What is it?
Nik Huber's guitar-making career has thus far been a home run. Every one of his electric guitar designs, whether they are putting a very unique spin on a 50s classic or offering contemporary boutique opulence.
Not to spoil the ending of the review – and besides, the verdict is up top with the score – Huber's Piet, named after his son, continues in this vein. It's an intoxicating format, a bolt-on offset that's imaginatively contoured for the forearm and rib. In green turquoise semi-gloss it is a work of art.
The Piet is the first Huber bolt-on without a carved top and borrows judiciously from classic designs to create something that is fresh and new yet feels of a previous era.
It has a Tele vibe about it. The a Mastery bridge and vibrato that recalls the Jazzmaster and Jaguar. The pickguard looks like it could have come off a Les Paul Junior. The Harry Häussel Broad-N at the neckbridge pickup delivers P-90 soapbar-style tones with a gold-foil aesthetic – a touch of well-heeled pawnshop kitsch to give you the impression that the Piet is your secret, a mythical gear discovery the likes we dream about.
The waist is off-set, so, again, we think of the Jazz/Jag continuum and how fashionably now this is, but no one is going to mistake the Piet as a pastiche of either. You have a choice of tonewoods. Of the two we have in for review, the turquoise green model has a solid alder body while the sunburst is built from solid okoume.
Both have bolt-on, vintage-tinted quarter-sawn maple necks in the same profile as Huber's Twangmaster. It's a deep neck, rounding out to a soft V. This is where a lot of your money goes; it's a wonder of guitar engineering, with a tongue that extends right out under the neck pickup and is screwed to be the body via five screws and a recessed neck plate. It's thick, 25.5mm at the 12th fret, but feels incredible.
The three-a-side headstock might require a double take on a bolt-on like this but the back angle ensures that the strings pass over the bone nut perfectly, and with those quality Gotoh tuners, you'll have no tuning problems here. Everything is in balance. The setup? Perfect.
Performance and verdict
The Piet is all about comfort and infinite musical possibilities. There's a compound 10- 14" radius fretboard that again confounds expectations of how a bolt-on offset might feel. The fingerboard sides are a little more square than on worn-in vintage Fenders.
The tone will stop you in your tracks. The neck pickup has a depth to it, but with an exceptionally glassy clarity that is very much like a Strat – a good one, at that – while the bridge pickup takes that clarity but levels it off a bit with more oomph in the lower frequencies.
• Nik Huber Dolphin Surfmeister
Given its stunning quality, fabulous looks and effortless operation, we'd say it's worth every penny. From form to function we can't fault it, and if the idea of something a little different floats your boat, too, get saving because every one of these beauties that hits our shores will be snapped up like there's no tomorrow.
• Nik Huber Krautster
With its big neck, single pickup and volume control the Krautster is quite an uncompromising guitar. Yet it's quite liberating too: you just get on with playing and the sound remains raw, gutsy but with enough 'Fender' in the mix to give it added clarity and sparkle: its own voice. It's a great rock guitar that you just want to play. Loudly.
The body woods make a difference, too. It is very noticeable that the okoume model has a more pronounced midrange than the almost scooped tones of the alder model. Both are exceptional in terms of articulation and note definition in chords, but it's worth bearing this innate tonal difference when ordering. Either way, you're in for a treat; it just depends what flavour you're after.
The Mastery bridge is a lot of fun. Through a dimed amp with some choice effects you could get all sorts of crazy tones from plucking behind the bridge. Perhaps the Piet is aimed for the more radical boutique guitar buyer. Though the Piet foregoes the wacky controls of, say, Jazzmaster, preferring master volume, master tone and a three-way selector.
It also has less of the body mass of its more famous offset kin and would definitely suit those with a smaller frame. The Piet very much feels a part of you, as a great guitar should, and its effortless charm would suit a wide variety of players who are looking for an unorthodox workhorse.
Of course, guitar like this do not come cheap, even if it is one of the most affordable models Huber makes. But it is truly exceptional.
MusicRadar verdict: The Piet brings together many of Nik Huber's design influences in one unique offset solidbody that is super-playable and will challenge expectations, inspiring new musical ideas along the way.
Hands-on demos
Guitarist
Specifications
Nik Huber Piet #0 3263
- PRICE: £3,745 (inc case)
- ORIGIN: Germany
- TYPE: Single-cutaway solidbody electric
- BODY: Red alder
- NECK: 1-piece maple, Twangmeister ‘standard V’ profi le, bolt-on
- SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
- NUT/WIDTH: Bone/42.39mm
- FINGERBOARD: East Indian rosewood, sterling silver ring inlays, compound 254-356mm (10-14”) radius
- FRETS: 22, medium
- HARDWARE: Mastery MV vibrato and M1 bridge w/ MT stainless thimbles, Nik Huber logo’d Gotoh 510 opengear tuners with keystone buttons
- STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 52mm
- ELECTRICS: Häussel P-90 ‘foil style’ single coil at bridge, Häussel Broad-N at neck, 3-way lever pickup selector switch, master volume and tone control
- WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.24/7.13
- OPTIONS: The base price is £2,676. Upcharges here are the Mastery vibrato (£595), vintage neck tint (£237) and custom color (£237). Other options (£POA)
- RANGE OPTIONS: The other bolt-on is the Twangmeister from £3,226
- LEFT-HANDERS: Yes, same price
- FINISHES: Custom green turquoise semi gloss (as reviewed) with vintage tint neck – nitro colour and clear coats (body); thin satin nitro (neck)
Nik Huber Piet #0 3290
- PRICE: £3,508 (inc case)
- ORIGIN: Germany
- TYPE: Single-cutaway solidbody electric
- BODY: Okoume
- NECK: 1-piece maple, Twangmeister ‘standard V’ profi le, bolt-on
- SCALE LENGTH: 648mm (25.5”)
- NUT/WIDTH: Bone/42.39mm
- FINGERBOARD: East Indian rosewood, sterling silver ring inlays, compound 254-356mm (10-14”) radius
- FRETS: 22, medium (Dunlop 6105-style)
- HARDWARE: Mastery MV vibrato and M1 bridge w/ MT stainless thimbles, Nik Huber logo’d Gotoh 510 open-gear tuners with keystone buttons
- STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 52mm
- ELECTRICS: Häussel P-90 ‘foil style’ single coil at bridge, Häussel Broad-N at neck, 3-way lever pickup selector switch, master volume and tone control
- WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.24/7.13
- OPTIONS: Starting price is £2,676. Optional extras here are the Mastery vibrato (£595) and vintage neck tint (£237). Other options see above.
- RANGE OPTIONS: See Piet #0 3263
- LEFT-HANDERS: Yes, same price
- FINISHES: Sunburst open-pore (as reviewed) with vintage tint neck – thin satin nitro
- CONTACT: Nik Huber Guitars
