A question for all ball lovers~

[TheShreddinHand]

Been playing guitar for over 16 years now (started when I was 13) in and out of bands (currently not in one) and it wasn't until I graduated college, got married, and my wife and I had begun successful careers that I had spent more than 1k on a guitar for myself. JP brought me to Ernie Ball by endorsing them and I had always been intrigued by EVH's guitars as well. I had a JP standard a couple years ago and it was a fantastic instrument and I truly saw what all the fuss over EB guitars was. But it wasn't until I got my first BFR that I REALLY see how unbelievable these instruments are. Just looking at my Bahama Burst makes me want to play and I get inspired by how good the guitars feel, sound, and play!

-Eric

 

[lukather101]

For me it was what my guitar heroes were playing, was always a big fan of Morse, Luke and John Petrucci which is what drew me to EBMM. I managed to pick up a Sub on ebay at a really good price (by no means a "prestigious" guitar but a fully fledged working EBMM). Then I had the chance to play an Axis and could not get over how comfortable the neck was and how it felt in my hands so I went with it and never looked back.

I have been tempted by other brands since but always come back to EBMM because with all the options they offer in terms of body shape, hardware, pups, all bases are covered!!

+ 1 Phrat , I’m a massive Morse fan and once i bought my first EBMM(Morse 15 years ago) that was it , but then it was Luke and then JP .
I would say though that if I hadn't posted a year ago about the lacquer problem with neck on my Morse I would definatly still only have one.
This forum does make you want to keep on buying specially with all the great pics and feedback from the guys

 

[racerXazn]

So i sat down with my parents to discuss future instruments. Seeing how hard i worked on guitar, i was able to convince them to skip that dreaded "Mid Level" guitar that most people move to.
D

Exactly what I did, but my parents said "SAVE YOUR MONEY!" haha.
I was actually very lucky to get a decent mid-level guitar as my first. We got it for a really good price and I think it's a keeper.

Have I answered you question or have I a severe case of FPD (that's Forum Post Diarrhoea...)?

Haha it was a great post!

Wow please keep these coming. It's really interesting to hear how you guys fell in love with EB, maybe it's just me but I think these stories are great.

 

[walleye]

Not to glorify myself, but I don't really care about labels. I actually just go into the guitar store and blindly test any guitar I see..which lead me to Musicman guitars.

thats the best way to go about it

one comment that id make about ernie ball is that they are so very keen to advance guitar technology. the way in which the BFR guitars are built is something im yet to see in any other company (im talking about the woods).. i dont think ive ever heard of a guitar that uses 4 diferent woods in its construction (5 if you count birdseye and flame maple as "different") - and its not just for show.. the construction and complexity is methodical and necessary

their new direction seems to be their method of semi-chambering the body wood. this isnt a new thing by any means; im told that les pauls have chambered bodies.. but i would never have known.. unlike the 25th and JPX that i tried, you strike the strings then immediately start looking for its F holes.

Give them 5 years and theyll have outdone themselves in some unpredictable way, im sure

 

[peterd79]

I ran across some old photos of me as a young cat (maybe 4-5) playing an old sears electric (i'm guessing) and i grew up watching my uncle play in local bands and being my main influence for wanting to play... fast forward to the mid 90's and i was a freshman in high school and i was given my first real guitar (which i still have) it was 56-57 Les Paul Junior that my grandpa had bought in 56-57 (serial numbers are goofy so exact date is really unknown) and then i just hacked around through high school and then after high school i went to college and put the guitar down... 4-5 years later i found myself playing for the worship team at my church and my collection of guitars took off...
I went through just about every make and model of strat and strat copy you could imagine and a bunch of other stuff... i was given an OLP MM1F by my parents and i played the heck out of it... but always went back to my strats... and i found myself bored with the tone and started looking... started playing the silhouettes and just felt like i had been playing it forever and had to have one... so i came here on the site and started doing my research... and i bought my first EBMM from Fing here on the forum and within a few weeks of buying that one... i bought another and sold off all my strats and couldn't be any happier...

That being said i play just about every weekend and so far my EBMM's have not let me down... solid and easy to play...

 

[andynpeters]

Had the good luck to be in a covers duo that "took off" in '99, so gave up the day job. Guitars were tax deductible, so decided to buy something cute & EBMM made a lefty Silhouette Special in Pearl Purple at the time. They had a good reputation, so I ordered one without ever seeing a real oe (normal for the lefties). Whe it came I found it hard to play & always seemed to be on the wrong fret (it was smaller than my trusty Strat). Thought about dumping it, but the girl singer loved the colour, so I stuck with it & made it my sole gigging guitar from late '99 to 2004 (about 800 nights!!)
I'm not one for flame or quilt maple & would never buy a guitar that I couldn't take down to the local blues jam.
In my opinion if you can't churn out rock & roll on an electric guitar, there's no point to its existence.
Personally I wish they made more guitars in solid colours at a slightly lower price point, but then all us Europeans say that they're too expensive over here. I own 2 now, and am always looking on EBay for more.
EBMM make fine gigging instruments.....if you own one PLAY THAT THING!!

 

[zombywoof]

I'm not one for flame or quilt maple & would never buy a guitar that I couldn't take down to the local blues jam.
if you own one PLAY THAT THING!!

You could always buy a quilted one for you cats to enjoy while your away gigging!

 

[andynpeters]

You could always buy a quilted one for you cats to enjoy while your away gigging!

I actually own a flamed one too.......

but I stopped gigging in 2004 and rejoined the normal world (shame!!)

 

[colinboy]

You seem like a smart guy with the thread you posted and you seem to have a good intuition to ask the right questions and buy the right instruments like we did.
congrats on purchasing the axis super sport.

My first real guitar was a gibson les paul which i bought with a marshall amp 7 years ago.I decided on this combination because i was and still am a huge fan of the likes of slash,jimmy page etc and wanted their equipment and tone etc.
I could never really bond with the LP even though it was a really nice guitar.i just couldnt get comfortable playing it and always found the neck to chunky for my hands and too heavy overall.

In 2006 i dicscovered musicman by an acquaintance who bought a JP model whilst on holiday in the USA and he highly recommend musicman guitars.I then proceeded to do my own research via the web about these fantastic instruments and fell in love with JP and his playing and decided i had to have one.
The folks at EBMM were just releasing the BFR(Ball family reserve) to the public to buy and i ordered a beautiful BFR JP6 model and waited 6months for it.when i finally got the guitar after along wait i was blown away by its playability and instantly felt like a better player,much more comfortable than any thing else i had ever tried and i just couldnt put it down.after that the LP was sold as it was in the wardrobe gathering dust.
I got my 2nd ball about 6months ago a stunning 25th anniversary guitar and i love that equally if not more than the JP.
When you buy any musicman new from the factory it comes setup ready to play out of the box.
Im not a professional either mate but i do play part time in a coverband at the weekends and absolutely love it and people always compliment my balls!

Welcome to the addiction!