It was actually a 2013 Luke II in Luke blue that I played years ago that originally gave me the EBMM bug. When I played that guitar I knew I had to have one. That was 8 years ago or so, so it took me a little while to find myself in a situation where I had the disposable cash. Not that common for this guy, lol. Like any gear head, I found myself browsing Reverb every other day drooling after used Luke's. I was really apprehensive about purchasing a used guitar in this price range without playing it. I knew that Ernie Ball Music Man guitars had such a great reputation for their quality assurance straight from the factory. After being told by my local music store that it would take 18 months for them to get an Ocean Sparkle in for me I decided that ordering one brand new from a well-reviewed, authorized dealer through Reverb was my best bet. This one showed up a month ago and I watched it every day, hoping it wouldn't sell. Then last week I noticed that the price of it was increasing daily by about $7 or so. Not sure if that was a Reverb thing or what. Anyway I knew it was now or never and I went for it.
The store was really great to deal with and I was really happy when I received the guitar, everything looked good. Although the action was a little higher than I had anticipated but I think that could be due to environmental conditions while being shipped. And if you bend the B string at a certain point the compensated nut catches it and you get that ting. So the groove just needs to be filed a little I believe. I'm having a pro set it up this Friday.
Bruce