Relic'd

[sballow]

So I was browsing eBay the other day and I came across a rather interesting listing. From first glance it appeared to be an EVH in blue for merely $900. I jumped at the opportunity without doing my research. I spent the next week wondering if I would be overjoyed or severely disappointed. I find myself pleasantly surprised. It turns out I am now the proud owner of 15 year old axis that is in great conditioned and nicely relic'd. Someone had replaced the stock bridge pickup with a custom Seymour Duncan EVH pickup and they also painted the headstock a nice black and made it look like an EVH. I know this is kind of a lame attempt to make the guitar seem more valuable but I kinda dig it. It was dirty, rusty and needed a setup but a few hours of elbow grease has yielded a very nice relic'd looking guitar with its share of cool dings and wear. Somebody actually put some time into making an Axis look and sound like an Eddie, played it for years and then just left it some where for a long time.

 

[sballow]

Here is an album.

Photo Album - Imgur

 

[mtrejo]

Yeah, I can vibe with a customized to taste guitar. After all, the greats are always modifying their guitars to suit their needs or changing taste (including changing pickups, necks, and even painting over the original finish ala Gilmour).

Stock EBMM pickups really do kick hardcore ass though. They do a GREAT job of maintaining clarity while rocking hard. How does the Duncan sound?

Interesting choice to make the headstock black. How does the finish look in person? Hard to tell from the photo. Looks like the volume knob has been changed out as well. Personally I love that worn in maple fretboard. Seems like this puppy has some MOJO going on! Cool man.

 

[sballow]

The Duncan is cool, it has a lot of mids and it doesn't really scream but it is pretty clear. It is definitely a low out put pickup that makes the amp do the work. The finish is in good shape, it still has the nice deep EBMM look but it has faded a touch and there are some nicks on the top. There is a gouge down to the pain on the top and some buckle rash on the back. There is definitely wear on the neck even after I scrubbed and treated it. The headstock is just regular black paint but it works. I guess the volume knob is different. It is very smooth, perhaps too smooth. And the pick up selector is still strong and not loose!