Don't get me wrong, I am deeply in love with my AL Vintage Burst SSS but I wonder if I should own an MM90 version to compliment it. How much difference in sound are we talking here? Obviously I should own as many MMEB guitars as I can fit into my house, but sound wise.....
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Albert Lee SSS v MM90s
- Thread starter Steve 65
- Start date
kbaim
Well-known member
Don't know the answer...but are the mm90's even adjustable on the Albert.
They're not on the axis ss
They're not on the axis ss
I didn't play the SSS Albert, but here's a review of my newly acquired Albert MM90.
Well, even if it is only his namesake, it's still cool. I picked up this Music Man Albert Lee over the weekend. I've been looking for a 3 P90 guitar for a while now, and they are pretty hard to find, so when I saw this used one, I jumped. I've been trying to retire my strat, and wanted to get something with a few modern specs. I wanted a flatter radius, and bigger frets.
Very grainy southern ash body, birds eye maple neck/fretboard, Schaller locking tuners, 25 1/2 scale, 10" radius, 1-5/8" at nut, 2-1/4" at last fret, medium high profile frets, 3 MM90 pickups, 5 way switch, and the silent circuit.
The fit and finish are really nice. Neck feels great, like all the MM necks I've played. Feels very broken in, and comfy. Bends are very easy, and no fretting out. There is a business card size gap between the neck and pocket on the top side, but it doesn't seem to effect tone or sustain. The body, while it looks funky, is actually very cumfy to hold (both strapped on and on my lap). The guitar weighs as much as my 62AV Strat (probably around 7 lbs). The trem is very smooth, and strings return to pitch even after dive bombs. The nut appears to be cut perfectly. All the hardware feels and looks great.
I only had about 15 minutes to play her, but played through my Budda Superdrive 30s clean channel. I A/B'd Albert with my 2000 62AV strat. The strat has 3 Rio Grande Muy Grande's in it. I like my strat tones to be pretty fat with higher than vintage output, and the Rio's fit that description, but I always wanted just a little more mids/fatness. Albert did not disappoint. The MM90s had a little more mids/fatness, but did not get muddy, even when heavily overdriven. The middle pickup is very useable, which I never found on my strat. The in betweens have all the quack. The bridge has bite, but also bark, and the neck sounds very flutey.
I have (and have had) a few P90 guitars, and always found that they leaned a lot more towards humbucker tone than single coil. Part of that gets chalked up to the fact that all the previous guitars I had/have, were 24 3/4 lenght with mahogony/Korina bodies with set necks. The combination of longer scale length, and ash body combine to add a little top end and shimmer to Albert. This guitar really sits in the middle between hums and single coils.
http://david-zeitlin.20m.com/images/img_0717.jpg
Well, even if it is only his namesake, it's still cool. I picked up this Music Man Albert Lee over the weekend. I've been looking for a 3 P90 guitar for a while now, and they are pretty hard to find, so when I saw this used one, I jumped. I've been trying to retire my strat, and wanted to get something with a few modern specs. I wanted a flatter radius, and bigger frets.
Very grainy southern ash body, birds eye maple neck/fretboard, Schaller locking tuners, 25 1/2 scale, 10" radius, 1-5/8" at nut, 2-1/4" at last fret, medium high profile frets, 3 MM90 pickups, 5 way switch, and the silent circuit.
The fit and finish are really nice. Neck feels great, like all the MM necks I've played. Feels very broken in, and comfy. Bends are very easy, and no fretting out. There is a business card size gap between the neck and pocket on the top side, but it doesn't seem to effect tone or sustain. The body, while it looks funky, is actually very cumfy to hold (both strapped on and on my lap). The guitar weighs as much as my 62AV Strat (probably around 7 lbs). The trem is very smooth, and strings return to pitch even after dive bombs. The nut appears to be cut perfectly. All the hardware feels and looks great.
I only had about 15 minutes to play her, but played through my Budda Superdrive 30s clean channel. I A/B'd Albert with my 2000 62AV strat. The strat has 3 Rio Grande Muy Grande's in it. I like my strat tones to be pretty fat with higher than vintage output, and the Rio's fit that description, but I always wanted just a little more mids/fatness. Albert did not disappoint. The MM90s had a little more mids/fatness, but did not get muddy, even when heavily overdriven. The middle pickup is very useable, which I never found on my strat. The in betweens have all the quack. The bridge has bite, but also bark, and the neck sounds very flutey.
