Concerns about the Axis neck heel.

[Bulethead]

I'm preparing to buy an Axis and I played one for the fist time yesterday.

The first thing that struck me was the heel of the neck. The sculpting is nice but it seemed to inhibit access to the upper frets in a way that is sort of similar to a Les Paul. Like the heel transition starts too far down the neck.

It's probably because I'm used to playing guitars with an AANJ.

Has anyone else experienced this when playing an Axis for the first time?

Was it difficult to adjust?

Does the Silhouette feel the same?

 

[Pott]

No issues at all. Always felt comfy, but never hindered anything high. I never really saw issues with a Strat heel either though.

Then again I forgot all the notes past the 7th fret.

 

[cjl5150]

I've owned an Axis SS for several years now and I was also used to playing guitars with an AANJ at the time that I got it. I adjusted pretty quickly and have sold all of my other guitars in favor of EBMM guitars. It's the most comfortable, ergonomic neck out there if you ask me. I'll admit that the Axis neck is radically different than what I had played before, but there is no looking back for me. And that is what you'll hear from a lot of guys. Now other necks feel weird and foreign. And even though I have small hands, I can reach everything that I need to. I've found that most EBMM models have a very similar, if not the same neck heel. The JP guitars are a little different-they have 24 frets which, of course, changes what frets are accessible from the neck joint.

 

[fbecir]

The Music Man neck heel is the most comfortable neck heel of the industry. Beware, after playing with a MM guitar, you will be unable to play with another brand !

 

[Jamie M]

My Axis is the most comfortable playing guitar I have ever picked up, it is a perfect design

 

[Tollywood]

Welcome to the forum. What is an AANJ? something-something neck joint?

I can see how the les paul's neck joint inhibits upper fret access, but the axis neck joint is way more comfortable and I find that it is much easier to play than the gibson's big, chunky neck joint.

 

[Siddius]

The Silhouette has great access to the higher frets.

 

[Jamie M]

Welcome to the forum. What is an AANJ? something-something neck joint?

All Access Neck Joint

 

[Rachmaninoff]

The first thing that struck me was the heel of the neck. The sculpting is nice but it seemed to inhibit access to the upper frets in a way that is sort of similar to a Les Paul. Like the heel transition starts too far down the neck.

It's probably because I'm used to playing guitars with an AANJ.

Has anyone else experienced this when playing an Axis for the first time?

I'm also used to AANJ, since I'm a long time Ibanez player. I must say AANJ is the best neck joint ever invented (better than that, only neck-through guitars), but Music Man neck joints are pretty good too. So, regarding you Axis, maybe you get used quickly, maybe later, maybe never... just like all-things guitar, you must try if it fits you.

 

[cjl5150]

But, I do believe that neck thickness and neck joint mass are often overlooked when it comes to tonal impact. That's the main reason that Paul Gilbert went with a thicker neck and neck joint on his Fireman. I found my Ibanezs to have a somewhat thin tone no matter what I did to them. But, my Axis SS has a thicker neck with a super comfortable carve and a narrower 1 5/8" nut width instead of the 1 11/16". It's thicker, but much better for me. And the neck joint has a lot more mass, but is still very accessible, and I spend a considerable amount of time up there. This adds up to a fatter tone. More mass=more tone. I'm pretty sure that's a legit equation and something that was taken into consideration by the engineers at EBMM. lol

 

[Rachmaninoff]

More mass=more tone.

Think Gibson Les Paul.

 

[Tollywood]

Thank you, Jamie.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[Tollywood]

Think Gibson Les Paul.

I no longer own a Les Paul, but when I did I found the neck joint to be a huge squared off chunk of wood. When I played solos, I often found my fretting hand's thumb would come around the neck from the bass side of the fretboard, so that it was dangling in the air on the treble side while my fingers did their thing. It made me feel like I was flying by the seat of my pants, since I didn't have my thumb as an anchor.

