Ngd!!!!!!!!
- Thread starter agt
- Start date
Yay, another Armada in da house. That's a sweet finish, congrats. The Armada takes the top spot in my lineup, absolutely love it.
Ozzy, the neck is the thickest in the lineup. I believe the Dark Lord may have the same profile. I believe it's based off a '50's Les Paul.
Ozzy, the neck is the thickest in the lineup. I believe the Dark Lord may have the same profile. I believe it's based off a '50's Les Paul.
agt
Well-known member
Kevin, the neck on my Armada is the largest of any EBMM I own - see my signature for the models I am familiar with. I have never played a Dark Lord Morse, so I cannot comment on that.
Two dimensions along which a neck can feel large are side-to-side (edge of neck near low E string to edge of neck near high E string) and front-to-back (fretboard surface to back of neck)
I took some measurements at the 5th fret with a caliper.
My Armada is approximately 1/16" deeper front-to-back at the 5th fret compared to my 25th. Prior to my Armada purchase, I considered my 25th to be the thickest of my EBMM necks along this dimension, with my Silhouette and Silhouettte Specials close behind. The JP models are the thinnest front-to-back.
Side-to-side, the JP models are the widest among the 6 string models I owned prior to the Armada. Compared to my JP6 BFR, my Armada is wider at the 5th fret by approximately the width of the binding on one side. If you look straight on at the Armada neck, the JP BFR neck width would be about from the edge of the neck near the low E string to the beginning of the binding on the high E side. This extra width compared to the JP BFR neck is a bit less than 1/16".
I do not have large hands and I was hesitant about the Armada prior to playing one. The Armada neck feels fantastic to me - no regrets. The shorter 24.75" scale length kind of offsets some of the extra size. Also, the tune-o-matic bridge string spacing is a tiny bit narrower compared to the F-spacing on many other EBMM models. So, even though the neck is more massive, the positions where my fingers fret notes are a bit closer together and the stretches across 5 frets feel a bit easier. Also, due to the shorter scale length, the string tension is looser and a bit more forgiving for bends. All considered together, it is not any less comfortable feel-wise compared to my 25th or my Silo models, it just feels different. It feels "right", as do all EBMM necks. The only application where the Armada neck is less than ideal for me is when I use chord voicings that require me to wrap my thumb over the top of the neck. For stuff like that, I'll grab one of my Lukes.
And then there is the TONE of the Armada. That big mahogany through-body neck definitely excels in that area. I had to re-evaluate all the settings on my amps because the Armada sounds absolutely HUGE tone wise.
Also for comparison, I own one non-EBMM guitar: a PRS McCarty. The McCarty is similar in size to the Armada front-to-back and similar to the JP6 BFR side-to-side, which means is is approximately 1/16" narrower there. The McCarty is a great guitar, but, aside from taking measurements on it to answer your question, it has not left its case since the Armada arrived.
If I could have only one guitar, it would be a Luke due to its overall playability and versatility. But none of us knuckleheads own only one EBMM. The Armada would be second.
I cannot recommend this guitar enough. I love it!
I hope that helps.
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Great rundown AGT, I agree completely.
Regarding the neck, here's some info I got from A.J. comparing the Dark Lord and the Armada necks.
"The back carves should be very close (I think they might be the same for fatness) but the string spacing at the nut is a little wider on the Armada."
As far as tone, geez, the Armada is total tone. I too had to readjust my amp settings a bit. The pickups are pretty high mid range/rock similar to what I consider the Axis pickups, in an awesome way (I believe they are actually wound in-house IIRC). The volume control does a fantastic job of maintaining clarity when rolled down. Sounds equally great clean or driven. Some people have voiced their concern about the knob placement as odd but I don't think they actually played it because the volume and tone are just as easily accessibly as any other MM guitar I own. Switching to other MM guitars takes a moment of "recalibration" but I think that's safe to say when switching to any guitar. Not as big a deal as some would think unless you're going from one extreme to another, flat to fat.
The thing I love about the Armada is it feels like you just jumped into a fully equipped Caddilac. All the details feel substantial. Neck, headstock and body binding are REALLY nice, especially on the neck. The contouring is very comfy and the center V carved top just makes me want to stop playing and start running my hands over it because it's so inviting. It was a G.A.S killer for me once I got it but MM continues to produce such great stuff and alas, the G.A.S. continues, BUT, it's still my go to guitar.
Regarding the neck, here's some info I got from A.J. comparing the Dark Lord and the Armada necks.
"The back carves should be very close (I think they might be the same for fatness) but the string spacing at the nut is a little wider on the Armada."
As far as tone, geez, the Armada is total tone. I too had to readjust my amp settings a bit. The pickups are pretty high mid range/rock similar to what I consider the Axis pickups, in an awesome way (I believe they are actually wound in-house IIRC). The volume control does a fantastic job of maintaining clarity when rolled down. Sounds equally great clean or driven. Some people have voiced their concern about the knob placement as odd but I don't think they actually played it because the volume and tone are just as easily accessibly as any other MM guitar I own. Switching to other MM guitars takes a moment of "recalibration" but I think that's safe to say when switching to any guitar. Not as big a deal as some would think unless you're going from one extreme to another, flat to fat.
The thing I love about the Armada is it feels like you just jumped into a fully equipped Caddilac. All the details feel substantial. Neck, headstock and body binding are REALLY nice, especially on the neck. The contouring is very comfy and the center V carved top just makes me want to stop playing and start running my hands over it because it's so inviting. It was a G.A.S killer for me once I got it but MM continues to produce such great stuff and alas, the G.A.S. continues, BUT, it's still my go to guitar.
joshua_helm
Well-known member
That's beautiful!!!
