- Thread starter edhalen
- Start date
TripHazard
Well-known member
Oh good choice. Love that finish on the sabre
Astrofreq
Well-known member
That's just ridiculous! What a show-stopper! Congrats and ultra jealous! lol. 
Hey, that's my combo - Sabre and Axis! And, congrats, that's a beautiful score.
I don't envy having to make that choice, but if I _had_ to choose, I'd probably have to go with the Sabre, only because the Sabre's five-way wiring gives more tonal variety, and I'm partial to the Sabre trem over the Axis' Floyd Rose.
If it were an Axis Super Sport, I'd probably go w/ the Axis b/c you'd then have the same five way options and vintage trem. The Axis is probably my favorite guitar shape.
I don't envy having to make that choice, but if I _had_ to choose, I'd probably have to go with the Sabre, only because the Sabre's five-way wiring gives more tonal variety, and I'm partial to the Sabre trem over the Axis' Floyd Rose.
If it were an Axis Super Sport, I'd probably go w/ the Axis b/c you'd then have the same five way options and vintage trem. The Axis is probably my favorite guitar shape.
I was hoping you'd chime in as I remembered your NGD thread and your comparison of the two neck profiles. I have two other Floyd guitars besides the Axis so I'm pretty used to them and like them. I also like the Axis neck profile and my Axis has a push/pull volume pot so I have 6 different tones. Having said that I really do like the roasted maple neck/fb combo and SS frets are the bomb for sure. The wider neck on the Sabre will be good for my larger hands for sure as well. Gonna be a tough decision. The overall Sabre package will be tough to beat. Really looking forward to playing it.
You can't go wrong w/ either. But I do love the Sabre's pickups; EBMM killed it with the voicing. The slightly wider neck also feels thinner (to me) compared to the Axis, which I'm liking more as I play.
Question: How did you get the push/pull volume pot? Was that something you did? I've been toying with doing that mod to my Axis, so a pull would split to the outer coils of each p/up, with the middle setting approximating position 2 on the Sabre.
The push/pull pot was on the Axis when I bought it. The prior owner didn't even know about it. I discovered it when I went to change the knob. I took it off and thought, hmm...that's a different looking volume pot. I pulled on it and what do you know.....!!!
I've only had the Axis for a short time. I wasn't planning on different MM (something said by MANY EBMM enthusiasts over the years for sure lol) but I couldn't pass up the deal on this one. It was just too good. I've been eyeing the Sabre for quite a while but the new cost just didn't work and the used market hadn't softened enough.Sorry for the long post but here's my review. Of course YMMV as always.
So I got lucky and this beauty arrived Saturday! I've been able to spend a couple of hours with it. As noted definitely a thinner neck than I've played before but yet it is VERY comfortable. To me it feels like the shape of a Reflex neck but a bit thinner especially down low - that's where I notice it most. I guess the only place where it is a slight detriment (for me YMMV) is chording in position one. Would be nice to have a bit more beef there given the size of my hands. Not a deal breaker though because the rest of this guitar is INSANELY nice. Neck - flawless in all its glory. Frets like glass. Pickups definitely have that bite and clarity that is spoken of with this guitar and a really solid sound - kind of like a LP with a bit more bite and clarity. Body is really comfortable - just disappears basically. It's also much larger than the Axis which for me feels better given my size (6'2"). The Axis is just so small comparatively speaking. The trem is taking a bit to get right in terms of balance with the strings/springs. I think I've found the sweet spot where it's about 1/8" off of the body so it floats a bit. Standard 3 springs straight in the cavity which it was when I opened it up. I do think I like the neck profile of the Axis a bit more HOWEVER the wider neck and roasted/ss fret combo on the Sabre is the clear winner for me. It is just so easy to play. If I can get the trem stable so the strings stay in tune solidly it would be outstanding. This is the first time I've really spent any time with this version of the EBMM Trem. A learning curve for sure. Maybe a set up would be in order from a pro. Anyway, I'd sure like to keep both but I think one will have to go. Still on the fence. Sorry for the long post. PICS - NOTE - the third pic is in direct sunlight. Really makes the burst pop.
So I got lucky and this beauty arrived Saturday! I've been able to spend a couple of hours with it. As noted definitely a thinner neck than I've played before but yet it is VERY comfortable. To me it feels like the shape of a Reflex neck but a bit thinner especially down low - that's where I notice it most. I guess the only place where it is a slight detriment (for me YMMV) is chording in position one. Would be nice to have a bit more beef there given the size of my hands. Not a deal breaker though because the rest of this guitar is INSANELY nice. Neck - flawless in all its glory. Frets like glass. Pickups definitely have that bite and clarity that is spoken of with this guitar and a really solid sound - kind of like a LP with a bit more bite and clarity. Body is really comfortable - just disappears basically. It's also much larger than the Axis which for me feels better given my size (6'2"). The Axis is just so small comparatively speaking. The trem is taking a bit to get right in terms of balance with the strings/springs. I think I've found the sweet spot where it's about 1/8" off of the body so it floats a bit. Standard 3 springs straight in the cavity which it was when I opened it up. I do think I like the neck profile of the Axis a bit more HOWEVER the wider neck and roasted/ss fret combo on the Sabre is the clear winner for me. It is just so easy to play. If I can get the trem stable so the strings stay in tune solidly it would be outstanding. This is the first time I've really spent any time with this version of the EBMM Trem. A learning curve for sure. Maybe a set up would be in order from a pro. Anyway, I'd sure like to keep both but I think one will have to go. Still on the fence. Sorry for the long post. PICS - NOTE - the third pic is in direct sunlight. Really makes the burst pop.
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Thanks for the review, and as is the saying around here - that top sucks!
I found the trem to be a little stiffer than I anticipated, and three springs confirms it. My Axis only has two, and while it's not floating, it has a nice feel. I wonder if removing a spring wouldn't make the Sabre feel equal. I haven't touched my Sabre's trem (yet), and haven't noticed it going out of tune, even with somewhat deep dives.
One other point - the Sabre comes w/ 10's, vs. the 9's on the Axis. I wonder if that's why it comes w/ three springs as standard. I also wonder if you wouldn't find a better balance by going to 9's?
I found the trem to be a little stiffer than I anticipated, and three springs confirms it. My Axis only has two, and while it's not floating, it has a nice feel. I wonder if removing a spring wouldn't make the Sabre feel equal. I haven't touched my Sabre's trem (yet), and haven't noticed it going out of tune, even with somewhat deep dives.
One other point - the Sabre comes w/ 10's, vs. the 9's on the Axis. I wonder if that's why it comes w/ three springs as standard. I also wonder if you wouldn't find a better balance by going to 9's?
My Axis has three springs as well so it's pretty stiff. Not as smooth and doesn't have as large of range as the Sabre's trem does. The prior owner of the Sabre had 10's on it but had the trem WAY off of the deck floating - like 1/2 an inch. It was way up there. I don't want it that far off of the deck. I did the usual wonder wipe cleaning of the fretboard/neck and restrung it. I tightened up the trem claw screws pretty close to the deck and then backed them off until I got it about right (1/8" or so). Seems pretty stable and balanced now. BTW for anyone who's paying attention - I decided to sell the Axis as the Sabre is more suited to me overall. It's up for sale in the for sale thread for anyone who's interested.
