Hand-crafted in a small village on the Slovenian-Austrian border, these swamp ash beauties look to pair premium specs with premium aesthetics
(Image credit: Mithans Guitars)
Slovenian luthier Mithans Guitars has added two new electric guitars to its boutique Bristol range – and they are rather stunning indeed.
The Bristol and Bristol Special variants are both ST models in look and feel, featuring bodies carved from swamp ash, premium roasted flame maple necks and ebony fretboards.
They both offer HSS configurations with hand-wound Mithans-brand pickups, with D.A.S. PAF'59s in the bridge, and DAS ST'69 single-coils in the middle and neck positions.
These are controlled by Fender-style volume and tone controls, as well as a conventional five-way selector switch.
Gotoh hardware, including a Wilkinson bridge and locking tuners, are present on both builds. Mithans has opted for gold hardware for the regular Bristol, and silver for its Special sibling.
They also share the same 25.5” scale length, with stainless steel frets adorning those ebony 'boards. Zero frets, a TUSQ XL nut and string trees are common across both builds, too.
Elsewhere, brass side dots with wooden inlays, and a custom mother-of-pearl ‘tree of life’ inlay at the 12th fret also help give these guitars unique detailing. Notably, both also boast reverse headstocks.
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Mithans Bristol (Image credit: Mithans Guitars)
The main difference between the two models is aesthetics. Where the Bristol contrasts its gold hardware with a Charcoal finish and white knobs, the silver hardware of the Special stands out against its Black finish and eye-catching burl pickguard, as well as its more subtle black knobs.
The results are two guitars that Mithans says offer “a trademark blend of sound and playability”. Handcrafted in chief luthier Mitja Mithans’ custom shop, they're priced at $2,510 (Swamp Ash) and $2,409 (Special).
Mithans has been creating boutique guitars since 2015, with the company's builds made from carefully selected woods and high-end hardware.
Mithans Bristol Special (Image credit: Mithans Guitars)
Based in the small Slovenian village of Zgornja Kungota, which nestles close to the border with Austria, Mithans' builds are built with blues and rock players in made.
The firm's latest ST-style builds follow its Les Paul-inspired, birch burl-topped Valira model, as well as the sleek semi-hollow single-cut Madeira.
A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
