As soon as I'd seen the pics of this year's PDN, I knew I had to have one. So I ordered an AL HH with the package, but that won't come until December or so.
Cue a few days ago, a few shops started receiving some PDNs. The pictures looked quite different from the original MusicMan pics, especially Sweetwater's; theirs looked much flatter and greyer than the vibrant blue sparkles I expected. I started worrying about my AL
But then, Drum Guitar City Land had their Valentine in-stock. And it looked GLORIOUS. Still grey, but with a thicker grain. And a hell of a neck to boot!
Got her today; potato pics for now:
First of, as of every single MusicMan, the build quality is just superlative. Incredible axe. Lightweight, GORGEOUS and perfect finish, and she sounds HUGE. The ebony board has a light brown streak to it... the stainless steel frets are buttery smooth, as is their wont.
The roasting of the neck makes it virtually disappear in your hand. It feels just amazing but then again, all of their necks do, at least to me.
The flame is a little uneven on this example; it fades a little on the player's side. I'd have obviously preferred it the other way around but, as you can see from the pics, it's not like it's an ugly neck either!
The electronics are so far removed from my usual setup, but are very intuitive. In large part this is due to the push-push which are, I am not exaggerating here, SO MUCH BETTER and easier to use than push-pulls... One controls the boost circuit, the other the neck pickup's split.
This baby also has the silent circuit built-in. So she's dead quiet on all single-coils positions.
Normally, the first thing I'd do to a guitar like this is replace the bridge single-coil with a humbucker (mark my words: a Bareknuckle HolyDiver would sound incredible in this large slab of Swamp Ash...). I'd then replace the 3-way switch with a 5-way and wire it like an Axis or AL HH. But I'm not sure I'll ever get to that, for three reasons:
1) the silent circuit makes re-wiring a little annoying, and I may have to sacrifice it to simply things
2) It's easier to use the push-pull than to quickly hit the intermediate positions on a 5-way!
3) she sounds GREAT
I've never heard a Maroon5 song but I'll give James Valentine this: this guy knows how to design a coooool guitar...
EDIT: One thing about this axe: I really wish it had a forearm contour. The wedge-shaped body is advertised as being more comfortable but it is not, to me. Squared body edges always dig into my arm and this is no exception. There's also no tummy cut but that's not as noticeable.
Cue a few days ago, a few shops started receiving some PDNs. The pictures looked quite different from the original MusicMan pics, especially Sweetwater's; theirs looked much flatter and greyer than the vibrant blue sparkles I expected. I started worrying about my AL
But then, Drum Guitar City Land had their Valentine in-stock. And it looked GLORIOUS. Still grey, but with a thicker grain. And a hell of a neck to boot!
Got her today; potato pics for now:
First of, as of every single MusicMan, the build quality is just superlative. Incredible axe. Lightweight, GORGEOUS and perfect finish, and she sounds HUGE. The ebony board has a light brown streak to it... the stainless steel frets are buttery smooth, as is their wont.
The roasting of the neck makes it virtually disappear in your hand. It feels just amazing but then again, all of their necks do, at least to me.
The flame is a little uneven on this example; it fades a little on the player's side. I'd have obviously preferred it the other way around but, as you can see from the pics, it's not like it's an ugly neck either!
The electronics are so far removed from my usual setup, but are very intuitive. In large part this is due to the push-push which are, I am not exaggerating here, SO MUCH BETTER and easier to use than push-pulls... One controls the boost circuit, the other the neck pickup's split.
This baby also has the silent circuit built-in. So she's dead quiet on all single-coils positions.
Normally, the first thing I'd do to a guitar like this is replace the bridge single-coil with a humbucker (mark my words: a Bareknuckle HolyDiver would sound incredible in this large slab of Swamp Ash...). I'd then replace the 3-way switch with a 5-way and wire it like an Axis or AL HH. But I'm not sure I'll ever get to that, for three reasons:
1) the silent circuit makes re-wiring a little annoying, and I may have to sacrifice it to simply things
2) It's easier to use the push-pull than to quickly hit the intermediate positions on a 5-way!
3) she sounds GREAT
I've never heard a Maroon5 song but I'll give James Valentine this: this guy knows how to design a coooool guitar...
EDIT: One thing about this axe: I really wish it had a forearm contour. The wedge-shaped body is advertised as being more comfortable but it is not, to me. Squared body edges always dig into my arm and this is no exception. There's also no tummy cut but that's not as noticeable.
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