• Ernie Ball
  • MusicMan
  • Sterling by MusicMan

Greg Suarez

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
194
Location
Dayton, Ohio, United States
Greg, they a mahogany body a few years ago with the 2012 PDN Honey Roast - mahogany body, roasted maple neck, pao ferro fretboad - and nobody complained about the JP6 sounding dark.

I'll have to do a little research. Maybe there are sound samples of the Honey Roast JP6 on YouTube. Thanks.
 

coldsummer

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 2, 2012
Messages
612
Location
Gloucestershire UK
Greg, they a mahogany body a few years ago with the 2012 PDN Honey Roast - mahogany body, roasted maple neck, pao ferro fretboad - and nobody complained about the JP6 sounding dark.


I agree, my PDN AL HH is definitely NOT dark sounding. The African mahogany is a really vibrant and musical wood as AJ said.
 

Kenji20022

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 19, 2011
Messages
270
Location
Deerfield Beach, Florida, United States
My concern here is if the body is just a slab of mahogany, that guitar is going to sound darn muddy even with the maple board and especially with the LiquiFire engaged. If it doesn't have even a plain maple top, I hope the standard JPs stick with basswood. The problem with basswood, then, is it looks like poop with a transparent finish. So... mahogany with a transparent finish or basswood with a solid finish? Still too many questions I need answered before I drop $2500. I would love to just get the BFR but it will be way out of my price range. I just bought a JP7 last month, for crying out loud.

Hmmm... I might stick with my original plan of saving for either a JPX or white Majesty. I love maple boards so much, but an all mahogany body on a guitar with already dark sounding pickups doesn't really appeal to me. Maybe if I save up long enough I can still find a BFR with the quilted maple top and maple board. Thank God for eBay.

First off, Mahogany Bodies are the farthest thing from Muddy. There is no such thing as a "muddy" tonewood, you're either not playing through good enough pickups, or through a good enough rig to be hearing muddy tones out of a Mahogany Bodied Guitar. There's a lot of assumptions being made on your part about the woods being used here, and since I own a Roasted Honey JP6 I can directly attest that muddy isn't what it is.


That's a video I made using it the week I got the guitar, Liquifire most of the time until the end. And if you're looking to spend 2500, you do realize that raising that budget slightly more will get you in BFR range easily right? Scrapping a wonderful guitar for pickups you might not like is hilarious too, you can order a new Dimarzio to your preference and swap it out. Pickups are $70 on average.

I wouldn't risk hoping to see if one of these pops up in the wild, this is the first and possibly only time you'll be seeing a maple boarded JP ever. I'm not risking NOT owning one.
 

crazyregis

Active member
Joined
Aug 6, 2013
Messages
32
Location
Hong Kong
A.J. I am sorry to sound like a broken record, but I am a tad confused. Luke III with a maple neck but not any sort of Morse? It sounded like there may have been a change of heart for Lukather, is there any chance for Morse to give the get go on an all roasted neck? I would jump on that like a spider monkey. (feel free to ignore me, I am tired)

(not towards AJ) I had been aching for a Luke for a while, but when I got on one, I found that I was not actually partial to the neck profile.

I just got a rosewood silhouette, and my Y2D is obviously rosewood fret board. But as much as I love the Rosewood neck of my Silhouette, I am not a huge fan of rosewood fret boards. Even then, the Morse has the most comfortable neck, with the silhouette in my close second.

Same here in fact. Didn't meant to be against the wonderful work by EBMM and AJ, but then considering the Y2D being the best config and neck comfort to me, I do personally wish that there'll be a maple neck option with the Morse... I'm serious in that should there exist a maple neck option on the Y2D with Floyd in Neptune Blue, I'll immediately fire my shot.

But that's really my own personal taste, and I'm still having all of my respect to the wonderful works of EBMM.
 

mtrejo

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 9, 2011
Messages
1,611
Location
Phoenix
I'm teetering on the Luke III ledge. Perhaps an HH model to compliment the HSS LUKE III?
 

Greg Suarez

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
194
Location
Dayton, Ohio, United States
First off, Mahogany Bodies are the farthest thing from Muddy. There is no such thing as a "muddy" tonewood, you're either not playing through good enough pickups, or through a good enough rig to be hearing muddy tones out of a Mahogany Bodied Guitar. There's a lot of assumptions being made on your part about the woods being used here, and since I own a Roasted Honey JP6 I can directly attest that muddy isn't what it is.


That's a video I made using it the week I got the guitar, Liquifire most of the time until the end. And if you're looking to spend 2500, you do realize that raising that budget slightly more will get you in BFR range easily right? Scrapping a wonderful guitar for pickups you might not like is hilarious too, you can order a new Dimarzio to your preference and swap it out. Pickups are $70 on average.

