Which artist inspired you to choose EBMM and when did you first play one?

[Phazer]

Hi, I was wondering: what, or who inspired you to choose music man guitars, and what happend when you first tried one?

I think I realized for the first time what great instruments they are while I was watching steve morse play with deep purple.
I saw this strange headstock 4+2 and didnt' know what guitar it was, but the sound was amazing.
I can actually remember thinking "those must be the best guitars out there!"
Then I saw EVH with that same headstock, but just couldn't figure out what it was.
Then, after some riserches on google, I found out they were playing music man guitars.
I was totally blown away, they became my dream.
Then I started listening to dream theater and just loved petrucci's tone.
You can imagine my reaction when I found out he also played music man
So that was it, just decided these guitars must be special, but never thought one day I would have been able to have one.
Then one day I went to this huge music store about 50km from where I live; it was nearly my 18th birthday and my parents said that they wanted to get something special, so being guitars my greatest passion, I obviously said I would like a new guitar.
So we went along, started trying some ibanez signature models, but I already had an Ibanez and they all kinda felt the same.
Then tried an ESP but didn't like the EMG's.
Then I saw that 4+2 headstock
I immediately picked up a blue JP, plugged it in and as soon as I layed my hand on the neck I forgot about all the other guitars
Anyway, I played from 4pm till 6pm
Then I though "ther's no way my parents are buying me such an expensive guitar, might as well put it back and look for something else"
But then my mom said "Why are you putting it down? I thought you loved it"
I said "Yes, I do, but it's way beyond the price range we established"
And she replyed "Look, if you feel that's the guitar you want, there's no point in tryin others, so happy birthday!! but don't tell your dad how much it cost or we'll have to take it back and use the money to pay the lawyer for the divorce "
My blood went cold, I REALLY didn't expect this!!!
I called the guy, and told him to prepare it.
But then he showed me the LE2006 he had in store, and I stayed there another hour deciding which one to choose...
In the end I chose the LE06.
Now lets hear your story of how you became Ball'o'maniac

 

[Phrat]

I think to be honest, it was a combination of Luke, JP and Steve Morse and to a lesser extent EVH. I came to the logical conclusion that if these guys liked the guitars then i should give them a try and the rest is history (and my bank account is dented )

 

[casper777]

John Petrucci for sure... and to be honest the JP model is the only Musicman I like, especially in terms of look....

I first bought a JP in 2005 in dark grey.. so sweet!! but... it was a lemon, the piezo was not woring on 2 strings, didn't stay in tune, very noisy in the bridge pickup.... I ended selling it... to buy the 2005 Buttercream limited edition I still have today.. great guitar. But still noisy in the bridge position!!

Anyway it's one of my favorite guitars, with my Ibanez JPM 90TH and my 2 Ibanez J-Custom....

 

[travs]

Edward for guiitar...John Deacon and Flea for bass Then I played a trans red Edward and was hooked.
Then on tv Albert was gripping and ripping the Pinky and I fell in love. the rest is history.

 

[fogman]

It's the opposite for me.
I remember when EVH became an EBMM artist, and that was my only knowledge of the brand.
I'd never seen an EBMM until a few years ago. That changed everything.
From there though I'd heard of the current endorsed artists, didn't really know much about them. The guitar therefore brought me to the artists.

 

[PBGas]

I first played an EBMM Van Halen model back in 1991 and was hooked on it! I purchased a beauty trans green Axis Sport some time later when they came out but then sold both for some god awful reason. I then acquired another Van Halen and someone offered me absolutely WAY too much $$$ for it as it was autographed by Eddie on the back plate (sorry no pics...my bro-in-law had it done for me). I also had a lovely red Silo. From there....I left for a while and fell into the Ibanez and Fender traps. I then wandered into a local store and saw the early Petrucci model (had an Ibanez version of his before) and it was love from then on. Had several of them and now have my BFR version which has been the best yet. I don't think I can go to anything else because you really do realize how great these instruments really are.

 

[gerry d]

It was EVH who I first saw... but I wasn't a huge fan..( always thought he was overrated..)... the guy who sealed the deal for me was Luke, I was and remain a huge fan, I was very aware of the Samick buyout of Valley Arts and thought it was only a matter of time for Luke to jump ship... when I heard about the EBMM deal I knew it was a great move and I knew I'd want one of the guitars even before I'd seen one.... needless to say I wasn't disappointed..

 

[Plaschkes]

the first time I played an MM was my friend's 80's Stingray, and both of us had no idea no idea what it was and what it was worth, we were about 14 at the time.

A few years later I discovered Dream Theater, and learned all about MMs. Then a friend of mine bought himself a Steve Morse sig, and I was blown away. I decided then and there that my next guitar would be a JP7.

It took me a year and a half, but eventually I got it. The best guitar I've ever played, even after over a year, every time I take her out of the case I'm shocked.

 

[MikeVt]

I can't really say that any artist inspired me to buy my first EBMM. I was looking for a specific configuration at a reasonable price (two hbs, coil splitting and piezo), and the JP came up. Being a DT fan, I figured that it probably couldn't be crap...so I ordered one. That was 3 years and 4 EBMMs ago!

