How does the newer Majesty guitars compare to the JPXI?

[cbc83]

I adore my JPXI - it's an amazing guitar, and if I'm completely honest, I'll probably never need another guitar.

BUT... That's not how the world works, as we all know.

I recently got some good news (my book is being published), and I might want to celebrate when I get closer to the release date. And as with many of you guys, celebration = new guitar.

There are no (ZERO!) EBMM dealers here in Denmark - and hardly any physical dealers left at all. I can order EBMM guitars from Germany and return them if I don't like them, but I don't intend to start shipping guitars back and forth for months. Therefore, I hope you can help me.

I've been eyeing the Majesties since they came out - how do they compare to the JPXI in terms of sound, playability etc.? Will I miss the 20' radius? Are the necks similar otherwise? Are the new pickups and preamp systems a big improvement? Etc.

5.000$ is a lot for a guitar (the list price for a Majesty here), so it has to be pretty sweet...

 

[johnnyboogie]

The JPXI is considerably heavier. The Majesty feels a lot lighter, especially when you are playing standing up.

The neck on the Majesty is not as thin as on the XI. A bit thicker and rounder.

The active pre-amp, FOR ME, is a downside. Perplexes the guitar electronics a lot more than what it actually offers. Should something happens to those intricate electronics, you don't want anyone other than EBMM to put a hand in there. Not that anyone other than EBMM would know what to do.

 

[thejone]

Hi there cbc83,

congrats on getting your book published. What kind of book is it?
Regarding your question I'd say it is a matter of your feeling. I might be leaning a little bit out of the window here but in my eyes the JPXI is the better guitar for the following reasons:
- Playability: Neck radius and thickness or dare I say thinness is just adorable. The JPXI is the guitar with the best playability
- Guitar construction: Bolt on neck makes repairs easier. In my ears the JPXI has a somewhat better tuning stability compared to the one piece majesties at first. But after a year our so they settle in just fine.
- Complexity of electronics: The electronics on the JPXI are much simpler. Therefore, it can be repaired by everyone, is less likely to fail and the magnetic pickups work even without the battery
- Costs: The JPXI is more affordable
- Sound: The JPXI sounds tighter and harder to my ears. Further, both guitar constructions have a different overtone spectrum. This is only slightly audible when playing regular stuff but it becomes very obvious when you look at what places the guitars have a tendency to go from a picked tone to a more flageolette tone after a while. On the JP construction this happens easily on the 10th fret of the h-string with the neck PU und Birdge PU. On the majesty it happens more on the 11th fret of the g-string with the neck PU. Furthermore, I have the feeling that some slight frequency cancelation is going on the majesty on the high e-string and h-string beyond the 12ths fret but nothing relevant, though. Further, when you roll back the volume at the Neck-PUs used in the majesty you'll get a warmer fuller and quiete sweet sound compared to the LF from the JPXI. In a recording all of the above mentioned things won't matter. I think it would actually pretty hard to tell the guitars apart in a blind test.

Having said all the things above I still think that the majesty is the more exciting guitar. Most of the above mentioned advantages of the JPXI will only be of relevance in very few situations. If you once considered the majesty you will always think about that guitar when you have bought the JPXI. Actually in a couple of years you will propably end up buying both guitars anyway. Until than I would go with the guitar that gives you more inspiration and excitement. That will motivate you to play more and have more fun. The impact of that overweights the playability of a slimmer neck by far in my eyes.
Finally, I have to say what you probably thought about yourself: You can't go wrong with either of the guitars.
So have fun!
Happy new year to everybody!

Regards, J

 

[cbc83]

*Long, detailed, awesome answer

Thanks for the replies, Johnny and J

I already own the JPXI, as I found one used locally, so the Majesty would just be added to the collection (I'd probably sell my old 2005 JP6).

I second all the great stuff you said of the JPXI!

Both of you mention the more complex electronics of the Majesty, which is also why I never really considered the JP15s, though they look gorgeous.

I might have to take the 15 hour drive at some point to the German dealer and try the Majesties out first...

 

[thejone]

Hey cbc83,

I have not properly read your first post. Sorry for that. However, many things I posted might still be helpful to you I hope. Regarding the JP15, it has an updated pre-amp including the boost function and is not working without batteries. The jacks are reversed compared to your JP6. I would not recommend to sell the JP6. I sold a guitar once and I regret it since. However, I further recommend to actually try to ship everything. There is the chance that you drive somewhere making a huge efford and then the guitar you are looking for is not properly set up and the guy who does that normally is sick and has forgotten to prepare everything. This way you might get a wrong impression... Or even worse the guitar is not there....but it should because it is in the computer....must be an error.......
If you get the guitars shipped you can set them up properly yourself and see if it is working for your and with your gear. I had allmost all my guitars shipped to me. Many from overseas from all over the world. All the music man guitars that I got were great after I set them up correctly. I am sure that the guitars were set up perfectly when they left the factory but sometimes they get checked and set up again by the retailer and stocked away for month or even years and then ship out without re-checking. Therefore, adjusting the guitars at home giving it a little bit of time is probably the best. Still, I like the romantic idea of buying an instrument in the shop. The JP15 by the way is not very different from the JP6. The feeling is quite similar when playing them I think. Since you already have great representatives of the JP line you might want to give the majesty a try?
Have a good weekend!

Regards, J

 

[RAIN27]

Hi, congrats on the book. I have a JPXI, 2-JP12's,JP6,JP15 and a Arctic Dream Majesty. The neck profiles on the JP(XI and 12)20MM, are my favorites by far, they are my number 1's and 2's. The Majesty neck, feels smaller width wise, but it's thicker as far as depth... it's a great guitar, I just prefer the Thinness and Radius of the JP's. The neck profile on JP15 is similar to the Majesty, IMO it also has a brighter tone to it. I think it's due to the Roasted Maple Neck. I would definitely try them and play them for a while.

 

[MrT-Man]

I've got a JPXI as well as a 7-string Majesty (2019, enchanted forest). I do prefer the neck of the JPXI, but I probably prefer the Majesty in other respects.

The body of the Majesty is more comfy, and I really like having a shared output (instead of a separate output) for the piezo. As far as tone, the Majesty is definitely darker, and is less snappy with more sustain. I think I actually prefer the pickups of the Majesty (at least for metal, which is most of what I play). They're higher output, the sound is thicker, and the boost switch is super useful. But JPXI and Majesty obviously both sound great and they complement each other well. I think the extra darkness/thickness of the Majesty works especially well for a 7-string.

While I like the JPXI neck better, I still enjoy playing the Majesty. I don't find the neck comparatively annoying in any respect. I do think though that my ideal guitar would be a Majesty with a 20" radius.