👕 Get New Ernie Ball Merch Now!
  • Ernie Ball
  • Music Man
  • Sterling by Music Man
Majesty Premium Select

Reflex VS Steve Morse Y2D - which is better 4 classic rock?

1

1Lskynrdfan

Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2011
Messages
15
Hello MM experts,

Kind of a newbie to MM guitars. I know that tone is very subjective but..
I'd really appreciate an opinion on whether the Reflex or the Steve Morse Y2D would be a better sounding guitar for classic rock.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
1Lskynrdfan said:
Hello MM experts,

Kind of a newbie to MM guitars. I know that tone is very subjective but..
I'd really appreciate an opinion on whether the Reflex or the Steve Morse Y2D would be a better sounding guitar for classic rock.

I have an ALHH and a recent version Fender FSR Hotrod dlx w/celestion V30 speaker but would like to sell or trade my ALHH (trans walnut) for the right sounding either Reflex or Morse?
Click to expand...

Well, I've got two of each, and I play in a classic rock cover band...and I really don't know what to tell you. They'll both work for you but here's some observations:

The Y2D is the heaviest in weight and tone. If your version of classic rock is more rock, maybe that's the way I'd lean.

If your version of classic rock is more classic than rock, then maybe an old-school Morse or Reflex. But honestly, you should really go with which instrument feels better to you.

For feel: The reflex is lighter. The strings sit farther away from the body on a reflex if that effects your picking hand. The Morse is a little flatter. The Morse has no "comfort contouring" and you really feel the guitar body against you. The Reflex is a little neck heavy compared to the Morse. Switching between the two isn't a big deal, the strap buttons sit very close to the same place on both guitars so they actually feel kind of similar.

My Reflex's have two different necks. The 25th is an old school big neck, and the Gamechanger is flatter. The Morse is somewhere in between.

I tend to gravitate towards my Reflex's. The gamechanger has the most flexibility in tone...by far. And it's the only one that gets a real Strat parallel tone for me and if you're in a cover band, sometimes you just need that tone depending on how authentic you want to be. The others all have definite single coil tones in them but I wouldn't call them strat-ish. (edit: the old school Morse with the extra pickup does a pretty good job on that tone).

The humbuckers in the Reflex's are voiced a little brighter than the Morse's, especially the neck.

The Morse's controls are in a great position if you like the way a Strat has the volume knob and pickup selector close to your picking hand. The Reflex's are a little farther back and with a trem arm it can take some re-training of your hand to get to the pickup selector in the middle of a solo.

I love the way the chambered body makes the Reflex's just sing. Amazing sustain.

I think your should get a Gamechanger and a Y2D...that settles it. Enjoy.
 
Out of curiosity, why is the the ALHH not suited to your needs, TC? I would think that would be perfect for classic rock...
 
Helpful answer Reflex vs Morse y2d

BUC said:
Well, I've got two of each, and I play in a classic rock cover band...and I really don't know what to tell you. They'll both work for you but here's some observations:

The Y2D is the heaviest in weight and tone. If your version of classic rock is more rock, maybe that's the way I'd lean.

If your version of classic rock is more classic than rock, then maybe an old-school Morse or Reflex. But honestly, you should really go with which instrument feels better to you.

For feel: The reflex is lighter. The strings sit farther away from the body on a reflex if that effects your picking hand. The Morse is a little flatter. The Morse has no "comfort contouring" and you really feel the guitar body against you. The Reflex is a little neck heavy compared to the Morse. Switching between the two isn't a big deal, the strap buttons sit very close to the same place on both guitars so they actually feel kind of similar.

My Reflex's have two different necks. The 25th is an old school big neck, and the Gamechanger is flatter. The Morse is somewhere in between.

I tend to gravitate towards my Reflex's. The gamechanger has the most flexibility in tone...by far. And it's the only one that gets a real Strat parallel tone for me and if you're in a cover band, sometimes you just need that tone depending on how authentic you want to be. The others all have definite single coil tones in them but I wouldn't call them strat-ish. (edit: the old school Morse with the extra pickup does a pretty good job on that tone).

The humbuckers in the Reflex's are voiced a little brighter than the Morse's, especially the neck.

The Morse's controls are in a great position if you like the way a Strat has the volume knob and pickup selector close to your picking hand. The Reflex's are a little farther back and with a trem arm it can take some re-training of your hand to get to the pickup selector in the middle of a solo.

