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Question Experienced Axis users, serious tone question

M

McHalen

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Apr 29, 2009
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im new to EBMM and i want an axis because they play great and i want that delicous rock tone, my question is this: I prefer the hardtail on the SS but i dont want to sacrafice the evh tone of the floyd axis... is there any tonal differences between the two? (other than the tone control and pickup switching on the SS)

also i've never gotten to play an SS in person, does it feel and play the same as the floyd model? are the pickups lower to the body because of the hardtail?
 
starsky

starsky

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Apr 14, 2006
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Hi McHalen (are you a Scot?), welcome to the forum.

The ASS has the same pickups as the Axis, but in my experience it does sound a bit different due to the tone control being in the circuit - a bit less raunchy, maybe a little compressed.

There are a few threads on here about this which should show up if you do a search.

I've had three Axis guitars and one ASS, and owned an Axis and an ASS at the same time which was good for tone comparison. Also I've had a hardtail Axis which sounded the same as my Floyded Axis, so the differences to the ASS all seem to be due to the tone circuit.

Tim O'Sullivan on here would have good input on this, he has removed the tone control from his Super Sport in the past and said it then sounded the same as an Axis.

Don't get me wrong, the ASS sounds great, just a bit different to the Axis. The ASS is more versatile with having the tone control. It's all good! :D
 
mikeller

mikeller

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In contrast to starsky - I have no experience with the ASS, however I currently have two Axis guitars, a hardtail and a floyd and find the tone between them similar, but noticeably different. The floyd equipped sounds slightly smoother and spongier (is that a word), likely due to the bridge and springs.

Edited to add: The harmonic structure is different. I find the hardtail a bit more aggressive and hard, the floyd smoother. The hardtail is my main gigging guitar.
 
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S

Stevie

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May 28, 2007
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There is no doubt that there is a tonal difference between the two. The two immediate differences in build are pick up height on the bridge pup, which is nearly 1 mm higher on the axis of the the SS and the tone pot. I had installed a push/pull to knob to get around this on my SS and i raised the pup height in the SS. The changes do make a difference, but they do not emulate the exact tone of the Axis. What has been said about the SS's versatility is all true, what has been said about the Axis' tone is all true too. They are two different guitars and deserve the repect for what they can do. You have to decide what you want the guitar for. It may be that you do need both, by the way, you can't go around with only one ball!
 
whitestrat

whitestrat

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Aug 13, 2007
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The Little Red Dot
It's an issue of impedance... An extra pot makes the tone a little warmer... Even if you're at 10. unless you use those Fender no-load pots.
 
starsky

starsky

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mikeller said:
In contrast to starsky - I have no experience with the ASS, however I currently have two Axis guitars, a hardtail and a floyd and find the tone between them similar, but noticeably different. The floyd equipped sounds slightly smoother and spongier (is that a word), likely due to the bridge and springs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, well getting down to the nitty gritty I found a slight difference between the two as well, but they both still had the 'Axis' sound, which I love. I was trying to get across that the ASS to Axis difference was more pronounced to me. :)

YMMV, IMHO etc :D
 
M

McHalen

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Apr 29, 2009
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Stevie said:
There is no doubt that there is a tonal difference between the two. The two immediate differences in build are pick up height on the bridge pup, which is nearly 1 mm higher on the axis of the the SS and the tone pot. I had installed a push/pull to knob to get around this on my SS and i raised the pup height in the SS. The changes do make a difference, but they do not emulate the exact tone of the Axis. What has been said about the SS's versatility is all true, what has been said about the Axis' tone is all true too. They are two different guitars and deserve the repect for what they can do. You have to decide what you want the guitar for. It may be that you do need both, by the way, you can't go around with only one ball!
Click to expand...

so the bridge pickup is higher on the SS? i would have thought it was lower because the hardtail saddles are closer to the body
 
spkirby

spkirby

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Feb 3, 2004
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The bridge pickup is higher on the regular Axis than on the Supersport. I have both a floyd axis and a vintage trem supersport. There is a tonal difference and the floyd Axis is more of the rock animal but its not a HUGE difference...that said I do have one of each ;)
 
beej

beej

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Aug 16, 2004
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Toronto, Canada
It's closer to the strings on the Axis. But you can easily shim the p'ups on the Super Sport, makes a huge difference.

Personally I think you can raise pickups, remove a tone control, change caps/pots/eq etc and get pretty close between the two. Same basic sound, as has been said. (Not to mention that every guitar/piece of wood sounds different in the first place.)

If I were making the choice, it'd come down to two questions. Do you need a Floyd? And don't care about split pickup settings? If so, go with the Axis. If not, go with the Super Sport.

Edit: Steve beat me to the punch!
 
Astrofreq

Astrofreq

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Sep 5, 2006
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Santa Fe, NM
I'm not into the red color on that Hardtail. Otherwise, it's the bomb guitar. Seriously. Anyone thinking about it should jump on it.
 
Tim O'Sullivan

Tim O'Sullivan

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Apr 22, 2003
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As connoisseur of all things Axis and hardtail allow me to chime in!

I have 2 Axis Hardtails currently, and and EVH hardtail and a ASS hardtail.

Comparing the Axis hardtail to a Floyd equipped Axis, the Floyd Axis is brighter to my ears. It also does not sound quite and rich and full as the hardtail. My esteemed colleague The Stoner had a number of Floyd Axis guitars which I have played through my rig countless times, so I have been able to A/B them.

The ASS stock does sound a little different to the hardtail Axis. It doesn't quite have the umph of the Axis hardtail, and the output is a little lower. This is due to the load of the tone pot and the fact the bridge pickup is a little lower. On my ASS, I have put in a 3 way to replace the 5 way and removed the tone pot entirely. I have also shimmed the bridge pickup so the hight is the same as the Axis guitars. Now my ASS sounds more or less the same as the others and for me is easier to use with simpler wiring and no tone control robbing all the top end!
 
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