Axis Sport w/ pickguard - observations & questions (what year? etc.)

[Kokopelli]

Axis Sport w/ pickguard - observations & questions (DOB? etc.)

Gentlemen,

I'm new to this board. I recently got an old EBMM Axis Sport, swamp ash body, maple fretboard, with black pickguard. Way cooler looking than the ones without, IMHO. Okay, I have 4 questions:

1) What year was this made? Serial #A80881
2) Is the pick-guard some sort of options, or after-market alterations? I haven't seen many of these around. The recent EBMM catalog didn't mention anything about Axis pickguard. I think the guitar looks a lot better with one than without one.
3) What are the tonal similarities/differences for an Axis-series model with swamp ash vs. basswood vs. basswood/maple body?
4) How come the higher end Axis models are made from basswood, a cheaper wood, instead of swamp ash, which is more expensive?

Thank you in advance!!!

 

[Kokopelli]

Additional notes -

My guitar looks like the one pictured here
http://www.totalguitar.co.uk/article.asp?ID=233&type=GER

So I guess the pickguard is a standard feature back then.

 

[Jimi D]

Well, from what I've gathered hanging around here, I'll take a crack at a few of these...

The Axis Sport was originally manufactured with a pick guard, but that only lasted two years (I think) before they switched to the current look. The original Basswood spec was Eddie's for the wood on the EVH, and that followed to the Axis, which is really a pretty minor evolution of the guitar that Eddie and Dudley designed way back when. The Sport line was expressly designed to offer some alternatives to people who wanted Axis playability and ergonomics, but were looking for different wood, bridge and pickup configurations, so the introduction of Swamp Ash with and without a maple top came from that... As to the wood's cost, I really don't know what the relative costs of Swamp Ash and Basswood are, but they are my two favourite tone woods, so the Axis and Axis Sport guitars suit me to a tee - which would explain why I currently own four of them I suppose I did a brief tone comparison of the three humbucker equipped ones in a previous thread a while back, CLICK HERE

 

[Kokopelli]

Thanks Jimi for the reply
If I don't know the wood, I wouldn't think that my Axis Sport is a swamp ash guitar from its sound, which is smooth and thick with a healthy dose of mids and decent lows. This was probably due to the mid-heavy Dimarzio pups.

From experience, I found swamp ash to have good highs and average lows with a scooped-mid kinda sound. Maybe this is the reason why your swamp ash Axis does not sound as aggressive as your other basswood ones. This makes sense because basswood has more mids which translates to a thicker, fatter sound.

Another question for you, does the bridge pup of your Sport a lot/substantually louder than the neck? I have to turn down the volume when switch from neck to bridge.

 

[Jimi D]

Hi Kokopelli,

I hadn't really thought of it before, but I have to agree that my Axis Sport is "smooth" for a Swamp Ash guitar and has a well defined bass, particularly when compared to my Albert Lee. Still, there's a breathy nature to the tone that I do associate with Swamp Ash... As to the pickups, mine are quite evenly balanced - I've never noticed a volume difference when switching between them, but I know a number of people that intentionally set up their guitars the way you've described yours - perhaps the previous owner adjusted the pickups that way?

Jim

 

[Kokopelli]

... I know a number of people that intentionally set up their guitars the way you've described yours - perhaps the previous owner adjusted the pickups that way?

Jim

"their guitars" - are you talking about their Axis?

I know that you can raise the pup or adjust the poles to get a different sound, but after examined my Axis Sport, I did not notice such adjustments. From looking at the bridge pup, it's a Dimarzio pup alright, due to the four circular holes in the plastic bobbins. Perhaps the bridge pup was replaced by another Dimarzio model.

Is there a way to know if the pups were "stock" pups?

Others who know about this, please chime in. Thanks!!!

 

[Jimi D]

"their guitars" - are you talking about their Axis?

I know that you can raise the pup or adjust the poles to get a different sound, but after examined my Axis Sport, I did not notice such adjustments.

I'm talking about other guitars... The Axis Sport mounts the pickups into the body, so you have to pull the pickguard to adjust them - but I don't think they're supposed to be very adjustable (if at all).

From looking at the bridge pup, it's a Dimarzio pup alright, due to the four circular holes in the plastic bobbins. Perhaps the bridge pup was replaced by another Dimarzio model.

Is there a way to know if the pups were "stock" pups?

The only way I can think of is to pull the pickup and check the markings or sticker on the baseplate with another Axis pup...

I'm curious, at what volume levels are you playing to notice a volume change between the bridge and neck pups. In my experience, there can be slight differences in volume at low levels that aren't really translated into volume differences at gig levels - the bridge pickup just drives the front end of the amp a little harder giving you more gain/punch... either way, I don't have any noticable level differences on any of my humbucker equipped Axis's... Another posibility - if it's a radical difference - is that there's a short on the neck pup so that it's always tapped... Troubleshooting guitar wiring is so much fun

 

[Kokopelli]

The output/sound is very noticeable when I max out the guitar's volum knob.

I'm afraid to take the pups out to exam the base-plates. I have zero electronics experience, and no natural talent when it comes to machineries, kinda like a negative-sloped learning curve. Maybe I'll take it to a guitar shop to have it tune-up and check out.

This is a general question to all forumites -
I live in Irvine,CA which is not that far from the EBMM factory. Does EBMM accept its older guitars for tune-up/set-up? If so, how much does it cost for such services?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Brian]

Repairs, Build Date

Hey there,

Your Axis Sport was built in July of 97'

Regarding repairs, we can do some repair work here at EB...

Depending on what you want done to your instrument, we charge labor, and parts

For more info call Keith in Repairs @ 805-544-7726 ext.209

Thanks

Brian

 

[Kokopelli]

Thanks Brian for the information. EBMM is a very well respected company in the music industry - now I know why!!!