How Did You First Discover EBMM Guitars?

[Volt]

Apologies if this is a recent repost. Delete as is appropriate.

<Skip to the bottom for the Ritalin version.>

The Long Story:
I just got back into playing guitar this past January while recovering from injury. I had hung-up my guitars waaaay back in 1981 because of burn-out and from being tired of starving and going nowhere. Such is life, it was a great experience and was fun most of the time. Needless to say I'm plenty rusty. lol

Back in about February while I was searching YouTube for different versions of the old Beatles classic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" I came across Toto's live version. I noticed Luke playing a guitar that I first thought was a Strat, but it had a strange headstock and obviously wasn't one. (I was veeeery impressed with the guitar solos and this version remains my favorite.)

A month or so later I see Albert playing on the Crossroads 2007 DVD that a friend turned me on to and his guitar had the same unfamiliar headstock as Luke's.
I did some research and the rest is history.

Ritalin Version:
Saw Luke, saw AL, both were playing an unknown (to me) brand of guitar. Researched, found Ernie Ball Music Man guitars. Became happier.

Got a story?

 

[Sweat]

Fairly simple, knew of the EB strings because thats what I have always used, saw a EBMM display at the Dallas Guitar Festival a few years back and saw my first Musicman guitars, very impressed but at that time out of my league, went to GC to buy a new guitar at Christmas in 2006 and there was a Luke staring me down, tried it out, bought it and been buying and selling EBMM since then, had the pleasure of many in my hands all are great but almost there with my personal favs

 

[MGD326]

I was taken in by the early Steve Morse ads in the late '80s. Just never bought anything from Ernie Ball, I've been so taken by the vintage styled stuff that I never looked to any other companies. Now, age 34, with a bunch of Fender stuff, I feel bored with the old and ready for the new!

 

[DJ.]

From watching Steuart Smith on the Eagles Farewell I Tour DVD and listening to the tones he was getting from the EBMM guitars he was playing, especially the ASS.

 

[hbucker]

Early 90's. Edward Van Halen and his signature model.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

Wow, Volt. Reading the beginning of your story, I thought you had somehow ripped off my story before I had a chance to tell it!

Sometime in the early 80's I decided to go back to college and did some guitar playing now and then.....but it took a definate back seat.

Fast forward to January this year. My 7 year old had wanted to take guitar lessons a year ago and the lesson shop convinced my wife at that time that he should take keyboard instead. She went along with them and told him that if he wanted to do guitar after a year, he could. He's got a very good memory and almost to the day, reminded my wife of this as 07 ended. He started lessons just after the first of the year.

While he practiced, I would work with him, but found that I was useless unless I had my guitar, so pulled it out from under the bed. Soon after that, while watching a Guns n' Roses video on Youtube, saw in the "related" a guitar lesson by Justin Sandercoe. I clicked it...curious...he does the slash lead and thought "I can do that". Got my guitar out...learned it. I was hooked from there.

Forward to February, when I discovered Guitar Center. I'm trying out different guitars with the.....maybe 4 songs I had picked up. Behind me and my son was a guy playing some really, really great leads and getting unbelievable sound out of the amp he was using. When he put the guitar back on the rack and left, I went over and pulled it down, hooked it up and played it. It was an Axis Super Sport. I found that I could play those 4 songs better than I could on other guitars. I didn't know why, but did do some back to back with other ones and sure enough, it played better.

In April, I bought a Sub1 for short money. Later, after buying/selling a number of guitars since then, this month, I picked up an Axis Supersport owned by at least 2 prior forum members.

jack

 

[mb99zz]

Early 90's. Edward Van Halen and his signature model.

+1

 

[brasco68]

Early 90's. Edward Van Halen and his signature model.

+2

 

[Possessed]

EVH and Vinnie moore
Besides, Neil Zaza

 

[73h Nils]

I'm a relative noob to guitar playing in general, so when I saw Live at Budokan by Dream Theater in 2005, my life began. It inspired me so much, I decided to learn guitar. The rest is history.

I am so glad I decided to buy that DVD.

 

[GuitarHack]

Early 90's. Edward Van Halen and his signature model.

+3, but I backed into Music Man from Peavey. My wife bought me a Wolfgang for Christmas 1999, that led to my interest in the Axis.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

+3, but I backed into Music Man from Peavey. My wife bought me a Wolfgang for Christmas 1999, that led to my interest in the Axis.

