i’ve had this guitar for a few months now, and i wanted to get past the honeymoon period before posting a review.
i’ve wanted this guitar for a few years and had to sell some gear to actually afford it, so my expectations were high. i also have a EMBB Axis Sport with P90 pickups. i have had that guitar for over 20 years, and it’s still my favorite in terms of tone. those MM90 pups are amazing and while the neck feels incredible, it’s a little narrow at the nut.
the sabre is gorgeous and the neck is even nicer feeling than the axis. incredibly smooth and the wood is beautiful. i love how the grain in places looks almost like water droplets. it is also a thin neck and that took some getting used to but now, a few months in, my other guitars just don’t feel right.
on this forum and on TGP, i’ve seen some complain that the pups are too bright, and others say they are too dark. lol. i love them as is, and i’m not at all tempted to swap them. the output is also strong (i’m coming from mostly single coils): i was worried that it would be weak (and wondered for a while if i should get HT version), but that’s not the case IMO. i’m really glad i didn’t get a sabre with the hotter pickups. the neck can get a nice smokey/jazzy tone, and the bridge has a good amount of midrange grunt with plenty of highs and lows. my only complaint is that the bass can be a lot at times and i lowered the pole pieces on that side to compensate. a big surprise to me was how great the 2 and 4 positions are. they seriously sound like single coils and are perfect for arpeggios and clean/sparkly playing. you get a slight volume drop but i like that when switching from lead sounds in the bridge or neck. i am using these positions as often as the others.
i only have two nit-picky, very minor issues: 1. the tip of the pickup switch is just plastic that looks like chrome. considering how deluxe the rest of the guitar feels, this feels cheap. 2. the output jack is very ‘stiff’. you need to pull/push with some force to get the cable out/in. i worry that if the guitar or cable gets stuck or bumped against something and the cable gets taut, it won’t unplug on its own and could yank the guitar out of my hands. it really is that tight. but like i said: minor issues.
i hope this helps future buyers…
i’ve wanted this guitar for a few years and had to sell some gear to actually afford it, so my expectations were high. i also have a EMBB Axis Sport with P90 pickups. i have had that guitar for over 20 years, and it’s still my favorite in terms of tone. those MM90 pups are amazing and while the neck feels incredible, it’s a little narrow at the nut.
the sabre is gorgeous and the neck is even nicer feeling than the axis. incredibly smooth and the wood is beautiful. i love how the grain in places looks almost like water droplets. it is also a thin neck and that took some getting used to but now, a few months in, my other guitars just don’t feel right.
on this forum and on TGP, i’ve seen some complain that the pups are too bright, and others say they are too dark. lol. i love them as is, and i’m not at all tempted to swap them. the output is also strong (i’m coming from mostly single coils): i was worried that it would be weak (and wondered for a while if i should get HT version), but that’s not the case IMO. i’m really glad i didn’t get a sabre with the hotter pickups. the neck can get a nice smokey/jazzy tone, and the bridge has a good amount of midrange grunt with plenty of highs and lows. my only complaint is that the bass can be a lot at times and i lowered the pole pieces on that side to compensate. a big surprise to me was how great the 2 and 4 positions are. they seriously sound like single coils and are perfect for arpeggios and clean/sparkly playing. you get a slight volume drop but i like that when switching from lead sounds in the bridge or neck. i am using these positions as often as the others.
i only have two nit-picky, very minor issues: 1. the tip of the pickup switch is just plastic that looks like chrome. considering how deluxe the rest of the guitar feels, this feels cheap. 2. the output jack is very ‘stiff’. you need to pull/push with some force to get the cable out/in. i worry that if the guitar or cable gets stuck or bumped against something and the cable gets taut, it won’t unplug on its own and could yank the guitar out of my hands. it really is that tight. but like i said: minor issues.
i hope this helps future buyers…
