Axis Sport Trem

[Rob L]

Greetings,
I am really liking my Axis Sport, it stays in tune really well!! for a standard vibrato, why would you need a Floyd? Give me some feedback on Swamp Ash as opposed to Basswood & maple cap! Also like the clean tones of swamp ash, I've been playin Strats for years & still dig them but also like the versitility of the MM.

Rob L

 

[PurpleSport]

Howdy Rob, and again, welcome to the club, and glad to hear you're digging the gear!

Swamp ash is great, innit? I've had Strats made of both alder and swamp ash, and the ash blew the alder out of the water as far as tonal personality to me - more springy and vibrant with a nice dip in the mids and bump up in the lows, not to mention lighter. I've got a swamp ash Tele clone that's the same way, but it's nowhere near as light, playable, and tonally versatile as my Sport. It's not a sound for everyone - works great for country cats, and it works for me (and EVH at one point too, his main Frankenstein back in the day was ash also)!

I also own a basswood Ibanez JEM (two actually, one's a collector's item I don't play), and I've never been a huge fan of it's tone - far too middy, not enough spank on the highs and twang on the lows. Apparently Vai agreed and went alder on his main axes years ago.

Can't vouch for the basswood/maple combo personally, supposedly it's "the ultimate rock wood combo" according to luthier John Suhr, but I can say this: I played a standard Axis alongside an alder-bodied Luke in my local Guitar Center a few weeks ago, and my non-guitarist girlfriend pointed out - without any solicitation from me, mind you - that the Luke was the far better sounding instrument, which I completely agreed with.

Now all we gotta do is get ya to try an Axis Sport with MM90s as well as an Albert Lee and see what ya think...yowsa!

(Hey, BTW, is your trem set up to float or not, and what gauge strings are you using? I ask as I'm having a bear of a time trying to get my AL set up to float with 9s....it also stayed in tune great as a non-floater until I started messin' with it...)