I love the way the chambered body makes the Reflex's just sing. Amazing sustain.

I think your should get a Gamechanger and a Y2D...that settles it. Enjoy.
Click to expand...

Thanks for good insights into the differences between the two guitars. The reflex in my opinion has a bit of an acoustic sound (not bad) to it and the morse has a bit more of a "tighter" or more focused sound. The reflex has the contours so it's probably a bit more comfortably to play.

Both guitars are so very high quality, amazing, playable guitars that it really is tough to nail down which one is better. To solve that problem, I would need to buy both! It's like picking your favorite child. The old school Morse sounds most like a strat (have my Silo Special for that).

I definitely like the slightly more focused, heavier mid range sound of the Y2d and the neck and fret board feel very comfortably but minus the contours. The Reflex is very comfortably and does all pickup positions well and has the series-parallel switch too. The Reflex was hands down my first choice until I played the Y2d. You know it just goes to show - that there's really not one perfect guitar - always something that you might want to change.

By the way...I play classic rock, heaviest would be like led zep, a little blues and country no metal....

What tube amp sounds great with the Reflex (20 - 40 watts)?
 
Last edited:
1Lskynrdfan said:
The Albert Lee HH w/tremolo, all rose neck, and coil tap, is a comfortable guitar to play. It's sounds somewhat like a Gibson SG only a bit dark overall tone.

It's another amazing MM guitar, but since I already have a Silo Spec with a smaller 10" radius fret board, I would prefer to have a 12" flatter radius fret board like on the reflex or the Morse, because the strings are slightly farther apart which for me is even more comfortable to play. The ALHH is a 10" radius with a slight chunky neck.

Also looking for a little different tone, and haven't figured out which MM guitar nails that tone the best without modifying the guitar or changing my amp.
Click to expand...

Ah. I see- I think Mike Einziger (Incubus) played SGs before he switched to the ALs, so that would make sense. It definitley does have that SGish tone, moreso than a stratty/teley tone. Thanks for the clarification. Love me some rosewood neck AL :)
 
Hmm... Trade for reflex or Y2D

Yeah the Albert Lee HH is an interesting guitar, hangs on your body very comfortably....

I can say for myself that sometimes when trying to decide on a new MM guitar it's easy to get caught up in all the details which makes your final decision tough.

I need an unlimited credit line for the problem of - GAS. The guitar player in Incubus said that the ALHH guitar is the most comfortable guitar he's ever played and owns no less than 10 of them....

10 of them - I think that's a lot of balls:D
 
I have a Reflex and a Y2D.

Both of them are awesome. While the Y2D has a brighter tone, the Reflex has more depth and a percussive tone which is great.

For your style, I say both guitars will play the role. Just choose the one which feels better to your hands.
 
I think einzinger played jazzmasters before the Als, I always go with comfort, I have a sub1 usa but my 2 silo specials are more comfy, the morse takes a little getting used to for me, and my theory is the more comfortable you are playing and the easier it is to play the better your gonna sound!
 
Good advice , thank you. The PDN Y2D, is phenomenal looking and feature loaded guitar. How do you make an already amazing guitar even better? I present to you the PDN Y2D.

I won't even ask how much, the PDN Y2D looks like a badass guitar, I'd really would like to play one of those. Are they limited to 2012? Wow, deciding got a little tougher.

Both of them feel great, but if I really think about it the Reflex is a tad bit more comfy.
 
Yep I agree with your logic, comfort is important and the Silo Spec is a relatively easy/comfortable guitar to play. Some people say the neck on the SSpec is a little too small, I guess it depends on what you are use to or how big your hands are.
 
Thought Einzinger played a few different guitars and was a big fan of heavy strings on his guitars? He supposed switched to MM guitars because he has carpal tunnel syndrome (cts) from playing guitar with heavy strings, not sure if that's 100% true so don't quote me.

I have used the computer for many years for work and I supposedly have cts and it really helps to play a guitar with a comfortable, low resistance shape.
 
yeah 1Lfan, the silo special hugs your body kinda, the neck is small but it works for me, in fact all the necks on the guitars work for me somehow, the morse neck is thinner in the first 4 frets I felt, and if you like the guitar you will get used to the body, like I said I have a sub1 and its no big deal, you really cant make a bad choice?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Neck Rest
Back
Top