St Vincent Prototype pics

[dave1812]

What is the Custom Configuration on the 5 Way Lever Switch?
There's no Switching Diagram yet. I wonder how well this Guitar plays sitting down.
I hope Music Man will be at Musikmesse so I can see all the new Stuff for real

 

[xjbebop]

Hey guys:

I was curious about the size of the guitar relative to other EBMM's we're familiar with. I attempted to resize these such that the headstock size is identical, thus the rest of the guitar should be proportionately accurate. BP, does this look right?

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Looking at the nut-to-bridge spacing. The Armada is 24.75" and the STV is 25.5", so the ratio is off a bit...

 

[agt]

Lots of positive comments about this guitar and its design and they are all well deserved. The new St. Vincent model is innovative and fresh while still maintaining a foot in the territory of traditional/retro designs. Not an easy feat to pull off, but if anyone can, it is EBMM and the signature artists that work with EBMM.

From what I have gleaned from comments by BP, Dudley, Derek, et al, there are certain physical design parameters/constraints and tradeoffs that must be obeyed in order for a guitar to be headstock/body weight-balanced, resonant, pleasing tone-wise, ergonomic, aesthetically appealing, etc. I don't even attempt to understand such physics issues (DrKev probably does!), but that probably explains why most manufacturers play it safe and stick to the tried and true traditional designs.

What I love most about EBMM and their signature artists is that they continually and creatively push those limits and produce winning designs that take the electric guitar and bass to new territory while maintaining the utmost integrity in terms of tone, access, reliability, ease of maintenance, and playability.

This comment is directed to Annie/St. Vincent, if she is reading these forums: a BIG thanks, congratulations, and welcome to the EBMM family!

 

[moanjam]

It's very original and definitely unique. I want to hear more about the mini-humbuckers. Were they designed in-house or were they put together by DiMarzio or another manufacturer? Also want to know what "O + V" means (I could Google it, but thought I'd ask instead to get a conversation going).

Overall, I would call it a "Gibson Explorer Mini!" (kidding).

 

[kestrou]

Also want to know what "O + V" means (I could Google it, but thought I'd ask instead to get a conversation going).

That's not an "O" up front, it's more of a "Double O" - which I think is a stylized S - so it's "StV" for "St. Vincent"

That's purely my speculation though

Kevin

 

[Samoht]

That's not an "O" up front, it's more of a "Double O" - which I think is a stylized S - so it's "StV" for "St. Vincent"

That's purely my speculation though

Kevin

Kevin, you're right. No speculation needed. I think that S is one of the coolest things about the guitar. I love design like that.

 

[DrKev]

I don't even attempt to understand such physics issues (DrKev probably does!), but that probably explains why most manufacturers play it safe and stick to the tried and true traditional designs.

No, much as I would love to part if a design team and steeped in the ins-and-outs, I won't claim to know what works or not!

My own humble opinion is that many makers are afraid to innovate. Guitarists are ridiculously conservative and most of the market is 50+ year old designs. Great to see EBMM pushing the proverbial boat out with the Armada, Majesty, Cobalts, M-steels, Aluminum Bronze, now the StV and we'll see what Hunter Hayes's guitar is like the coming months.

BTW, most reactions I saw on Twitter today seemed to be very positive.

 

[Big Poppa]

Ok here is the deal and thank you for understanding and behaving so nicely. Now let me tell you about today.

Annie Clark Aka St Vincent is about to explode....bigger than big. She is a wonderful, sweet, kind, creative genius. I dont throw genius around. From the moment I met her we clicked. Same with the rest of her team and mine.

Now we are built on primarily shredders...Annie can rip...but to show you her power...the press release went off....at 4 pm we have nearly 16 million impressions. The visits to the Music-Man website blew our previous record traffic count by three times. Thanks to Annie we also broke our single page view record by THREE TIMES.

I knew she was great. I knew she was an artist...that was good enough for me...all the rest is an amazing shot in the arm we needed. The American guitar business is so hard.

google St Vincent...then St Vincent Ernie Ball the hit the news bar and then use last week and see from the Taylor Swift appearance through today how many articles there are.

One thing that was top of mind was to make sure that we created the guitar for her. She nailed her shape and even mixed her blue color. The hope was also to have a guitar designed from a ladies point of view...not a normal guitar painted pink or with flowers.....

Thanks for the Annie relationship start with Jessie Fleischman who was a early Annie fan and she helped to get Annie Playing the Albert Lee. Second Goes to Dustin Hinz our marketing directior. Dustin comes to us from Guitar Center. Dustin has won 34 international marketing awards in the last 12 months alone. He is the creator and brains behind Guitar Center Sessions on direct tv among others. Drew Montell ran with Annies ideas and was huge...I was involved all the way through but took the finish leg with Annie....

 

[xjbebop]

Awesomeness. ..

 

[dwells]

excellent!!! BP this is fantastic, modern guitar shape and innovative and she is a great addition to the music man family, congrats mate!!!

 

[Movielife]

I've been in awe of her latest album ever since I saw St Vincent on Jools Holland in the UK. It's like a cross between electronica, pop and punk all in one very very unique package.

You should go see them live; super cool full 'show', not just a band churning the songs out. It's art.

I am glad EBMM got involved with St Vincent/Annie; I loved the fact she was rocking the Albert Lee some time back!

One interesting video. I hope this doesn't breach any rules:

Now, I am not a shred fan, but I've got a lot of respect for the guitarists that can do it and those who may be seen as tech shredders amongst EBMM's current artist lineup. BUT, I am a HUGE fan of quirky, original, and unique playing. This can be seen in the video above. I am not primarily a guitarist, more a solid bassist who is still learning guitar, but Annie's playing style does inspire me.

Hopefully soon we will see Annie demo'ing the Albert Lee HH and new St Vincent guitar!

 

[Bungo]

Clearly this guitar like all artist sigs is completely built for and around the artist in question. Every detail.

The question that just came to my mind is what would happen if a top artist really wanted to work with EBMM, but was determined to have a six on one side, or a 3 + 3 headstock layout?

How would that conversation go?

Just curious...

 

[mikeller]

She is appearing in my hometown Labor Day weekend. If I didn't have my own show that night I'd go and hope to catch a view of the guitar. She is indeed a phenomenal talent.

 

[Dr.Strangenote]

I actually dig it! Thanks for sharing these with us BP.

 

[ty2k]

looks like another home run for EBMM!

 

[ScoobySteve]

Thanks for sharing BP, oh man, the gas! Not to mention being a StV fan. If it's not too much to muse though, are those 3 "mini-bucker" type pickups I see?

Awesome!

EDIT oops, says on the spec sheet! SWEEEEEEET. Gaaaaaasssssss

 

[edhalen]

Well done EBMM!! Bravo!

 

[kestrou]

Article at GuitarWord.com: St. Vincent Debuts Her Custom Signature Ernie Ball Music Man Guitar | Guitar World

Kevin

 

[xjbebop]

Aside from the actual guitar, I'm finding the whole marketing aspect of this very interesting.
If you look at the announcement ad, it looks like something from lo'real or similar...

Considering STV's career/image/music is gushing with modern art and high fashion at this point in time, it makes total sense.
I admire EBMM for promoting and being involved with this.

Interesting times indeed...

 

[FantasyMetal]

I'm VERY interested in one of these. Hopefully we'll get some PDN option or different colors to entice me to buy.

I love the aesthetic. Maybe I'll just get a blue one anyway and strictly play Ghost songs on it...