??? about Axis SS pickups???EB string spacing

[tonemeister]

Hi, Folks.
First off, let me say that my history with Ernie Ball guitars has been a little spotty. I first bought a used Albert Lee several years ago from a bud o` mine. the guitar sounded great, but the string spacing/placement was an issue for me. the small e string was so close to the end of the fretboard that I was regularly pulling the string off the fret board when playing. I checked my buddys other ALs (he has three) and found them to be the same. I eventually sold it back to him.

Next, I bought a used Axis SS (humbucking-maple neck, hard tail) off e-bay. I again experienced the problem of the e-string being too close to the end of the frets with the same unwanted results. Also to my ear the humbuckers on the Axis sounded really good on the split positions (2 & 4) but the pickups sounded muffled, dull and lifeless in either single humbucking or combined humbuckig (positions 1, 3 & 5). Hmmmmm!

I eventually swapped the Axis SS at a local store and decided to give up on the EBs for now. It really was a bummer for me because in spite of the string pull-off problem, I loved the way the EB necks played and felt to my hand. i just loved the necks, period!

Well as fate would have it, I walked into one of my local music shops about 4 months ago and saw a gorgeous used 2006 Albert Lee LE all black with gold hardware hanging on the wall. At first I just walked past it. Then after playing some G&Ls for a while I decided to try the AL. Lo and behold....there was plenty of space on the fretboard for the e-string to not be a problem for me. I bought the guitar within a few minutes of plugging it in. It is a real beauty of a player and gets lots of attention wherever I play with it.

Well, again a couple of weeks ago I went to the local guitar Center and saw a used Axis SS rosewood model that was to die for! Again, the string spacing was wider on this model than the previous Axis I had bought off e-bay. Needless to say, I snatched that one up also.

This brings me around to the real gist of this thread: Am I the only one who just does not like the sound of the pickups on the Axis SS? Again they seem flat, dull, lifeless. I have some other guitars with Lollar and WCR humbuckings that just ooze tone and 3D sound. has anyone else tried to change out the pups on their Axiss SS and what did you replace them with and how successful was the operation? this is a great playing guitar and I want to make it a great sounding guitar to boot!

Just so you know, I LOVE the pups on my Albert Lee. It is probably the best sounding and playing guitar I have ever owned.....and like most of you GAS victims here I have owned a LOT of guitars.

Anyway, thanks for your patience with all this blathering....any helpful hints or additional info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[mbgreene]

Just so you know, I LOVE the pups on my Albert Lee. It is probably the best sounding and playing guitar I have ever owned.....and like most of you GAS victims here I have owned a LOT of guitars.

Hope you don't mind, but i edited a bit of your post to emphasize the most import aspects of it. Welcome to the club.

With respect to the pickups - you'll find a lot of fans for the axis pickups and I believe there are a few folks looking to buy the originals (check the wanted to buy and some other threads). If they're not for you - and that's a personal choice there are also several threads about replacements. But everyone has there own sounds in their own heads so the suggestions vary widely.

I'd suggest playing them for a while and if they still aren't you - swap and sell.

Welcome to the forum and enjoy the ride.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Hi and welcome from me too!

I have the 06 Limited Edition AL too and love it, but my favourite is still my 05 black cherry Burst AL. There is an unwritten rule here which says "it just doesn't exist without pics".

I'll show you mine

- now how about seeing yours?

Oh and Because you have an EB (AL) that gains you membership to the ALOC (Albert Lee Owners Club)!

 

[tonemeister]

OK, OK, I get it! I will attempt to insert pics right now! If they do not show up it`s because I`m a bit of a tech-tard! Took these yesterday! Should have wiped them down first! View attachment 4651

View attachment 4652

Can you tell me if there is any difference in neck width or string spacing on your two models or are they identical?

Also checked with my local swapping bud yesterday about the issue of the Axis SS pickups. He said he wasnt` real wild about his either til he bought a new Marshall Modern Vintage......he say the guitar sounds great on that amp due to the fact that it brings out the complex mids. It would be a wonderful world IF I could just buy whatever amp makes a particular guitar sound great! Haha.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Hey TM - nice pics!

I like the background too!

I'll check out the string spacing for you and let you know.

I'm shortly about to leave for a party around my brothers house!

