REALLY struggling to like my EVH guitar - help!

[chrisjscott]

So, I bought my first EBMM/EVH guitar a month or two ago, having yearned for one since they came out in the '90s. Got it all set up and have been playing it for a few weeks now and I'm on the verge of realizing that my $300 Schecter C-1 is a better guitar (for me, of course).

This is actually a bit soul-crushing, so I'm looking to get a little feedback from other EVH owners. Two issues stand out to me:

1.
I was very surprised by how light the guitar body is - nobody to blame but myself here, as I favor heavy guitars and basswood is a dramatic 180 from that. I'm a little surprised though, as, AFAIK, Eddie's Frankenstrat and Kramer Baretta were both heavy woods...

2.
This is my more immediate realization, one I'm looking for a spot-check on: the two humbucking pickups are VERY poorly balanced. Plug this thing into a clean amp and play with the neck pickup and it sounds great - buttery tone, very smooth. But move to the bridge pickup and the sound is slightly distorted/sizzly and the volume level is noticably higher than the neck pickup!

Can any other EVH owners verify that their pickups function like this? I'm pretty sure it's not a malfunction but, rather, the way EVH wanted it. Why, you ask? Because I used to own a 1st gen 5150 head and that thing was so high output that it was basically uncontrollable to the point where I dumped it. I suspect that the EVH guitar was engineered in a similar manner because that's what he was into at the time...

I WANT to love this guitar, but I'm struggling!

 

[fbecir]

Hello

You start to appreciate light guitars when you become older ... back pains are there to remind you that you're not a young man anymore !
For the volume balance of the pickups, first you can change it by changing the pickup height.
IMHO the situation you describe is normal : with a clean sound the neck pickup will be sweet but the bridge humbucker will be too aggressive. With high output humbucker the bridge pickup will always give you some crunch (or you have to turn the volume knob to clean your sound).
And I presume you buy an EVH for high gain !

 

[koogie2k]

To begin with - EVH guitars were made to HIS specs. Basswood body with maple top. It is what he wanted and how they were made. We, the consumer, have to buy what is made concerning siggy guitars. This includes the Morse, Luke, JP, Lee, etc.

The pick up situation sounds normal to me. Adjust the height if you want and see if that helps.

 

[jzeijen]

Don't struggle.. If it's not happening for you, so be it

The weight of the guitar can't be fixed, pickups can always be replaced. Good luck!

 

[cionian]

I can relate to the OP..I was in a similar situation with my Morse Y2D.. Had numerous setups, the pickup balance etc is all familiar.. Up until that time, I've only ever had a Les Paul copy (my first electric) and later a cheap but very playable strat copy. I came to realise that it was not the guitar but me..and had to adjust accordingly.. Remember that these guitars were what the artist wanted..that they too probably went through that stage of experimenting which led to these specs etc.. Stick it out, don't be afraid to adjust it to your taste..they're high quality and with time you'll come to love it. I'm quite sure my Y2D would not suit another Morse owner and vice-versa.

 

[jvh]

Welp I just bought one and yes the guitar is light. For me the lightness offers a different level of resonance.

As far as the sizzly I'm not sure I've heard of the ebmm pickups or axis pickups being described as this. The ebmm I just bought has a very sharp clear distortion sound bridge pickup. I believe Eddie used this guitar on for unlawful and balance. If you listen to unlawful it's more of a sizzle as in a pv 5150 amp tone you are hearing. If you listen to balance it's more of a soldano or clean sounding distortion. Pickups need to match the amp tone etc. I would describe axis and evh pickups as a crunch with balanced high ends. I'm not an expert, but what I mean is when you hit single notes the tone cleans up, but when you hit chords it will break-up or crunch. With Evh guitars I play evh sounding music, because I believe that's what they are best at. It's just a pure clean rock tone. I know all this jibberish probably doesn't answer the question, but what I'm saying is the treble should be used on distortion channel. As others mentioned you probably need to adjust the height.

So I know you are disappointed in the balance between the pickups, but are you disappointed in the bridge pickup when playing with distortion?

If possible I would recommend you make a quick youtube clip and let us hear it.

 

[douglasspears]

I have had an EVH for 18 years (wow!?) and an Axis Super Sport for about 5...which is my main guitar. I don't tinker with guitars too much, just play them, but I didn't think these pickups could be adjusted, as they're screwed right into the body. Isn't that right?

The bridge p/u is pretty bright and really cuts through, so I've found (about 16 years ago) that I spend about 80% of my time on the neck pickup, and then flip back to the bridge for solos, country chicken pickin, or when I just need to cut thru everybody else.

I play clean about 80% of the time, and hit a tube screamer for solos and whatnot, so I'm not the pure EVH style player, for what it's worth....though I can still rip Eruption if needed!

 

[IslandBoy]

Check your PMs ........

 

[Bluplirst]

As for the pickups, that is par for the course with most of my guitars with a high output bridge pickup. For clean tone the middle position on the evh/axis is one of the best out there.

What kind of amp are you running it through? The differece in output is balanced and sweetened by a more compressed higher gain amp (which they were designed for in the first place).

If it doesn't feel right, just move on man. Its understandable to be infatuated with the iconic guitar, but use what feels good to You!

