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Axis Sport History

Yes, the Axis sport came HH, HSS, SSS at launch. The MM90s came later. The early Sports had pick guards and zebra pickups. I think the pickguards only lasted about a year/year and a half before they disappeared. I always thought they looked best with the Pickguard. My Sport has always been one of my favorite guitars.
 
I had a black one. H/S/S and remember shopping for them when I bought it (probably 1997 or '98). There were quite a few translucent purple ones. I guess looking at the color chart maybe that would be translucent blue but I was thinking they looked on the purple side at the time. The ash body was pretty heavy. I never weighed it but figure it was around 8 to 9 pounds. It seemed all the ones I tried were on the heavy side. I regret getting rid of it. Loved the neck. I didn't like the pickups. To me they sounded a bit harsh so I replaced them. I think I actually still have the original pickups somewhere.

On the lookout for a maple neck one. They don't seem to come up a whole lot. Mine looked like this. I thought it was a good look. I prefer them with a pickguard.

reverb.com

Ernie Ball Music Man Axis Sport 1997 Black | Reverb

These guitars were handmade in San Louis Obispo and are "fast" players as the necks are super comfortable. This guitar features a Seymour Duncan Custom humbucker which reads at slightly hotter than a PAF pickup and two single coils (HSS config). You can cover a variety of styles from rock, jazz, ...
reverb.com reverb.com
 
Thanks Helliger for bringing up that thread, which I obviously missed half a year ago.

If you happen to still have the original pickups, and are in the EU, please sell them to me :-)

Oh man, these were golden times with such an amount of really gorgeous color options. There's even some colors, I haven't seen on pics, let alone in real-life.
 
headcrash said:
Oh man, these were golden times with such an amount of really gorgeous color options. There's even some colors, I haven't seen on pics, let alone in real-life.
Click to expand...

Check here, most are documented.

forums.ernieball.com

What Colour is this? or EBMM Bass Finishes Guide

Well, this idea has been thrown around some, so I decided to have a go at it. I am by no means an EBMM historian, so this is by no means definitive yet... Things I need help with: 1.Fire Engine Red?!?! Help Please 2.Better Pics of finishes that are iffy. 3.Mistakes in general If you have...
forums.ernieball.com forums.ernieball.com

Glenn |B)
 
headcrash said:
Thanks Helliger for bringing up that thread, which I obviously missed half a year ago.

If you happen to still have the original pickups, and are in the EU, please sell them to me :)

Oh man, these were golden times with such an amount of really gorgeous color options. There's even some colors, I haven't seen on pics, let alone in real-life.
Click to expand...


Ah, sorry. I'm in California. Looks like I was right about the purple ones though. They definitely made them in translucent purple. Looks like someone is selling a hardtail version.

reverb.com

Music Man Axis Sport 1997 Purple translucent | Reverb

Music Man Axis Sport, 1997, translucent purple, rosewood fretboard, hard tail. Some dings, small scratches, some fret wear. Contact for more pictures.
reverb.com reverb.com
 
Helliger said:
Ah, sorry. I'm in California. Looks like I was right about the purple ones though. They definitely made them in translucent purple. Looks like someone is selling a hardtail version.

reverb.com

Music Man Axis Sport 1997 Purple translucent | Reverb

Music Man Axis Sport, 1997, translucent purple, rosewood fretboard, hard tail. Some dings, small scratches, some fret wear. Contact for more pictures.
reverb.com reverb.com
Click to expand...
Good find, lets see what I can do :p
 
GWDavis28 said:
Gone, was it you Racer?

Glenn |B)
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There are so many amendments for me to choose from, but if I had to pick one, I would pick the fifth :P Really excited -- I have the same/similar pickup set in my Bullhead Cutlass and I love the flexibility of the Axis pickup with single coils.
 
racerx said:
There are so many amendments for me to choose from, but if I had to pick one, I would pick the fifth :p Really excited -- I have the same/similar pickup set in my Bullhead Cutlass and I love the flexibility of the Axis pickup with single coils.
Click to expand...

Sweet! Looks really nice. Love the necks on those. The one I had was maple neck but that rosewood looks slick.
 
Wow, even MORE colors, Glenn :love:

There also have been golden times, when Axis Sports sold for like 600..700..800 EUR in Germany. I got mine for 1200...1300 in 2013 and 2018. Now they're often listed for around 20k, but it seems they seldom, if ever sell for that much.
 
GWDavis28 said:
Funny I thought the Axis Sports all came with solid saddles.

Glenn |B)
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Funny, I thought the Axis Sports all came with the bent saddles :LOL:

My 1997 AS HSS came with bent saddles, but I exchanged them with solid ones, because I like the feel better.
MY 2001 AS HH came with the solid ones already.
 
Thors Twins said:
Replying on top of a thread that's a few years old. Saw this picture and description of the Tele-fied Axis. I've been inclined to do something just like this with my old Axis SPORT. That bridge, any specific details on it, was the guitar already a string-thru hardtail, any additional routing for the bridge tele pickup? t
Click to expand...
I think that looks like a fairly generic import tele pickup bridge. I would think they are likely fairly readily available.

But there is another way.

97AS_MED (2).jpg
 
Congratulations on your new purple axis sport HSS!

For me, the purple HSS is the best sport to own. I have one and love it.!
 
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