MM Axis super sport with MM90's

[Orange Adam]

Helllllooooo!!!



I always wanted a guitar with p-90's but never quite bumped into one that really struck me as being the ONE!I liked the P90's tho'!


Here in Zg we have a MM dealer so it is possible to get hold of a MM/EB guitar 4 the right amount of money, hahahaha!!!

Please, those of you who own an Axis super sport guitar with MM90 pickups, could you please tell me a bit about the sound of the guitar?

Is it fat, thin, bright, dark??!?!?!?!


I used to have a music man Sihllouette Special and I sold it because I could never ever get it to work quite as I wanted to. It was a Honeyburst hardtail model from a couple of years ago.
Sounded to thin and britlle to my ears.

And, (I know this is going to sound way strange) was to playable.
I like to fight for the tone with my instrument!

I thought of maybe swapping the pups, but it seem to me that such a small body could not produce a fatter thicker sound.
I'm a strat player /modded 1995 strat w/maple neck// who likes his guitars sounds airy, smooth and open.

I also had a framus diablo pro guitar made from 2 pieces /bookmatched/ swamp ash with a rosewood fretboard and had to sell that one too, because it sounded so harsh, and the neck was too wide for my small hands.Also the rosewood was driving me nuts. On stage I could not see the little white dots. So , it is only maple for me that works!

I would really like to try a MMEB Axis SS but untill you order U don't get to play it.I guess I'm just plain worried it will sound thin and brittle with not enough bass and resonance.

What do you think?



a.

 

[Orange Adam]

I've already done a search on this forum on Axis' and found some info , but a bit more is always helpfull!!!


Thax

 

[Jimi D]

I've got one that I love - sounds like a "fat Tele" to me; just a great, breathy, single-coil tone...

Details and pics of my Axis SS MM90 here

 

[kbaim]

If your playing tends to be airy, smooth, and open the axis with mm90's is a good choice, but my playing is sort of that way and I prefer the Luke model. They come with emg's and only rosewood.
Really comfy neck. So forget about fighting for tone on pretty much all eb guitars.

Keep in mind that if you like your strat tones you might miss the 5 position switch. The axis ss p90 has a 3 position.

Better to add guitars than to replace guitars if possible to enhance and inspire playing.

A lot of us here probably have too many guitars though.

ERNIE? ERNIE?

KEITH

 

[Orange Adam]

Well I have to say I'm a bit concerned becuse of the maple/ash combo being too bright, that's why I'm asking?
I got the Guitarsit issue where the reviewed the Axis w/MM90.And they say it's quite a great guitar to play!
Humbuckers or active electronics as well as rosewood f/b's with small white dots are a big big no for me.

What would be a good/fair street price for one, and how much are they new?

P.S. I never play clean sounds and my style is very open, rythmic. I use open tunings now and then and play 11-50 strings.
I have an old Orange OR100 head and a 4x12 marshall 300w cab.
I use a thd hotplate attenuator to get overdriven sounds and a fuzz to get some lead tones.
My overall philosophy is less is definately more......wasnt in the past 'tho, hahahaha!

You can hear some of my earlier music on:

www.gloft.com

or do a quick search on

www.iuma .com

and you'll find some downloadable songs!


maybe then you'll be able to tell me wether it will suit my syle or not.


as I stated previously I already owned a MMEB Sillhouette special and I't lacked major bass freq. in the bridge position. Sounded very narrow!But the neck felt the best I've ever tried in my life.

I have to tell you when I first tried my MMEB guitar it was a revelation. I could not believe how good the neck felt and the overall feel of the instrument.

I live 30 min tram ride from where the shop is and on the way back home, I talked to my self out loud on the street like I was demented or somethink about how I have to have the guitar!Hahahahahahahah!!!!


Later on the small body dimensions and the trebbly tone issue really started bugging me because I jump around when I play and there was a huge tonal difference btween my strat and the MM.


SORRY to be such a pain in the B_TT with all these questions, but I really think you can help me!


Thanx

 

[PurpleSport]

Hi Adam -

As you've probably seen in my past postings, I love P90's and think the MM90's with the Silent Circuit are a really great combination.

I've just gotten an Albert Lee with the 3 MM90 configuration, and have an Axis Sport (not the Super Sport), which has a similar wood combination (ash body). I happen to really like swamp ash because it's resonant and makes for nice bouncy clean tones that have personality - I personally don't think alder is as vibrant sounding, and find that I'll always pick the swamp ash guitar when both are placed in my hands. I also think ash has a better bottom end response too for the same reasons - very alive, and not soft or mushy.

