what he says about Nico: "Domenico Moffa is a luthier of the highest order. His instruments are beautiful in every way. They sound as good as they look and they look as good as they sound. I often behold the guitar he built for me in awe. The craftsmanship is nothing short of stunning. And the sound and playability? Impeccable, natural, dynamic, beautiful. I am a great admirer of Nico's. I highly recommend checking out his guitars.”

I agree. Give me a call, or set up an appointment to check it out in person.

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.