Question Simple question to owners of Both the EVH and AXIS?

[Ed Hunter]

Question to owners of Both the EVH and AXIS?

Are the pickup heights exactly the same distance from the strings on Both of these?
I have a 2004 AXIS and always wanted a EVH and from what i read on the internet
there is some back and forth confusion about these two and their actual differences?
One guy says they sound exactly the same but the EVH has the switch located in a different spot and another says the EVH sounds brighter
and it goes on and on, so i just want to ask anyone that owns Both at the present time
Are the dimarzio's set to the same heights on both?

 

[Stratty316]

Are the pickup heights exactly the same distance from the strings on Both of these?
I have a 2004 AXIS and always wanted a EVH and from what i read on the internet
there is some back and forth confusion about these two and their actual differences?
One guy says they sound exactly the same but the EVH has the switch located in a different spot and another says the EVH sounds brighter
and it goes on and on, so i just want to ask anyone that owns Both at the present time
Are the dimarzio's set to the same heights on both?

Same basic guitar with the following differences:
Axis neck is 1/32 of an inch wider (changed after EVH left for playability reasons)
Toggle switch moved
Back contour on Axis, not on EVH
Trem has evolved over the years to MusicMan Floyd vs EVH Gotoh trem (2012 ish)
I have heard that the pickup wires have changed to accommodate the splitting on the Super Sport... but I've never pulled my Pickups to compare.

Pickup heights, wood combos etc have not changed. Instead you have seen the into of the Axis Sport, Axis Super Sport, BFR Axis, BFR ASS, Axis Semi hollow, MM90 Axis guitars.

As far as tone goes. I have a 1996 Axis that sounds fat and full and a 2000 Axis that has focused and aggressive mid growl. Both sound very similar to my old EVH guitars but it's the individual personalities of the guitar. If you want EVH tone you will absolutely get it from the Axis.

 

[DrKev]

Small changes in setup (e.g neck relief will have a small effect on distance from strings to pickup) and tolerance differences in the volume pots will probably account for some of the difference heard between guitars. The Axis and EVH will sound as close to each other as any two Axis or EVH guitars will.

 

[Ed Hunter]

Small changes in setup (e.g neck relief will have a small effect on distance from strings to pickup) and tolerance differences in the volume pots will probably account for some of the difference heard between guitars. The Axis and EVH will sound as close to each other as any two Axis or EVH guitars will.

So EBMM kept the same setting of the heights of the pu's after it became the AXIS.
When edward was actually endorsing them they were set to his personal preference which was pretty far from the strings.

 

[Ed Hunter]

As far as tone goes. I have a 1996 Axis that sounds fat and full and a 2000 Axis that has focused and aggressive mid growl. Both sound very similar to my old EVH guitars but it's the individual personalities of the guitar. If you want EVH tone you will absolutely get it from the Axis.

Thanks, on yours all the p'u heights are the same?

 

[Stratty316]

Thanks, on yours all the p'u heights are the same?

Same distance and the setup from the factory was virtually the same. The pickups are direct my mounted to the body so you can't adjust them. My newest Axis is from 2000 and when I pick up a current Axis it really does feel and sound "the same" as my guitars. Any differences for the most part are really based on familiarity with a particular guitar. People love the EVH and swear that it was different, better, etc... insert and start beating the proverbial dead horse. I had both, played both and kept only the Axis guitars... personal preference plays into people's preference for one over the other. I liked the new toggle position, back countour and the extra cash the inflated EVH prices put in my pocket. They are the same guitar. Each piece of wood is different and will cause them to feel and sound slightly different, but if you have to have EVH's signature on the headstock that guitar will suit your needs better than an Axis. If you don't, pick up an Axis and an Albert Lee... you will thank me later. Lol

 

[T- Bone]

As other's have stated, small subtle changes (for the better imo) on the Axis.

Tonewise - I've had several of each model and all have had they're own specific sound. All in the same vein, but subtle differences. No two guitars will ever sound the same

I believe the EVH models sounded slightly better though. Maybe because of the two conductor wiring, Idk?