I wouldn't risk hoping to see if one of these pops up in the wild, this is the first and possibly only time you'll be seeing a maple boarded JP ever. I'm not risking NOT owning one.

Thanks for the video, but it's sort of hard to appreciate the guitar over the pre-recorded music, but I think I get the point.

In my *personal opinion,* too much mahogany makes a guitar too dark. The maple neck/board will help that. I prefer a bit of spank and sizzle to complement the depth of the mahogany.

I love the LF/CL pickup combo, but they are aggressive pickups, which can be difficult to tame so they don't sound like mud in the wrong instrument and amp settings. If I'm spending more than $2k (approaching $3k) on a guitar, I'm not looking to swap pickups like if I were buying a $500 Mexican Strat. The stock pickups in a guitar that price should be an ideal match. If not, I'm looking at another instrument that better suits my needs.

A BFR is a possibility depending on my budget at the time and if they're still available. I'm trying to get a couple of adjunct teaching jobs at local colleges to help fund a new guitar. I really don't have the kind of disposable income to afford the array of MM instruments you own. I prefer having fewer high quality guitars than an entire army of mediocre imported crap. So, when I buy a guitar, every part of it needs to be "correct" for me.

TBH, maple fretboard on the PDN JP aside, the one JP model I am eyeballing the hardest is the JPX-6. The five-way pickup selector and the chambered body intrigue me more than any feature on any other JP model. Plus, the slimmer design of the 10-13 JPs, aesthetically, seem like the perfect rock guitar; a total evolution of the Strat. The traditional JPs are a bit chubby looking. I would love to be all-in on the Majesty, but I can't quite bring myself to fall in love with faux carbon fiber etching and the candy colors. The white one is the least off-putting, but I'm still not in love with it. Losing the carbon fiber and using more of the sparkle finishes would probably seal the deal for me. But, hey, I'm not John Petrucci, and no one is asking me to design a guitar.
 

jzeijen

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 6, 2010
Messages
1,067
Location
The Netherlands
Hey AJ! Are pick guards colors option to or just black like the honey burst PDN?

Thank you


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think you are free to choose the color of the pickguard. The Honey burst pdn run also had free choice of pickguard color, wasn't just limited to black.
 

Kenji20022

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 19, 2011
Messages
270
Location
Deerfield Beach, Florida, United States
Thanks for the video, but it's sort of hard to appreciate the guitar over the pre-recorded music, but I think I get the point.

In my *personal opinion,* too much mahogany makes a guitar too dark. The maple neck/board will help that. I prefer a bit of spank and sizzle to complement the depth of the mahogany.

I love the LF/CL pickup combo, but they are aggressive pickups, which can be difficult to tame so they don't sound like mud in the wrong instrument and amp settings. If I'm spending more than $2k (approaching $3k) on a guitar, I'm not looking to swap pickups like if I were buying a $500 Mexican Strat. The stock pickups in a guitar that price should be an ideal match. If not, I'm looking at another instrument that better suits my needs.

A BFR is a possibility depending on my budget at the time and if they're still available. I'm trying to get a couple of adjunct teaching jobs at local colleges to help fund a new guitar. I really don't have the kind of disposable income to afford the array of MM instruments you own. I prefer having fewer high quality guitars than an entire army of mediocre imported crap. So, when I buy a guitar, every part of it needs to be "correct" for me.

TBH, maple fretboard on the PDN JP aside, the one JP model I am eyeballing the hardest is the JPX-6. The five-way pickup selector and the chambered body intrigue me more than any feature on any other JP model. Plus, the slimmer design of the 10-13 JPs, aesthetically, seem like the perfect rock guitar; a total evolution of the Strat. The traditional JPs are a bit chubby looking. I would love to be all-in on the Majesty, but I can't quite bring myself to fall in love with faux carbon fiber etching and the candy colors. The white one is the least off-putting, but I'm still not in love with it. Losing the carbon fiber and using more of the sparkle finishes would probably seal the deal for me. But, hey, I'm not John Petrucci, and no one is asking me to design a guitar.

No problem! Let me know if you want some clips, I'm spending most of the summer working and jamming out so I can record some clips no problem! :D

I totally hear that, The JPX7 I have is my favorite out of everything I've owned thus far. It's the most versatile in my opinion and the chambering only adds more depth and dimension to any notes you play on it! I think you'll definitely be happy with the JPX7, and trust me if this were available on the Anniversary Models I'd be all over a JPX :D

I'm really blessed to own what I own and what I have, I hope you get something from this run that you dig! It's cool too because you can just pay a deposit, and then once it's ready pay off the balance and I'm pretty sure there's a couple guys and dealers that offer financing too to help that out! Good luck dude!
 

