First Ball

[IFT1989]

Hey there,
I'm in the market for a new guitar, and I just can't keep myself away from these Music Man's (Men?). Either way I just keep coming back. I haven't had the chance to play one as I'm deployed overseas atm, but the glowing reviews have me sold.
The only question is which one? Right now I'm between the Silo hardtail and the Axis SuperSport. My current guitar (and first love) is an American Deluxe V-Neck Strat modded with a 3 way switch, single volume and 2 duncan Distortion 'buckers. I love that guitar and its sound but I was playing a bit heavier when I modded it. I don't absolutely need high output pickups in a second guitar.
I play through an Orange TH30 and will be using the guitar primarily for writing/recording indie/post-hardcore in the vein of Touche Amore, As Cities Burn, Minus the Bear, and From Indian Lakes, as well as church playing.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[IFT1989]

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I abhor trems and have no use for them, so I'm looking strictly hardtail.

 

[peterd79]

First off -

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

before coming to the EBMM Family i was a Strat guy and had a lot of strats in various forms - my first EBMM was a Silhouette and immediately bought a second one within a few weeks - I'm now playing a Silhouette Special has that stratty feel but SOOOOOO much better and in my opinion kills any strat i've ever owned - i was a hard tail guy and would lock down any trem because i'd always get out of tune (even on Church music) so was reluctant to use the trem on my silo special... guess what... IT STAYS IN TUNE and i love it... won't get any other ebmm without it (unless it was a Armada).

the Silo Special has a HSS version that is just a flat out Rock Machine that can also do anything else you'd want so that's in my mind a swiss army knife of guitars... Just a few thoughts

 

[daneford]

Personally, I'd go silo. I own a silo standard hardtail in hsh, a 20th anniversary hardtail in hh, and a silo special with trem in ssh. I don't own an ASS, but I have played enough of them to say they are also great guitars. The Axis can be a bit sexier in terms of its looks.

I just find silos to be comfortable, versatile, and incredibly reasonably priced, especially on the secondary market. I worked on a wide range of projects using only my silhouette special.

The other thing to note is that on a 24 fret guitar the neck pickup is going to sound different than on a 21 or 22 fret guitar. I love the way the neck humbucker sounds. It's not necessarily "better", it's just different.

Silos are all-around phenomenal guitars.

 

[canuck6string]

Welcome to the converted, IFT. I, too, am coming from the Stratocaster. I loved the soft V on my '57 Reissue and found the Luke neck to be the closest EBMM has to offer. The body is very ergonomic and, to me, better balanced than the Strats I owned. I don't believe it comes with a hardtail, but as was said earlier, the tremolo is very stable. Or you can block it a la Clapton.

The Silhouette's neck was the second most comfortable for me, with a very comfortable and balanced body. Once again, I'm comparing EBMM to the Reissue.

Try them and decide for yourself when you get the opportunity.

 

[IFT1989]

peterd79,

Thank you very much!

And yeah, the Silo Special is definitely an option. I do sort of prefer singles in the neck, and definitely like the 22 fret neck vs 24. As set from the factory, does the trem have any float? With my strat I just put in 5 springs in the back to lock it down. Never had any problems, even in my ".13, drop C thrashing-around" days.
The other concern I have is just with size. My Strat feels very familier, and I'm wondering if the MM's are more... just shredder guitars? For lack of a better word. I don't want it to feel TOO small or "technical", like the (IMHO) very "sterile" Ibanez line.

Thats me with my Strat for a size of me with a Fender (like a 4 year old pic)

 

[peterd79]

peterd79,

Thank you very much!

And yeah, the Silo Special is definitely an option. I do sort of prefer singles in the neck, and definitely like the 22 fret neck vs 24. As set from the factory, does the trem have any float? With my strat I just put in 5 springs in the back to lock it down. Never had any problems, even in my ".13, drop C thrashing-around" days

No worries! the trem does have a hair of float not a ton- i'm pretty heavy pick handed and it doesn't impact it at all... when i started playing more rhythm i thought it might be a problem but doesn't take it out of tune - VERY SOLID Trem...

you could easily drop in additional springs if needed but honestly it's so stable you (I) almost forget that theres a trem on my guitar...

 

[Magic Jason]

Buy an Albert Lee HH (with the split option) , you'll have the most versatile guitar ever!