Mike

 

[MikeVt]

By the way BP, I found out that both of my office neighbors also play guitar and have been in bands since the 70s. When they eventually asked me what my number 1 guitar was and I said an EBMM, they both looked at me blankly and said 'I thought Ernie Ball only made strings. They make guitars?'. I had to remind them of the 2007 Crossroads video we were discussing and Albert Lee's performance to get them to believe me. There's just something wrong with that. We need to continue to work on GC, Musicians Friend, etc....you need full page guitar and bass catalog spreads!

Mike

 

[GWDavis28]

No one really inspired myself as well. It really came down to the shape, fit, feel and finally the looks (aka color). The headstock design is the best and the quality in the ones that have is top notch.

Glenn |B)

 

[francric]

Jp.................

 

[John C]

It wasn't really an endorser for me either. I remember seeing photos of the first Silhouettes in Guitar Player and Guitar World back in 1986 or so - just little photos in their respective NAMM show threads and thought that the shape would work well for me. However, no one local to me was a dealer at the time.

I got the opportunity to try out an early one in 1988 or 1989, a transparent red Silo with a rosewood board and the original roller trem. I saw it and a light-colored sunburst one (maple neck and hard-tail bridge) hanging on the wall and had to try one out. However, I was already GAS-ing for a PRS at the time and went in that direction, and those were the only two EBMM guitars to show up locally until the EVH came out.

The EVH models got me to try out EBMMs again, but what kept me coming back to the brand were the Silo Special and Axis Sport models. I should have pulled the trigger on a Silo Special back in the mid-1990s, but every one I found had the HSS pickups and I wanted SSS. For some reason, I had an aversion to ordering a guitar back then; I had gotten over that sooner I likely would have saved a lot of money on guitars over the past 10-12 years!

 

[Beach Radio]

Noone

Kind of funny. All my favorite players are mostly Strat players. But of all the guitars I've ever picked up the Axis was the only one that spoke to me.
And yeah, I'm not really huge into Van Halen. I just have Fair Warning.

 

[Tone?]

Edward Van Halen of course.

I still think it is the best guitar he played. Fool that he left. Im sure he plays his secretly at home when no one is watching.

That also was a fear of mine when i bought the guitar. That i would only play Halen on it and that is all it would inspire me to do. But it actually doesnt. I had bought a Kramer 1984 a while back and all i wanted to play on that was Halen, but it wasnt even close to the quality of the EBMM.
I find myself playing alot of ZZTop on the Axis actually. I find it to sound alot like a LesPaul. But plays like butter.

 

[Tim O'Sullivan]

Mr EVH is the reason I play EBMM guitars. I loved the album F.U.C.K. when it came out, and loved the tones he was getting. I bought my purple EVH, and have since bought 4 more (well Axis guitars). Without EVH I would not be playing EBMM. I would have gone down the PRS or Gibson route instead.

 

[brasco68]

I first became aware of Music Man through Queen...John Deacon is the most underrrated Bassist in rock history.

I knew I actually wanted one when EVH starting playing them. The beauty and sound of the EVH / Axis was something I didn't see or hear in any other guitar!

Thank God the A.S.S. comes in a lefty version.

 

[puppyonacid]

I became aware of the EBMM brand not too long after first picking up a guitar. The first one I saw would have been John Deacons stingray. Being of such a young age and having been learning a matter of months, I couldn't understand why he changed to that bass to play Another One Bites the Dust on the Montreal vid I had.

After that I guess it would have been Robbie Macintosh with his white sil. I knew what the brand was because I recognised the headstock, And I loved his playing. I also have a vid of Paul Mcartney with his lefty Al somewhere. Following that, I loved the look of Steve Morses number 1 on the cover of guitarist back in 1990 or 91. It was the first interview I read with an endorsee and I remember how much he enthused about the instrument. I was really turned onto the brand proper with EVH's sig. They seemed to be cropping up all over the place and for a while I thought I wanted one.

When the news filtered through in 1999/2000 that JP was sitching to EBMM with an all new guitar to be designed it was like a bulb was switched on. ONe of my boyhood heroes was now to be playing one. And an all new model to boot! I had tickets for Manchester and I was looking forward to seeing JP's guitar as much as the gig. And was very curious about the Piezo system and how it would sound live. ONce I'd seen JP, and his new guitar, it just became a matter of time really. Five years to be precise.

I'd always loved the look of them. I'd just never realised how much!

 

[Lord Toneking]

I've always been a huge VH fan. I never had the chance to play a MM until about 4 yrs ago. I played an Axis that was at a local music store...I bought it and been hooked ever since

Since then it seems like MM's are the only guitars you can grab off the rack and they actually play good. I've tried all the high dollar Fenders, Gibsons and PRS's and they ALL play like a big cheese graters compared to the MM's (off the rack that is)

 

[MatrixAndyR]

John Petrucci! Fell in love with Dream Theater, and wanted to see what guitar he used. I didn't know what it was so I looked it up and thought it looked pretty cool. After that I went to Guitar Center and tried one.... as soon as the thing hit my hand I knew there was nothing else that could ever take its place. Started saving up for one on that day.