Momose MJM1-STD/NJ, candy apple green relic, made in Japan 2018. Momose is the limited run, custom shop style offering under the Deviser umbrella of brands, which includes legendary acoustic builders Headway and Topshelf favourite Bacchus. When they say 'custom craft guitars', they mean it: a customer orders the guitar and then waits for the build. Named after legendary master luthier Yasuo Momose, these guitars are all made completely by hand by a team that all trained under Yasuo himself. They don't use CNC routers: the hand selected bodies and necks are shaped, sanded and finished by hand... everything is done the slow, time-honoured, careful way. Working wood by hand requires the luthiers to pay special attention when selecting timber for each part of a guitar, so the quality of materials utilised are truly top notch. First: the neck. It's a slim vintage C style shape, carved from a beautiful chocolate brown piece of Madagascar rosewood and premium hard rock maple. The grain on the maple is extremely tight and consistent and the thin nitro finish feels great to the touch, so it has that certain magic that only comes from the best ingredients. The body is pretty light at 3.5kg, around half a kilo lighter than is typical of a JM style guitar. It's very resonant and responsive in the hands, the unplugged volume is immediately apparent. It's hard to describe just how great this feels in the hands, but it's probably the best Jazzmaster I've ever played and would easily go toe-to-toe with stuff from Fender Custom Shop. Momose do their own pickups in house, so this has a pair of their Hot Rod JM single coils. They're a proper vintage style pancake wind, but with a little extra wire to add just a little extra oomph through the lows. They're paired with high grade pots, caps and cloth wire to get your notes out truly. The tone is hectic: the rhythm circuit is dark and swampy, with a bluesy growl bustling with gooey warmth. The lead circuit is markedly brighter, with a sparkling top end with outstanding dynamic range, a chewy midrange with complexity to burn and a punchy attack that stays clear no matter how much gain or ambience to throw at it. Now, that finish: I'm generally not a relic guy, but if it's going to look as good as this... sign me up. The green is deep and alluring, with a subtle metallic shimmer and the certain softness nitro adds to the way it catches the light. And the matching headstock... dang. Needless to say, it's a non-catalog finish and is very likely to be one-of-one ever made. So hey, I saw this pop up in Japan and absolutely had to have it in the shop, so don't make a fool of me by leaving this unreasonably exquisite jewel here for too long. Bravo Yasuo.

Model: Momose MJM1-STD/NJ
Made: Japan, circa 2018 (serial 9882)
Finish: candy apple green metallic, gloss nitro topcoat, light relic processing
Body:  alder, two-piece centre join
Weight: 3.455kg
Neck: maple, Madagascar rosewood fretboard, 25.5" scale, 8.25" radius, vintage C shape
Mods: none
Pickups: Momose Hot Rod JM single coil x2
Case: deluxe Momose case

Cosmetic condition notes: relic finish wear. Being a relic style finish, it's a little hard to know what was there 'at birth' and what is normal play wear, so we'll just note a few key points. The headstock has dimples on the end. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor rub wear on the back only. The back and sides have relic treatment but no major marks that don't appear to be part of the finish. The front has some standard play wear on the guard and horns as well as the relic treatment, no major marks. Overall: excellent condition (9/10)

Playing condition notes: Neck is straight, action is low, intonation is good, truss rod works. All electrics tested and working properly. The frets have minor wear only, 9/10 for fret life left. Wearing fresh 11/49 Moonshiners strings.