New guy looking to learn about these..

[Jack FFR1846]

I'm new to this forum. I've only recently gotten back into playing guitar again, but (bear with me..), my kids and I are into it again. I've really taken to it once again and am picking up songs like crazy. I'm a somewhat old timer....my only guitar before picking up playing again is a 1969 Guild Studio 302 that my parents bought me brand new in 69. So, I've picked up an acoustic Ovation and am really interested in an electric. In playing everything I can find at a bunch of guitar shops, I was immediately taken by an EB MM Axis. I'm now looking for something used and am still somewhat confused between the different versions/models. I want to stick with an Axis. I do note that there are big differences in prices for new EB MM axis guitars. I'm looking used and don't want to end up paying new prices because I have no clue.

So.....one I've seen locally is this:

The text in the ad tells me this:

For sale is a Ernie Ball Musicman Axis Sport w/Piezo setup. The guitar has has a hardtail bridge and two p-90 pickups. The guitar looks and sounds awesome. The corners of the guitar case have cracks, but the it
works fine.

He's looking for $700. I have no idea what a piezo setup is (I know it's pickups) so don't know if it's a good/bad thing. My Guild has humbuckers and I only play around at home.

I'm a stickler for only buying locally, so am avoiding the ebay/long distance sales. I have to be able to see and play something before buying it.

Thanks for any help you guys can give me.

jack

 

[ishred6string]

piezo is a good thing! look up "piezo demo" on youtube. that will give you an idea what its about......... welcome, good luck.

 

[Spudmurphy]

Hey Jack welcome to the forum.

We have a few similarities - I gave up playing for ... ... too long and returned to playing a couple of years ago. My 17 year old also plays and we exchange licks.

The Axis is a great guitar to go for and the neck is sublime - very similar to my Albert Lee guitar (which you oughta try!!)

The MM90's are single coils but have a lot of ooomph in them too.
Take a look at the thread posted by Roblinda2 on MM90's and you'll see what I mean.

If it has Piezo then you have the best of both worlds. Put the piezo output through a dedicated acoustic amp and you'll wish all your guitars had one!

The price is excellent - and if you don't want it - let me be first in the queue to get it instead.

 

[Quarter]

Axis Sports are great guitars and thats a very good / fair price for one with piezo.

 

[emanon]

Huh, thats my old guitar, hence Beej's old guitar. $700 is probably pretty fair, I think that's what I sold it for, maybe $650, I don't remember for sure.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

Wow! It is indeed a small world. Finding the previous 2 owners out of nowhere (for me, anyways) is unbelievable. Cool!

Thanks much, guys. I'm really looking forward to getting one of these.



jack

 

[candid_x]

Jack, one old timer to another, before deciding, see if you can get your paws around a HSS Silo Special. Nothing wrong with the Axis Sport, but the Silo Special is more versatile.

Prices have been steadily rising on used Music Man guitars, so $700 for the Sport with Piezo seems fair.

Welcome aboard and good luck with your search.

 

[meenahga]

Welcome to the forum. Looks like a spectacular deal to me. I recently saw a similar sport without the piezo sell for $999. Great guitars.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

Jack, one old timer to another, before deciding, see if you can get your paws around a HSS Silo Special. Nothing wrong with the Axis Sport, but the Silo Special is more versatile.

Prices have been steadily rising on used Music Man guitars, so $700 for the Sport with Piezo seems fair.

Welcome aboard and good luck with your search.

Why is the Silhouette more versitile?

I will be back at Guitar Center to have my Guild sent out for a repair tomorrow, so will definately be playing the Axis again and I know they had a Silhouette right above it.

Thanks, jack

 

[whitestrat]

Why is the Silhouette more versitile?

I will be back at Guitar Center to have my Guild sent out for a repair tomorrow, so will definately be playing the Axis again and I know they had a Silhouette right above it.

Thanks, jack

Welcome!

The Silhouette has more pickup combination variations. Note, he meant Silhouette Special (22 frets with single single hum configuration), and not Silhouette (24 fret Hum single hum configuration). The Silo special can be changed into a Single Single Single configuration is you so desire. I think what he meant by more versatile was also in the tone area. the Silo spec can handle more vintage tones, while the Axis, which is a HH, would not have the single coil snap. Even the P90 versions would not have it.

 

[Slingy]

I don't know exactly what a 69 Guild Studio 302 is exactly but it sounds extremely rare and probably very valueable. Might want to retire it to a safe place. Hollowbody?

Obviously some guitars are better than others at certain things but with Musicman the quality is across the entire line, hence the higher price tags, but lower than alot of competitors with equal or less quality.

What type of music do you intend to play?

 

[TwAn]

I only have one advice to you: BUY IT!!! (before I do...)... You've got MM90's, you've got piezo!! That, my friend, is the best combination in the world...

Welcom to the forum!

Seriously though: BUY IT!!!!