 

[beej]

While we're on this, does anybody have an Axis and a ruler handy? I'd love to know the distance from the top of the pole pieces to the whichever string (fretted at the last fret) for neck and bridge.

 

[DrKev]

I believe the EVH models sounded slightly better though. Maybe because of the two conductor wiring, Idk?

Nah, the electrons don't care.

 

[GoKart Mozart]

Small changes in setup (e.g neck relief will have a small effect on distance from strings to pickup) and tolerance differences in the volume pots will probably account for some of the difference heard between guitars. The Axis and EVH will sound as close to each other as any two Axis or EVH guitars will.

This x 1,000%!! For an example, the post from earlier this week about the factory pot values on the 25th Anniversary guitars got me curious, so I measured mine with a multimeter. My 500k pots were actually measuring 420k, which is probably within the tolerance spec. Like Kev & others have said, I think the slight variations between guitar to guitar is going to account for more perceived sonic differences than the small production changes that were made from the EVH to the Axis model.

My $0.02 USD: I've owned 3 Axis guitars and played ~5 EVHs over the years. The Axis is an improvement over the EVH. Not knocking the EVH at all, but I the only reason I could see picking an EVH over an Axis would be the collectability or nostalgia.

 

[Ed Hunter]

While we're on this, does anybody have an Axis and a ruler handy? I'd love to know the distance from the top of the pole pieces to the whichever string (fretted at the last fret) for neck and bridge.

On my AXIS from 2004 with the last fret fretted and from the bottom of the string to the top of dimarzio slug pole
it is as follows,
Low E bridge p'u=4/32"
High E bridge p'u=3/32"

Low E Neck p'u=6/32"
High E Neck p'u=5/32"

 

[Ed Hunter]

I believe the EVH models sounded slightly better though. Maybe because of the two conductor wiring, Idk?

Nah, the electrons don't care.

Yeah 4 wire vs 3 wire does not make any difference to the tone of the p'u unless you have them split,out of phase,etc active within the wiring of the 4 wire model.
When wired for normal full humbucking there is no difference at all between the two.
I originally thought maybe the EVH's had the pu's set further from the strings which would give them a slightly different tone if that were the case but owners have already said they both the EVH and AXIS have the same pu heights.
I do agree that every guitar will have its own tone character even when built with the same exact materials and parts.

 

[beej]

On my AXIS from 2004 with the last fret fretted and from the bottom of the string to the top of dimarzio slug pole
it is as follows,
Low E bridge p'u=4/32"
High E bridge p'u=3/32"

Low E Neck p'u=6/32"
High E Neck p'u=5/32"

Thank you! (I'm about to put a set in a JP6 and I'd like to get in that zone.)

 

[Ed Hunter]

Nah, the electrons don't care.

Thank you! (I'm about to put a set in a JP6 and I'd like to get in that zone.)

Your welcome, The dimarzio' axis bridge p'u sounds best when not too close.
I had bought a set off ebay and put them in my USA alder Charvel and noticed that when i set the bridge one close
it got all "heavy metal" sounding, so i backed it off to where my Axis one i set and it sounded like a good Hot PAF tone.
which is how i hear the bridge one in the EVH/Axis guitars.
The neck one sounded good regardless of its height because it is a air bucker and has less magnetism.
That set in still in the charvel, those pu's are my favorite pu's. I am sure they will kill in a JP6

 

[beej]

Awesome, that's what I'm hoping for. And yeah, thus the height question.

 

[Neanderpaul]

Assuming all the bracketing, and routing tolerances are equal, the pickups, which are directly mounted to the guitar wood, will be the same. Obviously, differences in wood, and cavity depth could allow for minimal variances. But, EBMM QC isn't like other builders. They actually pay attention to *each* guitar. Vs cherry-picking one out of every 100 or so.

They're virtually the same exact guitar.

 

[Neanderpaul]

Holy thread revival!

My bad.

 

[Jamie M]

Considering the EVH and Axis are effectively the same guitar my EVH has a far more aggressive tone to it than my ASS.