 

[Rufedges]

I purchased my 1st Axis Super Sport in 2008, and got a PDN ASS in 2012. Some folks rave about the pickups, but over time I seemed bond with them less and less. Turned, out, I favor low output pickups much better than high output pups, that, and the almost flat EQ of the EVH pups didn't really jive with me any more, needed some more treble. My PDS ASS sounds almost identical to my HSS Silhouette Special now, and I have a Dimarzio Area 58 single coil in the neck of the Silo. ......I don't get along w/ Floyd's, but, you could try a fix for less than 150 bucks, something you could get most of your $$$ back from if you don't like the results. Get yourself a set of DiMarzio Eric Johnson DP211 and DP212 pickups, F-spaced (that is Fender Spaced). Also, if you playing on 9-42's, upgrade to 10-46 EBMM strings (no modifications required to the nut), and make sure your action is a little bit higher off of the fret board, or just so you don't get any kind of fret buzz or metallic fret sounds. The pickup set is 120 bucks, and you can get probably 2/3rds of that back if you don't like them on Ebay. This is the set I have in my PDN ASS now, and I am running 11-48s 1/2 in Eb. Also have the DP212 in the bridge of my Silo Special, great pickups, very Single coil sounding for humbuckers, and sounds much more like VH1 than the stock pickups do. Not only that, but if you like how the DP211/212 sound, you can easily sell your pickups for over 150 bucks very easily, maybe even more considering how "vintage" they are, and they came out of an EVH, even though the Axis / Axis SS pups today are supposed to be the same.

EJ Custom
EJ Custom

So, I bought my first EBMM/EVH guitar a month or two ago, having yearned for one since they came out in the '90s. Got it all set up and have been playing it for a few weeks now and I'm on the verge of realizing that my $300 Schecter C-1 is a better guitar (for me, of course).

This is actually a bit soul-crushing, so I'm looking to get a little feedback from other EVH owners. Two issues stand out to me:

1.
I was very surprised by how light the guitar body is - nobody to blame but myself here, as I favor heavy guitars and basswood is a dramatic 180 from that. I'm a little surprised though, as, AFAIK, Eddie's Frankenstrat and Kramer Baretta were both heavy woods...

2.
This is my more immediate realization, one I'm looking for a spot-check on: the two humbucking pickups are VERY poorly balanced. Plug this thing into a clean amp and play with the neck pickup and it sounds great - buttery tone, very smooth. But move to the bridge pickup and the sound is slightly distorted/sizzly and the volume level is noticably higher than the neck pickup!

Can any other EVH owners verify that their pickups function like this? I'm pretty sure it's not a malfunction but, rather, the way EVH wanted it. Why, you ask? Because I used to own a 1st gen 5150 head and that thing was so high output that it was basically uncontrollable to the point where I dumped it. I suspect that the EVH guitar was engineered in a similar manner because that's what he was into at the time...

I WANT to love this guitar, but I'm struggling!

 

[paranoid70]

I don't know how we can convince you to like your own guitar. If it doesn't speak to you, so be it. I had a friend who had a really nice PRS guitar. When he moved to Seattle, he had me hold onto it for him for a couple of months. I played it a bit, and although it sounded great, I never really could bond with it. (Glad I went with EBMM over PRS).

 

[jvh]

I can take this guitar off your hands. I still say EVH guitars are best for EVH or rock styles.

 

[imastratoholic]

Sounds like you need to move it along and get into something you don't have to force yourself to like.

 

[Tollywood]

Hello

You start to appreciate light guitars when you become older ... back pains are there to remind you that you're not a young man anymore !

haha - I know how you feel. I'm downsizing to a smaller cabinet since a 4x12 is just killing me these days.

 

[IslandBoy]

Without a doubt ................

Sounds like you need to move it along and get into something you don't have to force yourself to like.

 

[wired]

I've had my EBMM EVH for 18 yrs & part of the OP's issues may be using the same amp settings for his Schecter & the EVH. I don't consider the Axis/EVH pickups to be high gain at all, more medium gain. I think the pickups are really well balanced too. The bridge pickup "sizzle" you're hearing may be because you have the vol all the way up? Back off the volume a bit & the bridge pup sounds great w a clean amp. Guitars are all personal preference, the Axis/EVH may just not be your thing.

 

[Razzle]

I'll take it.

 

[mtrejo]

So still struggling or is it a goner?

 

[straycat113]

As far as the weight there is nothing you can do about that though I don't get a lighter guitar being an issue, usually it is the other way around. My main Strat is pretty heavy especially compared to any of my EBMM guitars but it has no effect on me. Even though Ed's EBMM sig and it's predecessors have a neck and bridge pup he is notoriously famous for living solely on the bridge pup. I own 3 EBMM EVH's and would never describe the pups the way you did and in any poll you will find on his three sigs the EBMM pups will be at the top.I do not consider them that hot, the Peavey's were a way hotter pick up and the new Wolfs are the lowest. The first thing I would check for is to make sure you have the original pups in the guitar! Even though the pups are directly mounted to the body you can adjust them, I have never personally had the need to do this but if you google it will come up on how to do it. Give yourself sometime with it and more than likely you will adjust. Mostly all the top shred players use Basswood or Basswood bodies with a Maple cap as their top preference for tone wood, if it don't workout it just is not the axe for you. Ican remember back in 1982 wanting a Gretsch 6120 like Brian Setzer played and got a call from a friend who was the manager of Sam Ash telling me someone just traded in a vintage one they had for sale. I flew over there and grabbed the guitar and almost paid and left without even plugging it in. Well when my adrenaline lowered I sat on the stool, plugged in, and totally hated it. It just felt so foreign and the Bigsby felt like someone welded a motorcycle kick stand to the guitar. After three hours of trying to convince myself in to it, I had to hand it back as it was a hell of a lot of money for a 20 year old at the time. Years later I read an interview with Setzer who stated he always felt the same way about solid bodies lol.

 

[IslandBoy]

Major reason for the light weight is I believe his is a HT , which are MUCH lighter than the trem models .....