 

[kimonostereo]

Back in 1991, the neck heel/joint was one of MANY reasons for me to lust after an EBMM guitar. There was no other guitar at the time that had something so beautifully designed and ergonomically comfortable. Now, lots of boutique builders do something similar or a variation on it. EBMM was ahead of it's time.

 

[DrKev]

More mass=more tone.

I completely, totally utterly, 100%, disagree. I don't think tone has anything to do with mass.

Of course I guess that means that equal numbers of heavy and light guitars sound awesome, i.e. it's a 50/50 crap shoot. So in fact it's probably more accurate to say that I 50% agree with you.

I've just confused myself. Again.

 

[kimonostereo]

I completely, totally utterly, 100%, disagree. I don't think tone has anything to do with mass.

Of course I guess that means that equal numbers of heavy and light guitars sound awesome, i.e. it's a 50/50 crap shoot. So in fact it's probably more accurate to say that I 50% agree with you.

I've just confused myself. Again.

This is a topic I've seen come up more and more and it leads to yet another "tone blackhole" discussion.

Every piece of wood is different. Different guitars have different construction methods. Electronics are different. I've read postings that go so far as to say that good tone/sustain can be diminished if the fret slots are cut too deep in the neck. I kinda think there are so many factors in determining tone, but the most important are your fingers.

That said, my fingers suck so my tone does as well. LOL

 

[cjl5150]

I respectfully disagree DrKey. But, I may not have made my point very well. I, along with many others smarter than myself, believe that a thicker neck, thicker body and the neck joint all matter when it comes to tone. For example, when EVH cut the big wedge out of the body of his Ibanez Destroyer, it lost it's tone. In an interview, Paul Gilbert explains how thicker necks and neck joint improved the tone of his Ibanez guitars. Mass may not be the best word for it, but more wood generally means a thicker tone. Of course there are exceptions...

 

[DrKev]

Well, no, thicker necks and neck joint improved HIS tone according to his ideas of what his tone should be. He had great tone with Laney amps for a very long time but his tastes changed and he switched to Marshall. Tone is not something that can be measured with a meter. There is no "more" or "less" tone and "better" or "worse" is up to the individual listener and that's not set in stone. What may be true for Paul Gilbert may not be true for anyone else.

And in over 70 years of making electric guitars, no maker has sold heavier instruments at a premium price because they sound better (and we all know they sure as hell would if they could get away with it). Hell, Gibson even weight relieves many of their LPs (in 3 different varieties of weight relieving) and nobody complains about the tone of those. Some even say the lighter ones are better. But Gibson themselves state that while there are very minor differences in tone from any one guitar to another, there are no consistent tonal differences between traditional-, modern-, and non-weight relieved guitars. Can they really be that wrong?

 

[Rachmaninoff]

Hell, Gibson even weight relieves many of their LPs (in 3 different varieties of weight relieving) and nobody complains about the tone of those.

Not really... I've seen a lot of people complaining on forums.
There's no consensus, but a lot of Gibson hard-heads talk about "less sustain" of chambered models.

 

[DrKev]

Well, Gibson actually disagree on that too. You'll find a page on their website where they say that sustain might actually slightly improve, contrary to what they refer to as the weight = sustain myth. When the cobalt strings came out a lot of people complained about the higher tension. In fact the tension is lower. Ya'd think people would get that much right just putting them on the guitar but it's not that obvious. Different types of capacitors of the same value don't have a different tone either but that myth will never die.

Why? Because confirmation bias is something that humans do very well - the ability to interpret weak or non-existent evidence, or misinterpret negative evidence, as a being in favor of an existing expectation. For that reason, it really does not matter how many people tell you one thing or another, anecdotal evidence (often called testimonials) is only a weak form of proof in scientific circles for exactly this reason. The lack of concensus is a clue though - if there is no clear majority after a long period of time, then I suspect the effect is question is probably non existent until better info comes along.

Well, that's this ex-scientist's take on it anyway.