I have (and have had) a few P90 guitars, and always found that they leaned a lot more towards humbucker tone than single coil. Part of that gets chalked up to the fact that all the previous guitars I had/have, were 24 3/4 lenght with mahogony/Korina bodies with set necks. The combination of longer scale length, and ash body combine to add a little top end and shimmer to Albert. This guitar really sits in the middle between hums and single coils.
http://david-zeitlin.20m.com/images/img_0717.jpg
Bowks
Well-known member
JimiD pointed this out at the start of the week.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=101561&item=7338926440&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
Go on....
....buy it
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=101561&item=7338926440&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW
Go on....
....buy it
kbaim
Well-known member
great 1st post David. Welcome.
phatduckk
Well-known member
dzeitlin said:
awesome review ... and in your first post. kik ass and welcome to the forums ... enjoy the AL
It is now my avatar, and there is a link to my gear. It's a cherry burst of sorts. Not sure of the exact name. I got it used form craigslist. It's not NOS, but it's in great shape.GWDavis28 said:David, lets see some pictures of that AL!!! Post them to the Picture Post Sticky.
What color, where's you get it? Is it NOS?
Glenn |B)
mbgreene
Well-known member
David - Great post and
Welcome to the AL-diction (I think that will cost me at least three cents to the Koogie fund).
Steve 65 - I don't have an sss to a/b against my MM90's but Davids prior post is as good a description as I've seen. The MM pickups are not as agressive as the traditional Gibson P90s. I also have a Reverend with a single Rio Grande Blusebar P90 in the bridge which is also a little raunchier than the AL.
The MMs seemed to be voiced to straddle the line between singles and humbukers and they do it well, giving you a bit of the best of each without definitively putting you in either end of the respective sounds. And that ebay auction bowks pointed out looks like a good deal to take a shot with.
Welcome to the AL-diction (I think that will cost me at least three cents to the Koogie fund).
Steve 65 - I don't have an sss to a/b against my MM90's but Davids prior post is as good a description as I've seen. The MM pickups are not as agressive as the traditional Gibson P90s. I also have a Reverend with a single Rio Grande Blusebar P90 in the bridge which is also a little raunchier than the AL.
The MMs seemed to be voiced to straddle the line between singles and humbukers and they do it well, giving you a bit of the best of each without definitively putting you in either end of the respective sounds. And that ebay auction bowks pointed out looks like a good deal to take a shot with.
I finally got a chance to play it, for more than 5 minutes, last night. Clean, it is very strat like. The individual pickup sounds had a nice glassy top, a slight mid hump, and a not-too-tight bottom end (not a bad thing). The middle pickup by itself is killer. The in-betweens sound round and fat, but still have just enough shimmer.
Dirty, the pickups start to sound more bucker-like. The mid hump gets more pronounced, but again, there is still enough top end to cut through the mix. Rolling back the tone (very effective and usefull range) to 4 darkens the tone enough to sound VERY bucker-like. The neck alone with the tone at 4 totally nails the "woman tone".
Dirty, the pickups start to sound more bucker-like. The mid hump gets more pronounced, but again, there is still enough top end to cut through the mix. Rolling back the tone (very effective and usefull range) to 4 darkens the tone enough to sound VERY bucker-like. The neck alone with the tone at 4 totally nails the "woman tone".
Dude, is this the one that you got??
http://boston.craigslist.org/msg/85475622.html
If so, that a great deal.
Glenn |B)
http://boston.craigslist.org/msg/85475622.html
If so, that a great deal.
Glenn |B)
That guitar used to be mine... Dave got it from the guy I sold it to... It's actually a trans-orange finish, and I think it weighs a bit more than 7 lbs. (I'd guess closer to 8 lbs. even or so)... It's a great guitar - sounds really nice, plays beautifully... but I have lots of MM90s Axes so I let it go... I'm glad if found a good home...dzeitlin said:
Welcome to the forum Dave!