DrewH

Well-known member
Joined
May 23, 2012
Messages
226
My concern here is if the body is just a slab of mahogany, that guitar is going to sound darn muddy even with the maple board and especially with the LiquiFire engaged. If it doesn't have even a plain maple top, I hope the standard JPs stick with basswood. The problem with basswood, then, is it looks like poop with a transparent finish. So... mahogany with a transparent finish or basswood with a solid finish? Still too many questions I need answered before I drop $2500. I would love to just get the BFR but it will be way out of my price range. I just bought a JP7 last month, for crying out loud.

Lot of misunderstanding on what wood is being used on this guitar. Mahogany is a general term for many species of wood. You are confusing African Mahogany with the more commonly understood South American Mahogany. South American Mahogany is very dense and heavy. African is actually quite the opposite. Tonally speaking its closer to Alder than SA Mahogany. Its very light. The Suhr Modern Satins are ALL African Mahogany including the neck and those come in between 6 and 7 pounds. So, it will be less compressed and will very vocal with a very balanced tone.
 

themass

Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Messages
17
alright, someone get Steve Morse on the horn and get the ok for a maple fretboard. He ok'd the darklord, why not this?
 

Greg Suarez

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
194
Location
Dayton, Ohio, United States
alright, someone get Steve Morse on the horn and get the ok for a maple fretboard. He ok'd the darklord, why not this?

Things like this make me proud to be a John Petrucci fan. The dude just seems completely down-to-earth and totally flexible and easy to work with. I've watched so many of his clinics and interviews, and he comes across as a totally normal guy... well, except for the guitar wizardry.
 

Greg Suarez

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
194
Location
Dayton, Ohio, United States
Lot of misunderstanding on what wood is being used on this guitar. Mahogany is a general term for many species of wood. You are confusing African Mahogany with the more commonly understood South American Mahogany. South American Mahogany is very dense and heavy. African is actually quite the opposite. Tonally speaking its closer to Alder than SA Mahogany. Its very light. The Suhr Modern Satins are ALL African Mahogany including the neck and those come in between 6 and 7 pounds. So, it will be less compressed and will very vocal with a very balanced tone.

Interesting. Thanks for the clarification on the different sub-species.
 

Siddius

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 12, 2014
Messages
218
Location
Bloomington, IN
Steve Morse doesn't quite strike me as not "down-to-earth". The dude wears wolf cut-off t-shirts, I don't know if it gets more down to earth than that.
 

Greg Suarez

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
194
Location
Dayton, Ohio, United States
No problem! Let me know if you want some clips, I'm spending most of the summer working and jamming out so I can record some clips no problem! :D

I totally hear that, The JPX7 I have is my favorite out of everything I've owned thus far. It's the most versatile in my opinion and the chambering only adds more depth and dimension to any notes you play on it! I think you'll definitely be happy with the JPX7, and trust me if this were available on the Anniversary Models I'd be all over a JPX :D

I'm really blessed to own what I own and what I have, I hope you get something from this run that you dig! It's cool too because you can just pay a deposit, and then once it's ready pay off the balance and I'm pretty sure there's a couple guys and dealers that offer financing too to help that out! Good luck dude!

Oh, man. If they offered the Neptune Blue/maple board option on the JPX, I'd sell my wife into prostitution to get one.

Wow. Did I just type that?

Anyway, yes, the versatility of the JPX and the combination of tone woods used to construct it are really what keep driving me in that direction. I used to own a Gibson LP and Brian May Red Special replica, both of which had chambered bodies, and the chambering really brought out a certain tonal distinction and added extra resonance that really pleased my ear. The pickup switching options on the JPX also intrigue me a lot, especially the #2 position that uses the outside coils in parallel. Another thing about the Brian May guitar that I loved was his oddball switching system that let you turn on and off any or all coils and put them in or out of phase, and this seems like the closest any JP model comes to replicating that. Plus, the JPX does it more conveniently than with a push-pull tone pot, which I don't like. I prefer the lever, as I have been a lifelong Strat player and it just feel natural to me. Through all of the guitars I have owned and sold over the years, I have always had at least one ortwo Strats in my collection. Right now I have one of the new American Deluxe Plus models with the exchangeable profile cards; I'm hoping that it will end up being "the last Strat I ever need" because of its versatility.

Anyway, enough blathering. I've got plenty of time to make a decision. So, I'll just listen to more sound samples and go from there. Thanks again.
 

Greg Suarez

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 25, 2014
Messages
194
Location
Dayton, Ohio, United States
Steve Morse doesn't quite strike me as not "down-to-earth". The dude wears wolf cut-off t-shirts, I don't know if it gets more down to earth than that.

I don't know. I've watched a few interviews with him and seems be pretty smug and not as approachable as JP. It's just the impression I get. Obviously, I don't know either of them.
 
Top Bottom