+4 - EVH is the only reason I discovered EBMM.

 

[travs]

Flea playing bass and Edward with the trans color axis. 18 years later I own a fine Albert.

 

[Pablo]

Well, my first guitar was a piss poor MM EVH ripoff... so that was it, really! Other than the EVH siggy, I fell asleep watching German television late one night in '94 or '95, but awoke to the sound of amazing guitar playing, coming from a guy with curly hair playing a guitar with the unmistakable MM headstock... Yup, it was Luke with Los Lobotomys!

Cheers

Eske

 

[Astrofreq]

+5

 

[( o )===#]

John Petrucci.

 

[Roubster]

It was definitely Steve Morse for me. My friend turned me on to Deep Purple in 99, and thats where it began. I gave up Metallica and started listening to instrumental guitar music, and progressively found a lot of the other guys I liked happened to play EBMMs as well. My first one was in 2005, and in total have had 4.

 

[ScoobySteve]

Saw Dream Theater live, wondered what that lovely chameleon like paint job was all about.

Then voi-la!

Music Man heaven.

 

[DaPatrooch]

I had always listened to Van Halen since my dad is a big classic rock fan, and it is only natural that I fell in love with music. I got a Van Halen live DVD from Netflix a couple years ago, when I first started playing, and I saw Ed playing his signature guitar, with that 4 on 2 headstock. It said Ernie Ball Music Man on the it, and I thought it was the coolest guitar ever (still do). I had always used Ernie Ball strings, and I knew about the Sting Ray because it is a very popular bass.

Then about a year later, my cousin was like, "Dude, you've got to check out this band. They're so awesome!" It was Dream Theater, who later became my favorite band. I borrowed his Live at Budokan DVD, and saw John Petrucci using EBMM guitars. His guitars just looked so amazing to me. They just looked like they were made to riff and shred on. So I went on the internet to see if it was a regular model or signature model, and I came across his signature model. Ever since that time, I've wanted one.

Then last summer, I asked my dad to take me to Guitar Center because I was bored. He had been wanting to go too, so he took me. I was walking around, and I looked over and saw a Rosewood ASS, humbuckers and hardtail bridge. I got really excited and started playing it. It was plugged into a Marshall combo, and even though Marshalls aren't really my thing, it sounded unbelievable. The neck was the greatest I'd ever played, and it looked so beautiful. I remember playing a riff from John Petrucci's Damage Control, and I couldn't believe how great it sounded for that kind of music. I also played some Van Halen stuff, some DT stuff, and just messed around basically. I was hooked.

Then a few months ago, I REALLY REALLY wanted to try a Petrucci, and the only place anywhere close to me that had one in stock was New Jersey Guitar and Bass Center, which is about an hour away from where I live. So my dad and I took a ride up there, and I walk in to an entire wall of EBMMs. They had a Petrucci, Luke, EVHs (yeah), an Axis hardtail, a Y2D, Silo 20th, AL, and many more. The JP6 was a 2004 LE Radiance Red with a piezo bridge. Picked it up, sat down through a little Traynor amp (that's all they had). The neck, body, sound, everything were just perfect. It even sounded amazing through that tiny little amp. Messed around with the piezo, which I was extremely impressed with, and I think I just stared at the thing for about 5 minutes. The only bad part was that it's a small place, and they're VERY careful with all their stuff, so I had a sales guy up my ass the whole time, which was kinda uncomfortable. Then I grabbed a Luke, and though I didn't like the neck as much, it was still awesome. At that point I couldn't take everyone bein all up in my bidnis, so we left.

Needless to say, I need a JP6 and ASS.

 

[Warg Master]

I actually found a JP at the local guitar center... thought it looked interesting and picked it up..... that was all she wrote! I went into that guitar center at least once a week for about a year and played that very guitar until the last month I went in almost every day for a week..... I bought that guitar... my first musicman!

I didn't even do any research on it in that year nor did I know it was a sig model until after I bought it! After that, I did a lot of Petrucci listening.... I had heard him alot before... but was never truly into his playing until I purchased the guitar.........

It's pretty rare when a guitar gets you interested in the artist rather then the other way around.