 

[Jimmyb]

That's a great guitar and a very good price.

I'd guess and say that it is one of the later Sport models (definitely post '98) and it's not a common combination. I've not seen that many that came with MM90's and the piezo.

There will be a couple of differences between this model and the Axis that you played, notably the Ash body on the Sport, as opposed to the Basswodd/Maple combo on the Axis (Super Sport) I the Axis that you played had the Floyd Rose and no tone pot, it was the Axis, if it had a vintage trem and a tone pot (plus 5-way selector) it would have been the Super Sport.

Great looking guitar there, go for it!

 

[Jack FFR1846]

So, I guess this guitar find was a great find that I should have jumped on. It's off craigslist and I didn't get it in time......unless it comes back .

On the Guild....it's a semi-hollow body cherry colored electric with 2 humbuckers and unique double (sharp ends) cutaways. From research I've done, Guild considered it a good instrument for students and I remember my parents paying $300 back in '69 for it. Who knows what it markets for, but it's worth more to me than whatever the market price would be. I'll continue to play it, though. If it became an investment not being used, it would have to go.

I'm again picking up songs, mainly by finding them on youtube, where I honestly feel like it's cheating because I see in slow motion how to finger.....not just seeing the notes. Justin Sandercoe has certainly spoiled me. The music I'm playing ranges from Eagles through the Who to Clapton acoustic stuff (on my Ovation) to Clapton electric to Aerosmith to Guns n' Roses.

The guitar I buy will be used to use lighter strings than what's stock on the Guild (fairly heavy gauge flat wound......bending strings means you need pliers). So I'm looking to bend strings more like I'll need for the Pink Floyd "Time" leads where now, I'm sort of limited to the tiny bends in Sweet Home Alabama kind of stuff.

I also want this guitar to fit my 11 year old son, so the big Guild body won't do and the Ovation depth and "slip off your leg" back doesn't work. The axis body is nice and small and fits him fine. I expect a Tele or Les Paul shape would also be fine. I've looked at a Fernandez Ravelle, which the seller of the Ovation also has for sale and the size is nice. A big Strat is a bit much.

I've gone in price range from a Duesenberg Mike Campbell (the Tom Petty guy on the superbowl)...haven't played yet..... down to a Peavey Detonator (cheap, cheap, cheap priced USA built guitar). I guess since my Guild and Ovation are US made, I'm very partial to keeping it that way. The Fernandez wouldn't fit that, but it's a beautiful guitar.

I'm no pro guitar player, either, but I do know a lot of mechanics and am not afraid to practice. I'll get there and am already amazed as to what I can do after leaving the guitar under the bed for most of the last 20 years.

jack

 

[Slingy]

You might want to consider something with a humbucker and two single configurations like mentioned above. You'll need the singles to nail the Clapton, Gilmour, and Eagles tones and the bridge humbucker for anything high gain. The Luke model, Silo Special, or Morse would seem perfect. My Luke nails the Gilmour tone, doesn't he have the same single EMG's in his Strats?

 

[Jimmyb]

. My Luke nails the Gilmour tone, doesn't he have the same single EMG's in his Strats?

Well, yes and no. Without wanting to take up too much of BP's bandwidth, he has a number of different guitrs that he uses. On the most recent tour, he used the original Black Strat that he's had since the early 70's. He used the CAR EMG equipped one for "Shine On....". He also used a tele, a Gretsch and a goldtop P90 Les Paul.

To get his tones, you could look towards an Albert Lee, a Silhouette Special SSS or an early Axis Sport (they came with SSS as an option when first released.) If you were after the tone in "Another Brick in the Wall" Then you might want to try an Axis Super Sport with MM90's.

Looking at the choice of music you like to play (Jack) it seems like you've got a good mix of Gibson and Fender players. A Morse may be worth a look, given the huge range of combinations you can get from them, or like Slingy says, a Luke is a good choice. Not to be forgotten is the Silhouette Special, as that has the option of HSS and SSS, plus, you could always get a replacement pickguard and have a different configuration. Personally, I'd also recommend taking a look at the 20th Anniversary Silhouette. I can get some really nice Gilmour type tones from it when put through a clean valve amplifier.

If you get a chance, try a few different models and see which ones do it for you in terms of how the neck feels. Then you can try and work out which one is the one you want to go for.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

.

If you get a chance, try a few different models and see which ones do it for you in terms of how the neck feels. Then you can try and work out which one is the one you want to go for.

That sounds like what I've migrated into doing. I'm an engineer and this is something I cannot calculate or put on a spreadsheet to figure out what fits, I've found. I was trying a Gibson SG and the Axis today again. It's all in the feel so far. We'll see. I am looking at all options now and realizing that I don't have to keep whatever I buy forever (like the Guild). I may start out a bit more down the ladder and work my way up. I did also find a nice little 3/4 Martin acoustic for my 7 year old that I'll probably pick up for him.

jack