The MM90s in my AL sound really, really nice, and after having it for about 3 weeks now, I'm coming to the conclusion this is the most versatile guitar that I've owned thanks to those pickups. Interestingly, it sounds more different than my Axis than I thought - the Axis has more punch and high end sizzle, and is a louder guitar overall. Don't take this the wrong way as a slam against the AL...it's definitely in a league of it's own. I think the heritages of the two instruments reflect this, with the Axis being the more raw and rowdy guitar that you-know-who made popular, while the AL is obviously a product of a tasty guitarist who's known for playing in more modest and refined settings.

I think a lot of the difference between the two has to do with the AL's potentiometer/capacitor values. The Axis uses 500k volume/tone pots and a .22mf cap, which is what's used in Gibsons and with most mid-high output humbucking pickup configurations to let more high end through. The AL uses the Fender/single coil combination of 250k/.47mf pot and cap, which restrains things a bit. What's cool is that both configurations work well with the MM90s - I'm becoming increasingly convinced this is one of the most versatile pickups out there. You could always try this pot/cap mod and see if it tones things down in your Axis, and it wouldn't cost very much.

BTW, the AL neck is really, really nice. I think I'm starting to like it more than my Axis, which I think is one of the all time greatest....

 

[Orange Adam]

I had a swamp ash framus and tthe guitar drove me nuts.Just too trebly and ice pickey for my taste.
Hopw come music man doesnt use alder as their standard tone wood?

 

[Jimi D]

I had a swamp ash framus and tthe guitar drove me nuts.Just too trebly and ice pickey for my taste.
Hopw come music man doesnt use alder as their standard tone wood?

Well, first off, most EB/MM guitars are Alder or Basswood - only the Albert Lee and the Axis Sports and Super Sports with MM90s have Swamp Ash bodies. Second, some of us LIKE Swamp Ash as a tone wood very much, especially for single coils. Third, although you can make some generalizations about a particular wood's effect on tone, you can't presume any guitar is going to be "ice pickey" just because it's made of Ash, no matter that some Framus you once owned happened to sound that way. And fourth, as the owner of both an Albert Lee and a Super Sport with MM90s, I can categorically state that neither is "ice pickey", period.

Bottom line is that if you want an Ernie Ball with MM90s, it comes with a Swamp Ash body. And it sounds great.

 

[PurpleSport]

I'm in complete agreement with Jimi - I've never heard an "icepicky" EBMM, ever. Those guys in San Luis Obispo know what they're doing!

Both of mine have nice warm tones, for sure, and if you want to brighten them up to make them extra twangy (or fat), it's easy to do if you know how to use your amp and/or pedals. I think the MM90s have a really nice balance of highs and lows, and it's very cool to be able to switch amp tones and immediately go from a roaring rock sound to a very Stratty clean sound without having to mess with a bunch of settings or switches. Just using the volume knob alone a lot of times is all you need to do...try that with a humbucker!

If a guitar sounds really nasty and brittle, it's usually due more to the electronics or hardware than the wood (although a certain maple-bodied Kramer I used to own back in the hair-metal heyday certainly qualifies as an exception). Stainless steel strings can also make things a little more brighter than necessary, too.

I'm borrowing a FireWire audio interface from the office this weekend, so hopefully I can lay down some sample tones in my home studio like I've been hoping to for a while. When I'm done, I'll post a notice about it, and you can hear for yourself how awesome the MM90s are...

 

[Orange Adam]

I'm in complete agreement with Jimi - I've never heard an "icepicky" EBMM, ever. Those guys in San Luis Obispo know what they're doing!

Both of mine have nice warm tones, for sure, and if you want to brighten them up to make them extra twangy (or fat), it's easy to do if you know how to use your amp and/or pedals. I think the MM90s have a really nice balance of highs and lows, and it's very cool to be able to switch amp tones and immediately go from a roaring rock sound to a very Stratty clean sound without having to mess with a bunch of settings or switches. Just using the volume knob alone a lot of times is all you need to do...try that with a humbucker!

If a guitar sounds really nasty and brittle, it's usually due more to the electronics or hardware than the wood (although a certain maple-bodied Kramer I used to own back in the hair-metal heyday certainly qualifies as an exception). Stainless steel strings can also make things a little more brighter than necessary, too.

I'm borrowing a FireWire audio interface from the office this weekend, so hopefully I can lay down some sample tones in my home studio like I've been hoping to for a while. When I'm done, I'll post a notice about it, and you can hear for yourself how awesome the MM90s are...

Woow that would be so great!
Thanx a lot guys!