I think the neck of the LE AL feels different to the neck of the BCB AL - it does feel a bit thicker.
BP (Sterling Ball) says that this could just be down to final hand sanding - neither necks are baseball bat dimensions!

Love the AL - hang onto it if ya like it - I'm sure there's not that many kicking about.

 

[tonemeister]

WOW! Nice P-90 model! Your & mine look like twins....well, maybe cousins. Here in the Southern USA that`s close enough. I think a MM90 model AL with a maple fretboard may be in my near future. I am definitely a single coil guy and prefer maple fretboards to rosewood, but I DO really love the AL (especially at the $$$$ I picked it up for, which I will NEVER divulge here!).....I told my wife after playing a gig or three with the AL that the guitar was an "enabler". I seem to be able to pull more stuff off with that guitar than any other I have played! I read a post here that stated that the guitars seem to play themselves, I could not agree with that more! A very inspiring instrumet to play!

 

[Spudmurphy]

Hey TM - nice pics!

I like the background too!

I'll check out the string spacing for you and let you know.

I'm shortly about to leave for a party around my brothers house!

I think the neck of the LE AL feels different to the neck of the BCB AL - it does feel a bit thicker.
BP (Sterling Ball) says that this could just be down to final hand sanding - neither necks are baseball bat dimensions!

Love the AL - hang onto it if ya like it - I'm sure there's not that many kicking about.

Spacing at the 1st fret appears to be 3.5 mm in from the edge of the fretboard on both E strings on both guitars.

 

[threeminutesboy]

I think the difference you feel between before and now is maybe the compensated nut. This was introduced 3 years ago I think

As for the ASS pickup, I like them a lot. I have just ordered a pair of Seymour Duncan Phat Cat because I have already a lot of ASS with humbucker and would like to test something different.

They should be here soon, I will post some picture and comments about the sound and diffrence with MM90 pickup

 

[threeminutesboy]

one more thing, before changing the pickups try to raise them using a small piece of wood under the screws. This should had more bite

 

[tonemeister]

I had not thought about the compensated nut making a difference.....the 2006 AL LE does have a compensated nut whereas the older model did not, but both Axis Models have the older standard nut. Anyway I am just happy to find a couple of EBMMs that worked out for me. they are superior instruments all the way around!

Thanks for the info on the pups and string spacing Spud and TMB. I do appreciate the input. Ciao fer now! TM

 

[candid_x]

Weren't the Axis and ASS necks made a little wider at some point in their history, maybe after the EVH model?

Are you playing 9's? When I play 9's, I occasionally accidentally pull the E strings off the Silo Special board. At least till I get used to them again and lighten my touch. Maybe it's just me but I view MM necks sorta as finesse necks, not 'death grip on baseball bat' necks.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Weren't the Axis and ASS necks made a little wider at some point in their history, maybe after the EVH model?

Are you playing 9's? When I play 9's, I occasionally accidentally pull the E strings off the Silo Special board. At least till I get used to them again and lighten my touch. Maybe it's just me but I view MM necks sorta as finesse necks, not 'death grip on baseball bat' necks.

Yup the axis neck is made slightly wider than the EVH.

I seem to remember that thye compensated nut was introduced in the year I bought my first 'ball - in 05.

Candid is right about the 9's - I did the same and have easily compensated.
I bend a lot both ways and have learnt to adjust.

Stick with the AL and it will reward ya!!

 

[tonemeister]

Thanks for the input, guys (and gals????)!

Yeah, normally I use 10s, in fact, I like the light top heavy bottom set the most. The heavier strings put out fatter tone and once the guitar is set up right I think it helps to alleviate tuning problems!

All the Balls I`m referring to here had 9s on them and still do! The 9s feel ok to me for now but eventually I`ll change them when I get the time.

I am not experiencing problems with either of the new guitars....just the ones I had picked up in the past.

I guess what I`m really after here is to find out if at some point in time if the necks were widened or if something in the manufacturing process changed the string spacing.

I DO plan on picking up some more EB MMs......I can definitely see myself getting an AL with the p-90s and a maple neck, and a nice Silo and since e-bay is my best bet for used stuff, I would like to be able to educate myself to the point that I can buy without worrying about the neck width on an unseen guitar. I think I got real lucky finding 2 nice used EB locally, and I`m not sure if I can repeat that process successfully.

Again, thanks for the info everyone! Ciao fer now!